Becoming more Tico

After a pretty lackluster Christmas the rest of the holidays were top notch as I spent over a week with Ronald and his family in there two homes, one near San Jose city and the other out in the countryside near the pacific ocean. Being fed gourmet Costa Rican cuisine, learning some spanish while speaking to his parents and girlfriend, eating sushi and gelato down at the Super Mall and going on 5 hr rides up into the mtns and down XXX downhills made for a pretty wicked time. Staying with there family was like being home and was the perfect place to stop and rest for a while and prepare for the second half of my journey as I head towards the Transmexicana bike race. On January 4th I bid farewell to my Tico family and left at 9:15 am to catch the 11am ferry in Punta Arenas to crossover to the Nicoya Peninsula. The ride was over 55 km away so time was a factor but Ronald set a nasty pace and took us on a few short cuts through the forest and we arrived at the ferry at 11:00 where I hopped on the boat as it was pulling away. The next two days were spent in the surf village of Mal Pais which is the coolest place in all of Costa Rica. Sweet waves, long beachs, waterfall jumping, tarzan swings, ample food, beach bonfires and the best hostal in the country makes for a pretty wicked set up. After a day of R&R its back on the bike as I head north up the coastal dirt road through a handful of Costa Rican surf towns and onwards to the more primitive Nicaragua.