10.22.2017
With the news of the Stahlratte delay, we discussed the options and decided to try and find a beach place in Costa Rica to kill a couple more days before crossing into Panama. Puerto Jimenez looked interesting and a side detour seemed appropriate since we were only a couple of hours from the Panama border.
Singalong style
The ride down was easy after our final French breakfast, but something didn't settle well and my stomach gave me fits on the way. It was probably the shock of having something other than tacos and rice for 2 months. A couple of times I felt the need to stop and puke, but eventually it subsided a bit though I still felt pretty bad.
Our hotel cabanas were about a mile or two out of Jimenez in a lush jungle mangrove environment, complete with a caiman pond and, reportedly, monkeys. The cabins were air-conditioned but they didn't work until I found the breaker boxes and had us in business.
The humidity was so thick it was hard to breathe, but we rode the bikes down to the waterfront for something to eat. As we sat waiting, suddenly Bas walked around the corner. We all burst out laughing as we keep bumping into him every place we go. The final drive on his 93 Guzzi had begun dripping oil a day or two before and he'd been trying to source a seal for it but had no luck so far, other than trying to ship it from Europe overnight.
I still felt a bit pukey but ate some seafood rice to try and plug the hole, which seemed to work. Back at the hotel we all crashed early.
Breakfast of a piece of bread and peanut butta
The next day we'd decided to take a boat tour of the bay, as whales were supposedly in season there and it felt great to get out on the water for the day. We ran back and forth searching, finally spotting schools of dolphins which we chased around and who would occasionally play near the boat.
We were then taken to an area where there is a small coral reef but the rainy season had clouded the water so we chose not to snorkel. Our boat captain showed us some areas where they'd filmed Jurassic Park and Survivor, as well as a very expensive resort. As the day waned a bit we hit a beach for a walk in the sand and surf before heading back to the dock.
Our cash was low since we'd given most of it to the boat, but we found a pizza place open and he made us a deal on two pizzas with a liter of Coke. The pizzas were actually very good and we grabbed some things for breakfast at a nearby store and walked back to the cabanas. On the way we were serenaded by a toucan and a pair of macaws who entertained us with loveyness and then flew away side by side. It was a beautiful sight and hard to believe watching such brilliant birds fly overhead.
