Just4fuN: December 27th & 28th, 2009

Left Liberia, Costa Rica and rode through some amazingly beautiful country. It’s so green everywhere. Unfortunately it’s because it rains so much there. More on this to follow. We started climbing into the higher elevations and the road became twisty and temperature started dropping. Having dressed in the a.m. for the very warm weather we were suffering a bit from the cold but nobody wanted to stop and put on clothes as we wanted to “make miles” today. After a couple of hours I was extremely cold but resolved not to be the first to stop. The road was good and we had plenty of gas with which to ride. Then the wind started.

Small towns are one reason it is tough to make many miles in a day.

First it came in slight gusts across the road and increasingly stronger until we were sometimes riding at quite an angle. Then, as we were so high, small clouds worked their way up the hillsides and across the road in puffs but gradually growing larger until it was nearly solid and I could no longer follow the tail lights in front of me for fear of rear ending a vehicle if they had to stop. I slowed to about 10-20 miles an hour max. and noticed I had water streaming off my arms. I was soaked and frozen. It was time for me to stop and put on my fleece and rain gear. While I was doing this Mike rode slowly by and he stopped and put his on also. For another 45 minutes we wound our way around the mountains until the road started to drop in elevation. Then the fog started to dissipate but it also started to rain, not hard but it made me glad to have stopped.
The first small village we came to we stopped and got a coffee and then another to warm up. Oh man they were good internally and on the fingers. While there it really started to downpour. After 25 minutes it let up enough that we took off. An hour later we were stripping off our rain suits and riding through some more heat. What fun!

This is an example of the crummy scenery we have to put up with all day long...poor us!

We ended up in Palmar, Costa Rica after riding 285 miles today.

Met two Canadian guys who had trailered their bikes down to Dallas while inquiring about a room at a hotel. The price was too high and the guys suggested the place they were at. It turned out to be just fine with 3 beds, hot water, and AC. That evening the Canadians suggested an outdoor restaurant with wifi. Zoe noticed me online called me via Skype. It was great as she was at my parents home and my sister and her family were visiting. We all got to chat and see one another and so my holidays are a lot less lonely.

Enjoying the ride!

Left about 6:30 with the morning being bright and warm. As we rolled out of the small town and into the countryside there was still fog but not as bad as the previous day. We watched it burn off while riding and soon it turned into a beautiful day. This ride took us from green and tropical to dry and brown and then to hilly and urban. After two-wheeling over 300 miles we arrived just outside Panama City and stayed at the Backpacker’s Hotel.

Some cops are just curious or bored and some are kind of nasty. I prefer the curious ones.