Backpacking in Parque Nacional Corcovado, Costa Rica

Since before coming to Costa Rica, we had heard multiple people rave about the scenery and wildlife in Parque Nacional Corcovado, located on the Osa Peninsula in Southwest Costa Rica. Everyone said it was not to be missed and so we brought our backpacks knowing that we'd be spending time hiking in the area. As we got closer to the Osa Peninsula, we realized timing was a bit of an issue as Leah wanted to be near a phone to call her family on Christmas day (and the National Park is very isolated). So, when we arrived in Palmar Norte, the biggest town before the peninsula we toyed with the decision of stashing our bikes there and busing it down to the peninsula.

But where to stash our bikes?...We had had good experiences with the police in Costa Rica and felt like we could probably trust them so we first went to the police station to hint around and see if they'd offer to let us keep our stuff there. They sort of picked up on the hints that we wanted to leave them there, but seemed a little reluctant. However, they did go around to the back of the station and ask a local handyman, named Alcides, who had a little warehouse back there, if he'd be willing to hold our stuff. He gladly agreed and I thought he looked honest, so we began to unload our stuff. This all happened in about 3 minutes and we we hardly had time to think about anything at all as we wanted to catch the next bus to Puerto Jimenez. Leah was a bit skeptical, especially since we had known the man a total of 2 minutes, but I had faith. As we unpacked under the blazing heat of his tin-roofed bodega, we made split second decisions of what to bring and not to bring and stressed at the same time about whether we were making a wise decision. Alcides told us of his friend in the Peace Corps that he had known and another bike tourist he had met before that had funny sized wheels that he couldn't find tires for and my confidence grew. When we finished and locked everything up, I was sweatier than I had gotten on the 50km ride on the Pacific coast that morning. We told him we would see him in a week and hurried off, coincidentally, to wait 3 hours for the really late bus.

The bus was standing room only so I stood almost the entire 2.5 hours (2 of them on bad dirt road). Leah was lucky enough to have an old gentleman call her over to make sure she got his seat when he got off about an hour into the trip. As we stared out the window at the PanAm highway which we'd have to bike later to get to Panama (we'd been able to avoid it in Costa Rica up until that point), Leah and I were quite frankly a little frightened at the prospect with it's lack of shoulder, windiness, and plethora of semis and crazy bus drivers (one of which was ours). We arrived into Puerto Jimenez at 10:30 at night and all the rooms in the town were booked, holiday goers were in town. We ended up in room (me on the floor) in an unfinished guesthouse on top of someone's house that we climbed up to on a makeshift ladder that I thought I was for sure going to break through with my heavy backpack on. In the morning, we went to make reservations for our trip and gather as much information as possible about the park as we were unable to obtain practically any consistent information prior about logistics.

The only consistent information we had was to make reservations at least a couple of weeks in advance, if not a month in the busy season. We had gone through a cycle numerous times to try and make reservations as follows: phone- website- email- no response- phone- email, etc. All of this energy resulted in bad information, faulty email addresses, a great amount of exasperation, and no reservations. We found out when we went into the office that the website is old and outdated, doesn't have the right email address published, and that reservations are not taken by phone, so basically, if you aren't going through a guide you can't make reservations unless you go into the office in Puerto Jimenez. They strongly recommended a guide for the route we (or shall I say, I) wanted to take, as well as for the rest of the park, of course. We were warned about poisonous snakes, peccaries (wild pigs) that would trample you in their herds of up to fifty and eat you on the spot, crocodiles and bull sharks at the river crossings (that we would have to cross), as well as headlands that could be dangerous at high tides. The very aloof and rarely seen jaguars and mountain lions were also a threat and finally there was the element of getting lost or suffering heatstroke. Well, they sufficiently scared Leah (all they really had to do was mention snakes), but I was more determined and excited than ever. We made our reservations (well, completed the first of the three step process) and left the office to walk across town to the bank to wait an hour in line to pay for our reservations. On the way, we approached to everyone that looked like they had hiked in the park to get the scoop from them. As our information databank grew, I was more and more convinced and Leah was starting to sway as well. Getting a guide was out of the question in my book, as it would cost over $200 for one day and someone we talked to said a guide told them $800 for the route we wanted to do! After the bank (step 2 complete), we went back to the office to complete the final step and validate our reservation. In so doing, we encountered Johannes and Stina, two German tourists, who were hoping to take the same route into the park that we wanted to. We made plans with them to maybe meet up later and do the hike in together.

The commitment from Johannes and Stina to do the hike with us finally put Leah over the edge into the "yes zone". It was a go and I was excited. We camped the night at Danta Corcovado Lodge, a beautiful eco-lodge on the way to the trail where we would begin at day break the following morning. We opted to take horses and a guide for the first 14 km of the trail as it crossed the river 10-15 times and was reportedly the hardest part, trail-finding-wise. Not to mention it reduced the length of our hike from 34km to 20km making it doable in one day, as there is no designated camping area on the way and walking at night is the most dangerous part of being in the forest. I would have been stoked to camp in the middle of the forest, but I don't like breaking rules and there is certainly the scary element of the unknown.

The horse back ride ended up being worth every penny of it. The great thing about being on a horse is that you don't have to look on the ground where you are placing your feet and you can just absorb everything around you and zone out in the sounds, smells, and sights. The river that our horses followed was in a valley and we saw many kinds of birds fly overhead including the Scarlet Macaw. Rosa and Macho, our horses, did well taking us and our backpacks with few complaints. We arrived at the Los Patos station at about 9 AM, but didn't set off on the trail until 10:30 as we had to register at the station, then walk 3 km uphill to the old station where the trailhead was located, and also eat some breakfast.

The forest canopy shaded us the entire 20km from Los Patos to Sirena making the weather quite pleasant. We walked at a fast but steady pace with few breaks as we knew the sun went down around 5:30 and we had a 6-8 hour hike ahead of us. Unfortunately, because we had to walk so briskly we weren't able to stop and look for sloths or other wildlife high up in the trees. However, we did see a ton of spider monkeys and squirrel monkeys taunting us from the treetops. A couple of which got directly above us and started shaking the branches and trees as if to shower us with leaves and and fruits (successfully). We had also heard that peccaries are usually smelled before they are seen as they have a horrible stench. About three hours into our hike, we all stopped in our tracks at the same time and looked at each other with the same recognition in our eyes...peccary stench. All of our sources on peccarries said the same thing, watch out, stay away and get ready to run and climb a tree or get on something at least 4 feet high. I got out my machete and the others grabbed big sticks, and we all unclipped our backpacks and looked for the nearest good climbing tree (not many of those in a forest where the canopy is over 75 feet overhead) if the peccaries made their presence known. Lucky for us, we saw no hide nor hair of them (just a ton of tracks) and continued on slowly, sniffing along the way. Finally, three easy river crossings and 6.5 hours later we arrived at the Sirena ranger station. Leah walked the entire way in a pair of thick rubber boots (the kind that all of the local laborers wear) which eased her fear of getting bit by a snake, and at the end she didn't even have one blister.

"Camping" at Sirena was plush. We had a huge covered patio to sleep on with foam mats provided, so all we really needed was to put up our tent to act as a mosquito net. Over the next three days, we explored the trails and beach surrounding Sirena and happened upon a number of cool sites. One afternoon we went to a mudhole where a tapir was reported to frequent often. We saw the tapir resting deep in the mud and then to our surprise the tapir stood up, crawled out of the mudhole and started walking toward the beach. We followed and when we got to the beach, there was another tapir traipsing along. Tapirs are much larger than I thought and are actually about the size of a small pony with tracks the size of a small elephants. It was truly spectacular to enjoy a sunset walk in the company of two tapirs.Our regular alarm clock at 5:30, just before sunset became the T-Rex sounding call of the local howler monkeys, we never saw them however as they kept quite during the day. Squirrel monkeys and spider monkeys were also a common sight near our sleeping area. One morning after breakfast, we looked up to see a teeny tiny baby spider monkey clinging to it's mothers belly. Never seen such a tiny monkey, it looked like it could fit in the palm of my hand. At the river mouth of Rio Sirena, we immediately noticed the predators that lurked and it was no longer a mystery to us why NO ONE crosses the river, even at low tide. We had a couple of guides tell us that they wouldn't even put a toe in that river. Two large crocs basked on the shore while one patroled the inside of the river mouth and the bull shark fins patrolling the ocean and river waters where plentiful. We watched one of the crocs enter the water, but then we lost him and weren't able to see him anymore...until we began walking back along the beach. He was swimming in the ocean! Not even that close to the river mouth anymore. The croc was just cruising along in the waves parallelling the beach, looking for some dinner presumably, if we hadn't known anybetter we'd have sworn it was a log. Crocs in the ocean and sharks in the river...go figure.

We took a short hike with some of the other "campers" at Sirena to the only repotedly safe place to swim near Sirena, up the Rio Claro, and relished in the relief from the humidity and heat of the area. As a group we comprised a varied group from different parts in Canada, the US, and France. We even met another Hawaii native who graduated from high school the same year as Leah, just across the island. We enjoyed getting to know everyone and exploring the surroundings with more eager eyes than just our own. We did not however, enjoy our meals much. Our diet consisted mainly of peanut butter, honey and tortillas as we had not brought our stove in the interest of sacing weight. Johannes and Stina did however treat us to some freeze dried meals a couple of times, those were really special meals!

There were two other couples leaving Sirena to hike out to Carate the same day as us, so we arranged to all hike together: Wilfred and Holly, a father and daughter who live on the Osa Peninsula, and Stephanie and Olivier, a French couple on their honeymoon. The hike to Carate was also 20km, but this time along the beach. We left at 5:45 am to try and avoid the heat and also to ensure that we'd cross the Rio Claro at a low enough tide to avoid shark and croc bites. Along the way, we saw some coatis, scarlet macaws, an agouti and of course more playful monkeys. Thankfully, no snakes, sharks, or crocs. The beach vistas were postcard perfect and the flat 20km went by before we knew it. The last 4 km we walked barefoot on the wet sand with an occasional splash from a bigger wave. Although we did escape most of the heat by leaving early, we didn't anticipate having to wait in Carate for four hours for the collectivo to take us back to Puerto Jimenez. Carate was just a small store with expensive drinks and a few hotels. As you can imagine, we got to know our hiking companions a bit better and played some cards to pass the time. When we finally got back to Puerto Jimenez, the first thing on our minds was a hot meal and a beer, two luxuries we hadn't had in almost a week.

We hit it off with Olivier and Stephanie and ended up spending the next three nights and subsequently, Christmas with them. We shared laughs, games, stories, jokes, Christmas traditions (in France the eat fatty liver...mmm), taxi rides, food, beers, rum, Christmas dinner of fried fish and plantains and even went out dancing at the local discotech on Christmas eve (a first for all of us). It didn't really feel like Christmas to any of us but it was definitely a memorable time for all. Leah and I also had the pleasure of talking with most of our family members on Christmas day which was nice.On the 26th we got on the bus to head back to Palmar Norte to discover if our bikes were indeed still in Alcidez's bodega behind the police station and resume cycling again. We said sad goodbyes with our new close friends as we got off the bus and they continued north. There wasn't much time to mope around however as we had to get back to our bikes and pack everything up for our journey up and into the Talamanca mountains on our way to Panama!

Starting our second leg: San Jose, CR to Palmar Norte, CR

The warm, humid air hit us as soon as we stepped off the plane in San Jose, Costa Rica and brought us right back to where we left off, bringing our mental state to match our physical location. Our alter-egos began to resurface and the itch to get back on the bikes was back. But before resuming our bike tour, we took a side trip to meet up with David´s cousin Becca, who was reportedly in Parismina on the Caribbean coast where her boyfriend lives. After two days of trying to reach her to no avail, we took our chances and traveled a full day on bus and boat to Parismina. Luck was on our side and we spent three days getting to know each other a little better, catching crabs, walking on the beach, playing cards, "adventuring", and wildlife watching with Becca and her boyfriend, Jerry.

As we got all of our gear out of the "bodega" where we had stored it at Enriques house, we realized just how tough five months of rainy season can be on things. We spent an entire day cleaning mold and dust off EVERYTHING. With everything clean and shiny like new, we left San Jose and headed for the Pacific Coast with our ton of crap on our bikes. This time it REALLY felt like a ton even though we were even more conservative with what we brought with us than last time. To get out of the Central Valley where San Jose is located we had to climb the "Cerros de Escazu" (mountains of Escazu) which was a quick jump start to get our biking legs back. It took us two days to get to the coast and although it was physically tough, the mountain vistas and hospitality of the small town folk we met was amazing. People seemed to really care about us-- many made sure to tell us the safest route to take, one store owner gave us a gift of some chocolate bars before we left his town, and when David dropped one of his riding gloves while we were eating lunch at a roadside stand, all of the locals at the stand took it upon themselves to figure out who picked up the glove and one of them rode off on his bike to go find it at the house of the suspected glove-snatcher. Five minutes later, David had two gloves and we rode off with a deeper fondness for the Costa Rican people that we will never forget.

Our ride along the coast from Parrita to Dominical was HOT and dusty. We wore wet bandanas over our mouth and nose for most of the ride to try and save our lungs as best we could. Just after Parrita, we had to cross a one lane bridge which was about 50 meters long and super rickety. There was no railing for most of the bridge and horizontal metal beams made up the ground with many missing and an occasional small metal sheet thrown over a hole deemed big enough to be dangerous, but not bolted down of course. We were at the front of the line of cars with a man on a motor bike, waiting for our turn to cross the bridge and when the cars from the other direction stopped coming, the man on the motorbike went ahead and crossed...and we followed...but the cars in the opposite direction still had the right of way and started coming at us. It seemed everyone was equally afraid of the bridge as we were, so everyone went very fast over the bridge including those cars coming at us. So we were forced to squeeze by the cars on the right side. After the first truck passed me and shook the bridge with its weight, I realized that the bridge was really slippery and that stopping was not an option, as it didn´t seem wide enough to accomodate a car and the width of me standing next to my bike comfortably. When the second car passed me, I got a bit too close to the edge of the bridge for comfort (remember, no railing) and upon trying to get closer to the middle too quickly, I slipped and my bike and I were on the ground with half of my back wheel off the edge. Shaking like a leaf, I picked up my bike and pannier that had fallen off and slowly walked across the rest of the bridge as if I was walking on ice. Luckily, man at the other side of the bridge who was supposed to be directing the flow of cars stopped any more cars from coming and I was able to walk across safely. I think my fear of heights is much greater now than before, if that is even possible.

We spent two nights camping on the beach in Dominical and in Parque Nacional Marino Ballena and were graced with beautiful sunsets and also a strange marine animal phenomenon. For a few hours at daybreak in Playa Dominical, the stingrays went crazy and were jumping 2-3 feet into the air from the surface of the water. If they weren´t jumping all over the place, they were surfing the waves. Of course, I didn´t realize that they were surfing until I saw about three of them 10 feet away from me ready to snake the wave that David and I were bodysurfing. Needless to say, I almost had a heart attack until I realized what they were. From the shore, we could see sometimes six stingrays in one wave flapping their wings to gain momentum in the wave. Like a National Geographic picture, amazing. At Playa Ballena we spent the day beachcombing, swimming, and taking in the coastal sights. In the morning, we rode the hot stretch to Palmar Norte where we began preparations for our expedition to Parque Nacional Corcovado with finding a place to stash our bikes.

Back in the USA!

It has been 5 months since we were in the Guanacaste Mountains... and subsequently since our last blog. Throughout this time, our whirlwind adventure continued, but landed us back in Seattle, although a bit unexpectedly. Here's a quick summary (mostly in pictures):

After riding along the North side of Lago Arenal, we headed South into the capital city, San Jose via Fortuna and San Ramon. We encountered volcanoes, rainforest, lots of clouds and fog, a rope swing, and the inevitable long climb and descent over the cordillera into the Central Valley where San Jose is located.

In San Jose, we met back up with our friend Enrique, who was actually transferred to a position in San Jose shortly after we left him in Managua, Nicaragua. Enrique is from Costa Rica and his family lives in Santa Ana, just outside of San Jose. We spent the next two weeks with the Castegnaros, bumming around Santa Ana and San Jose.

Then we hopped on a plane back to the States! So, how did this big change in plans occur? A couple of months prior while we were in Managua, we found out about a few events scheduled back in the States that we wanted to be there for: 1) David's cousin Dallas's wedding, 2) David's childhood friend Rhett's wedding, 3) The Gibbs family reunion, and 4) The opportunity to see my parents who would be in the continental US around the same time. After contemplating the cost of the ticket (which didn't take too long thanks to a Frontier Airlines special), we bought two tickets back to Salt Lake City for one month. Well, one month turned into almost five and we visited not only Utah, but also Colorado, California, Washington, and Oregon to see family and friends.  We were obviously excited to see family, but also craving a bit of familiarity and regularity. Sleeping in a bed and showering daily, communicating with others without getting a headache, and eating home cooked meals were all things we really wanted to enjoy for a bit.

We entered the states in July and have had a cram packed 5 months while we have been here, Here is a short description and photos of some of our events:

We went to Volcan Turrialba with our local guide Enrique

The Gibbs family reunion, with the water fight as one of the highlights

A family reunion of sorts in California with Leah's dad's side


A family reunion of sorts in Vail, Colorado with my mom and Leah's aunt & sister

Some kick ass times with our biker gang in Salt lake City
Hanging out with Uncle Dave & family on Orcas Island

Sweet bike ride to wineries and brewery followed by a drunken ride home and skinny dipping in chilly Lake Washington

A couple of backpacking trips - one to Mount Rainier National Park and one to Goldmyer hotsprings

Moving in with some awesome roommates to a house in awesome Greenwood

Hiking Kendall Catwalk in the Cascades

Climbing and camping in Vantage, Washington

Panhandling at freeway offramps and getting picked up by the police (and donating my proceeds ~$26)

Volunteering with Bikes For Ghana

Hiking to Mason Lake in the snow and going for a dip

Attending my cousin's most memorable Halloween dress-up wedding in Connecticut

Going to Washington, DC for my first time and being there for the most memorable election ever, not to mention hanging out with Jamie & Ryan

Canoeing on the Potomac River at Hard Bargain Farm with three aweome co-pilots (you can't see Ralph the dog)

Relief caretaking at Goldmyer Hotsprings and getting the full-time job of caretaking in the spring (April - July)

A most memorable visit with my good friend Steevasaurus in San Fran

An unbeleivable family reunion with my mom's side of the family - 34 of us total - all but one cousin, OUTSTANDING! (Here is Sarah after going over the handlebars on a bike ride - The other two sisters taking good care of her)

Hanging with the family

The standard ultimate frisbee game on Thanksgiving day

Sweet family biker gang

We are now going back Costa Rica to meet up with Blackie and Pete, our trusty steeds. We are really excited to meet up with Enrique again too. We plan to bike around some in Costa Rica along with doing some backpacking . We are also planning to go to Panama, but, if you know anything about us plans tend to go to the wayside pretty regularly. We will be flying back to LA on January 21 and will proceed to bike up the west coast to Seattle. We plan to arrive in Seattle in mid-March to prepare for our upcoming caretaking stint at Goldmyer Hotsprings. Our caretaking stint goes from April 1 to the end of July or August.  It is something we are very excited about, but it is still in the distant future. We plan to keep up the blog on our travels so we hope you enjoy!