The Coastal Challenge
Cliffs and Crocs
Lisa de Speville (Photo: Sergio Pucci) / 26.01.2005
Well, when I typed up my Day 6 report last night, it was pouring with rain. By the time I was done it had abated somewhat and I returned to my hammock to discover it had fared better than most tents. At around 2am, the heavens again opened and I had the experience of lying in my hammock - suspended between two coconut laden palm trees - in a torrential downpour. Besides the worry about getting drenched, I had an awful feeling that I'd have my head and body pounded by falling coconuts! I'm pleased to say that none fell [on me] and that my hammock´s fly-sheet held-up. I stayed awake for a while, feeling around for wetness - of which there was only a little - and went back to sleep.
We´d spent the night of Day 5 on a football field overlooking the beach at Drake´s Bay. We hopped on to the speedy boats again in the morning and were shuttled for 30-minutes through to a Park ranger station - San Pedrillo I think. This is on the Osa Peninsula in the Parque Nacional Corcovada - a very, very remote area of Costa Rica.
Technical Trails
We started off with a short beach run leading into the jungle. What an amazing section! Pretty wet and muddy after the rain, the trail was leaf-littered, criss-crossed by roots, about 2m wide and glorious. Winding with variable gradients, slippery mud, technical footing and a few stream crossings for good measure, this section was the epitome of a perfectly rugged trail. On this 5km stretch there were also a few patches where the sound of insects was absolutely deafening.
The trail opened up on to the beach, which we'd been warned would be predominantly of soft sand and a steep camber - which it was. With high-tide near noon we were pushed higher up the beach as the morning advanced, sinking sometimes over 15cm into the sand with each step. We had three river crossings, aided by rafts because of crocs and sharks. Eventually we turned off the beach, running up a grassy landing strip to the third checkpoint at the Sirena Ranger Station.
There we filled up with water for the final 16km section to the end at Carate, munched on crackers, sandwiches and succulent pineapple, which were provided and set off into the jungle again. We'd been instructed to follow the path, which wasn't long and which would open up on the beach. Once back on the beach, we had to follow it until the end. This is where things got muddled ...See All Event Posts
