I´m sure John Fogerty had a deeper meaning in mind when he performed "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" with CCR, but with the most literal interpretation of the lyrics in mind, I have now seen the rain, and I really wish the song would stop playing over and over again in my head. To get an idea of what Costa Rica is like in October, imagine the heaviest rain you have ever seen, then imagine it raining like that for 16 hours a day.
I wrapped up my week of Spanish classes in Nicaragua, and crossed into Costa Rica 4 days ago. The border crossing was the most time consuming I´ve had yet. The people who run the Nicaraguan check-out have perfected the bureaucratic nightmare almost as well as the CT DMV has, and those of you from CT know that is no small feat. To leave the country with a vehicle, you need several signatures from officials, police, etc, who are supposed to inspect the bike to make sure you are leaving with the bike you came in with. Of course, none of them look at the bike, but their signatures are needed anyway, and you´re not moving on to the next window until you have them. To be fair, the border employees were helpful and friendly, it was the police that brought the process to a grinding halt. There is one police officer who is supposed to be monitoring customs, and he and he alone is the one who needs to sign the paper. If he decides to take a nap after lunch, go home, etc, then you´re out of luck. I waited for two hours for the police officer to come back. I even walked to the police station that was just around the corner to see if any of them could sign it, but of course I was told that there was an officer on duty at the customs office. Silly me, what was I thinking? Anyways, after 3.5 hours of working my way through the swelteringly-hot and humid border crossing, I finally crossed into Costa Rica, where it began to rain within minutes.
I´ve been exploring the Nicoya Peninsula throughout the last couple days. The riding has been great and I can´t even count how many rivers I´ve crossed. Some only calf deep, others up to mid-thigh. There are a couple paved roads on the Nicoya Peninsula that lead in and out of the major beach areas. It´s quite difficult to travel directly from beach to beach because they are connected by what my map calls "Seasonal 4x4 Tracks", which can mean anything from a fairly decent road with bridges, to a dirt path, with rivers flowing across it. I had been riding on one of the latter for quite some time, when I arrived at a river about as large as a four lane road. At first glance, I didn´t expect to be able to cross. The water looked too high and too fast. But since I was already soaked from the rain, going for a swim in my gear wasn´t going to change my day any. So I waded across and navigated a zig-zag path that kept the depth manageable. I made my way back across with the invisible path in my mind, hopped on the bike, and had my last "Should I really do this?" moment. No guts, no glory...although I´m not sure what glory comes from crossing a river in the middle of nowhere, other than an adrenaline rush and some personal satisfaction.
I stared directly across the river at where the road exited the other side, and went for it. For the first couple seconds, things were going great, and then the full force of the current hit the side of my panniers and started pulling me down stream. I had expected to feel the current, but I hadn´t expected it to move me the same way it would a swimmer. My planned route was no longer an option, and my sole concern was making it to where the road exited the river. I was being pushed down stream to where there was nothing more than an eroded river bank and nowhere to exit. I started riding diagonally upstream, hoping that I didn´t hit a deep spot that would submerge my air-box. I worked my way across, and the water level gradually decreased and soon my tires were on dry land! There is glory in crossing a river like that! Then it occurred to me that I had no idea what lay further down the road and that I may have to ride back across the thing. Needless, to say, this would have made for a good video, but my camera officially died several weeks ago, so my website is experiencing a photo and video blackout for the next couple weeks.
I left the Peninsula this afternoon and made my way for the mountains. I´m not sure where I´ll be headed in the next couple days. I´d like to get away from the more touristy areas and practice my Spanish before my girlfriend, Kali, arrives on October 11th. Costa Ricans are really friendly and talkative, and with the number of Americans tourists here that don´t even bother to say "hola", I think they´re taken back when a gringo can say just a few words. I´ve actually been asked by Ticos and Ticas (the terms for Costa Rican men and women) if I´m from here. My Spanish is definitely not that good, but I must have a couple phrases down well enough to throw people off at first. Even if they´re just humoring me, I take it as a complement. As for now, I really hope the rain situation is under control by the time Kali gets here or she may never forgive me for suggesting she visit me in Costa Rica.
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