Costa Rica

Expectations were high when we entered Costa Rica. We've heard so much about what an amazing country it is and having made ourselves dizzy speeding through the last few, we wanted to take a bit more time here.  We planned a route that would wiggle around, taking us from the Pacific coast to the Caribbean via the cloud forest in the mountains (actually the phrase 'taking us' is a bit passive - we do all the taking!).

Drinking cold beer in some hot springs - Costa Rica has 
lots of volcanoes and we basked in the warming effect of 
one of them in La Fortuna

Going bananas for bananas - we loved seeing all the banana trees

What we've found has been a mixed bag.  There have been some really beautiful sections, in particular coming through the banana plantations, where hundreds and thousands of banana trees stretched out beside us.  Costa Rican bananas account for a significant amount of the bananas that we eat in the UK, and so we found ourselves constantly accompanied by the familiar looking logos of Chiquita, Del Monte and Dole on the lorries that thundered by as we rode along the main route to the Caribbean port of Limon.  There is something about the leaves of the trees that make the plantations really unique and whilst we were full of generous superlatives about their beauty, we can't say the same for the traffic which we muttered and grumbled about as we braced ourselves against the drag of each lorry passing uncomfortably close.  Ali swears he will remember those lorries every time he eats a Chiquita banana - Lizzie is pretty sure that once the divine combination of banana and peanut butter melts in his mouth he'll be transported to a higher place and have no space for anguish.

A full complement of lorries - for all of your potassium needs

Loading up - possibly for a transatlantic
voyage to a Waitrose near you

Bananas are not the only fruit they grow here, and we've loved the freshness of the pineapples in particular.  We stayed with one wonderful Warm Showers host who took us to his plantation where he was growing more than 90 different fruits.  As usual, we felt like philistine city dwellers, unable to identify the plants growing staples that we know and love, but we also saw and tasted all sorts of new fruit.  Raphael (our host) plucked a few ripe pieces off the various trees and we went back to the house for a feast of fresh juicy fruits. This included one 'magic berry', a small red fruit that you suck; not only does it have a wonderful sweet flavour but it means that everything you eat in the next half hour or so is also sweet - we were lapping up citric lemon juice like it was apple juice. 

Rambutans modelling a relaxing decking

Staying with Raphael, and a number of nights we have had in the Bomberos (firefighters), have been such a treat, as they are a moment to understand more about Costa Rica.  In the extensive tourist areas we have found this much less possible - in those places it's hard not to fall into the rhythm of activities on offer that are made so easy and accessible.  Fun as they might be, they've felt like a step away from our journey and discovery; in these places we find ourselves speaking less Spanish and generally feeling a bit flat.  So sitting with Raphael in his kitchen, with an entire wall missing so that we were effectively sat in his garden, next to the amazing birds hopping around, talking about the politics in Costa Rica, was a real highlight of the country.  It has given Lizzie loads of ideas as to how we can live in a house that has the comforts of a mattress and running water that Ali extravagantly demands, but that also lets in the fresh air and nature that Lizzie has an unfounded belief is possible in a country with a climate like the UK. The feasibility of slinging a hammock or growing a pineapple when we're back home is in some doubt.

In a bamboo clearing known as the 'Cathedral' with
Raphael on his plantation 

Costa Rica makes an interesting comparison with its near neighbours.  Unlike much of Central America, the second half of the previous century was not characterised by civil war, and so its development has been continuous and effective.  In fact, at the end of their last war in 1948, the new constitution brought in disbanded the army. The budget that had been used for it was redirected towards security, education and culture.  There are just a handful of countries in the world with no army, and its interesting that from a Western perspective we tend to wonder what that means about their ability to protect themselves, thinking of an army as a body that traditionally engages in protection of the borders etc. (no comment on its more recent uses with Chilcott so hot off the press) but in Latin America the army is thought of as an instrument of the state to suppress the masses; its disbandonment (is this a word?!) therefore represents something quite different to that, for example, of Iceland.

Costa Rica is famed for its amazing wildlife, and we've not been disappointed. We did a night walk in the cloud forest where we saw all sorts of creepy crawlies (tarantulas, snakes, scorpions and salamanders) and visited a rescue sanctuary that was rehabilitating wounded animals (sloths, monkeys, caymans, more snakes - they've been somewhat of a theme here) but we've also been so lucky to see fantastic wildlife on the road.  For example, comparing the amazing bright orange shelled and purple legged crabs from the Pacific Coast with the blue crabs on the Caribbean Coast.  We've spotted a few toucans sailing past us and a particular brilliantly bright red chested bird that had a good swing at both of us as we pedaled past, clearly too close to his nest that he'd built in a road sign (I hope he wasn't taking the same approach to the lorries as I'm pretty sure I know who would win).

A sizeable guest that dropped in to reception in our hostel

A fast moving crab that we inadvertently
camped on in Nicoya

No fault of Costa Rica's but our time here has also been plagued by issues with our bikes. Having cavalierly decided that our tyres were fine (after a good 10,000kms use) their tread has really worn down. We knew that they needed replacing but before we've been able to (the legendary Schwalbe Marathon Pluses are not that simple to source in Central America) Ali met with an accident. The combination of rain, (there has been a lot of late) mud (splattered along the road from construction sites) and bald tyres resulted in him skidding and coming down in the road. Luckily no serious damage was done, but it contributed to the sense of vulnerability we can feel on the road.  Whilst it can be a weighty tension to carry (which neither of us will really relax about until this journey is complete), we use this to our advantage to make sure we are careful and don't take the risk of the traffic lightly.

Don King vs Ross Kemp

As soon as we entered the country Lizzie started to have a problem with shifting her gears and we had a couple of emergency stops on the road to try and rectify this; each of which involves the obligatory moment of, having taken everything apart, finding that something won't go back in as it should, and spending up to 20 minutes wondering if the bike will ever be rideable again. No IKEA instructions here to help out...

We've got new tyres to greet us in Colombia and, having found a professional to help sort out Lizzie's gears, ride on into Panama (more or less) fully serviced, and ready for a long slog on the Panamerican Highway in search of a fabled canal.