Seis semanas en Pérez-Zeledón en una 125cc

[pdedse]

License plate is ready to go, but “marchamo” sticker still being held up. Supposed to arrive late Friday afternoon, but didn’t. Now maybe Monday. Sis in law says she’s going to give the dealership an ear full if it’s not ready on Monday. Never the less, had a good weekend on the bike, exploring local back roads where “los tránsitos” (traffic cops) are not supposed to be.


My niece Estefani and two friends Has and Andrés visited from San José and they’re between 20-23, and all three are enrolled in an intensive English language class that began last May and goes to mid March, from 8-1, Monday through Friday. They are incredibly motivated learners who spoke very good English for never being out of the country. Saturday morning they asked me to make them something American, so I offered to do an English language cooking class—French toast! The two guys made everything as I gave instructions on how to make “tostadas francesas”. These three were like having Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James all trying to outdo each other, except instead of on the court with a ball it was a battle over English grammar and idiomatic expressions.






All good fun, but man they wore me out over a three hour breakfast. I told them I had never spoken so much English in my life. But very good to see such dedicated learners. Went for an hour ride without camera in the afternoon over dirt back roads and that helped me clear my mind.
Sunday I got up early and my sis in law told me about a back way to get to San Gerardo de Rivas, which is the base town and park entrance to Parque Nacional Chirripó, one of my favorite hikes which I have in mind to do this trip. I needed to get some information so I took off by 7:30. After meandering a bit through the east edge of Pérez, I managed to find the road I was looking for. San Gerardo is only about 25 kilometers from where I’m staying, but there’s a whole lot of beauty packed in between.

[pdedse]

A crypt waiting for more family members:


Lots of the bridges are one way in this area and a sign usually marks who has to yield the right of way.



The bike was handling just fine. I started out with 50 kilometers on it, and it was skirting right up some pretty steep hills.

[pdedse]

Church in Rivas which is about half way between Pérez and San Gerardo de Rivas. I liked the corn growing right in front.


I'm trying to add more photos per post, but I keep getting an error message about exceeding 40,000 characters per post. Not sure why, I don't think I'm typing that much. ?

[pdedse]

Getting closer to the Chirripó range. Mileage is all of 63 kilometers. Still getting used to Perlita’s gearing. You start in neutral and then it’s 5 gears all down. I forget sometimes and upshift unexpectedly, lurching a bit, but my top speeds were just over 50 KPH, so it was all good.

[bingo43]

Qué pasa pablo? Parece que has estado occupado hoy. No tienes que enseñar español hoy como yo tengo que hacer...? Cuando vamos a verte en la moto?

I was noticing on your Cuñada's house lots of razor wire. But on the photos of the fincas there is not much there. Does she live in town so she has to protect herself from "undesireables" or is she trying to keep wildlife out? In the country do people not worry about theft or protection as much? What is the safety issue like between PZ and Dominical for residents?

[pdedse]

Originally Posted by bingo43

Qué pasa pablo? Parece que has estado occupado hoy. No tienes que enseñar español hoy como yo tengo que hacer...? Cuando vamos a verte en la moto?

I was noticing on your Cuñada's house lots of razor wire. But on the photos of the fincas there is not much there. Does she live in town so she has to protect herself from "undesireables" or is she trying to keep wildlife out? In the country do people not worry about theft or protection as much? What is the safety issue like between PZ and Dominical for residents?

Jaja...yo no enseño aquí...observo no más...ya viene una foto de mi montadito en la moto...

Yeah, I guess there is more of the barred windows and doors and gates in the city and less in the country side. If there's a way in, "they" will find it. Our house in Sabanilla (area of San José) was broken into 4 times over a period of 5 years until we finally had front redone so that it was impossible to get near the front door unless you had a bulldozer. My in laws live so remote they have glass windows, no bars. But they are way out there. Not immune, just no that likely.

[pdedse]

Coffee is produced in the area, the coffee is loaded into these storage bins and then a truck drives up next and the coffee comes pouring out of the shoots. I visited a relative’s coffee operation about 10 years ago and at the time a coffee picker got just over a dollar for each 4 gallon bucket s/he filled. A good worker could fill about 20-25 buckets a day. Don’t know if the pay is any higher now.

[pdedse]

On the way still...

[tricepilot]

[roadcapDen]

Nice, don't lug that new engine thou'.

[pdedse]

Forgive the multiple posts, connection here is suspect and I don't want to lose what I got...

[pdedse]

Originally Posted by roadcapDen

Nice, don't lug that new engine thou'.

Yeah, I thought about that....but not much I can do because there's so many hills everywhere that this 125 puppy with me on it is gonna get its lugging!

[pdedse]

Originally Posted by tricepilot

What! Who left the door open?Nice to see you here. I hear you've got a dandy report in the works...can't wait to see it.

[pdedse]

Made it to San Gerardo de Rivas by 9:30, could probably get there in less than 45 minutes but stopped a lot for photos. The little town is familiar to me—this is where you get your passes to climb Chirripó which I’ve done a handful of times. I’m going to try to go this week or next. All the reserved tickets are sold out, but each day they sell 10 more for the next day. I need to store my bike somewhere, one hotel / restaurant said I could park in their lot for $10. Kind of steep, I’ll look around a bit more.

I really like this area of CR. Smells very fresh. There’s a small church, a school, community center, a few restaurants / hotels where hikers stay before they start their trip. There was a soccer tourney going on all morning.

[pdedse]

These two guys hit each other hard. No way they were flopping as you see in soccer sometimes.