Costa Rica: Trippin' with GR

I think I should have the bike rebuilt by then... still waiting on parts. Thanks for reading.

Thanks Clown, I am glad you enjoyed.

I did not see them, but can't say I looked either. CR is a small country and the "cities even smaller. So, in an imminent return to the area I may get the chance to meet Mandy.

Thank you for reading, and your kind remarks. Truly appreciated.

It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to host JDowns in his journey. He is a spectacular person to be around. There are not enough good things to say about him.

Latin Women: The #1 reason I moved here.

I have always had a thing for bikes, but never owned one until late in life; my 20’s. Regardless I would take advantage of anyone who was not careful enough to ask questions like, “do you know how to ride? Have experience or a license?” Then again, if you showed any kind of weakness what so ever I was usually on your bike and long gone by the time you thought to ask! From memory I have ridden an early 90’s KX125with a powerband (YIKES!), a late 90’s YZ 80 (crazier than the 125 IMHO) and had stolen a few times a YZF 600 while the owner was out on the lake (he left the keys in it, zoom zoom). There have been many others but in 2006 I finally had one to call my own, kind of.
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My first bike was a 2001 Honda Shadow 600. Fun bike, comfortable but it never crossed my mind to just up and drive and not stop. I only used it to commute to and from work until it was too cold, or snowed. Longest ride ever was a two hour, each way, trip to a buffalo ranch in western MN. I did like the bike, nice to learn on, but it was lacking a fifth gear and I was moving to Costa Rica. The bike was my older brother’s, I had paid half what we agreed on, used it for the summer and when I had to wear all my ski gear to stay warm on it, I drove it back to his house and he repossessed it. He cleaned it up, resold it and bought a Harley he rarely rides. I wouldn’t either! It is likely broken.
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The Shadow

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2006 to 2008… I am semi established in Costa Rica and picked up my second bike, a Daelim 125 pandillera. It was a Korean made bike that came with a Honda Owner’s Manual written in Korean. It was the right price with all the wrong characteristics. It had a stolen title and owed a few years of registration stickers. Again, I only thought to commute with the bike, never got the title cleared and paid any fines when stopped right on the spot. Then one day it just stopped running and I knew little (nothing) about mechanics. So it sat.
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At this time I was single, working with a Real Estate developer and I was doing alright. I also had met my first inmate who turned me on to the www.ADVrider.com community and also the Long Way movies which spawned an obsession.
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Meet the instigator, inmate/lurker YBCAGED

<o> </o>
So I got to thinking ; how can I turn a whole bunch of money…

into a steamy pile of ?

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The plan was to make a buck off of riding every day. My mistake? Ask China why they make such sh**ty quality sh*t. I planned to do the break in myself so I knew how they could be ridden and knew it was done correctly. Then I would find some fun routes (ask YBCaged about this topic) and start a web site. Easy, right? Not one of them made it to 2,500 kilometers before blowing up. On two the radiators burned holes from which all the oil poured out. The third? It pissed oil out of every possible place there was a gasket nearly from day one. I fought the dealership. They couldn’t find parts. They returned them to me in the same broken condition telling me they were fixed. I thought about suing and then remembered where I was. Months went by and they finally got them back to me, one at a time, slowly.
<o> </o>
I would get one back and have to return it again for the same leaks. One time there were stains all over the engine case and the head mechanic tried to tell me it was like that. I started yelling. I fillanlly got one back I could keep. It got stolen. Got the second one back and finally the third. The warranty was extended on them so I sold one. The third one then got stolen. Shortly after I got a call from the OIJ (FBI in CR) telling me the first one had been recovered!
<o> </o>
After months of paperwork and a fax of roughly 45 pages I was told I had all the documents needed to pick up first stolen bike. I took a two hour bus ride over the mountain to one from one building to the next to retrieve my motorcycle. When I got to the impound lot, to official said something like, “I’m sorry, this isn’t the document. You will have to get a different one from our office in San Jose.” +2 hours on the bus.
I got on the phone with Jose (I forget his real name) at the Fiscalia building I was just at.
The conversation went something like:

“Jose, it’s Greg.”
“Si?”
“Do you remember looking at all those pages I faxed to you?”
“Si.”<o></o>
“Do you remember telling me ‘todo esta aqui’?”<o></o>
“Si.”<o></o>
“Do you remember when I asked if you were sure everything was there and how I was not going to make two trips, etc…?”
“Si, si.”
“Ok Jose, talk to Jose II, the officer and tell him this is your fault and to give me my moto so I can go home.”
<o> </o>
The Joses chatted a while, and I finally got the bike. It didn’t start so we had to bump start it. A little dusty and a few scratches but it ran. Still leaked oil ! I almost sold it to Jose II right there on the spot for $200. I said give me the money, find a lawyer, call me when the paperwork is done and I will come back here to sign if it can’t get done today. He almost bit, but wisely declined.
<o> </o>
The story goes, some bandito had my moto, the cops were looking for him, found him, he ran and crashed. The bandito later tried to sue the cops and my corporation because he broke his nose and wrist. When I filled up with gas and oil on the way out of town I had a fun conversation with the gas pumper guy. He tells me a friend of his has the same bike, but just crashed it and broke his wrist and nose. He would fill up at this same station too. I listened and when things were all done and the gas gun put away I made sure he knew his friend was a POS thief and this was my bike all along. I smiled, he didn’t and I drove away.
<o> </o>
My garage now looks like this.

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I sold the black one with the stolen title for a hundred bucks and beer. Finally unloaded the Chino POS and was free of that nightmare. The little Honda; only had a clogged jet and still runs well today.
<o> </o>
So after taking a bath on that little adventure I amazingly had some coin left over. So for just a fraction of what I paid for three Chinese piles of poo, I got this:
<o> </o>
Dec, 2008. The first ride with the new (to me) DR650.

We have since gotten quite intimate

<o> </o>
Now, enough blah blah blah, it is time for a ride…


Sorry about the long wind on this one, here is what is next...

Too bad we didn't take pics of the trip that now keeps me away from your "adventures". It's fun to think back on it now, but picking up a 550lb bike over and over again in 100+ degree weather was not fun at the time! Seems to me that you took the same road another time with an almost man size bike and you thought differently of it afterwards! Hopefully I'll downsize into the 800gs soon and I'll be back on the dirt tracks with you. Nice thread Bud.

Day I: Alajauela to Sardinas
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I had just met my future wife and she was taking me around the country introducing me to her family, 10 siblings. This trip was to meet brother-in-law Lango and his family and a few others.
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They live in the Northern Caribbean region, Banana and Pineapple country.

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Our original destination is Esperanza, but by the end of the day, we are in Sardinas (near the “X”).

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Departure from Alajuela is around 0830.

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We are taking the main highway 32. Also called the Zurqui or the route through Braulio Carillo National Park. It generally takes about two to two and a half hours to reach Esperanza, but of course, I got lost and turned around in San Jose.
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If you find yourself looking for Route 32, lost in San Jose, and come to a “T” faced with this:

You take a left and soon you will be here; the longest (only) tunnel in Costa Rica.

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We make it to Lango’s house and the getting to know everyone proceeds. During this process my girlfriend is telling them how much I like ADV. A plan is born. Phone calls are made and we are off to the middle of nowhere.
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I have no off-road experience at all. Maybe the few, well maintained, gravel kms it took to get to Lango’s house. What the hell? I will go on the bike and another brother-in-law, Jose, wants to ride his too.
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The host (non family) packs his tuck with people and we are off to his farm. I end up riding two up with another of my brothers (forgetting the name), and off we go. The roads slowly turn to this:


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The route was dry and hard packed with the exception of a few rather large mud bogs. The bike was dropped a handful of times and around 1630 we arrive to our destino final.
Rancho Lujoso in Sardinas, Limon.



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With some daylight left we explore a bit. Climb to the top of the nearest hill for a better view.


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And watch the sunset over the jungle canopy.


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Time for dinner, go get the horses!

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If you want something other than white rice and beans you must go find it.

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No lights this far out, so candle light fish fry is the standard. Shortly after

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Day II. Exploring. Sardias to Esperanza.

Wake up call 0530

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Didn’t get much sleep. Note to self: bring the mosquito net next time . By the time my body became numb to mosquito bites, the jungle came alive. Being only a few kms from Tortuguerro National Park, sleep was impossible once the sun began lighting up the morning sky. Toucans, parrots and God only knows how many other species of bird singing to welcome a new day. Monkeys, beetles and any number of critters all beginning their daily routine with being as loud as possible. It was a peaceful loud, but not one which encourages sleep.
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Within an hour the daily human routine begins. 0615 gathering milk…(Meet Brother Jose)

and water to make coffee.

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0730 bellies full, it is time for more exploration.


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One group geared up and trekked into the jungle. Later found out they got quite lost. I chose to go with the women and children fishing.



<o></o>
We made it back from fishing around 1300, cleaned the morning’s catch and fried up some lunch. Then we waited, and waited and waited for the jungle crew to arrive. 1500 came and went and still nothing:ddog. Shortly before 1600 they arrive with great tales of wading through marsh and muck up to their chests, not having a clue where they were and starving since they didn’t think to pack any snacks.
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Now since arriving yesterday, there has been on and off rain. Nothing near a downpour but regulary raining, and almost always a drizzle. This changed the consistency of the roads and my bald Dunlap wasn’t going to cut the mustard this evening.
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Local, improvised bikes mods: Rope Knobby:huh

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Remember I have no dirt experience to speak of? Remember I had just met this girl? Is she trying to kill me? Are my future in-laws trying to kill me? Are they hiding some deep down hatred for white people I am not recognizing? Ropes? Really? F-it, let’s go.
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Ana said “smile!” She captured another emotion; fear.

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1700 and we are off.

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Now earlier I promised bent forks, rims and a cracked crank case. The little Yami riding with me had recently been involved in a near head-on, deflection, off the bridge into the riverbed type accident. The passenger was nearly killed and my brother-in-law Jose somehow “walked” away with a few days in the hospital, a concussion and some deep bruises. The bike was being held together by green rope, zip ties, twine and bailing wire.
-Forks: one wouldn’t compress.
-Front rim: Not round and very not straight. So dented and bent it couldn’t hold the bead, thus the need for twine. We stopped a few times to stuff the half flat tube back in the tire and wrap more twine around the rim and tire to hold everything in place.
-The engine: not sure how this thing was running. There was a large gaping hole in the clutch cover and a very large, horizontal crack along the bottom of the entire engine. A white, foamy/jelly like substance spewed everywhere and it leaked gas to boot!
<o></o>
Not too long after departure my “chains” came loose and my pit crew got to work.

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Now I feel better.

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Me slipping and sliding all over the place while the bike that shouldn’t be running has no problem.

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Needed a bit of help getting up this hill and likely dropped the bike too.


Almost made it to the top.

Finally the little guy has problems too. Some dip sh*t dropped his bike and a got in his way.

What the hell, one more time before dark and before we can't get any more pictures. Time: 1730.

<o></o>
There was about half hour more of this muck to ride in, in the dark. Then another hour of gravel and puddles.
1905 – Back at Lango’s

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The dirty DR the following day for the ride back over the mountain to civilization. At least the front fender is clean.

<o></o>
This concludes the first of many trips to Lango’s neighborhood.

Thanks to the 3,5xx readers and all to come!

More later.

Who says there aren't pics?

800GS: Puro blah blah. I know what road to go on whenever/if-ever you do get it!!

Going to a lil' beach south of Puntarenas. Departure: 0600. Hope to post the RR when I get back or manana (and you know what that means in latino time).

Gale force winds. Have calmed a bit, so departure expected around 0700.

Not much sleep with this thing blowing loose and bangin' around all night.



Now playing Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy" on a constant loop and its working.

Looks like a fun place to live, ride, & explore. I hope to get down there sometime and check it out. Thanks for sharing your stories & photos with us.

It's 22f degrees & snow flurries here today....arrg!

Thank you GlennR for reading and commenting. The satisfation of RR'ing is knowing people are reading, and hopefully enjoying. So one more time Thank you and the 4mil de mas for stopping by.

I hope you get the change to come and snoop around as well. I suggest when it hits that 32F mark is a good time. Usually very warm and dry here at that time of year.

Oh... thanks as well for the Moto Repair site; bookmarked and loosing sleep.

The whole story to come, but here is the skinny. Threats of rain all day. Lots of ferocious wind but an overall a success. The return route got changed and the transit cops suggest I get a moto license (Stopped at the red "X").

Updated Route Map:


Bushed and hitting the sack. Would like to post the entire RR tomorrow but looks like I'm going to the MOPT (CR's DMV) tomorrow before work.

Agree with Glenn, looks like a great place to live and work - you are very lucky my friend. And yes we like your ride reports so looking forward to next one.

Just curious about the roof piece that kept you awake - is that a tennis facility you live near, it looks that way or some kind of sports stadium?

They are small (5 on 5/7 on 7), artificial fútbol fields. They are new and I thought I wouldn't like them as a neighbor until the girls came to play.

The Spanish Word for the day is a three for one; one noun and two adjectives.
Viento (n.): WIND :eek1
Mucho (adj.): A lot
Demasiado (adj.): Way too f*cking much.
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We were supposed to leave at 0600, but the wind was still howling. It had been all night, and it was blowing still with destructive force. So I suggested we wait and let it calm a bit.


<o></o>
So I mentioned the day of I put on Bobby McFerrin&#8217;s best song and said, &#8220;We leave in one hour, 0700.&#8221; Bobby McFerrin did not help in getting us out at 0700:stoned, nor had the wind really died down.
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0800, departure.

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Forty five minutes later we have just come over the mountain, through Atenas, and are beginning the decent down the Pacific slope. We have been shielded from the wind mostly, with only a few short moments out of protection of the mountains. The temps were quite chilly; the dash read 24°C. Also where we stop for breakfast, we meet two couples from Idaho, who I got to talking with, and they made time to ask me if the weather in normal.
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The Idahoans were very nice folks and it was the first time I had seen a Ford Explorer with an automatic transmission as a rental vehicle. As they left they dropped us a couple of these.

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Breakfast with a view.



<o></o>
Ana and I sat down to gallo pinto with carne en salsa. We each had a pineapple juice and I added two fried eggs and two black coffees to my meal. Total was $17.
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As we were eating a small group of Harleys pulled up. 3 Road Kings and two others I know nothing about. They wore matching MC leathers so they were organized. I stepped out to take some pics after the meal and next thing you know more bikes pulled up.



<o></o>
There goes the town. The bikers are here. We got out of there as fast as we could. Actually we stuck around to bullsh*t a tad. Spoke with one gentleman about dreams of Sur America and RTW travel. Nice folks, but no dirt or scratches on their bikes.
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We come out of the mountains and find ourselves in San Mateo. We continue ahead, bending in a northward direction towards Esparza. My hand written GSP device is telling me 3.79 Kms ahead I want to take a right onto a gravel road. We found it, and my guide tells me 5kms màs to the river.
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We reach a fork where we are to keep right. I notice all the previous traffic has gone left. The road gets sh*ttier and then we come to a much steeper section. I promised my wife nothing like the last time (YBCAGED knows that route too and will never venture off the highway with me anymore). So the decision was made to turn around. We were only 500/600 meters from the goal, but I was also running a rather spent rear tire:eek1 and&#8230; Another day&#8230;
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This is as far as we went.
Time: 1001. 51.9 Kms so far

<o></o>
We head back to the pavement.



<o></o>
I needed a dehydration and rehydration break so we stopped. Ana is also still bundled up from the mountains and the dash reads 33°C. <o></o>
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Pit stop.<o></o>

Ana also picked fresh Marañones.<o></o>

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Back on the road.<o></o>


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Down and through the river again.<o></o>

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And back on the slab.<o></o>

Passed a bunch of these in the area...must be some good roads around.
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We came past this little swimming hole that we must return to. There were tents set up too so we may have to camp too.<o></o>

Hell yes! There are alturas to jump from too.<o></o>
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But on this day we must move on. <o></o>

(For nature lovers: In this pic you see &#8220;some&#8221; bird in it&#8217;s natural habitat: flying.)<o></o>
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Time: 1104. <o></o>
We arrive to our destino final, Playa Doña Ana.<o></o>
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There are much better beaches in Costa Rica, but this one has all the amenities for only a $3 cover charge. <o></o>


On top of that, it is close to home. As well the family was waiting for us for a day of R&R.<o></o>






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Meet only a small portion of my extended family.
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Kids: My little Joe climbed up there all by himself. He then started calling &#8220;Mommy, mommy&#8221; and we realized he was unable to get himself down. We took a few minutes of time while he was stationary to start packing up. It was getting late.<o></o>

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All day the wind was relentless. Limbs were breaking off trees and crashing to the ground. One unfortunate soul got bonked and was invited on an ambulance ride to the hospital. Clouds were always looming but now some rather large drops were falling and I had planned an unknown, ADV&#8217;ous route home. <o></o>
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Up next: The final leg and how I almost lost my moto to the Transitos .<o></o>

Sorry about the delay, #1 goal after this trip was a motorcycle endorsement. I have made off like a bandit too many times and my bullsh*tting abilities are being stretched thin.
So as you will see in the maps below our route of return was redirected.


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We depart at 1600 with big fat drops of rain sporadically falling and clouds hovering overhead, thicker to the East.

As we leave the park we head on the main costal route SSE towards Puerto Caldera. In Caldera we were supposed to exit the main drag and head NE to Esparza on a road less traveled, one we do not know. Mother Nature had another plan. All we could see to our left were heavy dark clouds. The hills off in the distance were also being faded out with that huge of grey which can only be rain.

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Ana and I start discussing what to do. We are thinking the main highway will be jammed packed with all the weekend beach goers. We knew this because I was passing them in the Latin American &#8220;motorcycle&#8221; lane, or what the cops were soon to tell me is the shoulder . As we round a sweeping lefthander I saw them. No, problem, they didn&#8217;t see me, and I will tuck in behind this semi and squeak by without them knowing &#8230; Boy I was wrong. The Transit cop stopped the truck and his buddy made sure I didn&#8217;t escape out the other side. They had me in a gringo sandwich&#8230; F*ck! The "X" on the map is where they got me.

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My first plan was to play tough guy . I hand him my residency card and my MN driver&#8217;s License. He asked me for my visa/passport. I tell him that residency card is a visa, a permanent one. He then explains that my MN license is only good for the first 90 days of a tourist visa in a passport. This guy is good, so I then hand him my Costa Rica B1 License. He tells me this is for cars only. I tell him I saw on the news once that with this I could ride a motorcycle. The copper tells me, although true, I am limited only to bikes of 125cc or smaller on secondary roads. Tough guy plan failed, this cop knows his shit. I was then instructed to dismount and follow him .

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Second phase and plan B; befriend the enemy . As we walk back to his bike I make mention of the beautiful Glock 9 he was carrying. Asked if it was one of the hundreds that were stolen and recovered ealier in the past year. I also started inquiring about epic routes in the area and all the places I have been on my Moto, with that very same license. He was on to my game and quickly brought the conversation back to the topic of &#8220;Gringo passing on shoulder without a valid motorcycle endorsement.&#8221;

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I then continued to push the &#8220;tough guy&#8221; routine, pointing out every infraction I could see passing by. "Theres one, and another, etc..." He was not amused and got upset. His tone changed. At this point I turned to begging because he was telling me I now was the winner of almost $500 in fines without mentioning the fees of getting my plates/bike back from impound.

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Now, I tried to use logic and more begging. I know his ballpark salary, and asked what he would do with a fine like that. How long does it take you to save $500? I ask also if there were a smaller fine I could pay. I am happy to pay for what I have done wrong, but not an amount the average Tico would need to save months/years to accumulate. I also pointed out the fact all my registration is up to date and I do have a license, just not valid for some small technicality . Also, they had stopped and released two other bikers, free of charge, for the same passing infraction while dealing with me. At this point I could smell a bribe coming, but nothing materialized. He handed my documents back to me and said, &#8220;Dos cosas: no adelantar a la derecha y saque su licencia para moto.&#8221; Noted. And we were off, on the moto!

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I&#8217;d like to tell you all there are pictures coming, but we hit the new-ish, #27 toll-way home. The heavy clouds were still to our left and everything ahead looked nice a clear. Also, we had almost gotten sent home on the bus and didn&#8217;t think much of getting wet. So, no left turn North into ADV, just a bomb run home on the Highway.

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This is where the Spanish lesson from above will help. There was &#8220;demasiado viento&#8221;. On Sundays the entire highway becomes a one direction vein of traffic into San Jose. Once you hit the one way section, all rules of the road are gone. No lanes, no respect for other's space, nothing. So as Ana and I were trying to keep up, we were getting blown all over the road. Finally as a bus pulled alongside of us at 110km/hr a gust of wind nearly put us into his side :eek1. At that point I took it down a gear and hovered at 80km/hr with both of us tucked down as aerodynamically as possible.

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At 1750 we pull into the La Garita area of Alajuela to buy some flowers.

Then ride into the sunset to arrive home at 1808.

<o></o>

Now today (08MAR13), as a result of this little altercation, I spent six hours in lines to be granted my A3 motorcycle endorsement. Good up to 2000cc. Now you need not worry if you stop by and I steal your bike!

Sorry about the lack of pics, but I don't think the copper would have posed with me.
<o></o>
Cheers everybody and hasta la proxima!

Haha, great trip mate.

It reminds me a lot of Thailand!

A tribute...



To the worst/best investment I've ever made...



You get what you pay for.

Geez I was dumb. Shorts and sandals!



Enough of this sh*t. I will speak nothing more of this.
Chinese Motorcycles, I salute you....

... as I ride by on my Japanese Motorcycle.

Goodnight all and thanks again for reading.

More ADV on my Japanese moto to come...

Thailand... If not in this life, the next for sure.

Cheers for stopping by.

I have some gopro footage of a transito encounter close to that area (the right turn leaving Puntarenas), I'll try to put it up soon....