Why would you choose Costa Rica for a challenge?
Why not? Costa Rica is one of the most stunning countries in the world with a huge ecological commitment to keep the natural beauty and heritage as it should be. The President of Costa Rica has pledged to for the country to be carbon neutral by 2020. Costa Rica Coast to Coast Eco Challenge perfectly shows this in its glory.
With one side on the Pacific coast, the other on the Caribbean coast with volcanoes, rivers, coffee plantations and rainforest in between, it’s a 250km challenge with a view.
But forget the scenery, what’s the challenge?
The challenge was to get from the Pacific Coast to the Caribbean Coast without taking any engine-powered motors. So no cars, trains or motor boats, in its place Mountain Biking, Hiking, White Water Rafting and Kayaking.
It all started with a flight to the capital city San Jose and then a trip to the Coast to enjoy the sun and the beach before getting a bike fitting and the trip briefing over the team dinner.
Where do we start?
For the first day of the real action, a 40km ride along the Coastal stretch of the Pan American Highway and then take the off-road path along the Savegre River. While we were biking we stopped to view a portion of the river where captured Crocodiles from around the area are released and wait patiently for anything edible thrown from the bridge above. 20 or so Crocodiles have congregated here and a feeding frenzy that you normally only see on a documentary took place. A few hours later and we meet up with the support car who swaps our bikes for our hiking gear and it’s off for a short 7km trek to the first camp in the small community of Esquipulas.
Another short 16km trek awaits us the next day but this is through the rainforest and all that comes with it. The heat, the sounds and the smells not to mention the first glimpses of wildlife. We get our first sitting of a sloth as we trek through the trees and then another and then another. Only a couple of days in and this place is awe-inspiring, the views of the mountains and wildlife making the exertion almost unnoticeable.
By day 5 we are on foot crossing the Naranjillo River and up over 1300 metres high into the Costa Rican’s coffee plantations. We stop to view the coffee beans growing for a moment to wonder at how they manage to harvest the beans on such steep mountainsides before continuing for serval more hours until reach an altitude of 1950mtrs and switch to the mountain bikes again.
This leads us into the town of Santa Maria where we relax for the night with another great feast and to pop into town to purchase some of the local coffee beans that have been harvested from the mountains we have just come from.
Down to Business
All this doesn’t seem like much of a challenge so far but this was all about to change on day 6. A short but very unrelenting steep 14km uphill climb to an altitude of 2330 metres. This was a done in the lowest gear and we would peddle along furiously next to someone who was walking their bicycle up at the same speed. After we get to the top there is brief respite with another short break to take on more water and then off again. This time on a treacherous downhill which mainly on loose stones and hairpin turns are hard on the hands as they are both clenched around the brakes full time. This makes up the days 46km but a hard one that makes you feel like you have been using a kango hammer!
Day 7 brings another 65km of Mountain Biking, you would have thought that you would be used to the saddle by now but the first couple of kilometres is painful. Coffee covered hillsides and Lake Cachi again leave you looking at the wonderful scenery and not noticing that you are on a 40+ mile bike ride. It is a joy to have the smoother paved roads as a respite but equally as fun is the diversity of the rugged ground.
The 7th day came with an experience that most do not get. Lunch and a swim in the Pejibaye River! No rest for the wicked though, there is more uphill climbing to a small mountain town of Mollejones. We were split into groups of two or three people to join local families for the evening, but not before the locals had put on a demonstration showing us traditional dances in their finery. Not knowing a word of Spanish between my co-partner and I, we were lead back to this simple but homely house which belonged to an elderly couple. Not able to speak a word of English we broke out pen and paper and a simple conversation ensued. We discussed family and what time we had to be up in the morning. Not bad for a pen, paper and a bunch of symbols.
Unfortunately, though we have to leave the family and head on trekking another 15km until we reach the entrance to the Pacuare River, Le Cruz. The Pacuare River is a world famous White Water Rafting area Rapids up to a class IV. This is a great break from the Mountain Biking and hiking meandering through 10km of wash. Ups and downs all the way as we meandered through the river. With a chance to see the rainforest and its waterfall from a different viewpoint. Not so much a challenge than an all action endeavour.
A tropical paradise awaits as the camp for the day is in the rainforest close to the raging Pacuare. Rest and a walk around the surrounding to spot some of the colourful wildlife is in order as we settled down for the evening. The noise of the rainforest is deafening of a night time, teaming with wildlife and the cries of the howler monkeys in the distance. 17km of White Water Rafting is left until we reach our next destination.
A final day sees 20km of Mountain Biking and 15km of Sea Kayaking which if you aren’t used to paddling with two people can seem more like 30km as we moved from left to right along the Pacuare River until the mouth of the river where it meets the Caribbean Sea. Celebrations and congratulations ensued and it’s off on a motorboat back to Cano Blanco where transport is waiting to take us back to the capital.
Is it all Worth it?
So for a trip that is 12 days in total, there was some hard Mountain Biking in parts due to the nature of the surface and the gradients of the mountainous areas. The hiking was less arduous but in the heat was enough to make you break out into a sweat. The Kayaking was not physically tough as it was done at a comfortable pace but the technique certainly made it more challenging. The km’s of White Water Rafting was more fun than a challenge and having done this before knew what to expect.
What I didn’t account for was the stunning scenery and being so close to monkeys, sloths and all manner of other reptiles and insects that you don’t get to see in the Northern Hemisphere.
Can anyone do it?
As long as you have a reasonable fitness level and can ride a mountain bike confidently the answer is a resounding yes. Is it a challenge? I’m not super fit and only ramped up my bike riding a few months before the trip but yes I would definitely say this was a challenge. Would I recommend others to do it? The thing about challenges like this is that you get to see places that you wouldn’t if your destination was a tourist route. The people that we met on the way, as well as those on the challenge, make the trip and you get to experience a country that as it is meant to be raw and untamed. I wouldn’t hesitate to tell people to get out there and experience the Costa Rica Coast to Coast Eco Challenge!
Do you think you have what it takes to cross Costa Rica under your own steam? Check out the trip in further detail at Adventurous Ewe
I-MustDo
Leave a Reply