Author: Alan Cole

Rafting 1

Costa Rica Coast to Coast – Rafting Towards the Caribbean

Costa Rica Rafting Adventure After another night at the Pacuare River Camp, it was time to get moving again, continuing ever onwards towards the Caribbean coast. So, after breakfast, it was back into our rafting kit and onto the Pacuare River for a full day on the water, including some proper Class IV rapids through...

Morning at Camp 0

Costa Rica Coast to Coast – A Rest Day on the Río Pacuare

Costa Rica Jungle Camp After an OK night’s sleep in our Costa Rica jungle camp, I was of course first up while the camp was still dark. I headed up to the communal area and relaxed in one of the hammocks as the sun slowly rose. Hummingbirds hovered around the flowers, lizards skittered across the...

Volcano Views 0

Costa Rica Coast to Coast – From Sugarcane Fields to Rafting in the Rainforest

The Road to Rio Pacuare I slept a bit, but not much, so I was thankful for a fairly early start today and a quick breakfast in the hall before climbing back onto our bikes once again. We started with a pleasant ride along easy roads beside the Rio Pejivalle and then through endless sugar...

Hiking in Costa Rica 0

Costa Rica Coast to Coast – Into the Interior

Early Morning Stroll After a fairly relaxing night at the Rio Perlas Resort, I was up early for a wander through the grounds. Oropendola birds could be heard and seen in the trees, and the vegetation was amazing. I checked out the pools, hot tubs, and little natural lake, simply strolling around marvelling at the...

Descent 1

Costa Rica Coast to Coast – Over the Continental Divide

Today was the day we tackled the Continental Divide, billed as the big day of our Costa Rica Coast to Coast adventure. All of the reviews and anecdotal stories suggested that the climb on the bike would be really tough. From what I’d heard, everyone had to get off and push at some stage as...

Hiking through Coffee plantations 0

Costa Rica Coast to Coast – Naranjillo to Santa Maria

Ready for More Hiking and Biking Sleep didn’t come easily once again. The noise of the river, the rain on the tin roof, and the cicadas, frogs, and crickets was deafening. Everyone else managed to sleep of course, but I’m so used to complete silence that any noise becomes a distraction. I was therefore up...

Rainforest Vistas 0

Costa Rica – The Coast to Coast Adventure Begins

I managed to sleep a little in the hotel in Quepos, but not much. Fortunately, I’m quite used to this and function pretty well on next to no sleep, so I felt fine. We started the day with a nice breakfast, and then I pfaffed about with my bike for a while as I’d brought...

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Costa Rica – Towards a New Adventure

I’ve just got back from an epic adventure in Costa Rica. Starting on the Pacific Coast, I hiked, biked, rafted and kayaked across the entire country to the Caribbean coast — and what a country it is. So, this is the first instalment of a mini-series of blog posts about my Costa Rican Coast to...

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Maximising Export

We used to try to maximise using as much of our own solar power as possible. It made sense at the time — run the washing machine, charge the battery, power the house and the car directly from solar, and avoid exporting it back to the grid for little or no return. But things have...

Lunchtime Stroll 1

Bluebell Breaks

I don’t always get out for a walk at lunchtime, sometimes I don’t stop at all, but when I do, it feels worth it. With so little rain lately, the woodland paths have dried out enough to wander without worrying about ruining my shoes or traipsing mud back into the office. And with the bluebells...