It all started a couple of weeks into the new year, when I suddenly burst out: "I need to cross a continent." After a few hours of Googling, my wife and I had booked the 250km coast to coast expedition through Costa Rica which would see us hiking, biking and paddling ourselves from the Pacific Ocean all the way to the Caribbean Sea.
Less than two months after that we were on the plane to San José, fully packed with everything the kit list instructed us to bring. A couple of nights later as we started the expedition, we found ourselves sleeping in tents at a football pitch in a small village. One day you get the urge to go a-roamin’ and the next you’re sleeping under the stars in Central America. Life is strange.
Yep, that’s me above, and you’re probably wondering how I got here? This picture was taken on the first day of walking. My wife took it. She then sent it to everyone in our gang’s WhatsApp group. My oh my, how they were all laughing. But after a couple of days everybody had experienced something similar. So who’s laughing now?
Just to state the obvious: the trip is really hard work. You need to brace yourself for the first day, as it will come as a shock. The heat, the elevation, the humidity. But I say this with a clear and steady voice of someone who will soon turn 60 and has made it through the rainforest of Costa Rica: it will be worth it, and as the days go on you get used to it. The trip is tough, beautiful, and rewarding.
I say this with a clear and steady voice of someone who has made it through the rainforest of Costa Rica: it will be worth it.
The one thing that worried me and my wife the most (apart from crossing 250 kilometres of Central America) was the group. We’re from Sweden: reserved, reticent, possibly... a bit on the frosty side. We knew that we would be bundled together with a whole gang of other people. But of course, our concerns disappeared almost immediately.
Our rag-tag group of 10 people (aged between 29 and 59) were phenomenal. The days travelling across Costa Rica created a special bond, everybody got to test their limits and we all did this together. So, a big shout out to Sarah, Ronit, Nicolle, Arie, Kit, Chelsie, and the Tom Tom Club (Tom 1 and Tom 2): the wild bunch that helped make this trip such a fantastic feat.
Getting up the hills – or 'bumps' as our guide Fez liked to call them – could be a struggle. There was a lot of that. A lot. Either by foot or on the bike. Later there would also be hard work done in the rafts, and even later, in the kayaks. But remember, the journey is the goal. And what a journey it was. Favourite bump? The steep nine-mile (14km) climb up to 2,330m (7,644 ft) on bike early in the morning on the third day. The breakfast on the top of that mountain tasted sweet!
The days travelling across Costa Rica created a special bond, everybody got to test their limits and we all did this together.
And what to say about the country of Costa Rica? I’d never been to that part of the world before, so I didn’t really know what to expect. But it turned out to be incredible. The nature and the views are stunning, the people are friendly, the food is great, the wildlife is crazy, the vibe is perfect.
My personal highlight: early mornings in the rainforest when the clouds slowly moved across the treetops. It felt otherworldly. I will take that scenery with me to my grave.
The wildlife in Costa Rica is like nothing I’ve ever seen. A small sample of the animals we saw during the trip: spiders, snakes, monkeys, crocodiles, birds of all kinds and shapes (the sound of the Montezuma Oropendola does still ring in my head three months later), frogs, raccoons, lizards, and other creatures that I had no idea what they were (including a kind of big rodent called an agouti).
The one animal, though, that everyone in the group wanted – nay, demanded – to see was of course the sloth. And our virtuoso guide Fez didn’t disappoint. They are very withdrawn creatures, but he somehow managed to find one in a tree while we were cycling past. One more thing to cross off the bucket list!
Overall, this was an incredible experience. The trip had everything you could possibly ask for in an adventure expedition. It was tough, really tough. But not too tough. We cycled through banana plantations, we kayaked past screaming howler monkeys, we slept in the rainforest. We floated down the Pacuare River, we swam in waterfalls, we climbed Cemetery Hill. And on the rest day at El Nido Del Tigre we even had a proposal within our gang, with one of the guys popping the question to his partner (she said yes!).
Oh, and lest I forget: our guide, the eternal Fez, made this trip so much better. His cooking, his knowledge of everything outdoors, his spirit, and maybe most important of all, his motivating force. An incredibly inspiring leader.
So, eight days and 250 kilometres later we reached the Caribbean Sea. All 10 of us made it. I must confess, it was quite emotional when we kayaked round the bend in the river and saw the ocean.
The last 100 metres, well, I can swear I got something in the eye. And here’s the thing: it was emotional just because the trip had been as tough as it was.
I think I can vouch for everyone in our group when I say that this was one of the most, if not the most, rewarding experience of our lives. A once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
Inspired by Tony's epic experience? Find out more about our 250km Coast to Coast Expedition Through Costa Rica, or see all of our Coast to Coast adventures.