Born to be Wild! (Fabulous adventure in the Talamancan Mountains!)

On Wednesday, September 21st, 2022, my friends Robert, Fritz, Cristian and I headed over to the South Caribbean coast via Sarapiquí. The weather was lovely. As I recently posted, this is an easy, winding route through La Virgen that then ends up in a straightaway to route 32, which is loaded with trailer trucks (given that Limón is a port).

Having enjoyed our journey, we dropped our bags at La Costa de Papito, in Cocles. (I love being surrounded by the green, wild lushness and tall trees, and sleeping in a dark, all-wood, jungle bungalow.) We then had a traditional Caribbean Chicken with coconut Rice & Beans dinner at Lidia’s Place.

Day #1 complete and satisfying.

September is one of the best months to be on this coast. Flat seas, blues skies! Beautiful.

On Thursday morning we headed over to Bri Bri for breakfast, where I saw Carlos, the owner of Bri Bri restaurant, whom I know from my Peace Corps days 37 years ago. Bri Bri is the capital of Talamanca county. We arrived before the buses and crowds for a cup of coffee and greasy, but tasty cheese empanadas.

From Bri Bri we took Route 801 to Shiroles along the Telire river — on our way to the high mountains of Talamanca for a fabulous adventure on a most spectacular trail! All of us feeling de-light-full-y happy.

Heading to Sibuju, the first long uphill part was pure large babyhead gravel, but we made it up OK. (No photos. :-))

This narrow trail towards Altamira and towards the Estrella valley goes up and down and up and down, with the most awesome views at the top. Coming down was easier because the road had some concrete mixed into it in many parts.

Here’s a video of Fritz going up on a part where I lost control and fell. First of two falls! Hahaha! “Calamity Sue” strikes again! Falling seems to be my MO of late!

We made it down to Bocuare where we stopped for drinks and ice cream. (As my son James might say, “Nice.” 🙂 )

After lunch at Bread and Chocolate, we took another tour from Cocles to Margarita to loop back from Paraíso to Punta Uva. These are two easy and fun, mostly tree-lined gravel roads. JUNGLE LOVE!

We closed the day with a delicious dinner at Stashu’s Con Fusion Caribbean Restaurant.

On Friday, after enjoying the sunrise at the beach and the warm waters of the Caribbean, we said our goodbyes to Fritz after breakfast.

We headed home via route 415 from La Herediana to Guayabo to Santa Cruz. Another gorgeous route! I ADORE the views from Guayabo park to Santa Cruz. Green, quaint, and, well, picturesque! On my own I probably would have stopped 10 times for photos. Hahaha!

In closing, I wish to say that the ride from Bri Bri to Penshurst truly was one of the most awesome trails I have done (on par with Rincón de La Vieja to Colonia Blanca and to Parque Internacional La Amistad, Didier.). Fabulous! Can’t wait to do it again next year. I also feel extremely blessed to have such caring and considerate riding buddies.

Life is so intensely and complety fulfilling

RIDING IN COSTA RICA: FEEL THE BEAUTY. KNOW THE LOVE. LIVE THE POWER.

Wednesday, September 21, 2022 to Friday, September 23. Main day: Thursday!

Song: Born to be Wild. Couldn’t be avoided. 🙂

Wikiloc: Bri Bri, Altamira

Thanks to Fritz for the Bread and Chocolate photo. My favorite!

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RIDE WAY BEYOND YOUR COMFORT ZONE! That is indeed where the magic happens.