Monday December 7, 2015, 80 miles (129 km) – Total so far: 13,325 miles (21,445 km)
December 3, 2015 Last night I noticed that our wet clothes were missing from the hostel fence. I asked the senoritas and was directed to the manager who told me that she observed someone taking the clothes (probably a refuge) and she knew they weren’t his so she took them inside. This is the first time we have ever had anything stolen after more than 17,000 miles of riding. Thanks to the senora’s good eye we got everything back. Sleep was difficult because we were across the street from a refugee camp and they were up most of the night talking and making noise. Everything quieted down around 3 then picked up again at 5:30 daybreak. Since we are in expensive Costa Rica we made an ATM withdrawal, ate a good breakfast, and then cycled 40 miles to Liberia which is the turning point for our next location of Coco Beach. On the outside of Liberia we found a very quiet hotel, called a Finca which is a homestay like place in an agricultural area, then walked to what looked like a large outdoor mall in anytown USA. There is a Radio Shack, GNC, McDonald’s, Papa Johns, several American named clothing stores, restaurants, and a large supermarket. We ate in a Japanese restaurant, and then picked up a few dinner items in the market which seemed about 30% gringo. I guess we are in a popular area that is in full tourist season. It seemed like we were home already. We also rode on the Pan American Highway that was way too crowded with trucks and busses. But it is the only north south road near the coast.
December 6, 2015 We left Liberia and cycled the 20 miles to Coco Beach, Costa Rica. We live in Cape Canaveral, Florida which is directly south of Cocoa Beach, Florida. Fortunately the traffic was much lighter than the previous days and we were soon riding down the main street near the beach. It is very touristy and the high season but decided this would be a fun place to spend a few days. We found a really inexpensive hotel right across the street from the beach and scored a large 4 bed room for only $59 a night. So we settled in an explored the town, met some nice people, and decided to go sailing.
The next day we settled on one of the few sailboats that really sail. The rest are large party catamaran barges. We rode on a beached dinghy out to the 47 foot Kuna Vela (http://www.kunavela.com/) and sailed to the next bay to pick up Sandie and Mike who were staying at Hermosa Beach. This is typically a 16 passenger boat but it was great that there were only four of us. Captain Israel and crew Marvin were very friendly and knowledgeable. We sailed to a quiet and calm cove and spent a few hours snorkeling with the many colorful tropical fish then explored a few wet caves on the deserted beach. We next swam back to the boat and were presented with two large snack trays along with drinks. The sunset was one of the best we have ever seen as the sky was lit up with many amazing shades of red through the beautiful clouds. The wind picked up and the spray flew as we returned to Hermosa Beach then Coco Beach. I have done a lot of sailing and the wind picked up to over 44 knots. Israel and Marvin expertly handled the boat in these conditions. On the way into Coco Beach there was a stranded fishing boat that we assisted with a tow. At this point it was dark and very choppy. Marvin dropped us off on the beach with the dinghy. After cleaning up we met a few new friends in town then returned to the M&M Hotel for a deep sleep. What a fun day!
December 7, 2015 We left Coco Beach on Sunday and cycled south through the Congo Trail (formerly known as the Monkey Trail) to a small town called Potrero. Yesterday Jocelyn told me that she had talked with our Cape Canaveral neighbor Janice’s brother Arnold that lives in this town. Before we left Janice had told me that she has a brother living in Costa Rica but I had completely forgotten that until Jocelyn told me she talked with him after messaging Janice on Facebook. He invited us for the night and we found his house. There are no addresses here except for 100 meters from this and 50 meters from that. We had a great time with him watching Sunday NFL in English then having a nice seafood meal at a local restaurant. Monday morning we said goodbye to Arnold then continued south to Tamarindo Beach where we found an excellent small hostel/hotel right on the beach. What a great place. We immediately rented two longboards and hit the surf. We will spend an additional day here for the very fine surf.
