Tomoya and I reached the Costa Rican border late one afternoon and we were able to cycle the 20km to the nearest town (La Cruz) just before it got dark. Arriving from Nicaragua, entering Costa Rica is nearly the same shock but in reverse, as when one enters Mexico from the USA. Costa Rica is by far the richest and best developed country in Central America. They have no army! GREAT STUFF!!! They invest the money in education and health services but obviously not in any roads!! The roads are shocking and as a matter of fact the Pan American highway is so unsafe and so narrow (just like in northern Mexico) that I very soon had enough of it and decided to head along a peacefull coastal road instead! Yes, the Pan American in the other Central American countries, though poorer is much better and wider!
right: A beach house at playa Lagarto. The beaches are wonderful, full of palm trees! Tomoya and I separated going different ways, he was off to visit his girlfriend at a nearby beach while I 'the solo nomad' continued on in my normal 'solo' style.
left: Costa Rican kids playing on the playa.
right: 30.01.06. I needed a break every 10 to 12 km because the going was extremely hard, averaging 13km an hour along the loose and dusty gravel road! Very slow and time consuming with my 40 kg of luggage in well over 30 degree midday heat!
I also had numerous rivers to cross and I had to put up with hundreds of tourists passing me by with their rented 4x4s, I could just lick the dust off my lips as they passed by without slowing down or moving away from me, stones flying up towards my face. Apparently they call this 'eco-tourism' here in Costa Rica. And in Europe they advertise it as 'eco-tourism' (bulldust!) It is actually getting totally out of hand (even for Costa Ricans), people wanting a 'eco holiday' but rent the biggest jeeps imaginable, drive around all day, then have a party at the luxurious swiss, German or US hotel. Is this eco-tourism?? I certainly do not think so! I would prefer it if one would just refer to it as tourism! (It is not just my opinion, it is a great concern to Costa Ricans as well). The country is plagued by over tourism, sending prices rocket high. OK for the tourists but what about the poor local people? Along with this comes child prostitution and sex tourism. Sad for me and not what I like to see! Tourism is a good thing, the country lives off it but it can get out of hand!
At the end of the day my feet usually look quite terrible! One can distinctly see where my sandlestraps cross my feet.
right: The coastal road in Costa Rica really is beautiful and adventurous on a bicycle!
left: passing by Playa Sàmara
right: 31.01.06 looking back at 'Peninsula de Nicoya' just as the sun is about to set. I had cycled down the peninsula, a rather long detour to avoid the traffic on the Pan American highway.(this is the place where the name 'Costa Rica' or 'rich coast' comes from). I took an old Friesland (Germany) ferry back to the mainland in Puntarenas. It was the first thunderstorm which I have experienced in months!
02.02.'06: After a day in Puntarenas, I went up to San Jose, to visit a friend, Francisco who had attended one of my service courses back in Switzerland a few years ago. I had promised him that if I ever made it to Costa Rica, we would need to catch up on a beer or two. Well, that is exactly what we did! By the way, the Costa Rican beer, Imperial, is very good!
right: Francisco and the other service technicians at Diopsa (A company selling medical instruments). I had trained two of them in the past and it was good to meet them again. While I was there, Francisco and I visited a number of clinics (and what a high standard! really nice and very clean clinics!). I helped him repair 3 'Visual Field Analysers' before enjoying some excellent food in a top restaurant in San Jose. It was a great opportunity to eat some good food, enjoy a hot shower and sleep in a large comfortable bed! After my 2 day stay in San Jose, I went back to Puntarenas (where I had left my bike) and continued cycling along the Pacific coast. The first section was terrible, full of tourist buses and tourist resorts such as Jaco. I left that place early the next morning, while the 'beach bums' were waxing their surfboards, ready for the early morning surf! For me it meant 'early morning cycling' while the air was still cool and fresh! After 8:30 am the heat picks up quickly and by 9:30am it is usually already about 30 degrees C.
left: In Costa Rica the jungle comes right down to the Pacific. In some places the bridges have been washed away, meaning that I had to push or carry my bike through the 'crocodile' infested rivers!
....and if one is lucky you will have the opportunity to see a rare 'Scarlet Macaw', a beautiful, tropical bird!
left: I captured this image in Uvita. The Scarlet Macaw was sitting in a Carambola tree, eating the Carambola fruit. Just after taking the picture, it dropped the fruit, just missing my head!
The Scarlet Macaw, staring down at me as if wanting to say: "This is my tree, do not come and steal my Carambola fruit."
07.02.'06: The southern part of the Pacific coastline in Costa Rica is really wild and beautiful. Not a person to be seen on the beach.
The wild and beautiful beaches of Costa Rica! It is great to cycle here!
right: The Pan-American highway winding through the jungle towards Panama.
left: Just before I crossed into Panama on the Pan-American highway, I met 2 cyclists coming from the opposite direction. Peter and Dineke (Netherlands) have been cycling for about 4 years. They are cycling around the world! We exchanged some tips before getting back on our bikes and riding on. To stop in the sun is not always a wise idea, within minutes you start sweating in the tropical heat. While one is riding it is ok because you get a breeze except of course when you get to the horrible long uphills!!! That's a different story!
Tomoya and I reached the Costa Rican border late one afternoon and we were able to cycle the 20km to the nearest town (La Cruz) just before it got dark. Arriving from Nicaragua, entering Costa Rica is nearly the same shock but in reverse, as when one enters Mexico from the USA. Costa Rica is by far the richest and best developed country in Central America. They have no army! GREAT STUFF!!! They invest the money in education and health services but obviously not in any roads!! The roads are shocking and as a matter of fact the Pan American highway is so unsafe and so narrow (just like in northern Mexico) that I very soon had enough of it and decided to head along a peacefull coastal road instead! Yes, the Pan American in the other Central American countries, though poorer is much better and wider!
right: A beach house at playa Lagarto. The beaches are wonderful, full of palm trees! Tomoya and I separated going different ways, he was off to visit his girlfriend at a nearby beach while I 'the solo nomad' continued on in my normal 'solo' style.
left: Costa Rican kids playing on the playa.
right: 30.01.06. I needed a break every 10 to 12 km because the going was extremely hard, averaging 13km an hour along the loose and dusty gravel road! Very slow and time consuming with my 40 kg of luggage in well over 30 degree midday heat!
I also had numerous rivers to cross and I had to put up with hundreds of tourists passing me by with their rented 4x4s, I could just lick the dust off my lips as they passed by without slowing down or moving away from me, stones flying up towards my face. Apparently they call this 'eco-tourism' here in Costa Rica. And in Europe they advertise it as 'eco-tourism' (bulldust!) It is actually getting totally out of hand (even for Costa Ricans), people wanting a 'eco holiday' but rent the biggest jeeps imaginable, drive around all day, then have a party at the luxurious swiss, German or US hotel. Is this eco-tourism?? I certainly do not think so! I would prefer it if one would just refer to it as tourism! (It is not just my opinion, it is a great concern to Costa Ricans as well). The country is plagued by over tourism, sending prices rocket high. OK for the tourists but what about the poor local people? Along with this comes child prostitution and sex tourism. Sad for me and not what I like to see! Tourism is a good thing, the country lives off it but it can get out of hand!
At the end of the day my feet usually look quite terrible! One can distinctly see where my sandlestraps cross my feet.
right: The coastal road in Costa Rica really is beautiful and adventurous on a bicycle!
left: passing by Playa Sàmara
right: 31.01.06 looking back at 'Peninsula de Nicoya' just as the sun is about to set. I had cycled down the peninsula, a rather long detour to avoid the traffic on the Pan American highway.(this is the place where the name 'Costa Rica' or 'rich coast' comes from). I took an old Friesland (Germany) ferry back to the mainland in Puntarenas. It was the first thunderstorm which I have experienced in months!
02.02.'06: After a day in Puntarenas, I went up to San Jose, to visit a friend, Francisco who had attended one of my service courses back in Switzerland a few years ago. I had promised him that if I ever made it to Costa Rica, we would need to catch up on a beer or two. Well, that is exactly what we did! By the way, the Costa Rican beer, Imperial, is very good! 
right: Francisco and the other service technicians at Diopsa (A company selling medical instruments). I had trained two of them in the past and it was good to meet them again. While I was there, Francisco and I visited a number of clinics (and what a high standard! really nice and very clean clinics!). I helped him repair 3 'Visual Field Analysers' before enjoying some excellent food in a top restaurant in San Jose. It was a great opportunity to eat some good food, enjoy a hot shower and sleep in a large comfortable bed! After my 2 day stay in San Jose, I went back to Puntarenas (where I had left my bike) and continued cycling along the Pacific coast. The first section was terrible, full of tourist buses and tourist resorts such as Jaco. I left that place early the next morning, while the 'beach bums' were waxing their surfboards, ready for the early morning surf! For me it meant 'early morning cycling' while the air was still cool and fresh! After 8:30 am the heat picks up quickly and by 9:30am it is usually already about 30 degrees C.
left: In Costa Rica the jungle comes right down to the Pacific. In some places the bridges have been washed away, meaning that I had to push or carry my bike through the 'crocodile' infested rivers! 
....and if one is lucky you will have the opportunity to see a rare 'Scarlet Macaw', a beautiful, tropical bird! 
left: I captured this image in Uvita. The Scarlet Macaw was sitting in a Carambola tree, eating the Carambola fruit. Just after taking the picture, it dropped the fruit, just missing my head!
The Scarlet Macaw, staring down at me as if wanting to say: "This is my tree, do not come and steal my Carambola fruit."
07.02.'06: The southern part of the Pacific coastline in Costa Rica is really wild and beautiful. Not a person to be seen on the beach.
The wild and beautiful beaches of Costa Rica! It is great to cycle here!
right: The Pan-American highway winding through the jungle towards Panama.
left: Just before I crossed into Panama on the Pan-American highway, I met 2 cyclists coming from the opposite direction. Peter and Dineke (Netherlands) have been cycling for about 4 years. They are cycling around the world! We exchanged some tips before getting back on our bikes and riding on. To stop in the sun is not always a wise idea, within minutes you start sweating in the tropical heat. While one is riding it is ok because you get a breeze except of course when you get to the horrible long uphills!!! That's a different story!