October 23, 2007

We took off early from the hotel today in order to get a new battery for Lou at the BMW dealership in San Jose. The gentlemen at the dealership were incredibly helpful, and one of them even led us out of the city and payed for our toll on the highway. It was a pleasure doing business with them.
The ride was one of our best yet. We headed straight up into the mountains, climbing to about 9,500 feet when it started to rain on us. The temperature had dropped from 85 in San Jose to a cool and very wet 48 in the mountains. I am extremely thankful that I had my heated grip handles to keep my wet hands warm as we cruised through the mountain passes, hugging the curves and praying for sunlight.
As we descended into the valley, the temperature rose with each mile, and the sun began to peak out of the clouds. We headed into a town, I believe it´s name was San Isidro de General...it is a town of which I was warned by Meridith´s boyfriend Randal. Supposedly, this city is known for their women. They send their boys abroad to work, while keeping all of their girls home to do the same. We needed to refuel, so we headed into San Isidro for gas. When I pulled up to the pump, I noticed six girls in tight shirts sucking on Mamons (an interesting hairy like fruit that tastes like a grape). Interested, I told the nice young lady in the yellow top to please fill me up. Ten smiles, and a gas tank of fuel later, I paid the girl and left feeling a little ashamed. Nonetheless, I wanted to go back with an empty gas can and ask for more!
We carried on towards the coast on the Pacific side on a wonderful winding road that took us back through the mountains. The smells of fresh rain and tropical plants created an aura of bliss that swept me off my seat and carried me all the way down to the salt water smell of the ocean crashing into Costa Rica. The beaches were not very crowded as we passed them by. It was about 40 miles of riding by the ocean side, with mountains screaming at our left, covered in tropical horticulture and waterfalls, eagles coasting above my head so close that I can see the originality of spottiness they bare underneath their wings, and the ocean blue acting as a mirror of the wonderful warmth that she brought.
We started to travel inland as we were looking for a place to stay. We headed towards the town of Palmar Sur, passing by plantations of Palm trees aligned in perfect rows with irrigated ditches between. Looking inside the grove, it was a cool and very dark appearance; very foreign and curious to this Midwestern Anglo. Having to turn around and back track a little, we ended up finding a nice cabana to stay in, back up north in Palmar Norte.
I ended the night with a wonderful meal down at the local Restaurant...it was a traditional Costa Rican dish with Pasta Salad, Black beans, Potato Salad, Rice, and Salsa de Lengua (I´ll let you all figure that one out). It was quite splendid, and I have never tried that part of the cow before.