Up and showered by 6.30 am, breakfast on the beach followed by another session of organic coffee. Cycled out of town on a, not so popular, direct dirt road with lots of hills that joins the beaches on the route south of San Juan del Sur. After 10 km climbing and breaking on the rocks we stopped for a fizzy drink in a road side school canteen/cafe. We were told that if we carried on that way we would get mugged. Not wanting to return to the starting point using our muscles, we hitched a lift from a Canadian guy in a pick-up truck. He not only gave us a lift back to town but also a guided tour of the town with inside info and also a lift 20 km further to the main Interamericana junction . What a star. He was the owner of one of the bars on the seaside which somehow got confiscated by a dodgy law and bribery. He had also been a military attaché in South Korea for at the Canadian Embassy.
We headed for the border with a lunch break at a local soda. Teresa’s bike had lost a spoke again (the newly replaced one was obviously not good quality), and just to top it off she got bitten by a wasp (or something similar). Got to the border, what a confusing experience. About the size of three football pitches of total madness with lots of bureaucracy and wasted time. Even the payment for leaving Nicaragua was split into two payments and no change possible from a 100 dollar note (bearing in mind you have to pay in US dollars!). Nevertheless , we crossed an hour later and cycled up the plateau to the Costa Rican town of La Cruz. Tiring climb was kindly rewarded with great views of the pacific coast at sun set! Priceless!. Supper in the park - pineapple and snacks. Collapsed planning a visit to see the leather back turtles in Tamarindo.
Cycled: 57km
Total: 3431km
We headed for the border with a lunch break at a local soda. Teresa’s bike had lost a spoke again (the newly replaced one was obviously not good quality), and just to top it off she got bitten by a wasp (or something similar). Got to the border, what a confusing experience. About the size of three football pitches of total madness with lots of bureaucracy and wasted time. Even the payment for leaving Nicaragua was split into two payments and no change possible from a 100 dollar note (bearing in mind you have to pay in US dollars!). Nevertheless , we crossed an hour later and cycled up the plateau to the Costa Rican town of La Cruz. Tiring climb was kindly rewarded with great views of the pacific coast at sun set! Priceless!. Supper in the park - pineapple and snacks. Collapsed planning a visit to see the leather back turtles in Tamarindo.
Cycled: 57km
Total: 3431km