We had to catch the bus at 5am. We left the campsite at 4am with Selina, Helen and Liz going in Alberto’s car to the bus stop. -Also Katy who woke with a swollen ankle this morning. She thinks it happened after tripping over the guy rope of the tent in the dark last night. Alberto was great and charged us nothing for the lift, even though we even packed all of our day sacks into his car.
The walkers arrived at the bus stop just before the car did and we sat at the bus stop for a while, sorting out our various health problems. -Plasters, bite cream etc. The bus was really comfy and I sat by Mark whose head I had to hold up so that it wouldn’t fall off my shoulder while he slept. Before we went to sleep, these legendary words came out of his mouth: “If my mouth falls open, please can you close it for me, just in case I dribble”!!!
We stopped at San Isidro, where the plan was for the cooks to go shopping while the rest of the group continued on the bus to San Gerardo. The stop for our bus was supposed to be 30 minutes long, and in the process of booking tickets for the later bus, Simon, Jennie and I (the shoppers for the day) discovered that the bus that all our bags were on was not going to the same San Gerardo that we were. -There are actually about 4 of them in Costa Rica. We hurriedly got them off and were apologised to profusely by Jean Pierre (Remember our taxi driver?) who happened to be on the same bus as we did, who explained that Alberto must have gotten confused about where exactly we were going to. We were introduced to a guy who was going towards the bus station that we needed and he led us there. This was station was much larger and we were told that the San Gerardo bus left at 2pm. -It was only 10am by this point. We had a quick snack and then moved all of our bags to the other bus stop and prepared to go shopping. I ended up shopping with Helen, Cheryl, Jennie and Jane. Breakfast and tea were easy. -Porridge, and rice or pasta to go with the MacDougals. But, it the process of buying lunches, Jane insisted that we bought the following for each person:
2 packets of sweets, 3 packets of peanuts, packet of raisins, packet of prunes, packet of dried bananas, 2 apples, 2packets of biscuits
Also, 4 mangos, more apples, a pineapple, a huge packet of pasta, some salad……… I’ve never seen so much food. It cost us 76,000 Colonés, which must be about £130. The budget for all the days on the mountain was about $9 each and we must be way over that. Jennie and Jane had to take their food (they were shopping for veggie food) back to the bus stop and ask the lads to help us with carrying it back. The guy who was packing at the checkout eyed our trolleys (Yep, there were two of them) and said “Do you want bags or boxes?” We opted for boxes. By the time the guys arrived with Kate, we were contemplating how to get those 7 boxes to the bus stop when another guy started to pile them onto this very strange looking bike and asked where we were going. He cycled off and by the time we got to the bus stop, the boxes had been left with the others.
The bus left just before 2pm. It looked a bit like an old school bus and there wasn’t much room in the hold so we got our rucksacks in and had to hold the boxes on our knees. Within 15 minutes the bus broke down and we were left wondering how long it would take. (After all, the German couple on the way to La Palma had to wait 2 hours) When the other bus arrived, it was a lot less crowded as some of the passengers decided that they couldn’t be bothered to wait. I sat by Liz at the front with Helen behind and everybody squeezed into the back.
We got to San Gerardo at about 4 o clock and it was the bus’s last stop. -The furthest outpost, the last point of true humanity!
We were wondering what to do about a campsite. Two groups of people were sent off to look for appropriate campsites. Somebody advised Simon not to camp at all, while Mark Helen and Kate came back with quite a good deal. A very helpful American guy came over, waiting for his son to finish his football training on the pitch by which we were standing. He delighted Simon by actually using the phrase “It’s only about 4 or 5 Bucks”. We all piled into the hotel that he got for us. I was sharing a room with Helen, Kate, and Liz until Katy and Selina discovered the cockroach problem in their room. They are now sharing one of the single bunks while Liz is in their room.
It was supposed to be an early night but by the time we’d emptied out all the clothes we didn’t need, got rid of the tents, and tried to sort out Katy and Selina’s cockroach problem, it was quite late.
We decided that Selina’s foot is too bad for her to climb Chirripó so she is going to travel back to San José tomorrow morning, along with Liz (Who doesn’t mind not going because she climbed Mt Kenya 2 years ago) and Katy whose ankle is still swollen and hurts her to walk on it. Katy, I think is really disappointed. She said that she really wanted to climb the mountain. When we were eating tea, a group of three, two Americans, Jennie and John, and an English guy called Marc asked if they could come up the mountain with our group because only 40 people were allowed in the National Park at a time and they wouldn’t have had the chance otherwise. So, they are taking the place of Katy, Selina and Liz and are going to contribute towards the cost of the guide.
Day 19 Chirripó Trek Thursday 25th July 2002
We left San Gerardo at 6.10am and started to trek uphill. We left Katy, Selina and Liz behind in San Gerardo, to get the 7am bus back to San Isidro, and from there to San José.
The 9km trek took from 6am until about 11.15. When we got there, it was a hut with 3 sides, one side left open. There was a toilet and sink that periodically stopped working. (They were off more than they were on!) We spent most of the afternoon chatting, sleeping, reading, or playing cards. -We played Sevens, Trumps and ‘Scabby Queen’, which (according to Jane) is the Scottish version of ‘Chase the Ace’. -I won’t argue!
We were sleeping in what appeared to be a box. It could just about sleep 7 people but was probably made for 5. All of us slept in there except for Jane and Geoff who despite being more comfortable would have been colder, especially Jane, who chose to sleep on a platform which was basically in the open air. I spent the night lying right in the middle, between Cheryl and Simon and had no room to move and I woke up in the night thinking that Cheryl was Mark, wondering how he got there. -It is extremely hard to differentiate between 6 other people in the dark, regardless of their shape or size! For example, I once woke up in the tent to wonder why Helen’s place had been taken by one of the lads before realising that it was actually still Helen! -Both the lads are about a foot taller than Helen!!! Although it was quite chilly, I was wearing two layers and was wrapped up in my sleeping bag and fleece liner so was pretty warm really.
Day 20 Chirripó Friday 26th July 2002
We had to leave the ranger station by 2.00am so made sure we got up and down the mountain before it got too dark. We all got up for 1am. We’d come up with a system where stronger people carried a rucksack that had essentials in it, and ‘weaker’ people had nothing to carry but themselves and their water bottle. Mark carried my extra fleece and my food in his rucksack. Later, he carried my torch as we had to trek for three hours in the dark. That was really weird. Because I could only see where my torch was shining, I ended up with aching eyes until it got light.
Just as it got light enough to turn off our torches, we came out of the trees. A few years ago, there was a forest fire here and although there were lots of trees there once, they were all dead and blackened. At this point, Kate said to Helen who was leading “STOP; I think I’m going to be sick” and she was. -very sick. I asked Jane if she could check on Mark as he said that he was finding breathing difficult. At first, Helen and I had that problem yesterday, but we discovered that the best way to combat that was to talk. -We spent hours talking about books and poetry and trying to remember the words to “-If” by Rudyard Kipling.
We reached the large ranger station at about 6.45 am. By this time, my bladder was killing me. I recommend that anybody who has ever considered mountain climbing, but not done it, not to bother, simply because of the Diamox. -The tablets that we were given to help us absorb oxygen more efficiently. The same drug is also used for problems with water retention!!! This led to most people complaining for a very long time about needing a wee, and everybody dashing to find the toilet as soon as we arrived at the ranger station.
We left the ranger station at about 7.30, once we had discarded all the food that was found floating around in Simon’s rucksack. He was weak from a stomach bug and we donated his rucksack to the guide! We cleared it out of all unnecessary items and found that Kate, in a fit of absentmindedness had put in packets of soup and vegetables in addition to her own food!!!
The American’s group left before we did, and we met them close to the summit. By the time we left, it was raining, and at 3.400m, cold. However, the rain quickly soaked though everybody’s gloves and the wind made our hands colder and colder. The rain wasn’t really heavy, but it was sharp and blew in from the side. By this time, not only was I wearing trousers and waterproofs on my legs, but also two t-shirts, a fleece and my waterproof jacket. I had my hat on and my hood up. If it hadn’t been for the rain, I would have been fine, as I hadn’t had even any breathing difficulties until very close to the top.
The guide shouted that it was only 100m to go, and through my growing despondency, Helen tried to convince me that he meant 100m along the path, but he actually meant 100m upwards! I started to think about getting back down. By this point, the path was either slippy and narrow, or rocky and hard to find. We had to pick our way upward. We were so close to the top and I managed to have two fully blown panic attacks within 15 minutes.
We got to our furthest point just as the Americans came down. Jenny said that they had got to the top, but that the only way down was by “sliding down on your ass” and that it was more like a climb than a walk from there on up. We were only about 30m from the top, but Jane decided that it wouldn’t be safe for us to go any further because of the rain. I know that I wouldn’t have been able to go any further because I couldn’t feel my hands. Mark had succumbed to his altitude sickness a little more and had to give his rucksack to the guide. We were sent down first. The guide had his hand ready to help me over all the rocks. -He saw me struggling at the top.
By the time we got back to the ranger station, my breathing was better, and apart from needing the loo again (!), I was absolutely fine. I was angry with myself though, for being so weak and sadly, I felt no great sense of achievement. Jane made most people lie down, especially those who were ill or really tired. Eventually, it was only Jennie, Kate and I left up, with Jane and Geoff. Geoff was putting the soup and vegetables brought by Kate to good use by making dinner. It was only about 1pm, but we’d already been awake for 12 hours, and from our hut to the summit it was 12km, so we’d walked about 18km so far.
When they got up, most people looked worse than they did when they went to sleep. I had to sit with my arm around Mark because he was so cold. His teeth were chattering and he was shivering. For some reason, he wasn’t wearing a waterproof coat and his fleece was soaking. We sat outside in an area that was similar to a greenhouse, where it was warmer than inside the building. I think he felt a bit better after that, but he could hardly stand up because he was still so cold.
At about 2.30, we left and started the walk back down to our own hut. We were much more leisurely about it. There is, however, a curious phenomenon which suggests that when descending a mountain, one will spend just as much time climbing as they did when going up it in the first place!!! We got back to the station at about 4pm and took our bags out of the cupboard we locked them in. Within half an hour, Jane sent Mark to bed with a sleeping bag and my Iberia blanket (the one I ‘borrowed’ from the plane) because he was shaking. Everybody else was reasonably okay though. It was Chicken Korma for tea, but I just ate pasta because the smell of the korma started to make me feel really sick.
We decided to start walking back to San Gerardo as soon as it was light. The guide refused to take us any earlier, saying that going downhill was more dangerous than going uphill in the dark. This meant that we would eat breakfast at 5am. We had an early night (about 8 o clock) to offset this morning’s early rise. I didn’t use my fleece liner tonight, as I couldn’t be bothered getting it out in the dark. (Simon was a git and took my torch off me.) I used my liner as a pillow and slept in two pairs of trousers, two t-shirts and two fleeces. Tonight, I actually did end up between Mark and Simon. -We moved Mark into the middle because of his shivers. There was no room to even turn over, and although I was really warm, I was very uncomfortable.
Day 21 San José Saturday 27th July 2002
We left at about 6.10am, after Kate’s disaster, almost losing the end of her Platypus. (She had already lost her own, and this was Selina’s). Walking down the mountain took ages. Geoff was declared Muppet of the Day for a spectacular fall which I sadly didn’t see. Kate almost stepped on a snake which was quite scary because she just didn’t notice it at all.
In San Gerardo, we asked the guide to call taxis. He told us that to San Isidro, it would cost 1400 Colonés both the taxis. When they came up the lane, they were like slightly overgrown Land Rovers. I was in a taxi with Cheryl, Geoff and Mark and 5 rucksacks. The other 5 went in the other taxi, but they had the remaining 4 rucksacks and the kitbags on the roof so they would have had more room inside. When we got out at San Isidro, we realised the problems with the language barrier. -Instead of 1400Colonés, it was 14,000, almost £30.
We were dropped off at the appropriate bus station and told that the next bus to San José left at 2.00pm. We took it in turns to eat at a café over the road with the other group watching the bags. The bus left on time and it was really comfy. I sat next to Mark, who, before falling asleep, made it his business to teach me the entire Man Utd team.
When we arrived in San José, Simon woke Helen up saying: “we’re in San José”, and she rolled over and said “no it’s not”! But, it was. It’s just that it was a place that none of us had ever seen before. Simon frantically asked the driver, and other people at the final bus stop where about we were. It turns out that instead of being at a usual run down La Coca Cola bus stop, we were at a very posh, company bus station. When we showed the driver the map in the Lonely Planet guide, we weren’t even on it!! That was very worrying, but luckily, we turned out to be only 10 blocks from the street the hotel is on. We sent Mark and Cheryl off in a taxi with the kitbags and remaining food boxes and walked back to the hotel.
We caught up with Selina and Katy who had spent the last couple of days shopping. We ate at Pizza Hut where most people were outraged that Kate and I ordered Lasagne. -We were the only ones in budget, and the only two with FREE garlic bread!!!!!
I slept really well. Ended up in Katy and Selina’s room. My good sleep may have had something to do with the fact that I had a shower for the first time in about 5 days! We were up for a while, with Mark and Simon in our room. Mark and I went down and collected 6 beers (remember the 24hr Happy Hour!) from next door for him, Katy and Simon while I had a couple of shots of rum in the bar.
Day 22 San José Sunday 28th July 2002
Got up at a sensible time -i.e. not the crack of dawn! I went shopping with Kate and Selina and bought a nice pair of jeans and a top. I changed into them, intending to wash the rest of my clothes, but the laundry was closed and therefore, not very helpful! Instead, we did lots of other things, like looking at souvenir shops and clothes, trying to find sandals for mark, and a good cup of coffee for us all. No luck with the sandals, but the coffee was gorgeous. In the coffee shop (actually very posh café,) opposite the National Theatre, we were looked at really oddly. I don’t think the manager was too impressed by our general scruffiness. (not so much mine, as I was wearing new, smart clothes, but the others were still wearing dirty t-shirts). I bought a really nice necklace in the big souvenir shop, and Mark was looking for one for ages, until he found one which he liked and would fit his neck. Then he got paranoid and wouldn’t wear it for hours. Now, he hasn’t taken it off for hours!
We went next door for tea, where Si spent the whole time holding ice on Sul’s foot. We paid for a track on the jukebox, and after deliberating between Destiny’s Child and Alisha Keyes, Simon insisted on Abba and ‘The winner takes it all’!
Afterwards, I went upstairs and sorted out my rucksack for next week. -Luckily, we don’t need tents, sleeping bags or trangias, and I’ve left behind some clothes. That made our rucksacks really light. Then I went back downstairs to sit with Mark, Jennie and the TV. Jennie went to bed early, and Mark and I were the last the go to bed, at just after 11. Contrary to popular belief, I was in bed at 11.25. Simon said we went to bed at 3.30, and Selina said that I woke her up at about 3am when I went to bed. -How would she know, when she slept like a baby the whole time I was getting ready!
