Ready to go:
Playas del Coco, we are on the bike by around 7:00 AM. People are up and about. The roads coming in here are in good shape, we are hoping for more of that as we ride south. While continuing along the Pacific coast we decided to skip the beach village Tamarindo. The decision was easy. Reports of being crowded and over priced is one thing but most of all, the beach lost it’s ‘blue flag’ status meaning the water is too polluted. Not the kind of beach I envision running into the ocean and taking a nice long swim in. There are a lot of clean and less crowded beaches further south. We ride on.
ATM:
The roads are in OK condition south of Coco, a lot of bumpy sections but at least ‘no big potholes’. Twists and turns through hills and jungles. What’s not to like. At Nicoya I stop at the National Bank and try to get some cash from an ATM. Primary card, first backup card, second backup card, all failed to give me cash. This is nothing new. Most of the ATM’s in Central America have a mind of their own. I do a U-turn and ride toward the center of town. Not too far into town I see another bank. I recognize The ATM logo as being one that has worked in the past. Primary card worked. First backup card worked. We are ready to proceed.
#Note:
You may have a big daily limit on your card back home but all ATM’s I have tried south of the border have a max withdrawal that is much less. But, you can max out, and then try it again and sometimes you will get more cash. I used 2 cards this time to verify they still both work. It’s part of the operation. ‘We must periodically test and verify all ‘mission critical’ systems.
Now:
We have ‘base camp’ setup. We are now prepared to explore the country. Heidi and I are talking about what month we should ‘be in’ South America. We are concerned that if we wait for the ideal season we won’t have enough time for the continent. This means our time in Costa Rica is limited. We give ourselves 30 more days to ‘Do It’
Our ‘central america on a shoestring’ guide book is under half its original size and weight. I ripped out everything except Costa Rica and Panama. I went through some old paperwork and threw most of it out. Our two fuel bottles and ‘world’ camp stove are getting ‘off loaded’ here. We both gave away some good clothes and a couple of nick-knacks to a maid in Nicaragua. We are using up soaps that I stashed away from hotels. We are carrying less water now because no camping. I will look over my sockets. Maybe a wrench or two can go. I’ll have to experiment. The bike continues to get lighter. I can feel the tingle. I know we will make it. Heidi doesn’t want me to get too cocky and I agree, we must stay vigilant, but I can just taste it. One country away from Panama, then just a 2 hour plan ride and we are in South America. :jose
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Monteverde:
Up in the higher elevation rain forest around Monteverde are some of the best nature parks. Heidi and I devote a day to see if we can ride up there and do some hiking. We have the “National Geographic Adventure map” of Costa Rica and it is an extremely detailed map. But that’s not always a good thing. We will see.
We were on the road early while it was still cool, perfect for riding. We ride on the ‘bumpy, hilly and twisty’ jungle road toward the mainland. Can Do. The bike is down to ‘bare bones’. All we are carrying are our tooth brushes, hiking shoes, shorts and T-shirt plus ‘All My Tools”. The bike almost feels like a toy. I tell Heidi that even with her on it feels like a toy. She likes that…..
We pass a few ‘sweet beaches’ on our way from base-camp.
Riding along the Pacific coast here is incredible.
Starting to ride inland I was surprised by all the deforestation. It is still a scenic ride.
We thought we needed to take a ferry. At a fork in the road a few miles before the river a guy in a pickup truck waved to us and pointed us down the other road. He was trying to let us know, that is the way to go. Our map shows a ‘future bridge’ location just about where we were directed. I discuss the situation with Heidi, we proceed on with confidence. El Puente de Amistad de Taiwan.
The bridge was built and financed by Taiwan, with help from Costa Rican engineers and workers. It’s in the province of Guanacaste and crosses the Tempisque River.
