Nosara, Costa Rica

January 12, 2023

The roads from Tamarindo beach southbound deteriorated quickly. Most of the day today was on dirt roads. Super steep, and very rough. It's strange - there are sections of paved road that are really great quality, except for the fact that there is no shoulder, and then it just transitions into a really rough, complete back road that doesn't look like it has ever been maintained. Lots of water crossings too. So far, the Nicoya peninsula has definitely been a breed of its own as far as the bike riding experience. Not that enjoyable riding really, but the scenery is nice.

And speaking of nice, my campsite tonight near Nosara is just simply amazing compared to last night, and last nights was pretty awesome. You literally cannot get pitch a tent closer to the waves then where my tent is without getting wet or it being steep, and I'm a bit worried about the noise from the waves tonight, because that kept me up last night a little bit. And last night the water was probably another hundred feet further away for me. Here, the water is no more than 100 feet away from my tent. Wow, this definitely makes all the rough roads, steep hills, and sore butt worthwhile! And then also, there's this really nice swanky restaurant, literally next-door to my tent (I had to make a reservation for tonight). So, unlike last night, where there was not a restaurant nearby at all, I'm going to live it up tonight!

At the restaurant, I had to go back to my tent to get some bug spray. If I counted, it was probably about 60-70 steps away! So yummy! Such a dichotomy between the hard, hot, tough work in the day, and the (rare) pleasures at night. But I think the days of ramen and granola bars at Christmas and New Year's Eve are no more (hopefully!). Fresh fish tonight with veggies in a soy lemon butter sauce, Greek salad with quinoa, and a margarita :)

From the first campsite this morning, before heading out

A glorious sight - transition back to pavement, and downhill!

I was going to take a short cut from what Google said, but nope, not crossing here. Trust the Google (usually)!

They're just waiting for someone to fall in!

Just relaxing, looking up through the mango tree

The restaurant next door that I'm eating at

You can see the restaurant in the background

You can see my tent in the background (from the restaurant)

Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 1,346 miles (2,166 km)

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