Up, Up, and AWAAAAAAY

28FEB09
Up early for the flight home - always a bit of an anxiety exercise. 20$ cab ride back (no airport fee), and I'm listed at 0730 for the 1015 flight direct to DFW. Only possible catch is that after I pay my 26$ departure tax and go to security they may not want to pass on my helmet. This is not USA TSA so the fact that I've already flown with it twice holds no water. Fortunately they are more interested in my 3" blunt tipped medical sissors, and I'm free to move about the airport.
No problems with the flight, and, 4 hours later, I'm back in the VW buss heading down 360 for home.
I paid for the bike on credit card (for the deposite) so that was 110$ for two days, and the rest was cash, much less than 250$ So let's call it 350$ for 3 nights, 2 full days plus an evening, food, etc.
I think I rode about 300 miles and saw volcanoes, lakes, rainbows, jungle, dirt roads, the PanAmerican Hiway, black sand beaches, coffee plantations, a couple BIG lizards, a monkey or two, and had a controled adventure.
What next?

2nd day on the Bike - La Fortuna to San Jose

27FEB09
Although it comes with the room, and Ernesti was disappointed, I opted not to breakfast at the hostel but rather to get on the road. I don't know if there are more guests during high season, but I cannot imagine how the restaurant, much less the hostel, stays open. The only guests I saw were two other couples.
Passing through town I found one of the 'other' hostels (there were several, ranging from one side of 'you gotta be kidding me' to the other) about 500m from town towards the volcano with a pool, hammocks and the underlying current of excitment I'd wanted. For 14$ a night dorm. Next time.

Knowing the southerly route was impassible, I took the paved road around the north side of Laguna Arenal past, ah, Arenal, Tilaran, and, after some horrible dirt roads that would have made trail or trial riding seem comfortable, finally Mesa Verde, where I stopped for coffee. This is a bad habit of mine not to stop as frequently as I could/should to savor my surroundings and maybe meet some of the people. In MV (Santa Elena, actually) I took coffee with a German couple. The opener was a (hopeully) humorous remark on my part that he was sitting in a quaint cafe in an out of the way village in Costa Rica with a beautiful (truely) woman and had his eyes glued to his IPHONE!!! They did laugh, and he confessed he was trying to spool back up so that returning to 'civilization' tomorrow wouldn't be such a shock. I shared my philosophy that if all the animals and/or people aren't moving in the same direction in a big hurry then the news can wait. He'd cracked an ankle kiteboarding on their first day in (two weeks ago) and been hobbled since. Made me think about medical insurance for these trips again.
After coffee I continued on the marginally better dirt road towards the coast. At one point I was treated to the most vivid and vibrant rainbow I've ever seen - and it was BELOW me! I felt I could walk out onto it and slide down to the valley floor. But what would I do with the bike?
On the Pan American Hiway for a short while I reflected on Danny Liska's trip through here in the 60's, and how these trees and macadam were probably the same ones he rode by and on. Probably hit the same pothole.
At Puntarenas I dropped down along the beach, taking just a moment to visit the black sand playa and marvel at an old 4 masted sailing ship. There was also a little toddler with her mom and aunt taking sun. Again I made mileage with the hard candy. This costal road is under construction to take pressure off the PanAmerican and we were cued up at several points. Bikes to the front, anyway you can! Around cars, over the excavated roadbed, etc. Wound up in a group of BMW R1200GS riders from NY and CA heading south. One had been robbed at gunpoint in Managua, confirming that city's history to me. At Orotina I cut south on a two lane towards Santiago and, hell, I don't know. I wound up having lunch at a thatched hut roadside sopa where I got rice, chicken, a drink and some salad for 4 bucks.
I also crossed a one lane, wood planked suspension bridge! Video on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HRyp8fQK14

Back into San Jose I was on a major artery approaching from the southwest, and as traffic thickened up I got more interested in the manner by which the other scooters dealt with it. Like the construction zone there if there were no barriers then everywhere was fair game just don't hit anyone and don't get hit. Simple rules. Around, between, gutter, dirt - just filter to the front until you couldn't go any further and stop. When the traffic moves again go for another entrance into another channel between the cars/trucks and keep moving. Seemed to work well, no animosity, and at the low speeds everyone was moving, a low chance of accidents.

Thomas was at the shop, I turned in the bike (for an additional 20$ off because of the brake), walked back to Bekuo and, you guessed it, went to sleep like the old man I am.

26Feb09
Jumpy legs all night - was it the walk? Took 2 Aleve to help with that and finally lost the headache and had a good night's sleep. Up at 0630 and cabbed (4$) back to Wild Riders. Thornston was there. Younger than Thomas, and looking a little tired. The bike, a Honda 250cc Tornado was a fair looking, not too tired rental in Yellow. We checked the weather and the map and decided I could do my planned route up to Arenal Volcano if I didn't mind a little wet and wouldn't be too disappointed if I couldn't see the summit. Good thing we checked, as some of the planned route had been closed due to mudslide from an earthquake!
Back out Ruta Una past the airport to San Ramon, where I stopped to check the tires (habit). Rear was extremely low, maybe set up for off-roading. I put 30psi in both and it held for the remainder of the trip. What wasn't holding was the rear brake. They'd just worked on it and replaced the pads, but I couldn't get any bite no matter how hard I applied them, just a little drag. Good thing I always use front and rear together!
The road now headed up and north. This is how navigation is done. Where are you going? Ah, take this road to the sign for San Ramon, that road towards Tigre and San Isdro, watch for the turn off for La Fortuna and you cannot miss it! The hostel is 3km out of town. No route numbers, few mileages - only landmarks and nearby towns. Climbing into the mountains and into the clouds visibility went to less than 3 car lengths and the Frogg Toggs came out to keep out the mist and add a touch of warmpth. Worked well on both accounts. I cannot tell you about the vistas, as they were mostly the guts of cumulus, but the roads were relatively good, and the vegetation on either side was something out of Tarzan in the Jungle. Dense and deep and lush. Truely Cloud Forrests more than Rain Forrests. Caution in driving was the word, as I did not want to test my USMedical insurance policy here in Central America. The drivers were pretty cautions as well, in HUGE school bus and tour bus's. If, however, there was an opening, or opportunity to pass, it was fair game and whomever got there first made the most of it. It wasn't until later on that I made use of the diminutive size of the scooter.
La Fortuna reminds me of a Colorado Ski town in summer - lots of kayaks and bikes, building (or demolition?), and restaurants. Lots of gravel/dirt roads as well. The main plaza or park is adjoining the Church, which is common. From what the cab driver told me it is a well established custom that allows communities to have social gatherings after religious services. Good idea! Sort of a physical FaceBook.
My reservations were at Jardines Arenal, which, after some poking about, was 3km away from the Volcano. It is a lovely place, big rooms, nice airey restaurant, beautiful gardens and flower, but there was not the 'buzz' or population for which I was hoping. It was also 50$ for which I got 2 double beds and a private bath.
Having established a base I rode back into town for lunch at Bugy's Burger where I met James, a Canadian on a 60 day bicycle ride through Central America. He's been all over and looked like he had the cardiovascular fitness to prove it. We discussed staying in contact, the loneliness of the road as well as the impromptu friendships, and then I headed toward Laguna Arenal per my plan.
The photos don't do it justice, and, sadly, neither can my words. It is a moist, dense, verdant place where Nature is constantly trying to recover what man has scraped away, forcing armies of machete and weed-eater weilding workers to cut back the grasses and vines.
Approaching the lake I took the first dirt road between volcano and lake and attempted to follow the souther shore. I was blocked at Rio Chuito, where only a seasoned miner/rancher on horseback dared cross - that with water up to his knees!
On the way back I met Tom coming out of the jungle with a backpack. I passed him a hard candy and learned he was US born, CR raised, educated in Argentina, an entrepreneur in Uraguay, and living in retirement from the proceeds of selling that business. Money about gone he was taking a week to plan his next evolution - all at the age of 21!
Back through La Fortuna and a nice dinner of rice and shrimp at one of the open air restaurants along the way, then back to Hostel and bed.

Costa Rica Blitz!

25Feb09
In order to leave on the 0700 Flight from DFW to MIA, I woke up at 0445, with a slight head ache that would nag, fester, and rob me of spirit most of the day. Still, the send-off/birthday party with my buds was great - maybe next time I'll just move my birthday a little earlier.
Got a seat in back (as opposed to the jumpseats in the cockpit) on a pretty full flight. Good thing the connecting gates were close in MIA as the connecting time down to SJO (San Jose Costa Rica) was closer than it looked on paper. Even though that flight was weight restricted for weather in SJO, I got on with another seat in back, next to a friendly couple. He had some nervous disorder like Parkinsons, she was his sister and they were going adventure vactioning on the Pacific beaches in the south of Costa Rica. By adventure vacationing I mean they didn't have set plans or reservations and were taking the local bus down. I would have loved to get the details and get better acquainted, but between his constant movement and my dolor de cabeza, I spent long periods with my eyes shut.
Customs/immigration in Costa Rica was a non-event ; particularly carrying only a backpack and helmet bag. Speaking of which, all I took for this 4 day evolution was the clothes on my back (nylon fishing shirt, nylon zip-off pants, hiking shoes, and extra set of the same and scrubs for pj's, minimal toiletries, my soft-armored mesh motorcycle jacket which I wore in the airports, helmet, Frogg Togg waterproofs, Croc's shoes, one video and one still camera. The freedom this allowed was incredible! Didn't worry about overhead bin space, didn't check anything, and it was a piece of cake to keep track of things and pick up the room in the morning before leaving.
Jane at Hostel Bekuo, had offered two choices from the Airport to Hostel. A local bus followed by a taxi or walk, or a taxi the whole way. I opted for the latter due to simplicity this first time and it was 23$ for the approx 18km delivered to the door. We even stopped along the way to locate Wild Riders Motorcycle Rentals, which turned out to be further from Bekuo than I'd expected. Cabbie was friendly and gave a little tour as well as a mini Spanish lesson. From the Airport it was Ruta Una into San Jose, left on Paseo Colon, a little jog onto Avenida Dos and one block over to Bekuo.
Jane is a lovely American/CostaRican girl in her early twenties with beautiful eyes and oh the accent. As before, the youth hostel seems like more of a home with a large number of college students sleeping over, or a frat house, than a hotel/motel. My room was a dorm room with 4 bunkbeds, though only 2 other occupants. For that and a common bath I paid 12$. Only drawback was that while I was retiring at 9pm the rest of the house was just gearing up for the night. Ear plugs to the rescue!
After settling in I walked back to the m/c shop, about 45 min at a brisk pace. Lots of schools, churches, museums and theatres, but all in decline. Or under construction. Looked about the same. Sidewalks were all jammed with people and cracked/uneven, with deep deep gutters and anklebusting pot holes. Cuidado!
The shop was locked up and no one around, but a sweet little old lady with Ash Wednesday, ah, ashes on her forehead answered the buzzer, made a call, and finally Thomas came over from his garage a block away. We did the inital paperwork, discussed weather and routing. He suggested the coast might be better, but we'll just see what tomorrow brings. I've ridden in the wet before.
Back to the hotel by way of KFC and to bed.
Whatta Puss.