It's pitch dark, something must have gone wrong with the time difference. A man tugs at my bag: "Taxi?" There is a hustle and bustle at the exit of San José airport. It's three o'clock in the morning, but according to our ticket, we shouldn't have landed in Costa Rica's capital until seven o'clock. At least then it would have been light and our guide would have picked us up. But now we're standing here all lost and small-eyed, trying to keep the men shouting "Taxi, taxi!" at bay. An athletic-looking guy with an umbrella cap and bike shorts makes his way through the crowd. That must be him. His eyes are small too, but he smiles and holds out his hand to us. It's him: Paulo, our guide. He happened to check our arrival time on the internet before going to bed and saw that we would be landing four hours earlier, the Costa Rican tells us as we finally sit in his pickup truck with our luggage.
"Breakfast?" Paulo rummages in his rucksack with his right hand without taking his eyes off the traffic. Then he hands us a tin of freshly sliced mango pieces. Wow, did he make them especially for us this morning? Paulo has to laugh: "No, I just stole them from my dad's fridge." Freeride legend Richie Schley had persuaded us to go on this trip to Costa Rica. Tobi Geißler, Sebastian Doerk and I were persuaded pretty quickly. It's early March, and the prospect of being able to swim in the summer for a week after a 14-hour flight is just too promising.
The next morning, Paulo picks us up at the hotel for our first bike trip. Now, in daylight, I notice that not a single advertising sticker adorns his pickup. Strange, given that he makes a living in the bike business and has already been national champion in both cross country and downhill. Paulo doesn't really want to talk about it. He just weighs his head and meticulously fastens the tarpaulin over our bikes. From the outside, the car could just as easily have been carrying bananas.
We climb up to 2500 metres above sea level. An old farm track leads us through old mountain villages, past stables with chickens and horses to a viewing point.
Paulo manoeuvres his banana lorry into the bushes to park. The trail entrance is nowhere to be seen. We first have to drag the bikes a few metres through the undergrowth.
The view stretches over green hills, with a few meadows and, of course, coffee plants as far as the eye can see. In the far distance on the horizon, you can even see the Pacific glistening in the sun. And where is the trail now? We follow Paulo into a thicket that doesn't look like a trail entrance at all. We trudge five or six metres through dense undergrowth until something like a notch actually appears on the ground and is finally clearly recognisable as a path. We shoot through a green tunnel of ferns and creepers that hang down from the canopy of the jungle trees and always seem to be reaching for us. The ground is surprisingly dry and grippy, the rainy season doesn't start until April. So we can really let it fly even over the otherwise slippery root carpets. But we have to stop after just a few hundred metres in altitude: Loosen your hands.
Paulo is happy that we are having fun with his "baby" - his new trail. And he has a lot more of them. Even though he doesn't own the land on which they run. The land between the Caribbean and the Pacific, which is only 200 kilometres wide, is divided into a national park and private property. This makes things tight for trail-loving bikers. But as a former member of the Costa Rican national team, Paulo is known here like a colourful dog. People trust him when he says: "I'll build a trail on your land and only take selected people over it. Hence the inconspicuous car, the secrecy and the hidden trail entrances. We continue through the green thicket. The bends get tighter, the temperature and humidity rise, sweat flows. We have to cross a river ditch twice, then the ride ends at a coffee plantation. From here we roll to a small restaurant with a neighbouring waterfall. Of course, we use the time until the food arrives to take a natural shower.
Paulo's next trail pride and joy is further south in the country, in Providencia. As soon as we get out of the truck, we disappear again into a mixture of jungle, dust and hairpin bends. A few steep steps and roots block our way here. We stop briefly in a clearing. It looks like it does here in Germany: open meadows between forests, hilly terrain, a bit of the Black Forest in the middle of Central America. The trail slowly winds its way out of the valley. There is no one to be seen far and wide. But then suddenly this man with a machete stands in the way. He looks grim - until he recognises Paulo. It's Marinho, the landowner. He knows we're coming, after all, we'll be staying with him later in a cabana, a small wooden hut on his farm. Marinho just wanted to meet us and clear the trail. When we reach the hut, his wife has already cooked for us. Delicious tortillas with rice and beans.
After a bobsleigh track-like descent, one of Paulo's favourite trails, we head south towards the Pacific the next day.
"My dream is a trail from the highest peak, the Cerro Chirripó, down to the beach. That would be a 3820 metre descent!" says Paulo, as his four-wheel drive truck howls up the sandy track to the Panamericana with great effort. We, on the other hand, are already happy in the next spot: the Dota Valley. An idyllic valley with a river, small wooden huts and an incredible number of birds. The toucan with its giant yellow beak flutters through the trees here, and a cloud of hummingbirds startles us as we step onto the wooden terrace of our lodge. The perfect place for a margerita.
Costa Rica also has a Caribbean side, but we're looking for the best trails, and you can find them here on the Pacific - where the sunsets are also more beautiful.
That's why we opted for the Pacific side. When we arrive in Hermosa Beach, we can't believe our eyes: a huge beach with dark sand, a few palm trees, a hammock, a surf spot right in front of the hotel - and no people! As if that wasn't paradise enough, there is also a trail park above the village. Our last days start here in the morning with a surf ride through the surf. Afterwards, we ride on beautiful root trails under jungle trees directly along the beach. There is only one afternoon when hotel guide José manages to lure us out of our hammocks: with a crocodile tour. We chug up the river in a small boat. José steers the boat, while his colleague Jimmy holds a large bucket of chicken meat. It doesn't take long before the first "tree trunks" are chasing us in the water. Then Jimmy jumps overboard into the knee-deep water and mouths with long rows of teeth immediately open. Jimmy throws the chicken meat in from a metre away. Some crocodiles also jump towards him. "I'll come again with my children," I say enthusiastically to José. "Yes, come again!" replies José. "I don't know if Jimmy will still be there. But I'm looking forward to seeing you!"
Info Costa Rica
The country Costa Rica is a country in Central America that borders Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. Only 200 kilometres wide, the country is washed by the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The highest mountain is the 3820 metre high Cerro Chirripó in the interior of the country. The tree line is at an altitude of 3400 metres, but the mountain jungle sometimes offers views as far as the sea. As large parts of Costa Rica are privately owned or designated as a national park, there are only a few officially authorised off-road bike routes. That's why the trails that former national team racer Paulo Valle has dug up are real veins of gold. No wonder he guards them like a treasure.
Arrival Several airlines fly to the capital San José (SJO) from Germany. However, there are not (yet) any direct flights. If you are travelling with a stopover in the USA, you have to go through the entire American entry procedure. We flew with Condor via Frankfurt with a stopover in Santo Domingo. Price: approx. 900 euros. Info: www.condor.com
Travelling time The best time to visit Costa Rica is from December to April. This is the dry season and temperatures are a pleasant 25 to 30 degrees in the mountains. On the beach, however, it can be hot and humid.
Equipment It's best to check in your own bike. There are no good hire bikes on site. An enduro bike is the best choice for the sometimes rough trails. Tyres, dropouts and derailleurs are hard to come by. There are bike shops in San José. But they hardly have any up-to-date parts.
Events The legendary La Ruta de las Conquestadores is considered the oldest stage race on the MTB scene. The three-day marathon classic from the Pacific to the Caribbean coast crosses the entire country and leads through deserted jungle and over a volcano. Info: www.adventurerace.com
Guided tours Further information on Paulo Valle's guided MTB tours can be found at: www.costaricamtb.com
The lawnmowers are offering a 9-day trip to the trails of Paulo Valle in spring 2017. Prices and dates will be available soon at www.dierasenmaeher.de
A great round trip through Costa Rica, optionally together with Panama, is available from www.bike-adventure-tours.ch and www.dav-summit-club.de. The DAV Summit Club tours for 15 days around volcanoes and through the rainforest to the Pacific. Dates and prices on the Summit Club website.
The report on the MTB trip to Costa Rica and many other articles can be found in BIKE 12/2016. You can read the issue in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or in the DK-Shop order:
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
