A Fist Full of Costa Rica

Dude, your pictures are awesome. What software do you use to edit them. This trip looks great.

Awesome

Loving the report (as usual)!

whaazzzuuuup Ryan . nice to see some good ol' alabama boys in the house.

Sweet!

Dave

today's ride will take me from Carrillo , over the highest mountains on the nicoya peninsula , Liberia, between 2 volcanoes (volcan rincon de la vieja and volcan santa maria ).



"I had trouble sleeping last night. there was something banging its head on one of the wooden beams outside my door. I ate half a can of Pringles for breakfast. There was a guy outside with a water-hose spraying my bike. I gave him the rest of the can of Pringles. I asked him where i could find a new front tire. He told me Nosara. Possibly Nosara. "




There are so many surf breaks on this peninsula. .. with no surfers. Its a surfer's paradise.





I stopped at a gas station to fill up. I saw a KENDA logo at the gas station so i asked the attendant if he had a new llanta... to my surprise he showed me to a room in the back. they had a whole rack full of knobbys. i chose a trackmaster front. sweet.




















v i d e o


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this bridge was interesting.







BRIDGE V I D E O



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One of the reasons i enjoy traveling alone is that i can enjoy the view, the moment and the inner realizations rattled loose by the journey.... without social interference.












I met an old man later in my trip. we had coffee together one morning. he told me he didnt understand how i could enjoy being alone , not having anyone to talk to or share experiences with. interesting, i cant understand why he would want to travel around with a bunch of fat, complaining , babies who are either complaining about waking up too early OR waking up too late, complaining about sleeping in places that are too cheap or sleeping in a place that is too expensive, "when are we going to stop for luuuuunch??" complaining about it being too hot or complaining about it being too cold, complaining about it being too dry or too wet or not going because there is no chase truck or what if we miss our flight or Teddy lost his passport , "i need to reeeeeessst" ..AND what if jesus fucking christ takes a super fat daddy shit all over everything and we have to have a cumbaya panic party at the embassy after pressing the SOS button on hey-joe's Spot unit because his heart stint malfunctioned ? no thanks ... im not going to hang-a-fang on that stack of monkey eggs . onward to the beer, honey and anti-social problems.


































V I D E O .........



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thought i would swing by "the white colony" to see what was shakin'.














then .. i came upon a REAL dual sport motorcycle. friggin sweet right !?


REAL.....



......DUAL SPORT






Then there was some under-construction happening.
just go through the water hole. its normal. i love this place.













Rio Azul











V I D E O








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Lake Arenal















Volcan Arenal

























"the Daniel-son-Crane-Kick" + volcano in background











I stayed here. nice people. eat the chicken. dont eat the beef.







más tarde y su madre es fea

I love Lake Arenal, it's great once you get up into the hills.

I think I've been up this road... How far did you make it? It had rained when I was there and the mud got DEEP quick. Rode a horse up there later, even the horse was having a tough time.

What breed is your dog? Is it australian cattle dog?

yea man that ma'Boy.
He is an Australian Cattle Dog , also known as a Blue Heeler.
His name is Ambush.

I made it all the way . this is the long dirt road that comes down out of the mountains into Arenal. its a beautiful road. there is also a very cool (and more difficult) road that goes completely around Lake Arenal. In order to "do the loop" it requires crossing Rio Negro. ive got a really cool video of that crossing (ill post pics and vids of this section later) .

&#1052;y girl &#1072; red hiller -Zara

"i cant understand why he would want to travel around with a bunch of fat, complaining , babies who are either complaining about waking up too early OR waking up too late, complaining about sleeping in places that are too cheap or sleeping in a place that is too expensive, "when are we going to stop for luuuuunch??" complaining about it being too hot or complaining about it being too cold, complaining about it being too dry or too wet or not going because there is no chase truck or what if we miss our flight or Teddy lost his passport , "i need to reeeeeessst" ..AND what if jesus fucking christ takes a super fat daddy shit all over everything and we have to have a cumbaya panic party at the embassy after pressing the SOS button on hey-joe's Spot unit because his heart stint malfunctioned ? no thanks ... im not going to hang-a-fang on that stack of monkey eggs . onward to the beer, honey and anti-social problems."

Holy Rant!

Sounds like you need a new choice of riding buddies.

Still a great Ride Report! I cant believe I just watched you piss from your helmet cam though!!! Any more furry armpit bed buddies?

That places was a little slice of heaven, They had the best coffie. Did you go to the reptile zoo up the hill? They had some really large constrictors up there that they would let you pet :eek1.

Thursday March 17 2011 Arenal to Saul's Restaurante Cabina
"The day started at 5:00. Toyed with my gear. Tried to sleep more. Dog barking. The dog had runs of 10 barks between breaths. While it was taking those breaths, the rooster next door would crow. Then, at 6:00 a screaming child joined in to create an ensemble of torment that could not be ignored.

one cup of coffee, a protein bar and 30 minutes later i was in the restaurants storage room packing up my bike.





























I rode to the top of the mountain. there is a single track / hiking trail there that is just past a little farm area. very good trail. the soil is amazing.



I came down off the mountain. I was aiming to do a lap around Lake Arenal. First , i needed gas. I started asking around at the homes at the base of the mountain.









V I D E O





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In order to do a full lap around Laguna Arenal i had to cross Cero Negro. A large river that feeds Laguna Arenal (video of this later).

I had previously spoken with a guy in town...who was riding a KLR... he told me the only way to do a full lap around the lake was if you were in a well equipped 4x4. he told me not to try it alone. sounds like my kind of ride.




















The trail on the other side of the river is rocky and rutted. good fun stuff.











In Costa Rica, the size of the toothy-grin produced by a dirt road is directly proportional to the amount of cow shit that can be found upon that road.

.......this was a good road.














Costa Rican Weed Eater












































lots of wind around here. good for a wind farm






















no trespassing......
















There was a little girl selling coco nut water on the side of the road. i couldnt resist buying one. after drinking the water she cut it open, cut off a sliver of the nut to be used as a spoon. I ate the insides and fed some to her cat "CoCo". The girl also had a dog named Papi and a green/yellow parrot. Her grandmother was a very happy woman (you can see them in the video).




















..... i knew it was out there.. it was only a matter of time before i finally found it. BEHOLD!! HERE RUNS THE BURRITO RIVER !!!!













..not the burrito river











check this sweet bike out... its a "SUKIDA".... with a bad-ass scorpion on the tank...SWEET RIGHT !?











The Sun started to fall behind the mountains while i was headed to the top of a mountain. the trail turned into this kind of stuff:




















The Sun went down. I got lost on some back streets that were just a little bit wider than my handle bars. I saw a man wearing cowboy boots and gym shorts standing under a street light next to a pay phone. Stopped to ask where i might find a hotel or a cabin. he said "es mui problema" ... then he pointed up to the second story of a building "es ok ?" . oh hell yea!.
His name was Saul, he was going to let me sleep in his hold restaurant. He had gutted the place out and moved it to a wooden building next door. I set up my hammock , came down and found him in his new restaurant. he fed me some ceviche , beer, chicken , rice n'beans. the next morning his wife invited me into their home and made breakfast for me. great people here.



















V I D E O





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Days 7 y Ocho

Poas to Manzanillo

during breakfast Saul told me to ride straight through Limon. Do not stop. Everyone that I've met here has told me the same thing "crime, murder , theft". So, I was interested to get a look at the place.

Saul told me to invite my friends to his place to stay.
I am including his "Cabina" on my GPS data CD. the waypoint is named "campo restaurante"

I headed up the mountain to visit Volcan Poas. It was cold and raining, lots of fog.

From there it was twisty mountain roads made of dirt , mud, hard-pack and pseudo-pavement. lots of time to think. good stuff.

At this point ive told my GPS to "stop navigating" as it has become a complete idiot. barfing up stupidity and nonsensical routing scrambles. I switch it to compass mode .. much better.


These truck drivers are hammer-charging it.















I felt the weather change dramatically as I crossed over the mountain range to the Caribbean side of the country. humidity and heat increased significantly. I remember enjoying the climate change.



























if you look close enough you may begin to see faces in the rock... this is a really nice place to hang loose in the shade and eat a protein bar for lunch. I only stopped for lunch one time on this trip (the awesome pizza). the rest of the time lunch was a protein bar on the side of the road.























same waterfall from further UP the road..



















From Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui Southeast the "road" turns into Hwy 32. From 32 its a long ride into Limon:

thinking while on the bike: copied from my travel journal/ the "real" ride report.

The Cranial Entertainment Frequency Spectrum

"zoned out. the brain dial lands on the "moviess of the past" frequency band. "we are the 3 best friends that..anyone can have. we are the 3 best freinds that anyone can have". makes laugh inside my helmet as it repeats over and over for the foreseeable future . I enjoy the insanity that comes with solitude.







................Limon...
which really IS a GIANT Flatulent Anus . you know.. basically like Jamaica.. or any other Caribbean island..OR Beijing OR Atlanta ORRR New Jersey. All great places to give the Earth a long overdue enema-of-fury, hand out pink plastic Slinkys to the children and when its all over, sit back and smoke some genetically modified marijuana.


From Limon there is a long two-lane road along the coast. I saw huge freight-liners coming into the Port of Limon. This road also runs right next to a little air strip. There were guys cutting the grass with their machetes. they swing them down towards their feet. every now and then they can be seen pulling out their sharpening stones and giving their blades a few good licks. it amazed me to see how skilled these guys were with the machete





I rode through some kind of physical checkpoint (there was a building with a guard and road blocks ) they wanted to see my passport. not sure why but i guess it is there because im now so close to the Panamanian border? fine with me. it was kind of a joke. all i had to do was show the guard that i HAD a passport.





as i rolled through town i came up on 4 women on bikes with stupidly huge backpacks. i got a little ahead of "their leader" and hit the kill switch, coasted next to her :
me " where is a good place to stay ? "
her " you looking for cheap ?"
me " yea"
......... i had to start the motor again to catch up.....
...........kill the motor to hear her speak...........

me "what !"
her "try rocking J's"
me "cool thanks"


When I arrived at this Rockin J's place there was a guy messing around with his old Land Rover (see below picture) He and his passenger were both smoking joints. it was at this moment i decided i was staying here for the night.. and maybe tomorrow night too. later i would learn that the guy smoking the doja was also the owner of the place. sweeet !



















They rent tents and hammocks, they also have a couple of rooms. i remember looking at the piece of paper taped to the table and finding the hammock section: " our hammock $5/night, your hammock $4/night" .. and that includes communal showers and toilets. .. hmm i have my own hammock... that comes out to $1460 per year...



Bought a 40oz Imperial and put all my stuff in a locker.






There was a big pile of bicycles near the toilet so i grabbed one.
headed into town. there was (no shit) a guy sitting in a tree selling bud ($8) n' coke ($20) . I absolutely did not buy any clothing from him.
























Went back to sling my hammock.










there was a japanese surfer dude with dreadlocks in one of the hammocks near mine who kept chiefing on home made bong. seemed like an interesting person so i started talking to the guy. he had been staying here for the past month just surfing. he was living out of a back pack and whatever he could fit in his surf board bag. . I didnt have the heart to ask him if he had heard about the Tsunami/ Earthquake that had essentially flushed his country down the toilet. . he was looking to leave to find some new surf. I showed him on my map where i had spotted some amazing waves.

He took this picture









Later that night this is the band that sucked:














There was a Blue Heeler that kept following me around.. maybe she knew that i have a Blue Heeler at home ?? it knows what im thinking ?
























Twatted in the hammock























The next morning i decided to move down the coast a little bit. find a quiet place to spend the night.


















This is where i stayed. quiet and comfortable .





















....... walk out the door.................













...and the land ends...........
















..




....

Awesome report......!!

.......!

just reading this relaxed me, What, I hear Costa Rica calling........

I have noticed that where there is a large concentration of ex-pats and tourists in one of these kinds of places there is definitely a " I'm more hippie than you " social disease going around.

I received a "you are human waste" look from some yoga-instructor-looking-bitch while on the side of the road changing the batteries in my GPS unit. I guess she saw me kill the earth when i threw my old lithiums into the jungle. maybe one day her children will find them next to a dead palm tree.


Taken from my travel journal " the real ride report "

sunday 3/20/11

Rain this morning. ate some of that sweet bread & cheese for breakfast that i bought from a roaming beach vendor. he roamed near my hammock yesterday. good stuff.

going to go check out some of these little roads that go towards the mountains. they show up on the physical map as faint brown squigglies but not on the GPS map. 7:07







not sure what time it is. Rode up a nice dirt road that took me West out of Manzinillo towards Paraiso. Then headed South to Sixaola and the Panamanian Border. At the border there is a large rail road bridge that many people walk across. parked the motorad, walk to the window. guy puts my passport in a machine. I go to get my bike. woman and soldier with a rifle walk up. She slings a flurry of Spanish at me. She might as well have been speaking Avatar.

she wants to see my papers. i hand over the title and registration.

Rental bikes can not cross the border.

i reply to her "es no bueno. "
she tells me in spanish that i can take a taxi if i want to .
fuck taxis . i point at myself then back to costa rica. understood.





__________ V I D E O ___________


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From the Panamanian border I rode through: Paraiso, margarita, olivia, elena, bibri. then back North through Limon.






I headed SW on twisty roads into the mountains. I remember needing to take a piss and turning off onto some random dirt road near Guayacan. I kept going and it turned into an awesome pipeline trail.

Laja, Guayabo Arriba and then into the Santa Cruz Valley.































































chillaxing in the middle of the road













overlooking Turrialba Valley












______ V I D E O __________


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The ATV track to the top of Turrialba is amazing. it is up in the clouds, wet, muddy and dangerous. One of the most beautiful and rugged places in costa rica. At the top of the track there is a farm track and gate. open the gate and keep going. Eventually it spits out near Guapiles.




copied from my travel journal "the real ride report"
Light Particles in the cloud hanging over a volcano: Its very bright light up here near this volcano. The cloud im in is filled with fuzzy-wuzzy light particles. I can see them all shattered and bounding through space when i close my eyes. Something about the way my eye lids filter everything BUT the particles.. must be radiation .. I laugh in my helmet at my insane thoughts. start to speak. quietly at first. "i can see the particles." then louder "i can see the particles." until I'm shouting so loud that my ears attempt to limit the decibels being produced by my voice "I caaan SEEEEE the Paaaarrrticles !!!"























Back in San Jose i book a room at Hotel Rosa Paseo Colon. get some food at a restaurant called Machu Picchu which had the hottest salsa i have ever consumed. it literally made me see spots and get light-headed. on the walk home i stop to buy a couple 40oz Imperials. take a hot bath then flip on the TV and see something on the news about bombs being dropped on Tripoli.





The world is small and life is short.
thanks for following along .