After resting in Dominical we set off to complete our biggest challenge yet. A 2 day hike up Costa Rica's highest mountain - Cerro Chirripo in the central range of the Talamanca Mountains, the backbone of the country.
We were enticed by the prospect of being able to see both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean from the summit, plus mountains as far as Panama and one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet... and we were not disappointed.
After a long bus journey up winding roads we arrived at a small town called San Gerardo de Rivas, at the base of the mountain and the gateway to the park. The temperature had cooled down to that of a calm english spring and we checked into a wonderfully friendly guest house called Casa Mariposa www.hotelcasamariposa.net, run by a pioneering organic ecoliving couple called Jill and John. Their warm hospitality and homely hostel (complete with heavenly duvets! and home made cookies) made for a perfect resting spot before we started the assent the following day.
We set out at 5am in order to complete the 20km hike up from 1600m at Casa Mariposa to 3820m at the peak. The plan was to stay at the base camp at 15km and do the last 5km after an over night rest.
First I'll tell you how nice it was. The change of scenery was out of this world, we went from fields of cows to trees full of monkeys, from cloud forest with trees draped in moss; to bone dry arid land, from burned forest to scrub land, marshes, bamboo ranges of all sizes, and huge oak covered landscapes. The birds were of documentary quality - hundreds of humming birds; powering past us sounding like small helicopters, emerald toucans, birds with red breasts, black turkeys with bright blue beaks; even birds with yellow pompoms on their legs! We were so lucky to see so much.
After 7km going up a 1 in 4 gradient the pain set in. I had to stop every 20 paces for at least 2km. Every flat plane, was a wonderful pain free step - but there were not many of them. We soldiered on, keeping each other going and after 6.5 hours we made it to the base camp. We had bunk beds in the dorm and as soon as we got in their we whipped out our sleeping bags and collapsed, trying to keep warm and stop our legs from pulsating. Eventually we got up and shared soup and sandwiches with the other hikers in the main kitchen.
We decided to get some sleep and get up at 4am to be at the summit for just after sunrise. The night was brutally cold, with us both wearing all our clothes, gloves and hats included, buried deep in our sleeping bags, the cold made getting up in the dark, to go and finish a walk we knew would be grueling even harder.
We had some support, a nice american girl called Meredith was sharing our dorm and was up for the adventure. So we set out in the dark, wet morning to meet our maker. After 20 minutes I was absolutely buggered, Maudie (being fit) was skipping along, as my legs buckled at the sight of every hill. After 2.5 hours and a final sheer rock climb we made it to the top, the sun was just burning though the clouds and everyone, no more than me, was very happy to have done it! We could see the lakes and the mountains of Panama, sadly their were too many clouds to see both seas.
Maudie and I then went all the way back down, 5km to the base camp, and another 15 km down to our friends at Casa Mariposa. I was gushing at how easy it was to go down, how happy I was until about 7km from the end. That's when the burn set in, incredible pain burst through my calves and upper thighs. By the time we reached the Casa our legs were shaking.... but we'd done it.... the sense of achievement warmed us as we told our hosts about what we'd seen and how long it had taken us.
We were proud of ourselves, and the pain was worth it to see such beauty (I am writing this three days after and we still cannot walk properly, especially up stairs, I don't think I'd do it again...)
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