Day 84 - December 30th - Jaco, Costa Rica
As promised, here's some of the pictures from the last stretch of the trip before our return to Canada. These pictures are from January 4th, when we made the drive from Jaco, Costa Rica to San Isidro, Costa Rica. We ended up on a bit of a back route, and came across some interesting sites. The 
scaly guy is Godzilla, a monster iguana who was taking a break to sun himself on the road. Not the optimal place for a rest, if you ask me, but at least all the commotion with our picture taking caused a few people to take a second look and avoid turning Godzilla into a speedbump. They actually eat iguana in a lot of places in Central 
America, but we tend to stick to much more conventional meals. For breakfast we usually would have the "desayuno tipico" (typical breakfast of Costa Rica). It involves, of course, gallo pint
o (rice and beans), a side of your choice, and about a gallon of hot sauce if seasoned correctly. Oddly enough, at this particular restaurant I got a "Taurus" mug for my coffee, which just happens to be my sign. My horoscope for the day probably involved strange events and adventure because right after breakfast we crossed a pretty questionable bridge. Although the top beams look pretty sturdy, I think the base of the bridge has seen better days. The base is made up of flattened metal beams that appear to be held on by an occasional rivet or perhaps a blob of cement, and very little else otherwise. I finally realized where the term "keep your head up" comes from. Looking down at the gaps could be a bit frightening at times, so it literally was best to keep looking up! Also, this step is 
important for cars, as these two people realized when they ended up nose-to-nose in the middle of the bridge. I couldn't help but laugh at the situation unfold as neither driver wanted to back down. Although my Spanish is lacking, I'm 
fairly certain the words exchanged were not pleasant. The car's driver eventually gave up, begrudingly backing up and allowing the bus to pass, once again resigning himself to waiting impatiently for a gap in traffic when he could cross. The dueling cars episode happened on the second of the bad bridges. After those two bridges we got to tackle a third bridge that put simply, ended. The bridge wasn't in use, and was reduced to little more than one base. Since no 
one bothered to repair the bridge (or on second thought, perhaps one was never actually finished in the first place) the highway was diverted through the river. We weren't sure what to think of this, so we hovered around the riverbank for a few minutes deciding what our next course of action would be. After two tour buses and a jeep crossed successfully, and egged on by a bus
full of Canadian tourists, we figured we'd "take the plunge." My dad was the first to tackle the river, so the pressure was on to not be the one doing a face plant in the mud. The river stones were slippery and the occasional large rock would pull the bike in awkward jumps, but 
we both made it across fine, albeit a little soggy in the boots! By the time we arrived in San Isidro they were dried, just in time for the rain to start. The next morning we left San Isidro for San Jose, and had a beautiful drive through the mountains. We passed through one small town where some houses were built right up on the riverbanks and actually overhung the river. Our drive took us a few thousand meters up so it becomes very cold due to the altitude, but the scenery is beautiful so it makes it much more bearable. After we reached San Jose our days were filled with planning for the trip home and loading the motorcycles into the mini-bodega (mini-storage). Then it was back home for a well needed Timmies!!!
Day 85 - December 31st - Jaco, Costa Rica
Day 86 - January 1st - Jaco, Costa Rica
Day 87 - January 2nd - Jaco, Costa Rica
Day 88 - January 3rd - Jaco, Costa Rica
Day 89 - January 4th, Jaco, Costa Rica to San Isidro, Costa Rica
Day 90 - January 5th - San Isidro, Costa Rica to San Jose, Costa Rica
Day 91 - January 6th - San Jose, Costa Rica
Day 92 - January 7th - San Jose, Costa Rica
Day 93 - January 8th - San Jose, Costa Rica
Day 94 - January 9th - San Jose, Costa Rica to Toronto, Canada
As promised, here's some of the pictures from the last stretch of the trip before our return to Canada. These pictures are from January 4th, when we made the drive from Jaco, Costa Rica to San Isidro, Costa Rica. We ended up on a bit of a back route, and came across some interesting sites. The 
scaly guy is Godzilla, a monster iguana who was taking a break to sun himself on the road. Not the optimal place for a rest, if you ask me, but at least all the commotion with our picture taking caused a few people to take a second look and avoid turning Godzilla into a speedbump. They actually eat iguana in a lot of places in Central 
America, but we tend to stick to much more conventional meals. For breakfast we usually would have the "desayuno tipico" (typical breakfast of Costa Rica). It involves, of course, gallo pint
o (rice and beans), a side of your choice, and about a gallon of hot sauce if seasoned correctly. Oddly enough, at this particular restaurant I got a "Taurus" mug for my coffee, which just happens to be my sign. My horoscope for the day probably involved strange events and adventure because right after breakfast we crossed a pretty questionable bridge. Although the top beams look pretty sturdy, I think the base of the bridge has seen better days. The base is made up of flattened metal beams that appear to be held on by an occasional rivet or perhaps a blob of cement, and very little else otherwise. I finally realized where the term "keep your head up" comes from. Looking down at the gaps could be a bit frightening at times, so it literally was best to keep looking up! Also, this step is 
important for cars, as these two people realized when they ended up nose-to-nose in the middle of the bridge. I couldn't help but laugh at the situation unfold as neither driver wanted to back down. Although my Spanish is lacking, I'm 
fairly certain the words exchanged were not pleasant. The car's driver eventually gave up, begrudingly backing up and allowing the bus to pass, once again resigning himself to waiting impatiently for a gap in traffic when he could cross. The dueling cars episode happened on the second of the bad bridges. After those two bridges we got to tackle a third bridge that put simply, ended. The bridge wasn't in use, and was reduced to little more than one base. Since no 
one bothered to repair the bridge (or on second thought, perhaps one was never actually finished in the first place) the highway was diverted through the river. We weren't sure what to think of this, so we hovered around the riverbank for a few minutes deciding what our next course of action would be. After two tour buses and a jeep crossed successfully, and egged on by a bus
full of Canadian tourists, we figured we'd "take the plunge." My dad was the first to tackle the river, so the pressure was on to not be the one doing a face plant in the mud. The river stones were slippery and the occasional large rock would pull the bike in awkward jumps, but 
we both made it across fine, albeit a little soggy in the boots! By the time we arrived in San Isidro they were dried, just in time for the rain to start. The next morning we left San Isidro for San Jose, and had a beautiful drive through the mountains. We passed through one small town where some houses were built right up on the riverbanks and actually overhung the river. Our drive took us a few thousand meters up so it becomes very cold due to the altitude, but the scenery is beautiful so it makes it much more bearable. After we reached San Jose our days were filled with planning for the trip home and loading the motorcycles into the mini-bodega (mini-storage). Then it was back home for a well needed Timmies!!! 
