We got up in Playa Tortuga (whatever morning that was) with plans to cycle to Dominical and maybe Quepos if we were up to it. Little did I know what lay ahead. At this point I had cycled about 135 miles in three days, more than I had ever done before. Today I learned the importance of carefully checking the route ahead on the handy site http://www.cycleroute.org. If you see something like this with all those red spots, you are in for a difficult day.

But, as we set out I was blissfully ignorant. I pushed up the first hill, and the next, but soon there was no pushing except on foot and even on foot they were challenging! After each uphill there would be a hair raising downhill (please no blown tires!) followed by another climb. That last climb at about 10 km, I think that one did me in.

We straggled in to Uvita, Elsa tired and me totally spent, sweating so much my clothes were literally dripping. We sat in front of the supermarket to regroup for a while and then decided in the interest of me surviving the day, I was to go on by bus to Quepos. First though we went all over town looking for inner tubes, to no avail.

Recovering at the supermarket

So, Elza left me at the bus stop and headed down the road. I waited at the bus stop, and waited, and waited….  One bus was only going to Dominical and told me to wait for the blue bus. After I’d been waiting more than two hours another came, not blue but saying Quepos on the front. He said he didn’t have room for a bike though. Not underneath in baggage??  Oh, ok. He opens the back compartment, perfect for the bike, loads it up, and off we go. At least my clothes had dried by this time.

On the bus

the bus turned off and drove through Dominical

this is obviously a beach, surf, and fun tourist spot.

Back on the road

the bus turned off in another small town. It had to go over a bridge like this both coming and going, and it creaked alarmingly.

Just some pretty scenery

Quepos is an interesting little town, definitely tourist oriented for the Manuel Antonio Park nearby. My first objective was to find inner tubes for my bike.  As I was riding around following various directions I had been given, I rode by a nice looking hostel. All I really wanted was a shower and sleep so I was happy to book a room there.

I should have taken some pictures of Quepos but I was too tired to think of it. I bought some bananas and coconut water, about the only things that sounded appealing. I had no luck finding inner tubes. It was Saturday afternoon and one shop was closed already. Another didn’t have what I needed but they would be in on Monday. Maybe there were some at a hardware store? But, I was too tired to look any more or understand half of what was being said to me.

ELza made it in not too long after and we met in a bakery down the street. She was going to stay with the bomberos, but also stopped by to visit me on her way to turn in for the night.

I was having second thoughts about going to San Jose. I didn’t really need to go and it would extend my trip by a few days, no big deal except when you have a husband at home who you look forward to seeing again soon. So, it was decided that I should rest a day in Quepos and then proceed up the coast. Elza would take off the next day so she could get to San Jose in time to see the head guy at the orphanage she was planning to visit before he left town.

I enjoyed the WiFi to catch up with some things but didn’t get much else done before I couldn’t stay awake any more.