Costa Rica, the jewel of Central America. Living the pure life (Pura Vida), rain forests, jungle rivers, Caribbean Sea from the east and Pacific Ocean from the west, highest peak called Mount Chirripó with 3820 of elevation, great food and amazing coffee.
| Table of contents |
|---|
| Introduction |
| Travel |
| San Jose |
| MTB Riding |
| Experience |
| GoPro |
Intro
I have not been to Costa Rica before. I always mistakenly thought it’s a more-or-less flat country with beautiful long-stretched beaches with tropical forests. But after the closer look, I had realized there is also something else. There are rough and steep mountains in the middle of the country that could be an awesome destination for a mountain bike holidays. Most of the Costa Rica lands are either privately owned or designated as a national park. Thus the options to freely wander around, ride enduro or do hike & bike, are very much limited. In fact, there are just few places to ride MTB, unless you know the locals.
Paulo Valle, always smiling guy, runs a company called costaricamtb.com. Paulo is a former MTB racer, and started building local trails 25 years ago. The itinerary for the trip was to spend first day in a capital city of Costa Rica – San Jose, do easy sightseeing and get some local vibe. Then we ride for 5 days. I also wanted to do lots of uphills on MTB. We agreed that we would speak after each day how do I feel and adjust the next day accordingly. Last day is a departure to Cancun, where I did a travel holiday in Yucatan/Mexico and then returning from Cancun back home.
Travel
Flight from Europe to Costa Rica was not without the complications. The best connection to San Jose I could find was from Milan through Madrid and Panama by Air Europa (AE). Since I was taking my mountain bike as well, AE charges a bikebag for the entire trip and not per flight sectors as some other airlines do.
In Milan, while walking to the over-sized luggage to drop the bikebag, the airport announced my name to stop by at the infodesk to pick up my passport as someone found it on the floor.
I wear a noise cancelling headphones in the airplane, so I don’t really know what is happening around me when flying. First plane took off from Milan airport with two hours delay. Since the connecting flight in Madrid was in two hours and 20 minutes, there was only 20 min left after landing.
When landed in Madrid, they were already announcing the Final Call for the plane to Panama. I felt there would be some problem with the luggage, but I became way much more calmer when the plane was not moving for a while. I guessed they were loading the luggage of the connecting passengers. However after a while, all passengers needed to leave the plane for the technical problems. Next plane was ready in another hour, so there was again two hour delay for long-haul flight. At least my luggage will make it to Panama. I had again two hours for the connecting flight to San Jose. However with these delays, the time to change planes in Panama shrinked to the minutes.
Connecting flight in Panama was departing from a gate nearby, less than minute away going out of the plane. Well thought. So no stops, just running to the last plane with Final Call announcement behind my back. The plane had a slight delay as well, however the plane landed in San Jose almost as planned.
What did not arrive to San Jose was my baggage. I was not alone, I spotted few other people having same problem and they were also flying from Madrid like myself. The airport personnel ensured us that the baggage is in the Panama airport and will arrive next day with early flight. Sure, we were last tourists on the airport, it seems they were just about to close. I filed the claim for the lost luggage and left the airport.
Paulo did pick me up with his girlfriend Eve at the airport. We were joking about the luggage and bike. Since I also like driving, I could be a truck driver and drive him around to ride the bike. It was a fun day.
Sightseeing in San Jose
I tried to stay calm despite having only one spare day in San Jose for sightseeing, and not really needing my luggage. I knew I could buy the essentials at the supermarket and survive a day without my mountain bike. However, I didn’t realize that I was leaving behind a prolonged winter season in Europe and flying into the midst of summer in Costa Rica. To make things worse, it happened to be one of the biggest holidays in the country, with all shops closed except for supermarkets. Since I was wearing long trousers, I bought a pair of shorts at the supermarket, even though they were actually the bottom part of a pajama set. But hey, they looked pretty cool while I was walking around town.
The city was unusually empty, and it was because of the public holidays during Holy Week. Shops were closed and people were nowhere to be seen. It was a really weird feeling. However, my perception of the city completely changed five days later when we returned from our MTB trip. The streets were now full of people, traffic jams, and people in a hurry, with long queues for public transport.
I always prefer to get my hair cut by a local barber if possible. This particular barber shop had good ratings and, unlike others, it was still open, so I decided to check it out. As I walked in, I saw several guys who only spoke Spanish, all of them with tattoos, and modern Spanish rap music playing from the speakers. There were hanging pictures of Freddie Mercury having a perfect haircut, and the floor was covered in hair, which made it look like it belonged to Freddie himself. There was a lady in the room who acted as both the cashier and the one who occasionally swept the floor. As usual, I had to use hand gestures to explain the type of haircut I wanted.
The capital city of San Jose wasn’t particularly impressive, and after two hours of walking around, I decided to call an Uber to take me back to my hotel. Wow, what an unforgettable ride it was ! My driver was like a character out of a Puerto Rican rap video, with a Batman tattoo on the back of his neck. He drove really fast, much too fast for the narrow two-lane street we were on. There were police officers in one lane, waving to us to slow down, but Batman ignored them. One officer even chased after us on his motorcycle and eventually pulled us over. I didn’t understand what they were saying as I don’t speak Spanish, but the officer asked me if I was a “tourista”, to which I replied, “si.” They shook hands behind the car, and then Batman told me that Uber was illegal and I should sit in the front seat. From that moment on, he drove like a calm taxi driver, completely unlike a superhero.
Throughout the entire day, I tried to call the airport, the lost luggage office, and the airlines, but it was a dead end. No one picked up, and there were no updates from the airlines. I decided to take Paulo’s advice and check at the airport directly. It turned out to be a good move, as they confirmed that my luggage would arrive on the same flight I had taken the day before. After a delicious Caribbean dinner, we finally picked up my luggage.
Costa Rica MTB Singletracks
Paulo, Eve, and Hil picked me up from the hotel. Hil was a professional bus driver, being co-driver on this trip for a van loaded with bikes and luggage. Paulo’s mood suddenly changed when he heard squeaky noises coming from my bike. Despite his attempts to smile through closed lips, it was obvious that something was wrong. Although we had planned to leave early, Paulo insisted on giving my bike an express service. He lubricated the bearings between the front fork and frame, and we were soon on our way.
Daylight hours in Costa Rica typically run from 6am to 6pm all year round. Most mountain bikers start their rides before 8am and finish around 2pm. On this particular day, we arrived at the city of Colon to ride in the public bike park. We were ready by 10am, and other riders were already hitting the trails. Everyone there knew Paulo, as he had built the trails himself.
My plan for the day was to climb, and Paulo was up for it too. Eve had an e-bike, so nothing was stopping me. However, I was struggling quite a bit. It could have been due to the humidity or the heat, although it was not too hot for locals. The connecting singletrack roads were steep, and they kept getting steeper. After a few climbs and two hours of pedaling, I was exhausted. I had only managed to climb about 600 vertical meters. The mountains in Costa Rica are no joke. Since it was only the first day, I decided not to push myself too hard. We did two more shuttle rides for downhill runs and called it a day by 2:30pm. In fact, the bike park was also closing at that time.
Next day, I still wanted to do some climbing. We hit the road and climbed about 900 vertical meters up to an altitude of 2400m. The climb was tough, but the views from the top were breathtaking. After reaching the summit, we deflated our tires to get more grip off-road, as we were about to start an enduro adventure. We rode through hidden trails in Santa Maria, and they were stunning! The trails were all natural and handmade, with beautiful views and technical pedaling sections. It was a real test of skill, as we had to time our pedaling perfectly to avoid hitting rocks. We ended the long day with a cup of local coffee, which was the perfect way to unwind after such an exhilarating ride.
Next day, I still wanted to climb. The reality is that climbs are rough, super steep, brutal. There are not many flat sections, either they are steep or even steeper. You’ve gotta be super-motivated to stick with regular bike and not switch to an e-bike, especially when you’re facing 800 vertical meters up to an altitude of 2400m. My legs were totally wrecked. Team had no regrets with me. I was even called “Borat”, simply because I dared to pedal up in those stylish cycling roadie bib shorts!
From the summit, we ventured deep into the jungle to explore hidden trails around Copey, weaving our way through colorful bushes along the ridge. We even had to do some hike&bike at one point. The worst part was that there wasn’t much wind between the bushes to cool us down.
My legs were completely destroyed, and every pedal stroke felt like a monumental effort. Paulo teasingly asked if I wanted to do more, but I realized that pushing myself any further would be counterproductive. For the next two days, I decided to take a break from climbing. Meanwhile, both Paulo and Eve switched to big enduro bikes. We headed to the Providencia region and spent our time shuttling and riding down. Paulo referred to our routine as a ‘lap,’ and we completed about three laps in total. The experience was incredible, the trails were a bit slick due to the previous night’s drizzle. Although I fell a few times, nothing too severe, I started to feel more comfortable on my bike. I realized that my riding position made a significant difference. While we still had time for another lap, I was too exhausted to continue, so I called it a day.
During the shuttle rides, we encountered a group of hikers walking on the road. We passed them three times during our three laps. At first, they seemed to have a lot of energy, but the last time we saw them, it was clear they were suffering. Their faces were burnt, they had bruises, destroyed feet, plasters on their fingers and heels, and they were walking like zombies. I think they were from the Netherlands and had been walking for a week, resting in Providencia before starting another week of walking. I couldn’t understand what they could possibly gain from such a hike, walking on the side of the road.
On our last day, we planned to do laps in Providencia as we were returning to San Jose. The car ride would take about three hours. The weather in Providencia was perfect. We rode some challenging trails at the end, with steep sections and ideal conditions. The dirt was not too dry, so the bike wouldn’t slide, nor too wet that it would be slippery. It was just right, making for an excellent ride.
Experience
Pura Vida! The people in Costa Rica were so nice, and the fresh and healthy food was great. I also discovered my new favorite dish called Gallo Pinto. The coffee is amazing too. It’s unbelievable that there aren’t many options for mountain biking in Costa Rica, but we rode trails that Paulo had created over the past 25 years, and it was a spectacular experience. The trails are completely natural, and it looks like they have been there for ages.
Paulo, Eve, and Hil were incredible hosts, guides, and friends during my stay. Pura Vida! Since we played card games during the evenings, I’m calling a Cabo now! Thank you so much.
GoPro
| Riding Area | Link |
|---|---|
| Colon | Day 1 | GoPro |
| Santa Maria | Day 2 | GoPro |
| Copey | Day 3 | GoPro |
| Providencia | Day 4 | GoPro |
| Providencia | Day 5 | GoPro |