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Joining a team of four on the September 2008 expedition, David and Warren are to hike, bike, kayak and raft across the coasts of Costa Rica to raise funds for the Prince’s Trust.
The gruelling 269km journey will take the team from the edge of the Pacific Ocean to the shores of the Caribbean Sea, hiking, biking, kayaking and rafting 20-60km for at least eight hours a day, over the course of seven days; crossing the Continental Divide at a height of 2,500m. They will encounter tropical rainforests, volcanoes and mountains and will camp in remote jungle locations. The team, DevComOne, (so named because of David’s involvement with The Prince’s Trust Development Committee, which has committed to raising £2m in two years for the charity), consists of team leader David and fellow Chess colleague Warren Pryer, Jan Gregory (Ernst & Young, Manchester) and Dominic Jude (Chess customer - Folde Properties).
The four men begin their epic adventure on 20 September and have agreed a rigorous training regime to ensure their fitness levels are at peak condition in just six months, including a commitment from team leader David to cycle his 11-mile journey to work at least once a week. “I am really looking forward to the challenge,” he said; “It’s daunting but it’s a great excuse to get fit and the best thing is I will be taking part in an adventure of a lifetime whilst raising money for a fantastic cause.
“As we will only encounter local inhabitants, one of the guys is taking a crash course in Spanish to enable us to communicate if necessary. There will be no ‘Brits abroad’ luxuries on this trip – it’s the real deal,” he added.
This spectacular ‘Coast to Coast’ Costa Rica Challenge has been created by the Prince’s Trust, a charity which helps young people between the ages of 14-30 to overcome life’s barriers. The DevComOne team need to raise a minimum of £3,200 but David is confident they will smash that target: “We’ve all sponsored a lot of people in the past and it’s definitely time for payback. Watch this space!”
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JFK |
Manchester to New York
• Morning flight to New York
• A chance to see the city
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Here's what really happened...
Watched the latest Indiana Jones movie on the flight to NY it's set in the Central American Rainforest - Mayan Indians with blow pipes, raging rivers with drops over impossible waterfalls, scorpions, snakes, man eating ants...luckily no spiders! Then I read a bit of Lonely Planet. It turns out there are lots of very big, poisonous spiders all over Costa Rica - great! Paul doesn't like them either, so Jan and Warren have been appointed official spider catchers.
Last night of luxury in NY Hudson Hotel which takes minimal to a new level of stylishly small. Paul's friend at Quintessentially arranged our night out. We started with bloodied steaks and top draw California Pinot Noir at one of New York's trendiest restaurants. Then off to an equally trendy bar for a Vodka Martini - big mistake! Then onto a trendy club before returning to our hotel, which turned out to have a trendy club of its own. Stayed up way too late, drank way too much... perfect preparation for the physical excursion ahead...
Will keep you posted as the action unfolds.
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New York to San Jose to Quepos
• Morning flight to San Jose
• Coach transfer to Quepos on the Pacific
• Late evening arrival at hotel
Here's what really happened...
Surprisingly early start, considering the night before - off to Times Square for last minute shopping. It was quite difficult to find a cheap watch that actually looks cheap, but managed in the end. Quick sushi lunch and then off to the airport to meet our fellow challengers. Caught a bit of the Ryder Cup but couldn't chastise the Americans enough with the score looking so dodgy! I did my best though.
Flight to Costa Rica was fairly uneventful and arrived to monsoon rain and a four hour drive to the Pacific.
Tucked up in bed for 2-00 am ready to get up at 6-00am to start the challenge. At last...
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Pacific Start |
Warm up day: Quepos to Naranjillo. Bike 22km from sea level to 200m; hike 15km uphill to 1,000.
• Early morning briefing on the event and safety, and bike distribution
• First leg of Challenge – cycling. Much of this morning’s route is on rough unsurfaced tracks and it will be extremely hot and humid
• Afternoon hiking into the mountains of Central Costa Rica. The distance covered is not huge, but will be tough going – it’s a constant steep ascent and will be hot
• Camp overnight in midst of endless mountain ranges in the tiny village of Naranjillo
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Here's what really happened:
At last the day is here. Woke up far too early, too excited, lots of faffing – do I take this or that in my day pack or main pack…
Saw the first goal in the Chelsea v’s United game over breakfast. Even more faffing over the bikes, fitting saddles, tightening breaks etc. Quick group photo, dipped my toe in the Pacific and we’re off!
An easy bike ride this morning just to get us warmed up, then the rain returned and boy did it rain! We were soaked to the skin. No worries. That’s the way it is in the rainforest and it is the rainy season so what did we expect?!
The afternoon was a steep 4 hour hike in the rain. Then the group warm down, which always ends with us in a tight circle giving each other a quick massage – fab.
We camped overnight in the tiny village with cold showers and beans for supper. Four big lads in a tent – an aromatic night!
Tomorrow the racing begins. Will let you know how we fare.
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Camp one |
Day one: Naranjillo to Santa Maria. Hike 12km uphill to 1,500m; bike 16km uphill to 1,600.
• Hike uphill all morning – steep and hot
• Afternoon cycling on undulating terrain
• Teams take responsibility for their own navigation, finding way point markers en-route and answering questions on race cards
• Camping overnight in village of Santa Maria
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Here's what really happened:
After a windy night and some unusual noises, there was a full pre-race faffing session. Then we’re off for the hiking race. We lead to the first check point then the Crazy Coots pass us, at check point 2 we catch sight of them they’re only 300 meters ahead. Pauls says lets run, is he mad we are dripping with sweat, ok we set off. We get into it and start hunt them down, as we catch we let out the DevComOne war cry “Who let the dogs out ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh”
We made it to the half-way point in joint first, fifteen minutes ahead of the next team. What could possibly go wrong?
Lots as it happens! Both teams set off together from the rest zone with our 15 minute lead and raced up some steep climbs, neck and neck. The big problem was we were all dodgy map readers and we missed the first turn. 45 minutes later having been up and down on massive ridge we all realized we were very lost. We had no choice but to retrace our steps. Eventually we found the guides and got back on track. From first to last and an extra hour and half of hiking, disaster! Back of the pack with everything to do tomorrow with the big bike climb to the top of the continental divide.
The afternoon is an easy 16k bike ride, warren gets a major cramp attack but gets through it after a bit of screaming. As I type this, Paul is flat out, we’re all knackered but team spirit is high and we’re determined to make up the difference tomorrow.
Each day the guides choose teams or individuals who they think show real spirit.
Spirit of the Day goes to Crazy Coots and DevComOne for getting lost, getting angry, calming down, getting back to happy.
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Local Indians
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Day two: Santa Maria to Orosi. Bike 55km to 2,330m and drop down again to 1,200m (730m climbed in total)
• A long and challenging day
• Route begins with steep 14km uphill race to top of Continental Divide - at 2,330m this is the highest point of our journey
• Off-road bike race in afternoon session on steep trails with difficult terrain
• Team Challenge on very steep tarmac road – objective is to get furthest up the hill as a team
• End day cycling through the stunning Orosi Valley – flanked with dark green forests of coffee
• Camping in the Orosi valley
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Here's what really happened:
The timed race up to the Continental Divide, we need to dig deep and get a result. We're all up at 4am for a 5.30am start.
We warm up with Clive’s Costa Rican Racing Penguin – hilarious, it releases all the pre race tension, has everyone laughing.
Teams go out with a two minute gap, the team with the least points overall goes out first. Despite yesterday's disaster, we managed to gain points in other challenges so we're fourth overall out of six teams. We go out third, four minutes behind the last team, our fellow dodgy navigators – Crazy Coots - they're the team to beat.
The bike climb is steep and doesn't let up for 14km; it's hot and humid we pass the Wheelie Warriors within the first km then begin to hunt down our great adversaries, the Crazy Coots. Finally catch sight of them 400m from the finish, having endured the hardest uphill ride any of us have ever done. “Who let the dogs out ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh” echoes across the divide. We cross the finish line 63 sec behind them so we win by three minutes; they come in second. A great effort, I'm so proud of our team. All those hours on the bike for the last six months have paid off.
It's 8am and we're having our second breakfast of the day on top of Costa Rica. More beans and rice, but boy does it taste good. We lie down and snooze outside in the sun as the rest of the day would be off-road for 40km.
Little did we know what was in store.
At first the descents were easy but they got harder and harder. By lunch there had been a couple of crashes, a bit of blood and one bad leg injury, needing stitches. Unlucky, the event was over for Gareth one of our fellow competitors.
Lunch was in a bar whilst thunder and lightning raged outside and Gareth had his stitches lying on the pool table.
Then onto the steep hill climb challenge to see who got furthest up the hill without stopping. We went out fifth and were highest by a long way, with the Crazy Coots left to go - good on them they beat us, with lots of loud encouragement from our team, "come on you young kids, you can beat us old b******s"! There's a great spirit between our two teams, we've been through a lot together.
Now more steep downs on wet muddy tracks: we all have minor crashes. It got so tricky, quite often we had to get off and walk. After one long walk down our guide "Hiro" got back on and was followed by three others down the hill and then me. I approached were they had stopped at speed, the brakes don't work too well in mud; that was the last thing I remember.
I had the crash described to me later in the hot spa: the front wheel had gone from under me and I used my face as a brake for 5 metres. Supposedly I was lying on the floor bleeding saying, "get a photo for the blog"! I don't remember anything until the doctor Amy arrived five minutes later. Warren tells me he asked me about the race we had just won and I couldn't remember anything.
Where was I? What was I doing? Then, oh yes, I’m in Costa Rica, gradually came back to me but it took 24 hours. Needless to say I had to walk the last section with the doctor telling me I would have to go back to camp in a car.
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Top of Continental divide
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No way! I had not come this far and trained this hard to fail. She said that if, at the bottom of the hill, she was convinced I was ok I could ride back to camp with her, slowly. The pitch began! Success! Very dazed, I rode back to camp for my first look in a mirror. Lots of scratches all over my face and a big gash down my nose from my glasses; it could have been a lot worse. A couple of beers, some painkillers and off to bed.
But first the scores - a great performance by the team, with one second, two joint firsts and an outright first in the race we're now top of the leader board by one point. We have to build on this lead tomorrow as when it comes to the white water rafting, the teams of six will have an advantage over us four.
And now to bed.
Spirit of the Day goes to Gemma of Wheelie Warriors for getting down the off road biking tracks despite being terrified and to Jerry of Columbus 6 for helping, motivating, joking and laughing all day.
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Race winners
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Day three: Orosi to Turrialtico. Bike 60km from 1,200m to 800m.
• Full day of biking, from Orosi into the Reventazon Valley
• Various steep uphill and downhill sections - as the altitude drops, coffee fields are replaced by sugarcane plantations and the temperature begins to rise again
• Afternoon biking along steep and sustained uphill section
• Overnight in lodge high above river valley
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Here's what really happened:
9 hours of sleep - fantastic. Still feel a bit fuzzy but not many aches and pains - feeling very lucky, it could have been a lot worse.
Breakfast in the sun, quick faff, then off for the group warm up which is always silly this one is called "Good morning how are you today - great" lots of jumping around but gets everyone going.
I'm feeling very tentative on the bike this morning but I need to get my head together as we have another team bike race, 14k up and down with a climb to finish. To get to the start line we cross another raging river single file using an amazing blue iron swing bridge... I cannot describe how beautiful this country is.
We're out last as we're top of the bike leader board. Teams go out 1 minute apart - the Crazy Coots are one minute in front and once again are the team to beat. Gareth from the Wheelie Warriors, who had the leg injury yesterday has dug in and is back competing again despite three stitches - a great captain's performance.
We're off with five teams ahead so need to blast on, no fear, no thoughts of yesterday's crash, just go for it.
Warren verbally whipped us all the way: "it's easy, come on pedal get in gear, get in the zone." We could all have clocked him but it did the trick. We did pedal all the way, we found the zone and passed four teams... just the Coots to go and we had them in our sights.
Then, the ghost of day one came back to haunt us all and as we got close, we saw them checking their map. Had we gone the wrong way again?
"NO," said Paul. "Go for it, we've got the edge!" We got them and went on to win. The Coots came in second, as expected, and Beam me up Ernie in third.
After the excitement of the race, we had a chilled out ride of 40km and stopped by a raging river for lunch, where we were all set the challenge of building the highest pile of single stones. The Wheelie Warriors who were in last won easily, Coots second, then us. We then had the chance to cool off by swimming across the raging river which was hard, but great fun.
I've forgetten to tell you that our team is called DevComOne. email me if you want to know why - daviodpollock@chesstelecom.com
We thought the challenges were over for the day, but no!
Each team had to pick their best rider for a 200 metre uphill dash. No question, Warren was our man... but he's 45, it's a huge ask for him to beat these young lads! He flies across the line, white as a sheet having given his all in fourth place - a major achievement. He's gets our team's vote for man of the day. The dash winner was Neil from Neverest, second place was Ben from the Coots and third was Euan from Columbus 6.
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Bloody, but alive! John, me & Amy after the crash
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We're staying in an amazing wood lodge overlooking the most beautiful valley with a volcano at the end. We celebrate our day of battle with the Coots and await the scores.
And they're in! We have now extended our lead at the top to three points, but guess who's in second, yes the Crazy Coots - The Prince's Trust Team.
After dinner, Carlos gave my stiffening neck a great massage and then off to a real bed - luxury... time to sleep.
Spirit of the Day goes to Gareth of Wheelie Warrior for bravely getting back on the bike after his leg injury and to Gwen of Neverest for helping Mo always being smiley.
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Last day of the bike race
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Day four: Turrialtico to El Nido del Tigre. Bike 22km from 800m to 200m; raft 7km.
• Final morning of biking, beginning on steep hilly paved road and finishing on an off-road section down to the Pacuare River
• White water rafting through pristine rainforest dotted with waterfalls
• Overnight at lush riverside jungle camp
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Here's what really happened:
Woke up at 6 am to blue sky, looking at the volcano then tucked into a breakfast of scrambled eggs, rice and beans before setting off for a 22km ride in 36 degree heat and 80 per cent humidity.
A quick bike repair challenge, won by Columbus 6. We had problems with our valves and came in fourth.
The last descent to the river is steep and I manage another two minor crashes - my chain comes off and locks my back wheel - I nearly lost it again! This mountain biking is way too dangerous for a man of my age, but boy do I love it... and luckily I stay on!
On the final descent down to the raging river below, my front wheel goes out from under me again and I only just manage to jump off and stay on my feet - at last the biking is over!
Now, it's water all the way to the Caribbean.
The safety briefing scared many but before we know it we were out on the water loving the cool air, crashing through the rapids with cool, fresh water splashing all over our sweaty, bike sore bodies. Everyone has faced their demons on the bikes, now it's the water's turn.
These are some of the world's most challenging rapids - grade III - IV - we have to take care. Euan and Fiona from Columbus 6 got flipped out during the 1 km challenge, but they are fine, Beam Me Up Ernie win but we manage third only 5 seconds behind. Not bad, but we must do better tomorrow.
With the excitement of the raft race over, we drag the rafts up the river bank. We're here at the Rainforest hideaway. One of the first things we see is a tarantula being dragged off by one mother of a wasp to lay her eggs in the big spider. This is not TV - it's right here in front of our eyes, hopefully not in the tent tonight.
We wash outside in a cold river shower - magical. Then it's off to the bar to plan our strategy for the medical challenge. John - the challenge nurse - has broken his leg and each team has to attach a splint, make a stretcher and carry him 20 yards to the helicopter pad.
Spag bol and flambé bananas for dinner - spectacular! There's only so much rice and beans you can eat.
Then today's scores and off to the bar for a few beers. It's very close but we win the medical challenge. We failed to stretch our lead though. The Crazy Coots had a bad day. They lost a link on the bike repair and carried John upside down on the stretcher meaning they slip back into third. We're now under pressure from Neverest - 4 lads and 2 girls from Newcastle, who are now in second after gaining 2 points today.
Can the old boys hold onto their 3 point lead? With the average age of 47 we've got our work cut out.
Bed - hope there's no spiders, scorpions, ants, wasps etc waiting for me.
Spirit of the Day goes to Claire of Columbus 6 for showing such strength and never giving up and to me of DevComOne for being generally smiley, happy and positive after my crash.
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Warren asleep in the Rainforrest camp
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Day five: El Nido del Tigre to Finca Pacuarito. Raft 20km.
• Rafting through class III/IV rapids on the Pacuare, passing through virgin rainforest, past cascading waterfalls and river carved canyons
• Finally we leave the rapids behind and raft on flat water to reach our second jungle camp
• Overnight at jungle camp
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Here's what really happened:
An incredibly noisy night, every insect known to man croaking, squawking, ribbiting with the river rumbling in the background plus a few too many beers - slept like a baby.
Woke at sunrise with dappled sunlight sprinkling into the camp. Everyone's up early - this place is way too special to waste a moment in bed. Grab another fresh water shower then debrief with my fellow challengers over breakfast about the events of the day before.
Everyone is chilled - great spirit, great camaraderie and loving every moment.
Back on the water, "Beam Me Up Ernie" hit Upper Huacas known as the graveyard and flip over. One minute they're in the boat, the next they're underwater. The boat lands on top of them, they get out only to be run over by the "Neverest" Team who turn back in the raging water to rescue 4 of them, Whellie Warriors pick up the other 2 - all is well.
Even our guide 'Carr' got flipped out - wild water.? ?We celebrate every rapid passed with an oar 'high five' and shout ''Pura Vida” which means pure life.
Now we're in charge and Paul has taken the helm for the 400m self guided sprint race. We start second, hunt down and pass Wheelie Warriors and we win the challenge by 9 seconds just in front of our old adversaries, the Crazy Coots. We break for lunch but beforehand we have the flipping challenge.
You flip the raft and all of you have to right it and get back in. The practice goes well, just 26 seconds but then it’s the real thing. Neverest do it in 25 seconds - the pressure is on. It's now or never. We must keep our lead. The boys pull it out of the bag. 24 seconds - we win.
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Team in Rainforrest Camp
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Lunch by the river.
The day has gone well for us. We extend our lead to eight points - with the last day a 40k kayak to the finish.
We need to find the zone - again.
Bed
Spirit of the Day goes to the Beam me up Ernie team for surviving their flip.
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Day six: Finca Pacuarito to the Caribbean Sea.Sea kayak 40km and two hour transfer.
• Continue down the Pacuare River in sea kayaks into Caribbean lowlands where banana plantations gradually replace the receding rainforest
• Kayaking ends at the mouth of the Pacuare River, where it meets the Caribbean Sea
• After time on the beach celebrating our achievement, we transfer by motorboat to coaches which take us to our final night hotel
• Celebratory gala dinner at Hotel Suerre
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Crazy Coots team |
Columbus 6 |
Our trusted guides - John, X, Clive, Hiro, Mike & Amy |
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Here's what really happened:
Fill your waterproof bag with everything you need for the day, put everything else on the bus, grab breakfast, have a number 2, wouldn't want to do it on the riverbank with 40 people watching, prep your kayak, sun cream everywhere, it's going to be hot and we're on the water for 7 hours, update the blog all in 45 minutes. Oh, and don't forget to win.
The sun is rising as we jump into the kayak. This is it, the final day, boy has it gone fast.
At the last minute, I switch places with Warren and go at the back - big mistake. Warm up goes ok but then it’s the race. Paul and Jan get off to a great start and keep pace with the Neverest strong boys.
I struggle to get my rhythm and steer as we weave down the river trying to keep up with the leaders. The sun is beating down. Its all upper body strength, your heart is pounding, your lungs are bursting and you've got to keep it up for over an hour.
The Crazy Coots are leading with Paul and Jan on their tail. Euan and Fi pass us then Gerry and Trevor. We occasionally find our rhythm, I look back and see the Neverest girls Gwen and Sarah are on our tail. It’s the final straw for Warren, he's beasting me about my steering. I'm doing my best but it isn't good enough. They glide by, breathing and paddling in sync. We hit the finish line 10 meters behind them. The final challenge is over. Now it’s a leisurely paddle to the Caribbean. Just an hour to go and we will have crossed Costa Rica coast to coast.
We pootle along, at last we have a few moments to take in the beauty; monkeys in the trees, herons watching, fish jumping, kingfishers flying by, crocs on the bank, turtles bobbing and butterflies everywhere.
Mossey, Neverest’s Mr Muscle, is covered in butterflies. Mike, our local guide, paddles by "Those butterflies normally congregate on bullshit" - everyone howls with laughter. You can hear the relief in the laughs, the finish line is just around the corner. We've made it, we're safe, no major injuries, we've crossed the Americas.
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Crazy coots team |
Caribbean finish
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We round the next corner, Warren in the back. We're in perfect sync, perfect rhythm. There it is, the Caribbean sea. I'm so proud of my teammates, of everyone around me - emotional. As I type this on my BlackBerry sitting by the pool the next day with everyone 'chillaxing' as Clive would say, I'm brimming up with emotion - what an achievement.
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Relaxing at last - Pura speed |
We land the kayaks on the beach, lots of hugs, kisses, high 5's, photos. We put our Prince's Trust t-shirts on for the finish line photo.
For the last 7 days we've been under our own steam, now we're flying down the back water swamps in speedboats. Great way to end - 'pura' speed.
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We hit the hotel bar, quick beer then to bed for a couple of hours sleep before the Awards Dinner. Have we done enough?
The bar is buzzing, everyone is high on achievement - more hugs, kisses, and lots to drink. Wheelie Warriors 6th, Columbus 6 5th, Beam me up Ernie 4th, Crazy Coots 3rd, Neverest 2nd, DevComOne 1st.
Fi and Mossy read out poems. We do a spoof of the medical challenge and amputate John’s leg.
I do a quick speech, thank everyone - emotional. I met some great people - those Crazy Coots are very special.
Drink way too much local hooch "Guaro" - with ice and lime and dance the Salsa till the early hours.
Words cannot describe how amazing the last 7 days have been. Great people, great adventure, great memories.
Thank you all.
David
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