Magic! New route to Manzanillo beach.

On Sunday, August 6th, 2023, my friends Jorge, Henry, and I decided to cross rivers to go the coastal route to the Paquera ferry. We knew it would be high tide at Manzanillo beach, so planned to take an inner route. Much to our delight we found a magical route thanks to a local guide! Yay!

First, when we arrived at Rio Bongo, we weren’t sure whether to cross or not. We hung around quite a bit trying to decide. Hahaha! Finally, Jorge went ahead and crossed. At one spot, it was relatively deep. Having dropped Sahara on my frist trip to the Peninsula in this very same river, I was nervous about crossing. Once she starts going, she goes. Jorge was kind enough to take her across for me.

Later, we all agreed that I probably could have crossed it. Nevertheless, I am always grateful to have friends to help me during those moments of hesitation. 🙂 Thanks, Jorge!

I enjoyed riding in this new direction on this new route.

After the next river crossing — where Jorge said we needed to go left, not straight up to a wooden gate where he had once had to back up, back into the river — we met a local man who said he could guide us to Manzanillo town, thus avoiding the beach which was at high tide. YAY!! What luck!

The little trail was amazing! We crossed a few little creeks, going mostly down and sometimes up. It was so much FUN. Thank you dear anonymous friend!

We came down into Manzanillo town, then headed to the little coastal road.

This route is one of my many favorites.

We had breakfast in Santa Teresa, then decided to take the route to Cabuya from Mal Pais. This route was more difficult than usual, due to the road being washed by the rains, forming ruts and ridges on the down and uphill parts.

On one of these hills, I accidentally went into a rut, then onto a narrow ridge, and was totally amazed that I did not have a crash landing. Hahahaha! It seems that as long as Sahara is moving, she keeps on moving! Phew.

The road from Cabuya to Montezuma is now mostly paved.

We made it to the Paquera ferry in time, hot and sweaty, and a bit worn out. We separated after Caldera, and Jorge and I rode through Cascajal and La Ceiba, up to route 3, stopping at La Casita del Cafe, where we ran into some friends.

I once again closed the day with a lovely sunset, feeling intensely grateful for my riding life and friends.

Thank you Jorge and Henry for a fabulous weekend

RIDING COSTA RICA: FEEL THE BEAUTY. KNOW THE LOVE. LIVE THE POWER.

Date of ride: Sunday, August 6, 2023

Song: You can do magic

“You can do magic
You can have anything that you desire…”

Wikiloc: San Francisco de Coyote a Paquera.