We had many cyclists tell us that they had intended to get through Costa Rica as fast as possible because it was supposed to be an expensive country, but almost all of them stayed longer because they liked it so much. Despite the high prices. So, another country to look forward to with curiosity.

And they were right! Despite the false start at the border (and the indeed ridiculously high prices), we also liked the country very much, but it’s hard to explain why. Just like in Panama there are many Americans and almost everybody speaks English, but the whole vibe is different. Panama breaths America, Costa Rica breaths tropics and ‘Pura Vida’ (take it easy, enjoy life). That really is a saying that fits the country.

The whole country seems covered in jungle, but because we drove to the Arenal lake we discovered that there also are different sceneries. Over there, there are green hills, grass and dairy farming. Also on the peninsula of Nicoya there was a lot of (dairy) farming. The scenery was very different; green and forested hills in the distance while we cycled through mostly flat terrain. At the coast there is a large section of palmtrees. With the fruits of these palmtrees they make palmoil.

Still, the largest part (of the mainland) is jungle. The route we cycled wasn’t very challenging, but because of the enormous and sticky heat, it still was pretty hard. So, not very challenging cycling but the beautiful flora and fauna makes it a beautiful country to cycle through. But there are very hard roads to cycle if you want to, although you probably can’t call it cycling anymore then. As soon as you leave the main road, the hills get steep and if you decide to leave the paved roads cycling becomes almost impossible. The roads change in to dirt tracks and even the 4WD we rented sometimes had trouble getting up these tracks.

The animals that live there are all exotic and colorfull. We saw many: monkeys, parrots, tucans, huge iguanas, gecko’s, beautiful and big butterflies, crocodiles, giant frogs, dead snakes, nosebears (coati), dolphins and rays.

Alongside the roads there are many restaurants. Beautiful, large and open restaurants where the wind (when there is wind) can blow through. Very simple, a construction of poles with a roof on top. Many of those restaurants have a pool; before or after (or during) your meal or drink you can take a refreshing dip in the pool. The menu in all the restaurants is usually pretty much the same, they have fried rice, Mexican foods, hamburgers and casados; the Costa Rican version of a plate with many different things. In this case usually rice, beans, meat/chicken or fish and salade. Here also, the tv is turned on every day, all day, so they don’t have to miss any of the news, but especially (European) soccer.

The 2 weeks we spent in very small Dominical were great. We had our own apartment, which really made it feel like home to be there. When we came back from doing something, it really felt like coming home. And the car we rented with it for a week was a great luxury. A house and car all for ourselves, wonderfull! To have that once in a while is great. In the town itself wasn’t much to do but surf, but that was just what we liked about it. We weren’t tempted to go do a lot of things and that way were able to just rest, relax and enjoy.

Here, we camped again for the first time in a long time. In Costa Rica, camping is pretty common, there are campgrounds but you can also pitch your tent on the beaches. The Costa Ricans (Ticos) also do that themselves.

Costa Rica, to us, also is the country of the beautiful sunsets. Because we spent a lot of time at the coast and the sun sets in the ocean over there, we were able to enjoy many beautiful sunsets.

The time we were there (Nov.- Dec.) was the end of the rainy season. This year that meant that it would be very hot and humid (and mostly sunny) during the morning, in the afternoon the clouds would build up and then it would start raining (hard). Toward the end of this rainy season it didn’t rain every day anymore, but still many days. The sun became very stingy, we needed spf 50 or more to prevent sunburn. The sun will continue to get stronger in January, February and March and it will get very hot in those months. Not ideal for cycling.