I am sat here in a beautiful location looking up at an iguana that is sat on the see through canopy above us. It seems the perfect time to write the final reflections of this trip.
I will start from my earliest memory. Well that would be the heat, however some locals class this as cold! I can remember at Erica’s Ranch the bar man had been in the sea or shower and he came to talk to us shivering. That was just before a thunderstorm came in. We have not had any rain during the day. I think I remember three thunderstorms in the distance. So we have been very lucky, but we did plan to come in this mini second summer they have during the “rainy season”. As previously mentioned, it is a perfect time. Tourism is at bare minimum but everything is still open as usual. The trees are vibrant and green. The locals highly recommend this time mid July to mid August as the perfect time to visit Costa Rica.
When we first set off I was not feeling well and our introduction to Costa Rican hospitality started with a family making last minute adjustments to a room so we could put our air beds on the floor.
I needed a day or two to get rid of the bug so we settled on a lovely hotel in the rain forest. It seems so long ago since we were bouncing around in that cool refreshing blue waterfall. Although they were quite busy Rachael really enjoyed the hot springs around that same location. We both enjoyed the views looking down on deep vibrant green forests and wondering what creatures live amongst all those trees and branches.
It was not long before we got our first sighting of the monkeys. It was wild seeing them in their natural environment.
Butterflies are around you all the time but we took a walk and the amount of butterflies was incredible. I particularly enjoyed seeing the Morpho butterfly. They are quite big and you can’t miss the bright blue markings. As you may know I get tattoos of the route we have done as a line and then the nature we have seen along the route. So along this line is going to be a monkey, Morpho, dragonfly, crocodile, Macaw and iguana. I hope they have a good tattooist on the Falkland Islands 🙂
Iguanas are everywhere, the bright green one is still peering down on me. Seeing the three crocodiles in their natural setting is something not everyone will get to see and we were extremely lucky that day because afterwards when we we actually went out with the purpose of finding them we were not as lucky. But I did see the large stingray floating on top of the water. When we did chance upon the crocodiles I rushed down to the water’s edge and one was only three feet away from me before it rolled under the water. Just amazing.
The Macaws that we saw blew my mind, they are big and colourful. To see up to six or seven, just sat in a tree together as we were loading up Moose in the morning was captivating. The other birds we have seen have been interesting. Some large, like the Turkey Vultures that are everywhere through to the smallest bird I think I have ever seen, a little black bird just sat on a fence wire. I still need to find out what that was. I use the Merlin Bird ID app to log the birds I have seen. It is a good app, no ads as it is created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I can highly recommend downloading the app. It can help identify birds through sound and images.
https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/
The food has been excellent, from the cheap and cheerful soda style eating cafes through to the more culturally diverse restaurants. I could live of the fruit smoothies they do. I don’t normally drink fizzy pop. On a trip like this I would normally go through ten gallon of Coke a day, but the fruit smoothies took away that addiction.
Is there anything we have not liked? We both cannot think of a single thing. Rachael would like me jokingly to point out that she can’t stand the drippy condensation on drink glasses because it soaks the table and drips down your top. If that is the only thing, I would say it has been a good trip! 🙂
(Our iguana is on the move)
The people, love the people. We have been treated with nothing but friendship and kindness. Everyone we have met has been interested in our plans and the language has not been a barrier for making connections. On the road you are constantly met with waves, cheers, smiles and the friendly toot toot of a horn.
We had quite a lot of river crossings and during the route they got deeper, just at the same point we were getting warned about the crocodiles. If there was more rain it would have been difficult or even impossible for us to cross some of them, this would have involved some long rerouting. We have been lucky.
I big shout out must go to William and his family. Local Costa Rican family that paid for our meal at a soda. It was really nice speaking with them. Thank you so so much!
I love the culture, no one looking down or judging you just because you want to take a family of four to school on a motorcycle with no helmets. With that load the bike can only manage about 10mph, but I am sure in England there would be plenty of people that would like to have an opinion about how “unsafe” it would be if it was allowed. I am afraid I come under the other camp, I am an animal and I can judge what is safe and what is not safe for myself thank you very much. Live free, sometimes it works out and sometimes it does not. As long as you are aware of that. Live your life man. I have a tattoo on my wrist that says “This is This”. What I take from that is life is this moment. It does not get any harder or any easier than that exact moment you have just lived.
It aligns itself with the culture of Costa Rica. PURA VIDA (another tattoo). Life is simple, go with it. Don’t make it complicated, it does not need it. Try to minimise belongings and a desire to consume. It is definitely a place that plays to my spirit. Life is too short, take every opportunity that comes your way, the outcome does not matter because you always have a choice.
Finally, I would just like to say thank you to Rachael. You probably think that I am the driving force behind our trips. Although I might plan the route and the logistics, once there Rachael has this curiosity that makes the trips really interesting. She spots the little things, without her I would not notice half as much of the beauty around me. There are beaches that I would have just ridden past if I did not have the opportunity to get in the sea, but she encourages me to stop and take it in. We are a team, we get up the hills together and enjoy the breeze on the way down. A metaphor for our life. Muchos gracias Rachael. I love you. Many more adventures are on the horizon.
To everyone I wish you PURA VIDA!
ADDED CONTENT:
Our last ride back to the airport hotel was hard but magnificent and the hotel made a gorgeous cake and decorated the room for Rachael’s birthday
