Day 5 of riding Santiago to Sona 43km

hitch hike? It crossed my mind

Biker short moment of the day- Two dudes sitting in Biker shorts, glued to the TV watching an old ass episode of 90210. WTF??? hahahaha

Well today was a dedicated day, courtesy of James and Jessica Goyhentche who generously contibuted 50 bucks AND got back to us with a dedication. More on that later, but just real quick, James is a fraternity brother, Jessica is his wife, and James dedicated the day to Eta Omicron, our chapter of Pi Kappa Phi. We didnt get out of bed until close to ten am, and Aaron was a bit hungover. I was tired, but feeling ok. So the night before, Aaron found an episode of 90210 on tv, and was like I wanna get back into this show. I love this show. I laughed at him, and made fun of him, and just kept giving him shit. That morning when I get out of hte shower I hear the TV on, and the next thing I hear is Aaron screaming in joy, 90210 is coming on!!! I was busting up laughin. the next thing I know, I am getting all my shit together, packing up, and getting sucked into the episode. I was glued to the tv. At one point, Aaron and I were both sitting on our respective beds, watching intently. When we realized what we were doing, we started laughing our asses off, turned it off, and went and got some breakfast. or lunch at that ponit.

Breakfast or lunch done, bikes packed, now for directions. Today, we were taking a detour of sorts. We couldnt find a place to stop at along the interamericanan highway that was within 100km so we decided we´d venture off to a small farm town calledn Sona which was down the peninsula a bit. WE got directions from the hotel clerk, and away we went. Still feeling a bit stiff and sore from the previous days ride, it sucked when we got out on the road, and within fivem inutes came upon big ass hill. up up up. We slowly climbed, and when we got to the top, and realized we were at the end of town, we knew we did something wrong. We were supposed to have seen a sgin and made a turn, and that didnt happen. Shit, we though, oh well, lets turn around, and head out again. That big ass hill was just a warm up, we had no idea what we were in store for. We ask some other locals for directions, and after some conversation, and of course a very well drawn out map using his finger and the dirt on the side walk we got our bearings and away we went. Were the roads good? yes they said Are they paved? yes for the most part... wait what? IS it flat? ahhhh blahablahahalblgalgaga .....uhhhh wtf fuck did he just say? hahaha. Alright. So we go, and we head right through the heart of downtown santiago, by the church, made that right, and then had to find our way again. Where is Sona senor? That way? thank you! or Gracias! Within minutes the hills were steep and plenty. We rode for a bit, creaking along at a snails pace. The more we rode, and the furhter out of town we got, the shittier the road conditions got. The pavement had holes allo ver the place, their was gravel in the road, and the road was narrower, and without a shoulder. Cars, taxis, buses, big rigs, all were passing, and most of the time, MOST of the time giving us plenty of space, and went around us. The country side began to cmoe through the trees, and the views, and scenery was breath taking. OVer and over again, along the ride, I was blown away at how beautiful it was. The road turned to all gravel, with hills, we had to navigate through that. no problem. we rode through small villages and the kids screamed and waved. Truckers were waving out their window, and honking their horns in support. I think during the ride we rode Panama´s worst road, and very shortly after that, got onto its newest and best road. For probably two miles after going up and down some shitty ass gravel, pot holed filled roads for an hour, we got to ride on freshly paved road. IT was so smooth, adn soooo welcome. It was awesome. The ride for the day was only 43 km, but we were working hard today. IT was all worht it, and while we rode for nearly four hours, it didnt seem like that long. For a lot of the way we were able to ride next to one another and share stories about the fraternity, and what not since that was what the day was dedicated to. I´ll share more ton that in a bit. WE got to talk, and whatever, and both of us were amazed, and in awe of our surroundings. THIS we thought and said. THIS is riding through Panama. Not riding along the side of a big freeway, but rather through these tiny towns, where they may never or rarely see a foreigner, especially on a bike. Where we get to see the rolling hills, and the mountains, and the horses, and the cows mooíng at us and all that. I only hope that the photos do justice to the ride. I dont know if it is possibel though. When we finally made it into town though we were and still am, fucking exhausted. It was hot as shit outside. and they didnt have places to stop and eat along te way. We were eating energy gu, and cliff bars. That Energy GU fricekn rocks though. If you´ve never had it, I recommend it. When we got into town, we found a hotel, and showered. GOD it felt so nice to cool off and clean up. After that, food, and now the web. Tomorrow we have a huge day and as much as we´d like to go out and see what Sona has to offer by the way of nightlife I doubt it will happen. We gotta be up early tomorrow, got something like 100km again tomorrow, and if the roads are anything like they were today, which I think they are, its gonna be a long long day.

Two days at the beach after that though. I cant wait. Relax, smoke a cuban, read, and chiiiiiiilllllll.

side note ' per Aarons lonely planet book one out of every five businesses in Sona is a bar. I am sure friday night is a sight out here, so maybe we´ll have to take it in. maybe.