It didn't appear to have rained last night. It felt really good to get back out on the bike today though. It was almost as if I had forgotten the purpose and the joy of bike riding on this trip with all these little tours and excursions the past few days that presented themselves in these cute little Costa Rican beach towns. I loved all of that certainly, but it was unexpected and I don't want to get too spoiled on this tough trip. I have a lot of work in front of me still. Today was about an average day of bike riding, if not a little easy because it was so flat. 65 miles is a good distance, but with only about 2,700 foot total elevation gain, it was fairly easy. The nice wide bike lane reminded me of the pancake flat stretch along the Caribbean coast in Mexico. Tomorrow is going to totally suck though – about a total of 6,000 ft elevation. One of the biggest climbs of the whole trip, in fact it may be the most elevation. Which normally would not be that bad, but when you’re hauling 60 lbs though… Tomorrow morning I’m going to have a big bowl of granola and almond milk to lighten the load. I’ve already gone through and thrown away some things I didn’t need – soap bar, old Nat Geo maps for countries I’ve finished. Carrying that spare back tire is working against me, but it is good insurance. Trying to live carrying minimal food too, but being careful not to end up like in Guatemala in small towns that are closed (for the holidays) and then lack food. I really don’t think I’ll have that issue again, but that did leave a mark on me.
There is just nothing to do in Palmar Norte. It is just a stop before the big hill, apparently. This city is on the TDA Cycling list of stops too, which has not let me down yet, but there’s not a lot of choices between Quepos and the border, if you want to avoid the main border crossing and head towards Volcan and Boquete, Panama, which I do. Costa Rica was fricken awesome as far as every beach town you stop in having things to do. I really tried my best to pack the days with things I’ve never done before and take advantage of them being there. I could spend another month in CR for sure. It really gave me a sense for what retirement might feel like!
I've been in some pretty strange hotel rooms, but this one is pretty strange as well. It has air conditioning, but it leaks like a sieve. There's no insulation in the floor and roof, and there's a big wide open window in the bathroom that you cannot close. It looks like rain can't come in all the time there. I swear the shower drain just looks like it drains to the ground, but maybe there's some pipe that takes it somewhere. I must say, next to eating at the end of the ride each day, taking a nice shower with a little bit of warm water is pretty heavenly also. That first splash of water on your head and face, tasting all that salt as it washes off of you - pretty refreshing.
For those of you getting tired of all my beach sunset pictures, you can relax – after my lunch pit stop today, that’s the last I will be seeing of a beach for about a week or so. And even then, I’m not sure if there are a lot of beach sunsets in Panama (recall Panama is oriented east-west) but maybe.
No road debris, no repaving "curb", one of the nicest stretches in all of Central America that I've been on, if not in the States too. Too bad CR makes it illegal to ride a bicycle on these roads.
Here's where I'm heading over the next few days. Notice the Y-axis again. From about 20 miles into tomorrow onward, it is just going to suck. As my oldest brother would say, the forecast for tomorrow calls for PAIN.
