Tamarindo to San Jose, Costa Rica, 226 miles
It was easier to get amie up for surfing this morning. 6:30 we were out of bed, 7am we were in the water (board cost us $10/2 hours) Good time surfing with the wife. The water temperature in Costa Rica is ideal, and the waves were small (2-4’) but consistent.
We checked our email on the way out, and got some great news. The scourge of our neighborhood, Juan, just put his house for sale. WOOOO HOOO. With a little luck, he’ll be out, and someone new (no doubt better) will be in. Amie was dancing when she heard…
It was hot by 11am, too hot to be in the sun in shorts and t-shirt, so by the time we had our gear on, we were wet with sweat. With this in mind, we decided to skip exploring further on the Nicoya peninsula (more beaches) and turned inland to MonteVerde, high in the cloud forest where temps would be much cooler. We turned off the Pan American highway at the first sign for MonteVerde. The road winded up steep inclines, and about 10 miles in of the 30, it turned to gravel. With the heavy bike and the cut backs it was difficult to keep it moving at a safe speed even in first gear. With 10 miles to go the gravel turned to baseball sized rocks, but we pushed on. My mistake. About 100m in we had our 2nd spill of the trip. Luckily we were in first gear and sustained no injuries. Amie was upset not because we fell, but because there was no conceivable way to make it to our destination. She was so excited because there is a Amish community from the US in MonteVerde and they make cheese and milkshakes. No milkshakes for her, no zip line canopy tour for me. As we struggled to lift the laden bike back up on its wheels it started to rain.
Shit! 2:30pm on the dot, rain again. Then lightening. Then cats and dogs pouring. We cautiously made our way down the mountainside while water rushed down the road like a river. We were drenched.
About an hour and a half later we were back on pavement and stopped at a truckstop to check the damage. The same pocket that killed amie’s ipod drenched our travel documents and passport. Totally soaked. Everything else was OK.
We spent a few minutes working up a new game plan and the best we had was we’d ride towards San Jose and our next destination on the caribean coast and when it got dark we’d stop at a road side hotel. Well 3:30 turned to 4:30 and the sun was down by 5pm. One of our rules is no riding in the dark, so we got anxious to find a hotel, but still so none. ??? We passed about 30 restaurants, truck stops, auto parts stores, etc… still no hotel. Now it was 6pm and the lightening was back. Finally we saw a sign for a hotel and winded off the main highway to it. Around a bend we saw a giant neon sign for a Hotel and Casino. Not our first choice, but we were soaked, tired, and in dire need of getting of the unlite highway. I ran inside and wish I took a picture. One guy drinking a beer, 3 overweight cocktail waitresses in skimpy clothes, and a couple of shoddy card tables. At the sight of me all 4 giggled. I look like a space man in my gear…
Needless to say we were back on the road and now only 30 miles from San Jose where we were sure there would be a hotel. Afterall, 50 miles on the largest highway in the country and no hotel? Are we in the twilight zone?
We pulled into san jose and quickly made our way to the center. Second mistake of the day. Tons of degenerates on the street eyeing us and our shiny bike. Amie was navigating via our guidebook while I weaved cautiously through the city. The first hotel recommendation looked great, only no where for the motorcycle. The second option turned out to be shut down. The third option was full. The fourth option was no parking. The fifth option was $125. The sixth option we never found. The seventh option… I can’t remember, but surely you get the idea. Both of us were at our wits end as the city is full of one ways and winding streets. This effort took us at least an hour, and we were ready to leave town and pitch the tent somewhere. Finally, just as we were giving up, we saw a hotel sign in the middle of no where covered in bars.
I approached the door and an older lady peeked at me through the bars as if wondering what I wanted. I told her we needed a room and she opened up. This place turned out to be our savior. Parking in the locked garage for the bike, $20 a night, very clean, hot water (!), she did our laundry for us, and ordered us a pizza for delivery.
Feeling much better about life and completely exhausted we setup our tent on the bed (sorry mosquitos) and went to sleep wondering what tomorrow will have in store.
We checked our email on the way out, and got some great news. The scourge of our neighborhood, Juan, just put his house for sale. WOOOO HOOO. With a little luck, he’ll be out, and someone new (no doubt better) will be in. Amie was dancing when she heard…
It was hot by 11am, too hot to be in the sun in shorts and t-shirt, so by the time we had our gear on, we were wet with sweat. With this in mind, we decided to skip exploring further on the Nicoya peninsula (more beaches) and turned inland to MonteVerde, high in the cloud forest where temps would be much cooler. We turned off the Pan American highway at the first sign for MonteVerde. The road winded up steep inclines, and about 10 miles in of the 30, it turned to gravel. With the heavy bike and the cut backs it was difficult to keep it moving at a safe speed even in first gear. With 10 miles to go the gravel turned to baseball sized rocks, but we pushed on. My mistake. About 100m in we had our 2nd spill of the trip. Luckily we were in first gear and sustained no injuries. Amie was upset not because we fell, but because there was no conceivable way to make it to our destination. She was so excited because there is a Amish community from the US in MonteVerde and they make cheese and milkshakes. No milkshakes for her, no zip line canopy tour for me. As we struggled to lift the laden bike back up on its wheels it started to rain.
Shit! 2:30pm on the dot, rain again. Then lightening. Then cats and dogs pouring. We cautiously made our way down the mountainside while water rushed down the road like a river. We were drenched.
About an hour and a half later we were back on pavement and stopped at a truckstop to check the damage. The same pocket that killed amie’s ipod drenched our travel documents and passport. Totally soaked. Everything else was OK.
We spent a few minutes working up a new game plan and the best we had was we’d ride towards San Jose and our next destination on the caribean coast and when it got dark we’d stop at a road side hotel. Well 3:30 turned to 4:30 and the sun was down by 5pm. One of our rules is no riding in the dark, so we got anxious to find a hotel, but still so none. ??? We passed about 30 restaurants, truck stops, auto parts stores, etc… still no hotel. Now it was 6pm and the lightening was back. Finally we saw a sign for a hotel and winded off the main highway to it. Around a bend we saw a giant neon sign for a Hotel and Casino. Not our first choice, but we were soaked, tired, and in dire need of getting of the unlite highway. I ran inside and wish I took a picture. One guy drinking a beer, 3 overweight cocktail waitresses in skimpy clothes, and a couple of shoddy card tables. At the sight of me all 4 giggled. I look like a space man in my gear…
Needless to say we were back on the road and now only 30 miles from San Jose where we were sure there would be a hotel. Afterall, 50 miles on the largest highway in the country and no hotel? Are we in the twilight zone?
We pulled into san jose and quickly made our way to the center. Second mistake of the day. Tons of degenerates on the street eyeing us and our shiny bike. Amie was navigating via our guidebook while I weaved cautiously through the city. The first hotel recommendation looked great, only no where for the motorcycle. The second option turned out to be shut down. The third option was full. The fourth option was no parking. The fifth option was $125. The sixth option we never found. The seventh option… I can’t remember, but surely you get the idea. Both of us were at our wits end as the city is full of one ways and winding streets. This effort took us at least an hour, and we were ready to leave town and pitch the tent somewhere. Finally, just as we were giving up, we saw a hotel sign in the middle of no where covered in bars.
I approached the door and an older lady peeked at me through the bars as if wondering what I wanted. I told her we needed a room and she opened up. This place turned out to be our savior. Parking in the locked garage for the bike, $20 a night, very clean, hot water (!), she did our laundry for us, and ordered us a pizza for delivery.
Feeling much better about life and completely exhausted we setup our tent on the bed (sorry mosquitos) and went to sleep wondering what tomorrow will have in store.
It's a BIG one
Hands up if you like surfing
Amie's turn
Paddle! It's huge!
Okay...not the biggest
Small wave...serious surfer
Whoops
Bigger whoops!
Everyone is okay
He had a laugh
This was about 10 minutes before heavy rain
Aftermath of heavy rain
posted by Pedro and Maria at 2:55 PM
1 Comments:
you put the old battle axe down!!! good on ya mate... lets get rid of those plastics.
chepe
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