Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Just 185 miles w ide a t its broadest point, Costa Rica is a narrow strip of la nd, wh ich , a lo ng with Pa n a ma, Nica rag ua, Hond uras and Guatemala, ma kes up Central Ame rica. Cos ta Rica is a bea u tiful tropica l co un try near th e equa tor, and fea tures awesome scenery an d year-rou n d m ild te m pe ra tu r es. Because Central Amer ica bridges tw o con tine nts, flora a nd fauna fro m bo th North an d South America are found in Costa Rica . Getting to Cos ta Rica, o r r "The Sw itzerland of the A me ricas," requires a fligh t of approximately eigh t hou rs fro m Los An geles, and mo re o r less d epend ing upo n where you live and how long any conn ecting flight layovers are. Am erican travele rs cross just three time zones o r less, as Costa Rica is alm os t directly so u th of Florida . Th e only documentation required for entry is a valid pa ssp ort. Though long, the flight down to San Jose was pleasant eno ugh, wit h stops in Mexico City and Guatemala City . Jose Larabure, my tour g uide for the next seven da ys, picked me up at the airport and took me to th e hotel in his BMW. San Jose is a compact city located in a Costa Rica's Central Valley . Coffee and bananas are the country's main exports, and th e mountains that surround the valley are covered with plantations. It was on the short jaunt to the hotel , that I had my ini tial encounter with the typical Costa Rican method of driving. In my experience, only Italians approach this level of craziness, at least on city streets. The drill seems to go something like this, tho ugh there are variations: Step 1: Drive straight ah ead as fast as you ca n until so me im movable object impedes your fo r ward prog ress (h u mans and a nim als a re not im m ovable). Step 2: Lean on your hom until said object is gone. Step 3: Rep eat step 1. Fortunately, Seno r Larab ure was relatively sane, and he dropped me off in one piece a t th e Ho tel Irazu - named after the lrazu volcano east of San Jose. (Right) Much of Costa , Rica's income is derived from coffee an d banana expo rts, an d many of its green hillsides th at we rode through are covered with small plantations. The Central American country is located on a strip of land that connects North and South America, so the lush plant life incl udes sp ecies from both continents. (Below) At the end of day tw o, our lo ngest sti n t of the tou r, we arrived at a beautiful beach on the Nicoya Peninsula's eastern coast, where surfers flock each year to enjoy thewarm wa ter and search for that "perfect" wave. The rush of riding on the sand was more than just reward for our long day in the saddle. The volcano is famous for its view; both the Pacific Ocean and the Carribean Sea can be seen from its 11,278-foot peak. I was happy to d iscover that the accommodations were very nice, as was the case at all the hotels on our trip non e of the thir d- world nightmares that you hea r so mu ch about in places as near to home as Mexico. Th is hotel featu red telev ision with both English and Spanish chann els, and resem bled a typica l cl assy Americ an es tablishment. Co s ta Rica .is very p op u lar with American tourists, a little too much so, in fact. After ~tnessing a couple of typically arrogant, ethnocentric American travelers making fools of themselves, I fo und m yself pretend ing tha t I was a local, avo id ing my fellow countrymen like the plague. Costa Ricans, or Ticos, are very friendly and mu ch more la id back than Americans. It is often possible to find someone who speaks English, especially in the hotels, but the locals appreciate it if yo u at leas t make an attempt at speaking Spanish. At the hotel, I met Franck, an editor for the French ma gazine Moto Verte, who wou ld be accompanying us on the tour. Moto Aventu ra can escort groups of up to five people on their tours, but there were just four of us on this trip. The original plan had called for two German journalists to accompany us, but they bailed out inexplicably at the last minute. Franck was suffering from jet lag after crossing six time zones, but he had enough energy to g rab a b it e to eat before hilting the sack. We opted for a local pizzeria, where I was stunned to se e sev eral mem bers o f the NFL's Denver Broncos - includ ing qu arterback John Elway - sit d own a t the table next to us and ord er enou gh food for a small he r d of voraci o us wildebeests. Like A merica ns, Costa Ricans ' a nces try varies widely, and their cuisine reflects this fac t. Italian, Me xi can, Fr e nch , German and ma ny other typ es of food are available, and the comida tipico, or local food , is also quite good. The colon is the local currency, but mos t places accept American dollars as w ell. Exchange rates vary, but p rices seemed comparable to those in the States. The culp rits Bright and early the next morning. Franck and I - both in full riding gear, to the amazement of the typical tourist types - were picked up by a taxi and taken to Moto Pazos, a small San Jose motorcycle shop that se rves as Moto Aventura's headquarters. Senor Larabure (or " La r ry," as he p refers to be called) is a native of Peru who moved to Costa Rica by way of Ireland . In Ireland. .he learned English and met his wife, but after consistently being ch ased out of his favorite ridi ng areas by ira te farmers, he relocated to Costa Rica with the idea in mi nd of starting a company that would organize d irt bike tours. U po n arrivi ng in the cou ntry in October of 1991, Larry wa s fortunate enough to immed iat ely hook u p with Ignacio Pazo, owner of Moto Pa zos. Pazo, wh o is also the official Costa Rican importer of Cagiva's lin e of bikes and Pirelli tires, liked Larry's idea enough to provide him w ith full fina ncial backing for the project. Tha t included buying the motorcycl es, and because o f Pazo 's Italian affiliation, the only ques tion the partners had to a nsw e r wa s which 21

• Cover