(March 25 – written by Dave) Today we went on a boat tour with Kokopelli Mangrove Tours.  We were up early and caught the 6:30AM bus from Palmar Norte to Sierpe (I know, that’s way too early for a rest day!).  The bus was a Costa Rican chicken bus (meaning old USA school bus) but … Continue reading Mangrove tour – Palmar Norte

(March 24 – written by Dave) Before I forget again, we had another earthquake overnight.  Actually, not last night, but the night before.  It woke me up enough to get me to check my watch and note the time.  Nancy didn’t wake up – now that’s a real switch.  Anyway, I’m bringing it up here … Continue reading Earthquake – Dominical to Palmar Norte (64k/12,938k)

(March 23 – written by Dave) We had a great day riding today.  The first 20k or so we hugged the coast, had some nice views and almost felt like we were in Oregon.  Then we had about 89k of flat, sugar cane and palm plantation riding to make it a breezy 109k in total.  … Continue reading Riding the coast – Jaco to Dominical (109k/12,874k)

(March 22 – written by Nancy) Good news – no flat tires this morning and throughout the day – woohoo! Friends who stayed in our hotel about a year ago had to lift their bikes over cars to make their exit in the morning.  So last night when we saw the drive blocked by cars … Continue reading To the sea – Puntarenas to Jaco (74k/12,764k)

(March 21 – written by Nancy) Sometimes (ok, most of the time) when the alarm goes off at 5am I think ‘It can’t be time to get up already!  This is crazy, getting up so early every day when this is supposed to be a holiday’.  Well, okay, maybe not a ‘real’ holiday but really, … Continue reading Down the peninsula – Nicoya to Puentarenas (74k/12,690k)

(March 20 – written by Dave) Today’s start was not as fun as yesterday’s start.  The monkey surprise of yesterday was replaced today with a flat tire on my bike.  I’ve had a slow leak for about a week and I’ve been just pumping the tire up first thing in the morning, making it through … Continue reading Flat start – Liberia to Nicoya (82k/12,616k)

(March 19 – written by Dave) We had strong cross/tail winds today but that has nothing to do with the title of today’s blog.  The “howling” title was all about the monkeys.  One of the resident mobs of howler monkeys decided that the trees above our room would be the ideal place to bed down … Continue reading Howling start – Sonzapote to Liberia (69k/12,534k)

(March 18 – written by Dave) We’ve had a restful yet exciting day here at Cabanas Canas Castilla Eco Lodge in the Costa Rica rainforest. First a quick update on the German camper crew that we met yesterday afternoon.  There are 18 rigs (mostly with two people), 17 from Germany, 1 from Belgium.  They all … Continue reading Costa Rica Rainforest

(March 17 – written by Dave) I’m happy to report that the disco next door to the hostel never got going, or at least we didn’t hear it.  We both slept well and were up early today – ready for a new country – Costa Rica. Before reaching the border, we had to ride the … Continue reading Costa Rica – Rivas to Sonzapote (53k/12,465k)