Fear & Loathing in Costa Rica!
Easy Rider Tour
How do I describe my
Costa Rica motorcycle adventure? The best short description would be,
bitter-sweet. While I am the
type that any motorcycle adventure is a grand experience, Costa Rica on
motorcycles can be a stressful challenge due to outside influences beyond a
person’s control. So, here is
the rundown of our trip.
For this trip, we
enlisted our fast friend, Chia Chang, who we were instantly drawn to on our
trip to Spain, to join us in Costa Rica.
Unlike me, this guy is a real trooper.
No matter how tough the circumstances, he is always upbeat and
positive.
So, we booked the
trip with Costa Rica Motorcycle Tours.
We decided on an unguided, rough it on your own type of trip.
The tour company made easy by giving us complete daily travel and
lodging details. The bike we
were slated to ride would be the KTM LC4 640.
I was stoked about having the KTM's for the trip.
I could not have asked for a better ride for the varied conditions
that we would be taking on.
A couple of months
prior to our departure, we received an email by the tour company asking us
if we would consider changing bikes to the Aprilia 650 Pegaso. It seems they
had an overlapping tour that was using all of the KTM’s.
This was the beginning of the decline of our trip.
I indicated that we were only interested in the KTM’s.
They agreed, but I knew they would pull a switch on us as soon as we
arrived to pick up the bikes. I
have never been overly impressed with Aprilla’s, and the trip only confirmed
my beliefs.
When we arrived in
Costa Rica, after some miscommunication, we secured a cab to take us to the
hotel. The following morning,
our tour company picked us up and carried us to the launch location. We were
greeted with the Aprilla’s and the tour owner’s personal KTM 950 Adventure;
a nice gesture on his part. At
that point we had no choice but to take a positive approach about the
Aprilla’s, and I was secretly salivating at the opportunity to throw down on
the KTM 950. In his defense, he
offered to bring us the KTM LC4's a couple of days into our trip.
Size-wise the Aprilla’s fit Margaret and Chia, but as soon as we took
off down the street, Chia’s bike began to choke and puke.
Back to the travel company, a couple carburetor adjustments and we
were off again. The KTM
Adventure had impaired my judgment.
I should have done what I normally do and exerted myself to the point
of getting more suitable bikes for us all.
To make a long story
short, we lost one day waiting for repairs to one Aprilla due to the fact
the key was not recognized, and the other bike would not release the cover
over the gas cap. Both turned
out to be shotty electrical connectors. Why Aprilla put a bunch of
technology on a supposed dual-sport bike is beyond me.
The tour company came to our rescue, but we had to sit out the better
part of a day, and take an extremely dangerous ride over a narrow mountain
to San Jose in the dark. Due to
the fact that the Aprilla was way under-sprung, both bikes were frequently
front end sliding in the corners, which led to an eventual crash and wadded
up bike. Fortunately, Chia was
not seriously hurt and they brought him a new BMW GS650 a few hours later.
If we would have known that sooner, we would have crashed the bikes
the first day.
On the bright
side, the sites and the resorts we stayed in were spectacular.
Hotel
Villas Rio Mar
in Dominical Beach was incredible.
We could have stayed there the entire trip.
Also, the Tamarindo Diria
Resort at Tamarindo Beach provided a drop dead oceanside view with
fantastic amenities. The
volcanoes were inspiring to see as we rode towards them on our bikes, and
the hotels melted the stress of the day away.
The routes from volcano to volcano were nicely paved, which made the
rides beautiful and fun.
In conclusion, would I ride Costa Rica on a motorcycle again?
I doubt it. The drivers
there do not pay attention to anything and veer towards the bikes out of
object fixation. Nothing is marked, and
we could not find a single person in one town that could point to their
location on a map. Many times we were confronted by trucks passing
beaters heading right for us.
Every bridge in the entire country is one lane, and everyone believes they
have a right to cross it first.
The main highways were jammed for miles with rampant passing and pulling out
into us as we were passing others. I
firmly believe that the vast majority of people in that country do not have
any respect for human life. Children and dogs were always in
the streets, which could have turned into a nightmare.
I was fortunate to have a hoss-daddy for a motor to power out of
sticky situations. In fact, the
lack of pavement on some routes was a welcome change because the routes were
less traveled and provided for higher speeds.
Go figure. It is easy to have fun when you are not worried
about drivers trying to murder you all of the time.
I live for fire roads, but Margaret and Chia have not spent a
lifetime on dirt bikes. The tour
company did go above and beyond the call of duty to help us with our
mishaps. I am glad that I made the trip, but next time I will
rent a SUV and take a dirt bike adventure for a couple of days.
7 days/6 nights
Short but sweet, this mini-vacation in Costa Rica will lead you from San
José, across the highest point on the Pan American Highway, down from the
cool mountains to the tropical village of Dominical on the Pacific Coast
where you will reside in bungalows nestled within a forest. The journey will
continue through the highlands near Poas Volcano and on to La Fortuna, the
staging area for the fiery antics of Arenal Volcano. A run to Tamarindo
beach, and then a ride back to San José
will complete this adventure.
Day 01:
A Meet and greet at the airport and transfer to
hotel for your first night. Overnight at
Hotel Britannia
Day 02:
Early in the morning, transfer to our office to
pick up your bike. Ride south the Panamerican Highway crossing the, hill of
death, into Dominical Beach on the South Pacific Coast.
Located south of Manuel Antonio this area has become in the last couple of
years, a favorite stop for many tourists. In here you will find miles of
unspoiled lonely beaches, beautiful bays along the coast, and the tiny
village of Dominical which offers various cozy restaurants and “sodas”
(local food). For surfing, fishing, and diving, you will be at the right
place!
2 Nights at
Hotel Villas Rio Mar
Day 04:
Today will be a long ride, start early riding
via Manuel Antonio National Park to the Poas Volcano Lodge, alongside the
active Poas Volcano National Park.
Poás National Park protects an epiphyte-laden cloud forest and elfin (small
tree) forest, a blue crater lake (Laguna Botos) and the volcano´s active
crater which is nearly 1 mile long and 1,000 ft deep (one of the largest
active craters in the world). If you visit the park early in the morning or
on a sunny day, you might be able to watch the stunning green turquoise
crater and its smoky fumaroles. You can also walk to Laguna Botos, through a
trail that crosses a forest of dwarf trees.
Overnight at
Poas Volcano Lodge
Day 05:
Early morning visit to Poas Volcano, continue
your ride to Arenal Paraiso Hotel, at the base of the world famous Arenal
Volcano.
One of the most active volcanoes of the world, cloud forests, a lake
world-famous for windsurfing and an incredibly diverse population of
wildlife is what you will find in this area. The flawless silhouette of
Arenal Volcano, its loud rumblings and frequent explosions of lava and ash
are a sight not to be missed by any visitor to Costa Rica.
Day 06:
Early morning head to Tamarindo Beach, Smooth scenic
all day ride.
Overnight at
the plush Tamarindo Diria Resort
Day 07:
Back to San Jose, Hotel Britannia where it all began.
