January 14, 2019
The end of one journey and the beginning of another
Today was about packing up and getting ready to head out on our next adventure. Kurt and Stacie have most kindly allowed us to store what we don't want to take to Cuba with them until we return in 5 weeks. We have decided to drastically downsize with the thought that we will be heading out into some good climbs at the beginning of this adventure and want to reduce the amount of weight we will be taking. I will have only two panniers and Jim will still carry four but with much less in each. We shall see how that all goes!
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We had a lovely sleep in our adorable little casita but awoke this morning to torrential rain which kept up all morning. We enjoyed taking our time with our breakfast, thinking that it would subside, which of course it did not. Our two tasks for the day before taking off for the hotel we booked near the airport were to pick up the bike boxes Jim had arranged to have available at a local bike shop and pick up some sports equipment that we want to give out in Cuba. It was our plan to bring soccer balls with us but we decided that we just don't have the space for them and don't have any assured way of blowing them up when we get there, so the plan changed to finding some frisbees. We told our grandchildren that we would be handing out these instead of buying them Christmas presents this year and they (well, their parents at least) were very pleased with this plan. Because we knew the boxes would take up most of Kurt's car, Jim and Kurt went out first to collect the boxes while Stacie and I got to spend more time chatting about pretty much everything and anything - what a great visit! When they returned, Jim was a little concerned that the boxes wouldn't be big enough and was keen to get to the hotel as early as possible to give us enough time to deal with any issues. With this in mind, off we both went with Kurt to the local Walmart to find the needed frisbees. Thankfully we were able to locate them and headed back. The plan was for us to ride the bikes to the hotel and for Kurt and Stacie to follow a short time later with the bike boxes and our gear. We said goodbye to their lovely home and were off for the short ride over to the Comfort Inn where they advertised they had an airport shuttle.
We were about halfway to our destination when the skies opened up and it just poured for the remainder of the trip. We were literally riding through puddles now well above our feet and we were both soaked right to the skin, but there was nothing for it other than to just keep going. At one point I got off and walked as it was either walk on the too rough to ride shoulder or cycle on the highway and with visibility very low, I wasn't comfortable taking any chances. Soon enough we saw the Comfort Inn and parked the bikes outside, making our soggy way to the font desk. The girl on duty told us it would be about 20 minutes before we could check in, so with their wifi password in hand, we moved to the side and commenced creating a very large puddle in their lobby - sorry! Just when we received the key to our room, Kurt and Stacie pulled up and we were able to quickly unload the boxes and our gear and let them head out - what wonderful people to help us out like that! Thanks so much, guys!
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After depositing our things in the room, we both had a shower to warm up and put on some dry clothes. We made some coffee and ate a couple of muffins I had leftover in the food bag before beginning the always arduous task of packing up the bikes.
Jim's bike box was slightly larger than mine, so we tackled his bike first and within a surprisingly short time had the bike settled into its box. Ok, we thought, let's see how the second one goes. Oddly enough, mine went even better and before we knew it, both bikes were boxed and ready to go! We looked around the room thinking there must be something we forgot, but nope, everything is packed - amazing!
Our next task was to prepack our luggage as we are hoping to just have one piece of checked luggage for this leg. Again, much to our great surprise, we managed to get everything into a bag - either carryon or checked and we were done! What???? Where's the stress? Where's the drama? Where are all the tears?? Nope! Nada!!! Hurray!!
With everything done, we walked to the restaurant which thankfully is inside the hotel for our last dinner here in Mexico until we return in 5 weeks. We have an early morning wake-up at 4:30, which will most likely mean not a lot of sleep tonight, but we are excited and as prepared as we can be for this next leg in our adventure.
Just a quick note. Wifi in Cuba will more than likely be much harder to come by, so if I don't post for a while, you will know why. Here's to the next adventure!
Today's ride: 4 km (2 miles)
Total: 1,017 km (632 miles)
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