In November 2015, I traveled to Costa Rica, in Central America, and cycled over 500km coast to coast across the country. The ride took me from the Pacific coast, through traditional Costa Rican farmlands, old colonial cities, over mountain ranges which include active volcanoes, eventually to the tropical lowlands and the Caribbean coast. A former Spanish colony, Costa Rica means "Rich Coast", has a population of 4.5 million. Costa Rica abolished its military following a bloody civil war in 1949. The country is now very stable, bordered by its more volatile neighbours, Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. Costa Rica has a treasure trove of white sand beaches, tropical rainforest and a myriad of rare plants and animals. Pictures from the challenge are shown below:
ready to go - on the beach at Playa Del Coco, on the Pacific coast
we pass Guanacaste trees, the national tree of Costa Rica, as we approach the mountains ...
... we camped out each night. One of our tents ended up in the trees after high winds ... cyclists remained on the ground. Throughout our 7 day trip the weather was variable, although never cold, with temperatures in excess of 40C at times with high humidity ... 100% i.e. belting with rain!
... a typical Costa Rican house in the country ...
... children outside their house on the edge of the jungle
... and we struggle to car-share in the UK ...
we approach the active Arenal volcano, one of many ... Costa Rica is one of the world's most geologically unstable areas ...
... steam pours from the spectacular Arenal volcano
... pineapple fields ... as well as coffee, fruit is a growing business for Costa Rica ...!
... lots of churches ... over 80% of the population are catholic
one of several river crossings we made by boat with our bikes
in a banana plantation ... bananas are grown in the large blue bags to protect them from the weather and from pests ...
... storm brewing beyond the plantations ... when it rained it rained!
... at a "banana crossing", rail systems run through the plantations to carry freshly cut bananas, in their blue bags, to be loaded onto trucks ... for transportation to the ports
... there are hundreds of big trucks, sharing even the smallest of roads, carrying (mostly Del Monte) fruit to the ports for onward shipping to the USA and to Europe ...
... banana plantation worker, complete with the tool of the trade - a machete ... plantation workers also have to wear welly boots to protect them from snakes ...
... flowers in the jungle ... Costa Rica is recognised for its progressive environmental policies. In 2012 it became the first country in the Americas to ban recreational hunting
... a Howler monkey, just one of the many animals we saw ...
... yep, a parrot!
... and a sloth hanging around ...
... and an iguana on a bike! ... "you tell him to get off ... "
river crossing without a boat ...
crossing the bridge, we followed this "disused" railway line for many miles ...
... only to find it turned out not to be disused! ... "it's behind you!" ...
... made it! ... on the beach at the Caribbean, near to Playa Bonita ...
... selfie on the beach ...
... the team at the Caribbean coast
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