No Return Ticket – Just a Ride Report /w Pics
- Thread starter cavebiker
- Start date
cavebiker
Active Member
Thanks and, OK
To The Border:
The border we’re shooting for today is Rio Sereno, it opens at 9 AM. We stop for a big breakfast on our way out of town. Today we want a good meal inside us before doing the border. We never know how long it may take.
After the ride from Volcan to Rio Sereno we both agreed, this is the best stretch of biking road we have been on so far this trip. The pavement is almost new and in good shape with no potholes. But that’s not what makes a great road, it just adds. The scenery along this stretch varies from dense rainforest jungle, rivers, waterfalls sprinkled with indigenous houses to grand vistas of Volcan Baru and the surrounding virgin cloud forest. The road starts out high in the hills then continues to climb until we were in the clouds. The straight sections of road are short and far between and the shape and structure of the twists and turns constantly change. While sitting outside eating breakfast in Volcan we saw two Harley bikers head out of town and into the hills. When we almost reached the top of the road we saw the same riders on their way back down. They know…
An oncoming truck flashed it’s headlights at us to warn us about the cattle.
We make it to Rio Sereno early and stop to pick up some drinking water for the border crossing. Heidi sees a couple of public phones and suggests we use up our $3.00 Panama phone card. We walk across the street and make a few calls.
Next we wind around town asking for directions to the frontera (Border crossing). The final few blocks of road was so steep and rocky Heidi wanted to jump off and walk and eventually did. I find an almost level spot to park. Heidi walks to one building and I walk to another to ask about the Aduana (Customs). They ask us where we are going. When we said ‘Costa Rica” they told us there is no customs office on the Costa Rica side here, we need to ride down to Paso Canoas, the main Pam American crossing and just the one we were trying to avoid. We do a two hour ride back down the mountain on a different and just as good biking road. The pavement wasn’t in great shape but it was another fantastic ride.
cavebiker
Active Member
Panama - Costa Rica border crossing. Not Pretty……
Even our shoestring guide book warns about this crossing as being hectic and confusing. And the guide book is geared for backpackers who just need to get a passport stamp. Anyway, we were ready but arrived late, after 11:30 AM. I find the Panama immigration office right away and get my exit stamp for Panama. Heidi is standing by the bike right next to me. She gets her stamp also. I asked the immigration guy where the ‘aduana’ is. He points me down the building and I thought he said ‘right over there’. I walk over to an almost empty room with a couple of long tables inside. No indication of any customs office here. Next I see a couple windows with people inside. No indication of customs there either. A friendly guy walks up to me and asks if I need help. He says he’s a helper, that’s his job. I tell him I just want to know where the Panama customs building is, and I don’t need anything else. Well, he walks me past everything then says I need to first get fumigated at this booth and that I need to bring the bike. I tell him that I just want to go to the Panama customs office, that’s all. He next says that the customs office is past the fumigation booth and that I need to fumigate first. This made no sense to me but I went along with it, I figure it won’t hurt to just get the fumigation over with. I pay the $2.50 and position the bike under the sprayer. I get out of the way.
Next the helper tells me to park the bike in front of the buildings over there. I say “?esta Panama aduana?” He assures me it is. I park. Heidi waits by the bike while the guy guides me over to the immigration window and tells me to stand in line here. I say ‘?por que!? (Why!?) I was standing at the Costa Rica immigration office.
Now I’m pissed. I looked at the guy, a nice clean cut short body builder dude wearing a tank top and say “F!, F! Necesito Panama aduana primero! F!” (#! #! I need to go to the Panama customs first! #!)
He finally got it and told me that it’s back where I just come from. I had him show me. He wanted me to bring the bike again but I told him to forget it, I just want to see where the Panama Aduana is! Of course it’s right at the first room I looked into, the empty room with a couple of long tables. I was still pissed. I was worried that now that I have the bike on the Costa Rica side I wouldn’t be able to get it back to Panama. I storm off again in the sweltering heat and go back to get the bike. Heidi yells out “Don’t you want your helmet?” I say “No!” About 10 yards later I ask if she will bring it to me. I need to ride right past a police station and I don’t need any more hassles.
I blast off on the bike and zigzag around several semi-trucks then park almost right where I parked the first time, in front of the Panama immigration office. I walk into the empty room with the long tables. A guy pops out from a back room. I say “ ?esta aduana aqui?” (Is this the customs office?) “si”
I tell him I need to un-declare my motorcycle from Panama. He takes my papers and walks out to the bike with me. We start chit-chatting about our trip, where we are from, where we have been, where we are going. He pats both panniers with both hands at the same time. He does the same thing with the backpack and tank panniers, then smiles at me before walking into the next building, the one with the people behind the windows. He fills out a form, has me sign it and tells me that I’m done “fin”.
Now I’m happy. I ride the bike back toward the Costa Rica side and around the fumigation booth. I park where Heidi is waiting. She knows the drill, sit tight by the bike while I go and get my Costa Rica passport stamp and the bike cleared into Costa Rica. I get the stamp in no time. I ask the immigrations guy where the aduana is. It’s right next door. There was only one person in the office and me standing patiently outside the window. About 15 minutes later a young guy walks into the office and waits inside. Now the guy inside taps on the glass I’m standing in front of and motions for me to come inside. I guess I should be waiting inside. 15 minutes later it’s noon and the guy behind the counter is gone. I suspect it’s lunch time. 45 minutes later my helper guy reappears and tells me I need to get my insurance taken care of first and that I need a copy of that before I can clear the bike. I guess I knew that from last time. I think I was still a little rattled. We walk over to the seguro (insurance) window. I hand the woman behind the glass my title and passport. A few minutes later I sign a document, pay $17 and I have my insurance. Next my helper walks me across the street to a copy building. There I get a copy of my insurance papers and my passport page with the Costa Rica stamp. Now I’m ready to clear the motorcycle through customs.
Back at the aduana, I was the only person waiting. Almost an hour goes by. Now a helper shows up with 3 truckers trying to clear customs. Ten or fifteen minutes later a woman comes in and sits behind a computer screen. She hands all of us another sheet of paper to be filled out, all in Spanish. I do my best while holding my place at the front of the line. Of course the helper gets one of his truckers papers finished first and hands it to the woman. I wait standing at the counter with all my papers in hand and ready. She then asks ‘who’s next?’ A 300 some pound trucker tells her I’m next. I hand over all my papers. Now everything is getting entered into the computer. Next the woman asks me, where are my papers from when I crossed from Nicaragua into Costa Rica. I explain that I don’t have them. She tells me I need them. (this is all in Spanish) I walk out to the bike and look for the papers I knew I didn’t have while informing Heidi about the situation. We talk about it and both remember giving my motorcycle customs papers to the Costa Rica customs people before I entered Panama, just like I’m supposed to do. Crap!
Back inside the customs office I say that I don’t have the papers. The 300 pound trucker tries to help translate. He takes a bunch of papers he has in his hands, opens up some pages and shakes them at me while rattling out some rapid fire Spanish. “You need these papers” Big help but I got it. At this point I’m dripping with sweat, I feel like I’m going to puke. I’m not sure if it’s the greasy empanadas I ate this morning or my rattled nerves. I fight the sensation. In my best Spanish I explain to the customs woman what my deal is and that I handed back all my customs papers to the people at the border post at Sixaola before entering Panama. She says “Sixaola!” like it all makes sense now. Whosh. She tells me that she needs to call the border post at Sixaola. I sit down and try to relax.
Even our shoestring guide book warns about this crossing as being hectic and confusing. And the guide book is geared for backpackers who just need to get a passport stamp. Anyway, we were ready but arrived late, after 11:30 AM. I find the Panama immigration office right away and get my exit stamp for Panama. Heidi is standing by the bike right next to me. She gets her stamp also. I asked the immigration guy where the ‘aduana’ is. He points me down the building and I thought he said ‘right over there’. I walk over to an almost empty room with a couple of long tables inside. No indication of any customs office here. Next I see a couple windows with people inside. No indication of customs there either. A friendly guy walks up to me and asks if I need help. He says he’s a helper, that’s his job. I tell him I just want to know where the Panama customs building is, and I don’t need anything else. Well, he walks me past everything then says I need to first get fumigated at this booth and that I need to bring the bike. I tell him that I just want to go to the Panama customs office, that’s all. He next says that the customs office is past the fumigation booth and that I need to fumigate first. This made no sense to me but I went along with it, I figure it won’t hurt to just get the fumigation over with. I pay the $2.50 and position the bike under the sprayer. I get out of the way.
Next the helper tells me to park the bike in front of the buildings over there. I say “?esta Panama aduana?” He assures me it is. I park. Heidi waits by the bike while the guy guides me over to the immigration window and tells me to stand in line here. I say ‘?por que!? (Why!?) I was standing at the Costa Rica immigration office.
Now I’m pissed. I looked at the guy, a nice clean cut short body builder dude wearing a tank top and say “F!, F! Necesito Panama aduana primero! F!” (#! #! I need to go to the Panama customs first! #!)
He finally got it and told me that it’s back where I just come from. I had him show me. He wanted me to bring the bike again but I told him to forget it, I just want to see where the Panama Aduana is! Of course it’s right at the first room I looked into, the empty room with a couple of long tables. I was still pissed. I was worried that now that I have the bike on the Costa Rica side I wouldn’t be able to get it back to Panama. I storm off again in the sweltering heat and go back to get the bike. Heidi yells out “Don’t you want your helmet?” I say “No!” About 10 yards later I ask if she will bring it to me. I need to ride right past a police station and I don’t need any more hassles.
I blast off on the bike and zigzag around several semi-trucks then park almost right where I parked the first time, in front of the Panama immigration office. I walk into the empty room with the long tables. A guy pops out from a back room. I say “ ?esta aduana aqui?” (Is this the customs office?) “si”
I tell him I need to un-declare my motorcycle from Panama. He takes my papers and walks out to the bike with me. We start chit-chatting about our trip, where we are from, where we have been, where we are going. He pats both panniers with both hands at the same time. He does the same thing with the backpack and tank panniers, then smiles at me before walking into the next building, the one with the people behind the windows. He fills out a form, has me sign it and tells me that I’m done “fin”.
Now I’m happy. I ride the bike back toward the Costa Rica side and around the fumigation booth. I park where Heidi is waiting. She knows the drill, sit tight by the bike while I go and get my Costa Rica passport stamp and the bike cleared into Costa Rica. I get the stamp in no time. I ask the immigrations guy where the aduana is. It’s right next door. There was only one person in the office and me standing patiently outside the window. About 15 minutes later a young guy walks into the office and waits inside. Now the guy inside taps on the glass I’m standing in front of and motions for me to come inside. I guess I should be waiting inside. 15 minutes later it’s noon and the guy behind the counter is gone. I suspect it’s lunch time. 45 minutes later my helper guy reappears and tells me I need to get my insurance taken care of first and that I need a copy of that before I can clear the bike. I guess I knew that from last time. I think I was still a little rattled. We walk over to the seguro (insurance) window. I hand the woman behind the glass my title and passport. A few minutes later I sign a document, pay $17 and I have my insurance. Next my helper walks me across the street to a copy building. There I get a copy of my insurance papers and my passport page with the Costa Rica stamp. Now I’m ready to clear the motorcycle through customs.
Back at the aduana, I was the only person waiting. Almost an hour goes by. Now a helper shows up with 3 truckers trying to clear customs. Ten or fifteen minutes later a woman comes in and sits behind a computer screen. She hands all of us another sheet of paper to be filled out, all in Spanish. I do my best while holding my place at the front of the line. Of course the helper gets one of his truckers papers finished first and hands it to the woman. I wait standing at the counter with all my papers in hand and ready. She then asks ‘who’s next?’ A 300 some pound trucker tells her I’m next. I hand over all my papers. Now everything is getting entered into the computer. Next the woman asks me, where are my papers from when I crossed from Nicaragua into Costa Rica. I explain that I don’t have them. She tells me I need them. (this is all in Spanish) I walk out to the bike and look for the papers I knew I didn’t have while informing Heidi about the situation. We talk about it and both remember giving my motorcycle customs papers to the Costa Rica customs people before I entered Panama, just like I’m supposed to do. Crap!
Back inside the customs office I say that I don’t have the papers. The 300 pound trucker tries to help translate. He takes a bunch of papers he has in his hands, opens up some pages and shakes them at me while rattling out some rapid fire Spanish. “You need these papers” Big help but I got it. At this point I’m dripping with sweat, I feel like I’m going to puke. I’m not sure if it’s the greasy empanadas I ate this morning or my rattled nerves. I fight the sensation. In my best Spanish I explain to the customs woman what my deal is and that I handed back all my customs papers to the people at the border post at Sixaola before entering Panama. She says “Sixaola!” like it all makes sense now. Whosh. She tells me that she needs to call the border post at Sixaola. I sit down and try to relax.
cavebiker
Active Member
It seems like an hour goes by, the phone rings. The woman is on the phone for at least 10 minutes, I think she’s talking to Sixaola. A little time goes by after she’s done on the phone, then she tells me it will be just a little longer. Another phone call comes in from Sixaola, now a fax machine, I think, fires up. A new woman comes into the office and is told to take care of me. Two people help her with filling out the form on the computer. She asks me what color the bike is. I say “rojo” (red) “similar a su pelo” (similar to your hair) We exchange smiles. My nausea passed, I feel cool and dry now. Finally the woman stands up and points me to go out to the next room. There she sets all my papers on a table in front of a guy looking over some other papers. He tries to pretend I’m not there. 10 minutes later I’m still not there. A pretty young girl walks in and stands behind me. He snaps to attention and helps her answer some questions. It seemed like forever, but he finally grabs my papers and starts filling out a line in a notebook by hand. He couldn’t have taken more time to do this. Finally he stands up and barks out something in super rapid Spanish. I didn’t get it and tell him that. He gives me a disgusted look and says something about ‘no English’. I was confused because I was speaking in nothing but Spanish this whole time. I point him to the bike. He writes down the license plate number on a small piece of paper then barks out to Heidi “?habla Espanol?” (Do you speak Spanish?) She walks over to listen. She tries telling him that she needs to go to immigration. We get another disgusted look. Then he points down the road. Heidi and I both say “policia” he says “si”, we need to hand over the little slip of paper to a police post up the road, we remember that from last time now. This guy was a real ass and for no reason we could see. I was as patient and polite as I could have been. Heidi and I figure he either was just having a bad day or he was ‘in’ on the failed extortion attempt with me and all the missing customs documents I was suspiciously suppose to have. Either way, Heidi and I are smiling now and are riding into Costa Rica. Oh yeah!
==============================================================
While Heidi was waiting at the border:
Heidi waited for over three hours next to the bike while I was taking care of customs. While waiting, she had numerous people try to talk with her. She was cool with everything until an obviously drunk guy tries to get her attention. She tried ignoring him at first. Then he moved in close and was pinning her between the bike and a concrete wall. Now she tells him that he’s drunk (he was carrying a bottle in a paper sack) and that she is not interested in having a conversation. He tries to move in closer with his hand sticking out like he wanted ‘five’. Heidi grabs the helmets in her hands and was prepared to wale on the guy if he didn’t back off. He yells out in English “Chill out!” Heidi tells him to in Spanish ‘Leave Now!’ He finally does.
Heidi’s mind is spinning now about why I’m taking so long. She thinks she hears me hollering off in the distance for help. She wanted to look for me but knew she couldn’t leave the bike alone. She’s thinking I’m in trouble. She was afraid she was going to start hyperventilating.
Heidi sees an old guy about ninety with coke bottle glasses shining some ones shoes, she asks if she could be next. Heidi gets the best boot shine ever and was glad to give the guy $2 for the extra effort. He spent time chatting with her and asked if she had more shoes to shine. It was comical because he could hardly hear and Heidi had a hard time understand his Spanish. They smiled at each other a lot and that helped calm Heidi down.
Later, Heidi was really happy to finally see me walking toward her with a big smile.
==============================================================
While Heidi was waiting at the border:
Heidi waited for over three hours next to the bike while I was taking care of customs. While waiting, she had numerous people try to talk with her. She was cool with everything until an obviously drunk guy tries to get her attention. She tried ignoring him at first. Then he moved in close and was pinning her between the bike and a concrete wall. Now she tells him that he’s drunk (he was carrying a bottle in a paper sack) and that she is not interested in having a conversation. He tries to move in closer with his hand sticking out like he wanted ‘five’. Heidi grabs the helmets in her hands and was prepared to wale on the guy if he didn’t back off. He yells out in English “Chill out!” Heidi tells him to in Spanish ‘Leave Now!’ He finally does.
Heidi’s mind is spinning now about why I’m taking so long. She thinks she hears me hollering off in the distance for help. She wanted to look for me but knew she couldn’t leave the bike alone. She’s thinking I’m in trouble. She was afraid she was going to start hyperventilating.
Heidi sees an old guy about ninety with coke bottle glasses shining some ones shoes, she asks if she could be next. Heidi gets the best boot shine ever and was glad to give the guy $2 for the extra effort. He spent time chatting with her and asked if she had more shoes to shine. It was comical because he could hardly hear and Heidi had a hard time understand his Spanish. They smiled at each other a lot and that helped calm Heidi down.
Later, Heidi was really happy to finally see me walking toward her with a big smile.
cavebiker
Active Member
Pavones:
Heidi mentioned that our Central America guide book lists Pavones Costa Rica as being one of the four ‘highlight beaches’ in Central America. She said we haven’t been to any highlight beaches yet and Pavones is not far out of our way. Sounds good.
We hoped to make Pavones the same day we crossed the border but our two delays put us behind. Its 4:00PM and raining, now we need to find somewhere to stay the night, soon.
We tool through ciudad Neily, the first city after the border and found a nice hotel. Although it’s 50% more expensive than our guide book quoted it’s still within our budget. The next morning we woke up to steady rain. We pack up the bike then ‘hang out’ at the open air hotel restaurant. An hour later it’s still raining. We decide to suck it up and head out. We were hoping the rain wouldn’t last so we put on our rain jackets only, bad move.
The rain continued. We pull off the Pan American highway and start riding toward the Pacific coast. I knew I needed to turn left some miles before the village Golfito. I missed the turnoff and we find ourselves in Golfito. It’s a nice looking village but we wanted Pavones. Heidi sees an information booth while riding through town. There we get a detailed map of the area that shows exactly where the turn off is that I missed. Heidi spots a river crossing on the map with a note saying ‘ ferry’ This concerned her but I said we should have no problem crossing on a ferry with the bike. It’s raining hard, our leather pants are soaked. I pull over on the side of the road to talk. Heidi says she doesn’t like where I parked. Next we get ‘splashed good’ by a passing car. I apologized, she was right. We admit to each other how foolish we are for not putting on our rain pants. We ride on.
I backtrack out of town and find the turn off I missed. A sign says ‘39 kilometers to Pavones’, about 25 miles. The road is dirt with baseball and softball sized rock everywhere. The potholes were easy to spot because they were filled with water. This is going to be a long 25 miles. We figured we would be in Pavones in an hour and a half when we left Neily, it’s already been longer than that. The bike is handling the rough stony road better than I expected. I’m thinking that maybe it’s because the steady rain has softened the road surface. Or maybe because I moved a lot of heavy gear to the front tank panniers, probably a little of both.
About half way to Pavones we reach the river. A bus full of people pulls in next to us and starts to park. Heidi’s yelling for me to move the bike. I move it a little. She is always telling me that I don’t pay enough attention to where I park the bike. The bus driver motions to me that I’m good where I am now. We can see the ferry start up from across the river. Heidi looks concerned.
I wait and board last.
Heidi tells me to ‘quite goofing off and hold onto the bike!’
The bus driver helps fire up the diesel while the capitan tries to ‘shove off’.
Now the bus driver goes to the rear and helps the capitan shove off. I move the bike forward to try and help also.
We make it across the river and are back on the road. Soon we get teased with a few short sections of pavement, the longest was barely a kilometer but we were glad for any relief from the bumpy road.
We finally pull into the beach village Pavones. Everything is wet, lush and tropical here.
The buildings are all primitive and rustic, very quant. We continue riding through town and down another dirt road. We saw a hotel sign before town and were looking for that place. About a mile down the coast past town we pull in, La Ponderosa. It’s a tropical hotel with duplex cabins set between a tropical jungle and a beach. The room rates were over our budget but it was raining hard, we were soaked and ready to call it quits. I pay for two nights.
After we got settled in I had to confess to Heidi. “I just enjoyed that way too much” I’ve talked about this before with her. I like riding in the cold, the rain, the heat. It’s fun getting out the electric gloves, the scarf, the down vest, or rain suit. I don’t know. The colder or wetter or hotter it is the better it is, during and after. I say to Heidi with passion “I can’t be the only one that feels this way” She gives me a smirk and says “Yeah Tom, I’m sure”
The new mud on the bike looks good. I like to sit and stare after I’m done. I admire her sleek lines and bare cover. I had my fun. I don’t think she minds being a little ‘dirty’ sometimes.
After reading a brochure we discover the jungle behind the hotel is filled with hiking trails, waterfalls and exotic plants and trees. The next day we grab a camera, a trail map and head out.
Heidi mentioned that our Central America guide book lists Pavones Costa Rica as being one of the four ‘highlight beaches’ in Central America. She said we haven’t been to any highlight beaches yet and Pavones is not far out of our way. Sounds good.
We hoped to make Pavones the same day we crossed the border but our two delays put us behind. Its 4:00PM and raining, now we need to find somewhere to stay the night, soon.
We tool through ciudad Neily, the first city after the border and found a nice hotel. Although it’s 50% more expensive than our guide book quoted it’s still within our budget. The next morning we woke up to steady rain. We pack up the bike then ‘hang out’ at the open air hotel restaurant. An hour later it’s still raining. We decide to suck it up and head out. We were hoping the rain wouldn’t last so we put on our rain jackets only, bad move.
The rain continued. We pull off the Pan American highway and start riding toward the Pacific coast. I knew I needed to turn left some miles before the village Golfito. I missed the turnoff and we find ourselves in Golfito. It’s a nice looking village but we wanted Pavones. Heidi sees an information booth while riding through town. There we get a detailed map of the area that shows exactly where the turn off is that I missed. Heidi spots a river crossing on the map with a note saying ‘ ferry’ This concerned her but I said we should have no problem crossing on a ferry with the bike. It’s raining hard, our leather pants are soaked. I pull over on the side of the road to talk. Heidi says she doesn’t like where I parked. Next we get ‘splashed good’ by a passing car. I apologized, she was right. We admit to each other how foolish we are for not putting on our rain pants. We ride on.
I backtrack out of town and find the turn off I missed. A sign says ‘39 kilometers to Pavones’, about 25 miles. The road is dirt with baseball and softball sized rock everywhere. The potholes were easy to spot because they were filled with water. This is going to be a long 25 miles. We figured we would be in Pavones in an hour and a half when we left Neily, it’s already been longer than that. The bike is handling the rough stony road better than I expected. I’m thinking that maybe it’s because the steady rain has softened the road surface. Or maybe because I moved a lot of heavy gear to the front tank panniers, probably a little of both.
About half way to Pavones we reach the river. A bus full of people pulls in next to us and starts to park. Heidi’s yelling for me to move the bike. I move it a little. She is always telling me that I don’t pay enough attention to where I park the bike. The bus driver motions to me that I’m good where I am now. We can see the ferry start up from across the river. Heidi looks concerned.
I wait and board last.
Heidi tells me to ‘quite goofing off and hold onto the bike!’
The bus driver helps fire up the diesel while the capitan tries to ‘shove off’.
Now the bus driver goes to the rear and helps the capitan shove off. I move the bike forward to try and help also.
We make it across the river and are back on the road. Soon we get teased with a few short sections of pavement, the longest was barely a kilometer but we were glad for any relief from the bumpy road.
We finally pull into the beach village Pavones. Everything is wet, lush and tropical here.
The buildings are all primitive and rustic, very quant. We continue riding through town and down another dirt road. We saw a hotel sign before town and were looking for that place. About a mile down the coast past town we pull in, La Ponderosa. It’s a tropical hotel with duplex cabins set between a tropical jungle and a beach. The room rates were over our budget but it was raining hard, we were soaked and ready to call it quits. I pay for two nights.
After we got settled in I had to confess to Heidi. “I just enjoyed that way too much” I’ve talked about this before with her. I like riding in the cold, the rain, the heat. It’s fun getting out the electric gloves, the scarf, the down vest, or rain suit. I don’t know. The colder or wetter or hotter it is the better it is, during and after. I say to Heidi with passion “I can’t be the only one that feels this way” She gives me a smirk and says “Yeah Tom, I’m sure”
The new mud on the bike looks good. I like to sit and stare after I’m done. I admire her sleek lines and bare cover. I had my fun. I don’t think she minds being a little ‘dirty’ sometimes.
After reading a brochure we discover the jungle behind the hotel is filled with hiking trails, waterfalls and exotic plants and trees. The next day we grab a camera, a trail map and head out.
cavebiker
Active Member
Another Day in Pavones:
It’s been raining every afternoon for too many days now. We saw a little sun and blue sky and head out. Pavones is a 3K walk along the beach.
Local beach front home:
The clouds look darker than normal today. We carried our rain jackets in a backpack just in case.
The color of the beach sand is mostly black or dark brown here.
While walking into town the tide was high. We needed to go onto the road part way into town.
The best surfing break is right in town, Pavones. There’s a huge soccer field defining the end of town. Just before the field is a rustic open air restaurant/bar. The beach is filled with Vans and trucks with surf boards. The entire town is set up for surfers. The roads are dirt coming in and going out. That adds to the unique feel, the charm of being isolated from the ‘Main World’
The waves weren’t huge today but good. The big thing about this beach is the length of the ride. It’s said that on a good day you can ride for 3 minutes. Today we saw longer rides then we’ve seen in months.
.
There were some good waves coming in.
It’s been raining every afternoon for too many days now. We saw a little sun and blue sky and head out. Pavones is a 3K walk along the beach.
Local beach front home:
The clouds look darker than normal today. We carried our rain jackets in a backpack just in case.
The color of the beach sand is mostly black or dark brown here.
While walking into town the tide was high. We needed to go onto the road part way into town.
The best surfing break is right in town, Pavones. There’s a huge soccer field defining the end of town. Just before the field is a rustic open air restaurant/bar. The beach is filled with Vans and trucks with surf boards. The entire town is set up for surfers. The roads are dirt coming in and going out. That adds to the unique feel, the charm of being isolated from the ‘Main World’
The waves weren’t huge today but good. The big thing about this beach is the length of the ride. It’s said that on a good day you can ride for 3 minutes. Today we saw longer rides then we’ve seen in months.
.
There were some good waves coming in.
cavebiker
Active Member
Hey Fuzz. Thanks a ton for the good words man. We are having a great time and are super glad to share it with fellow bikers who dig it :yes
Well I better give ya some more of that --->
The Crash:
Today the sun is shining early. We are riding back out the dirt road we came in on but then taking a different route. I’m hoping this will shave off some time on dirt. This route should bring us back to the Panama border where we first crossed. I expect this will add 40 miles overall but take off 15 miles of dirt road, I hope.
A ‘double jab’ signal from Heidi. She sees a photo-op.
Heidi’s concerned now we will end up back in Panama. I say “I don’t think so!’ kind of ‘snotty’ When we get back to the Pan American highway we find ourselves behind the fumigation sprayer and police border post. Just like Heidi said. I start riding past all the parked semi-trucks, then around the fumigation sprayer. The last police post has a stop sign. Heidi’s jabbing and yelling for me to stop. “You Have To Stop!” Yes, I didn’t want to stop but I did. Heidi waves at the policeman in the booth, he waves us on. I waste no time taking off. I didn’t want to look, I am done.
We ride back into Costa Rica, slowly climbing into the hills. 25 miles later we pull into the town of Niely. I try to get some cash at the same ATM I got cash at several days before. Two cards, no cash, crap. We take off on the PA highway. We have no real plans, just go as far as we feel. This kind of riding requires more map reading and more awareness of exactly where we are at any given time. But mostly, we need to know how far it is to the next town with a possible hotel. If you’re in no hurry this can be a fun way to ride.
We start getting close to San Isidro, a good size city, around 40K population. The first gas station had a line of 20 cars or more. I didn’t need gas that bad. There were two lanes of heavy traffic in both directions. The traffic almost stops. We think maybe this land slide has something to do with it. But the traffic is stopped way down the road also. What up. We were warned about a ‘bridge out’ but we thought it reopened yesterday.
Near the center of town the traffic stops again. Then it crawls, then stops… Now our forward progress almost stops except for a few cars passing the long line of semi-trucks parked in the road. I had to follow. We get to the front of the parked trucks and see a police barricade. The word is, the bridge is out and there are too many landslides on the alternate mountain roads. No one is going anywhere north of here. We are here for the night whether we like it or not. And so is everybody else. We had to go to three gas stations before we found one that still had gas.
The first hotel we look at is full. This could be bad. I tell Heidi we may end up pitching our tarp next to the truckers tonight. The next hotel with parking had one room open (a handicap room) We luck out again.
San Isidro is a fun town. We are blocks from the city center with all the café’s, restaurants, bars and cool shops. We will stay a couple nights while waiting for the Pan American highway to open back up. This will give us time to ‘check out’ the town and hopefully the rain will end also.
.
Tomorrow we have plans to visit three AdvRider couples in San Jose Costa Rica. The guys rode down from Kansas and the woman flew. Anyway we are just stopping by for Coffee and a little chat. Later they are riding to a beach on the Pacific
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The skies are sunny today. We get on the road as early as we ever have. We are excited about putting on some miles today and getting ready for Nicaragua. All the Semi trucks parked on the road are gone. At the end of town we see orange barricades blocking our side of the road. I ride around them and keep going. A mile or two later Heidi’s asks “What are we doing?” Of course I make the brilliant statement “I don’t know!” I keep riding. I’m thinking we will find the end eventually. I hope someone there can tell us the detour route around the problem. We pass through a few cleared landslides. Now up ahead we see some heavy earth movers and dump trucks. I’m thinking this must be the end. I slow down getting ready to cross the next landslide area. Before I know it we are sliding sideways in soupy red clay. How to describe a wipeout? ‘Slow motion’ ‘I thought I was going to pull it out’ ‘we are down!’ We hear the sound of aluminum panniers scraping on pavement.
Heidi rode the bike all the way down holding onto me, just like she is supposed to do. I yell out “Try to get off!” She hops off and stands back. I don’t want this to be happening. I’m thinking maybe if I pick the bike up real fast it didn’t happen. (duh…) I yell to Heidi “Help me with the bike! One, two, three!” ….”My back!” It didn’t work. We were standing in 3 inches of slippery mud and I wasn’t lifting correctly. Now I yelling out “Take a picture! My back! Take a picture!” “We have to get a photo!” Heidi finally says “Let’s just settle down. You need to calm down Tom” Of course she was right. The bike is fully packed and we are standing in deep slippery wet clay. I felt my back tweak but I have to get the bike up, gasoline is pouring down the side of the tank. I look around, I look at the bike. I remember a technique taught at the 04’ copper canyon HU event, how to raise a bike. I get into position, Heidi is ready to help. “One, two, three”. The bike seemed to rise effortlessly. Heidi says “I’m walking!” I say “Good, please do!” I move the bike forward out of the mud and park.
Everything looks OK on the bike. I get my head back on straight, I think. I ask for directions from a guy on the road crew. He tells us ‘the detour route’. He talks of several washed out roads and says we need to hug the coast all the way to Caldera. He’s pointing on our map. Great, we turn it around. I crawl back through the landslide clay with both feet down. Heidi walks. We made it. We are back on the road after just 'wiping out', 2-up. I told myself I wasn’t going to spill with Heidi on board. I must learn from this.
We ride back to San Isidro. Now we need to turn right and ride to Dominical on the Pacific coast. In Dominical we turn north and ride along the coast to Caldera. Our map shows a thin red line for much of this road. Experience says this could be bad dirt roads with water crossings.
The Ride Continues......
cavebiker
Active Member
Jaco:
We make it to Dominical. Yup, this is where the pavement ends. We stop to chill and make sure this is the road we need to take.
White faced monkeys are jumping from tree to tree right next to us.
The road is bad. Sometime we found an almost smooth line at the far edge of the road. Many times we rode on the wrong side. We were glad all the water crossings had bridges.
About midway we stop for breakfast.
After breakfast I look over the bike some more and notice we have a failed weld joint on our left pannier bracket. Whoooo….
Riding north we run into an adventure rider from Mexico. He’s on his way to Argentina.
We ride through bumpy dirt roads and a lot of road construction. Only 57 miles in 4.5 hours, ouch.
The last five miles of dirt road went from bad to worse. I couldn’t get it out of first gear for miles. Again, Heidi rode it like a pro, getting up on her pegs anticipating the big bumps I couldn’t avoid. She is ‘one’ with the bike and I’m digging that.
When we did finally hit pavement it felt good. I hammer on the gas while shifting thought the gears. Awww, that feels good. Soon we start to ‘bottom out’ on the pavement. No potholes, just big and sudden dips. We’re taking heavy abuse, I had to back off the gas and shift her down. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that we are off the dirt and still have the left pannier attached. All is good.
When there’s a bike problem far from home a biker spends little time thinking about anything else but resolving the problem. If I can find an aluminum welder I will have the bracket re-welded. Otherwise, 2 long bolts through two new sets of bracket holes. I’m convinced I can make this bracket stronger than the original.
We make it to the beach village, Jaco. It was easy to find a hotel with good parking. Next I get ready for the operation. There are no mechanics in this town and no welders. I’m on to plan-B, squeeze the bracket back into shape using 2 new bolts. Keep the bolts in place to take the load off the compromised weld.
I take a walk and find a big hardware store. I buy 2 bolts, 4 nuts and a drill bit. I talk with the people at the hardware store about what I need. I need 4 holes drilled with this drill bit through some aluminum. They think they can help, someone will get these holes drilled. I stop in at a little convenience store before retuning to the hotel. There I talk to some dudes just hanging around outside. I tell them that I’m OK but I need someone with a drill. I show them the drill bit and the bolts and explain in my best Spanish what I need to get done. These guys are all over it. I tell them I will be back with the bracket in 30 minutes.
Back at the bike I remove the bracket. I mark where I want the holes drilled. I grab my extension cord, drill bit and bolts and walk off.
My new buddy marches me off to a huge construction site all fenced off. There were people working up on the 5th floor and a huge backhoe was moving earth right in the center of the site. There was activity everywhere. My buddy talks to a few people near the gate. We get a negative look. My buddy tries again. Now we pass inside to a row of small construction buildings. We go through two more people and are finally directed to a shack. Inside the shake two guys were talking over a blueprint. One guy comes out to see what we want. My friend does some sweet talking while I’m standing there with the bracket in my hand. I explain as best I could what I needed done. The construction guy walks me over to another shack where he asks for a drill. They didn’t like my drill bit and pick out their own. He steps on the bracket and drills two holes. I grab a 2X4 and place it under the bracket. He drills two more holes using the first holes as a guide, just like I wanted. We test the bolts in the holes. They are perfect. I cannot believe this just happened. On a huge hotel construction site as large as a city block, I’m in and out in 10 minutes with my modified pannier bracket. Now I just have to screw everything together.
Back at the hotel I squeezed the bent plate slowly back into shape by gently turning one bolt a little at a time. It worked better than I hoped. I think I have a winner here!
Better than new……
The Ride Continues…
We make it to Dominical. Yup, this is where the pavement ends. We stop to chill and make sure this is the road we need to take.
White faced monkeys are jumping from tree to tree right next to us.
The road is bad. Sometime we found an almost smooth line at the far edge of the road. Many times we rode on the wrong side. We were glad all the water crossings had bridges.
About midway we stop for breakfast.
After breakfast I look over the bike some more and notice we have a failed weld joint on our left pannier bracket. Whoooo….
Riding north we run into an adventure rider from Mexico. He’s on his way to Argentina.
We ride through bumpy dirt roads and a lot of road construction. Only 57 miles in 4.5 hours, ouch.
The last five miles of dirt road went from bad to worse. I couldn’t get it out of first gear for miles. Again, Heidi rode it like a pro, getting up on her pegs anticipating the big bumps I couldn’t avoid. She is ‘one’ with the bike and I’m digging that.
When we did finally hit pavement it felt good. I hammer on the gas while shifting thought the gears. Awww, that feels good. Soon we start to ‘bottom out’ on the pavement. No potholes, just big and sudden dips. We’re taking heavy abuse, I had to back off the gas and shift her down. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that we are off the dirt and still have the left pannier attached. All is good.
When there’s a bike problem far from home a biker spends little time thinking about anything else but resolving the problem. If I can find an aluminum welder I will have the bracket re-welded. Otherwise, 2 long bolts through two new sets of bracket holes. I’m convinced I can make this bracket stronger than the original.
We make it to the beach village, Jaco. It was easy to find a hotel with good parking. Next I get ready for the operation. There are no mechanics in this town and no welders. I’m on to plan-B, squeeze the bracket back into shape using 2 new bolts. Keep the bolts in place to take the load off the compromised weld.
I take a walk and find a big hardware store. I buy 2 bolts, 4 nuts and a drill bit. I talk with the people at the hardware store about what I need. I need 4 holes drilled with this drill bit through some aluminum. They think they can help, someone will get these holes drilled. I stop in at a little convenience store before retuning to the hotel. There I talk to some dudes just hanging around outside. I tell them that I’m OK but I need someone with a drill. I show them the drill bit and the bolts and explain in my best Spanish what I need to get done. These guys are all over it. I tell them I will be back with the bracket in 30 minutes.
Back at the bike I remove the bracket. I mark where I want the holes drilled. I grab my extension cord, drill bit and bolts and walk off.
My new buddy marches me off to a huge construction site all fenced off. There were people working up on the 5th floor and a huge backhoe was moving earth right in the center of the site. There was activity everywhere. My buddy talks to a few people near the gate. We get a negative look. My buddy tries again. Now we pass inside to a row of small construction buildings. We go through two more people and are finally directed to a shack. Inside the shake two guys were talking over a blueprint. One guy comes out to see what we want. My friend does some sweet talking while I’m standing there with the bracket in my hand. I explain as best I could what I needed done. The construction guy walks me over to another shack where he asks for a drill. They didn’t like my drill bit and pick out their own. He steps on the bracket and drills two holes. I grab a 2X4 and place it under the bracket. He drills two more holes using the first holes as a guide, just like I wanted. We test the bolts in the holes. They are perfect. I cannot believe this just happened. On a huge hotel construction site as large as a city block, I’m in and out in 10 minutes with my modified pannier bracket. Now I just have to screw everything together.
Back at the hotel I squeezed the bent plate slowly back into shape by gently turning one bolt a little at a time. It worked better than I hoped. I think I have a winner here!
Better than new……
The Ride Continues…