Bike trip Day 5

(on the international bridge)

Much like the previous day, our last day of the bike trip was quite short. We were up early, and for fairly good reason, as some of the group was planning on heading back home the same day-so long bus rides ahead. It was a pleasant ride, with only a few tough hills as we headed away from the beach towards Bri-Bri. The hills were tough but the views were gorgeous, looking across fields of banana trees towards the lush, dark green hills beyond (rising up towards the Talamanca Range). We also passed through a few beautiful river valleys. And just like that, after a few bumpy sections of unpaved road, we arrived at Sixaola, a dusty, worn down border town. A brief explanation to the authorities, and we were allowed to cross over the bridge, set foot in Panama, and we took some pictures in front of the immigration office. The policemen didn't look thrilled, but said nothing.

(Day 5 route)

(the whole group, border bridge in background)

Everyone arrived, and we took some very quick photos, as some of the staff was hoping to get back to the office that afternoon. A few of the people were staying another night at the beach, but, knowing that I'd be coming back in just two weeks, I decided to head back to site. So, we grabbed some food, changed in the bathrooms and hopped on the bus. After arriving back at the highway intersection, I helped Katherine and Beth load their bikes onto the bus, and decided, as I'd been riding for more than a week, why not ride the final 33 kilometers home. Once again with my backpack on, I took it pretty slow, and had a huge feeling of relief to get back home, shower in my own shower, and take a well deserved nap. With the trip up and back, I covered 559 kilometers over 8 days, which amounts to a sliver yes than 70 kilometers a day (or 43 miles-but that doesn't sound nearly as difficult). It was a great trip, I'm really glad I did it, it was probably good to use some muscles that I hadn't used in a long time and more than anything, was able to see much more of Costa Rica, which, in case I don't mention it very often, really is a beautiful country-and more than that-has all its beauty packed into quite a small area. The map below shows the complete route (albeit that Guápiles-Limón was done by bus).

(the complete route)