Following on from the previous post I actually had two more nights in Nicaragua before crossing into Costa Rica. Blistering midday heat meant an 8:30am start wasn't really good enough, you need to get going by 7am if you want a decent days riding. So my 8:30 am start ensured an uncomfortable days riding from 12pm onwards! Lots of stops for cool drinks make it bearable but inevitably slow the pace and progress.
My penultimate night was at Playa Gigante on the Pacific coast. A hostel manager gives cycle tourists a free dorm bed for the night. A beach party hostel, not really my scene. A lot of 20 something flesh on display at times, I didn't know where to look. I had to pretend I was a cloud spotter/stargazer, that line doesn't really work when I was stood under a tree. 
Anyway, I was grateful of the bed, a dip in the sea and a slightly obscured sunset. And grateful that, once more, Warm Showers had taken me out of my environment and 'exposed' me to different experiences. Also, I had arrived a day before the big full moon party so was able to escape before the hostel descended into real chaos. 
Having learned my lesson from the previous day I was riding on from the beach hostel at 6:30am. Not well rested in truth, ferocious winds during the night made a racket and even blew sand into the dorm (most buildings here are not sealed like back home). Battling on into the winds I was just short of the Nicaragua/Costa Rica border by 1pm and decided it would be prudent to stop here for the night as accommodation is cheaper in Nicaragua. $10 for a bog standard room with 5* views. This is Lake Nicaragua with Volcan Concepción in the background. 
So onto Costa Rica. Through both sets of immigration by 7:20am then a long, long ride - 87 miles - south to Cañas where my Warm Showers host Esteban was awaiting my arrival. This was a tough day, there were headwinds to contend with virtually all the way and, heading south towards the Equator, the heat issues are only going to get worse. However, for once, I judged the ride just about perfectly and maintained a steady, sustainable pace throughout. The final 6 miles to Esteban's farm were with tailwinds, a glorious descent through rice fields with the setting sun. 
How many times have I had to ignore such signs on this trip? 
Having arrived at Esteban's farm fairly late on Saturday evening I'd had time to be watered and fed, take a little drive around town but not much else. I woke up a little troubled on Sunday morning and soon worked out what was bothering me - I really didn't want to ride on, I wanted to stay an extra day on the farm. So I thought 'just play it cool, quietly ask for an extra nights stay at some point in the morning.' When Esteban had got up he barely managed to say good morning before I'd stammered 'Please let me stay an extra night, please!!!'. Of course, the answer was 'yes'. 
The food was great, the drinks were delicious (incredible natural fruit juices) but the real beauty of this stay was that I learned so much. Esteban is a rice farmer and the insight I had into the challenges of his job were really quite profound. He needs to understand the soil, markets and tariffs, how to manage and maintain the welfare of his staff, use and application of technology. Esteban is passionate about organic produce and is currently converting his farm to organic status. Not because it's necessarily going to make him more money but because he is committed to producing healthier food and educating people about its benefits.
I found I had a lot of common ground with Esteban - same age, same passion for running first, cycling second, similarly unmarried - and we had great conversations about food production, climate change, vegetarianism but if there's one thing that I'll take from my stay here it's that I should buy more organic food. The global drive for cheaper and cheaper food is destructive and does a major disservice to the hardworking farmers at the start of the production chain.
On Sundays locals can ask for permission to fish the channels surrounding the local fish farms. Some of these lucky guys bagged some pretty big fish - tilapia I think. We got to try some later, fried up after our already rather filling barbecue! 
The home on the farm. Notice the small wall running around the property? This is to keep out floodwaters. In December, during a hurricane, the farm was inundated with waters much higher than the level of the wall. As the 'Chinese hoax' of climate change worsens there could be troubling times ahead. 
Esteban and Mum. If you're reading this thank you so much for your hospitality. The two days on the farm were two of the most tranquilo of my whole trip and will be a cherished memory when I return home. Yes, I intend to buy more organic produce and also, let's put it out there, I would love to train for and complete an ultramarathon when I get home (following Esteban's example). I had been thinking about what the next challenge could be after this tour, I've got my eye on Race to the Stones! 
From Cañas I struggled on through the heat to El Roble. More humble lodgings here, I camped in the front porch of Alexander Gutierrez's home in a quiet barrio. The heat down on the coast is intense! I put my head down to sleep at 8:30pm and immediately sweat was dripping into my pillow, still too hot. So I swung in the hammock for another hour, cooling down, and tried again at 9:30pm and was able to sleep. 
Here is Alexander, posing with my bike. He hosts cyclists very regularly providing a wonderful service to the touring community. I only met him very briefly but what a nice guy! 
Do you know the way to San Jose? Yeah, just follow the highway, you can't miss it. I arrived in the capital at 3pm but couldn't hook up with my Warm Showers host, Mariano, until 8pm so had time to kill. What luck to chance upon this free salsa concert in one of the city's parks! At times, the modernity of Costa Rica can suck the Latinity(?) out of the country but not here. Hips were swinging in ways Englishmen can only dream of and boy could the singer carry a tune! Lovely introduction to a city many people had warned me of as being dangerous and violent (words I've heard about many places throughout my trip, gets a little wearing).
I stayed three nights in Mariano's city centre bike workshop/future cafe. His current project combines his passion for bicycles and coffee - everyday he takes this cart out to sell organic coffee in the centre of San Jose.
Mariano is bursting with ideas and could talk the hind leg off a donkey! Nevertheless, what I like about him is that he doesn't just talk about doing things, he gets out there and does them. Selling coffee on his bike, he's helping change perceptions of cycling in the city which hitherto are 'it's too dangerous to cycle in a city' or 'rich people drive, bikes are for poor people.'
My bed space in San Jose. If my 20 year old self could have foreseen me one month shy of 40 years old, still dossing on floors of random places I'm sure I would have been delighted! I'll always take the stimulation of human contact over the sterile comfort of hotel rooms.
For a while now I've been carrying a few souvenirs and been pondering ditching my front panniers for a lighter ride.
So my panniers and a few other bits and pieces - nearly 4kg - are now on the way home courtesy of the Costa Rican postal service. This is the new look bike, bottles mounted on the forks to maintain some front end weight. 
Friday morning, 6am, Mariano goes off to sell coffee, I ride on to San Isidro. Only the most foolish of riders would take the mountain route, there's a direct altitude gain of over 7000ft to the top of the pass. So it was made for me, I took the mountain route.
There was a tangible difference in the feel of the bike, obviously lighter but for all of the loss of front end weight it still handles beautifully. I got most of the way to the pass quite comfortably but was really struggling in the last 10 miles.
This was a 'false summit' the real peak was a further mile on and just over 11000ft. I have to admit that I was in a bit of a state when I got to the top. Then, freewheeling down through fog, suddenly not using my muscles anymore, I could feel my body cooling down dangerously fast and my muscles seizing up. I had to stop and layer up and put on gloves. This took a long time! I must have been exhausted as I really had to think about what I was doing, which pannier are my clothes in? How do I open the pannier? What clothes do I need? etc etc. Exhaustion strains the communication between brain and body.
Anyway, I cruised into San Isidro nearly 12 hours, 83 miles and a cumulative 9500ft of climbing later. As usual, after such a punishing ride I felt elated, the tiredness converted into a glow of wellbeing and contentment. I love this feeling but don't want to feel it more than once or twice a month because, frankly, it hurts like hell in the moment. 
Taking a quick food break on today's ride. Having stretched well last night I was fine to ride on and, with evenish terrain, the 76 miles to Palma Norte flew by. 
Lots of jungle in the last two days. I didn't really have the wherewithal to take many photos yesterday but, coming over the mountains, I saw hummingbirds buzzing from flower to flower and epiphytes in the form of exotic orchids growing in the boughs and branches of moss clad trees. Spectacular. 
Yeah, right! 1.5 metres. You become inured to the dangers of heavy traffic on a trip like this. Articulated lorries tend to show some respect, the culprit in the background, buses, less so.
In the top five slip off slopes for the whole trip...
Lightweight bike soaking up some rays.
Trying to keep cool in the midday heat. I'm now just one ride from the Panama border, so will get an early night tonight, an early start tomorrow and just keep riding.
Pura vida! This Costa Rican phrase means more than just 'pure life'. Come visit and work it out for yourself!
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