Costa Rica & some other countries
There you ride 13,000 kilometers and 159,000 meters of altitude from Canada to Guatemala, feel more power in your legs than Tadej Pogačar, then make a "small" hike to a volcano and then can no longer move two days because of sore muscles. The saying "that man is a creature of habit" is fully true for us these days in Antigua. But still, cycling and eating, we can do that.
So that we do not snow in the southern hemisphere in Patagonia later, we decide to make a little time good all the way to Costa Rica and go into Dutch-Mode. Our route is mostly flat on asphalt near the coast. To be honest, it also benefits us a little, because we are fed up with this heat and the wind helps a little. Even at night, the thermometer does not fall below 28 degrees and the high humidity simply does not allow anything to dry. In the morning, our clothes are just as sticky as we take them off in the evening.
In El Salvador, we rode directly on the Pacific for two days and could marvel at huge waves. Many surfers are waiting for "the perfect wave" here. The national dish "Pupusas" really impressed us.
Through Honduras, it was only a stage of the day, but it was still a bit strange. Michelle was whistled afterwards from all sides and she had to avoid many air kisses.
In front of the capital Managua in Nicaragua, we had a "cheat-day" and drove a few kilometers on a truck. The road was very busy and not even a pack of cigarettes fit on the shoulder - we felt very uncomfortable.
We knew before that there will be sections on such an adventure that you like more or less and the countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua were definitely not among our favorites. Of course, it was also due to our chosen route and above all because of the heat, but it was where you just looked very dirty and crowded with people.
The south of Nicaragua with its many lakes and volcanic landscapes was then again more to our taste and the first night in Costa Rica with sunset over the bay "Bahiha de Salinas" was picturesque.
In the last two weeks we have had many stages with more than 90 km per day. Michelle had an infection and crawled into an air-conditioned hotel room in the city of Liberia for recreation. Meanwhile, Felix made a round trip to the Rincon de la Vieja National Park and stayed overnight in the middle of the rainforest at the biology center there - a lot of interesting "green" and a few Yellow-throated Toucans could be seen there.
Two very rare long-tailed manakins also showed up in the dense forest.
The last time we met Burkard in Durango in Mexico. Today, 4 months later, he is also arriving in Liberia and we are going out to eat. Burkhard has reached his final destination country with Costa Rica and will soon fly back to Frankfurt.
From Liberia we follow the bikepacking route of Logan Watts. The "Nicoya Peninsula Traverse" crosses the peninsula of the same name in the northwest of Costa Rica. On the route, it goes alternately from dreamlike beaches to the very green inland. Howler monkeys are also attracting attention everywhere.
Our first night on a lonely beach was quite rainy and just as sultry as it was sandy. Even the Pacific with 30 degrees Celsius was not really refreshing.
Since we are at the beginning of the rainy season, the ground is very soaked and often we look like pigs at the end of the day.
There is a special thing at Playa del Ostional. Early in the morning we walk along the pitch-black beach and look out for an olive bastard turtle. Every night, turtles "land" here on the beach and lay their eggs. Everywhere we see "grinding tracks" and the beach is covered with egg shells. Some nests are dug out and looted by vultures. Unfortunately, it stormed so hard at night that we couldn't go to the beach to observe nesting turtles - then next time.
The many passages on remote beaches were a lot of fun for us, the sand was super compressed and firm. Some sections could only be passed at low tide. These days, we had an eye on the tide calendar as well as the Giro.
The further we get towards the top of the peninsula, the more tropical and paradisiacal it becomes. We really like it here. A lot of animals can also be observed.
On the gravel roads you feel like Mario Kart, we have to dodge the "side steppers" all day.
One stream was so deep that we had to unpack the bikes and had to shoulder them. More annoying than an adventure.
On the way to the ferry to the mainland, Felix saw something red flying in the corner of his eye. But since the trees are so high and densely overgrown, we couldn't figure out what it was. A little later we saw two Scarlet Macaw in the tree cleaning each other - unbelievable.
After an hour on the ferry, we arrive in Puntarenas. We place our bikes at Alexander, a Warmshowers host. We need a few days rest from the bikes and take the bus to the Monteverde Forest Reserve. The reserve is located on approx. 1,500 meters above sea level and inshallah the climate there was pleasant.
On the bus ride, however, we had quite a frightening moment. At one stop, someone had crawled his jacket out of the luggage rack and got off. Somehow Felix had a strange gut feeling about what the guy had done so close above his head and after looking into the luggage rack, his backpack was gone. Electronic case, iPad, lenses and the only second underpants were in the bag. A loud shrilled whistle through the bus and the driver made an emergency brake. Felix in socks and the driver stormed out of the bus and were back with the backpack a short time later. The guy allegedly thought that someone had forgotten the backpack in front of him and wanted to look for the one. "That's why the backpack was also rolled up in your jacket, you..."
The Monteverde cloud forest is known for its biodiversity. We went on a big hike and were able to see a variety of animals.
Some insects completely assume the structure of their environment - very impressive.
Our friend, the Quetzal was also involved, he still owns us a sharp 33 megapixel portrait. We first saw a female in the gloomy forest. Later, Michelle also spotted a male who wears the conspicuous long tail. But like last time, he sat so unfavorably in the shade high in the trees and this time also hid behind a leaf, so that we are again not quite as satisfied with the photos - we will continue to do so!
However, a mountain viole-eared hummingbird has been much better staged for this. From all sides he showed his plumage shimmering like mother-of-pearl - very pretty.
We were also excited to photograph a few local frogs and especially Costa Rica's "national frog" the red-eyed tree frog. When we arrived at the so-called "Frog Ponds" in the afternoon, we were quite disappointed, it was a hall with a large pond in the middle and there were terrariums around it. 20 dollars, and a guide showed us the mostly still sleeping frogs. Although some were really big, they were so well camouflaged that we would never have discovered them ourselves.
Since our accommodation was just around the corner, we walked again with our flashlights to the "Frog Ponds" after sunset. Most of the amphibians there are nocturnal. Even if the terrariums were really large, they are unfortunately not free animals - but we like the photos so much that we still include them in our album.
Back on the bikes we ride along the Pacific coast and cross the famous Crocodile Bridge. In and around the water of the Río Tárcoles are many crocodiles - some are not so small.
We were also able to observe a for this region rare Roseate Spoonbill.
So far south in Costa Rica, we now see Scarlet Macaws flying over our heads every day. We find it so beautiful to look at and they make their striking loud screech. It also seems as if they like the big juicy mangoes that hang everywhere in the trees as much as we do.
What would a Costa Rica visit be without having seen a sloth. We tried our luck in Manuel Antonio National Park. There is said to be a large population of the three-fingers to be seen here. At first, we only saw the white-faced capuchin monkeys in the national park and a lot of them. Most of them are very cute, but obviously they sometimes fight.
We even saw a newborn. It was shaken on their mom's back quite a lot.
And then the Costa Rica stay was perfect!
Normally, Felix's change to a large zoom lens is faster than a pit stop in Formula 1 when we see animals. With the sloths, he could take his time - they don't run away so quickly. They really move like in slow motion. Their facial expression looks as if they were grinning or smoking too much marijuana.
Their main occupation is definitely hanging out.
We also discovered a mom with a baby - so sweet!
Costa Rica gets an "A+” from us, so many impressions in less than three weeks and the wildlife is incredible. But now we are moving on towards Panama.
