Canalete

About Canalete:

Canalete covers some 106 square kilometres of low ground in northern Alajuela, and its head town, Villa Canalete, strings along Route 6 just south of Upala. The district takes in Las Armenias, Las Brisas, Buenavista, Cuatro Cruces, Guacalito, Milpas, Miramar and Rosario, plus parts of Verbena and Pata de Gallo. Route 6 is the spine. South, it climbs to Bijagua between the Tenorio and Miravalles volcanoes and drops to Cañas and the Interamericana in a little over an hour; north, it ends in Upala at Route 4. Route 164 heads east from Las Armenias to La Gloria in Aguas Claras, routes 729 and 730 serve the farm roads in between, and buses on the Upala line stop at the Canalete turnoff.

About 5,000 people live here, and most of them earn their living from cattle or from jobs in Upala next door. Across the canton, beef, dairy and dual-purpose herds hold most of the land, Upala ranks among the country’s leading bean producers, and large pineapple plantations work the plains. Villa Canalete has the Escuela Sor María Romero Meneses beside the sports field and the church, and the Liceo de Canalete for secondary students. For the hospital, the banks, the municipal offices and the bigger shops, people go the few kilometres into Upala. Being that close to town, with far more land than a town plot, is much of what Canalete offers a family that works in Upala.

The land is low and mostly flat, around 90 metres above sea level across much of the district, and it rises in the south toward the foothills of Miravalles. Rain is heavy, and the rivers decide where it is sensible to build. When Hurricane Otto crossed Costa Rica in November 2016, the Zapote tore through homes and businesses along its banks in Upala, Canalete and Bijagua, Rosario de Canalete among them. In later storms the local emergency committee has opened shelters in Canalete for families from the lowest sectors, and the Guacalito swells quickly after a downpour. In Armenias and Guacalito, neighbours who once crossed on planks now have a proper bridge.

Buyers here are mostly local. Upala families look for a lot close to town, and ranchers add pasture when a neighbour sells. The bigger fincas, including holdings of around 70 hectares on the ground rising toward Miravalles, draw cattle buyers from further afield. Renting is common too, mostly modest two-bedroom houses taken by people who work in Upala.

Houses in Canalete:

Houses are mostly single-storey family homes on lots much larger than anything in the centre of Upala. Picture a house of around 140 square metres on a 1,500 square metre plot, with a covered rancho in the yard. Farmhouses are sold together with their land, sometimes with a corral alongside. If a house for sale in Canalete catches your eye, measure how far the floor stands above the street and ask how close the water came in 2016.

Land and Lots in Canalete:

Sizes run from plots of a few hundred square metres with a registered plan and title in Barrio La Verbena, to lots of around a thousand square metres in Canalete, to a hectare or more out toward Verbena. Several sit on the paved road toward Bijagua, with water and power at the boundary or ready to connect. Some are offered for either residential or farm use, which suits a house with a few animals or fruit trees. The canton’s regulatory plan is still being drafted, so ask the Municipalidad de Upala for the land-use certificate on the exact parcel before you talk price. Any land for sale in Canalete de Upala near the Zapote also needs its flood history checked.

Farms in Canalete:

Cattle land is the deepest part of the market. Offers range from four or five hectares of fenced pasture, to ten manzanas with a house and corral, to around 70 hectares at the foot of Miravalles. The flat parcels on the plain also suit crops, and pineapple and beans grow on similar ground elsewhere in the canton. Along the Zapote and the Guacalito the Forestry Law protects a strip of bank that cannot be cleared or built on, so measure the usable pasture rather than the total on the plan. Before you agree on a figure for a cattle finca in Upala, find out where the herd went during the last flood and how many paddocks stayed dry.

Rentals in Canalete:

Long-term rentals are mostly small family houses: two bedrooms, one or two bathrooms, a laundry area and a carport or yard, a few of them on two floors. What tenants pay for is location, with Upala’s hospital, banks and offices a few minutes up the road. A handful of cabinas in the village cover short stays. Renting near the main road keeps the bus stop within walking distance.

FAQ:

• How far is Canalete from Upala and from Cañas?

  Villa Canalete is about four kilometres south of Upala town on Route 6, a few minutes by car or bus. In the other direction the highway runs through Bijagua to Cañas and the Interamericana, a little over 60 kilometres away, and San José is around 225 kilometres by that route.

• How do I check a property near the Río Zapote before buying?

  Flooding comes first. Ask the neighbours where the water reached during Otto in 2016 and in the storms since, and see the parcel in the rainy months. Then pull the title and the cadastral plan from the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario), look for liens and rights of way, and walk the fences against the plan. On a finca, find out where the water for the house and the cattle comes from and whether that use is properly registered.

• Can I build on a lot in Canalete straight away?

  Not before the paperwork. Land-use certificates and building permits come from the Municipalidad de Upala, and the canton’s regulatory plan covering Canalete is still being drawn up, so ask for the certificate on that exact parcel before you design anything. Get a written water-availability letter and a quote for the electricity connection as well, because banks and builders will want both.

• What services are there in Canalete itself?

  The village has the Escuela Sor María Romero Meneses, the Liceo de Canalete, a church, a sports field and a few cabinas. The Hospital de Upala, the banks, the larger shops and the municipal offices are all in Upala, a short drive or bus ride north.

• Is Canalete separate from Upala district for paperwork?

  Yes. Canalete became its own district in 2012, the eighth in the canton, and parcels registered before then were filed under the district they belonged to at the time. Check which district the current cadastral plan names before you compare it with the title and the municipal records.