We drove to the top of Volcano Irazu and viewed the crater which although live has not erupted since JFK visited it in 1963 - weird eh?
The crater was filled with water covered by some really bright green algae. The summit is a little over 11,000 feet and so the air is definitely thinner and cooler, but the views spectacular. After a number of pictures, we got on our bikes and started our 70km descent. The bikes admittedly took some getting used to but I brought my old ATAC pedals along which brought me a little taste of control. I felt a bit big for the bike and the shifters left something to be desired but all in all it worked out fine - K2 Zed 4's if my memory serves me correctly.
The descent was initially tricky - lots of loose round stones and quite rutted out from the rains, spotted with some potholes and the occasional cow pie splat (that's me being polite). It was mostly downhill till a 3 km climb which definitely was a workout. We had a support vehicle behind that transported those unable to make climbs or if we needed some supplies such as cameras, water, etc. Pretty cushy compared to my weekly two-wheeled escapes but I only took advantage of the camera and my rain jacket.
We actually descended through a cloud section which made for some poor visibility and mist on the sunglasses but gave some mysterious views and pics!
We eventually made it to Volcano Turrialba where we had lunch at a resort restaurant. Amazing food once again and we took some photos of some extremely friendly hummingbirds which perched on Wendy's hand at one point.
We continued down the volcanoes/mountain section but now on more of a road and later pave but it was broken in places. We ended up going through a rainy section which brought some added difficulty around corners but we were accident free despite some of the tight corners and speed. I have to say we got quite the hand workout from clenching the brakes.
Eventually we left the clouds and rain behind us and it turned nice and sunny as we approached the town of Turrialba about a half hour away. We got back around 3:30 and before showering - quickly did a little shopping. All in all - a fabulous day of mtn biking & breathtaking views!
This shot is one of favorites of the trip! We came down this red dirt road and there this scene was right out of a calendar! Misty background and beautifully posed horses all ready for my photographic attempts - I think it worked out alright! Below is a shot of the group of cyclists: Pablo (far left), Wen, G, Rebecca, & Jack (far right) - another guy named Jared took the pic was also riding with us and took the shot for us.
2 comments:
Wow, what an amazing trip you guys were able to have! What a blessing.
Hey Bruce! Thanks for the email as well! Yeah I could envision a Costa Rican trip for LDP some year?!
Post a Comment