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Week 7: A Week of Pura Vida and Pause

Writer's picture: Alexander CroneyAlexander Croney

Hey everyone, Alexander here.


After six weeks of riding through border madness, jungle heat, and chaotic roads, I am hitting pause in Nosara, Costa Rica, for a much-needed reset—and the timing couldn’t have been better. Katy flew down from Toronto to join me for a week of beach walks, dinners, and some well-earned downtime.


Nosara’s all about “pura vida”—surfing, yoga, and laid-back vibes. Not exactly my usual scene, but it was the perfect spot to recharge before the Inspirational Ride continues south to Panama and the Darien Gap, that infamous stretch of no-man’s-land between Panama and Colombia. It’s unrideable, so I’ll have to figure out how to get me and the bike across.


But enough from me—I’m handing the reins to Katy for this week's blog post. Her perspective on our time here says it better than I ever could. Take it away, Katy.


 

A man and woman posing at dinner

First of all I want to thank all of you for following Alexander’s journey - your support, feedback and words of encouragement are what is keeping him motivated on the days when he might be feeling a little discouraged due to the minor setbacks he has encountered. So far those setbacks have indeed only been minor - let’s hope things continue that way! And of course his commitment to raising funds for Inspirations Studio is a constant reminder of the importance of accomplishing his goal.


So on January 12th I flew from Toronto to Liberia, which is in the north of Costa Rica. There are lots of direct flights there from Toronto, and the trip is about 5 hours. I had a very enjoyable trip - mostly because I was sitting beside Serge, a lovely Quebecois man who lives in Guelph and who happened to be the father of the pilot :) I learned a lot about the flying industry (and about Westjet) on that trip and met Karl, the pilot, on his breaks from the cockpit. He was able to tell us about the beautiful scenery we were witnessing outside the window  - including the Appalachian mountains, the Florida Keys and the coast of Mexico.


From the Liberia airport I was driven by Eduardo, a local driver, to Nosara, about a 2 1/2 hour drive. I have to say the drive was relatively easy (good thing it was Sunday!) but not particularly pretty or interesting. I had been warned that the roads were bumpy but they were not as bad as I expected!


Alexander was there to meet me at our hotel, the Nomadic, which of course was a welcome surprise (we weren’t really sure who would make it there first). After settling into our room and unpacking a little, we went off to discover the town. Nosara is pretty small (for now) with mostly dirt roads; there are a lot of hotels and apartments/houses for rent, but because of the vegetation most of the construction is very well hidden. There are no high rises, most buildings are 2 stories maximum. As we came to learn (and, to be fair, we had been told this by friends who had been there) Nosara is mostly a surfing spot, and also known for a wealth of yoga and meditation retreats. As Alexander and I partake in neither of these activities (!), I have to say we were a bit at loose ends at the beginning! But we quickly got into a routine of walking on the beach in the morning (early, before it was too hot), swimming in the waves which thankfully were not too big, then having a nice lunch somewhere, and we usually spent the afternoon by the small pool at the hotel. We met some very nice people there, including Andrea & David, a lovely couple from NY (she does yoga twice a day and he surfs, which seems to be the pattern amongst the people we met there). 



Nosara is a rather strange place - originally the tourists who came and settled there were avid surfers, hungry for an off-grid place to surf and live away from the law (no-one wears helmets on the motorcycles or quad bikes in the town…) Since Covid, there has been a surge in development and you can feel the place changing…and the people we met who had been there for many years are of course apprehensive about what all this new development will bring. On verra, as the French would say.


We had a lot of really good food while there and were surprised by the consistency of the quality at the numerous restaurants we tried. The food was always very fresh and we were able to have fish, meat, lots of fresh veggies (not for Alexander :), often prepared in very creative ways. The Costa Rican people working in all of these establishments were incredibly friendly. Their motto is “pura vida” (pure life), and every time you say thank-you they respond with “pura vida”. The town felt incredibly safe, and I was happy to see single women enjoying surfing, eating out, walking on the beach, without ever feeling uneasy. A number of young women were working remotely from our hotel and partaking in regular yoga classes or surfing lessons - welcome to the new world of remote work life!



Last Sunday we said our goodbyes (sniff sniff) and Alexander continued on his amazing adventure, while I returned to the frigid temperatures of Toronto. Hopefully the second half of his journey will be as smooth and joyful as the first, and we will all be able to celebrate his return to Toronto sometime in March.


 

Thanks for following along. The ride from Toronto to Costa Rica has been one hell of a journey and with the Darien Gap looming ahead and the road to Colombia waiting, the next chapter promises to be just as interesting.


Stay tuned, and as always, stay savage.

MotoAgent out.


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