South America!

Our last few days in Panama City were almost like we were just students again. We woke up, ate breakfast, headed to class, combined learning with joking around, scrounged up a cheap lunch, did some sort of hike or activity, went home for dinner, completed our homework, and went to bed. Jonathan even had a migraine one morning so I got to re-live him skipping class, even if it was a legitimate excuse. Since Jon felt so miserable, I took it upon myself to relax for the both of us by investing in a roll of cookies, carton of milk, and settled into my book.

Adventures in Panama City

Leaving David, we put in some decent miles and ended up sleeping behind the police station of a small town. That night, we looked at the rest of the map and realized we could either dramatically draw out the next few days before catching a flight on November 23rd, or we could make a huge push for Panama City and try to find something fun to do. Opting for the latter, I decided to make the push official and see if I could pull off a century ride (100 miles). Believe it or not, Kai and Jon were not as convinced 100 miles in Panamanian humidity was a good idea, so the next morning I took off alone.

Costa Rica and Panama

Waking up to an early morning filled with oats and chai tea, we were ready to seize the day. Cruising to the nearest town on the coast called Jaco, we stopped in a coffee shop to indulge in some WiFi and feel like less than super dirty travelers in desperate need of laundry. Jon went off to find a bike shop to see if he could find a way to remove a grinding sound, and by the time he was back we were all in a similar mood. Entranced by the calm beach life, word of a 3 day mountain bike race leaving in the morning, and the possibility of an air conditioned room, we decided to stay for the night. Fully relaxed, we kept VH1 playing old songs in the background all night, thoroughly entertained by the strangeness of early music videos.