The road south from Hacienda Baru was full of surprises.
In the early morning I arrived at Dominical beach, just a few kilometers from the a hacienda. The beautiful beach is home to surfers and hippies who camp on its shores for days enjoying the nice weather.
As we rode towards the ocean, Frenchie was startled by a bicycle – not any bicycle. Riding a red tandem bike, Mark Locatelli and his wife Adeline Voinchet, left their home in France 3 years ago to ride around the world, and that they did. Germany, Poland, Vietnam, Mongolia, China, Guatemala – they have ridden them all!
“Traveling with a bike is very good because you get to meet a lot of people and you move very slowly,” Mark told me as he rubbed Bruiser’s nose.
After exchanging stories from the road we waved goodbye and parted ways. I was so inspired by their story it gave me a little extra gas for the day. Frenchie was not impressed by the tandem bike!
Just a little ways down, we made another friend. As we rode over some tall grass a weird shape caught my eye. As I focused on it I quickly, realized it was a small alligator. As Bruiser put his hoof right next to its head, I braced for the worst. It did not move. I thanked the heavens and got off the saddle. After inspecting it closer, I realized it was dead. It’s body looked perfect so Im not sure what killed the poor thing, but I was sure glad it didn’t take a chunk out of Bruisers leg.
After introducing the alligator to Frenchie and thinking about how cool a pair of alligator skin boots would look, it was time to continue. Just after 3pm we arrived in Uvita where Jose Joaquin Sibaja was awaiting my arrival with his grandson Kalef Sibaja.
“What an amazing trip you are on Filipe, my grandson and I go on cabalgatas all the time,” Jose Joaquin said.
This wonderful family hosted my ponies at their family ranch for a day while we got to know each other. The next morning I got Kalef to jump on top of Bruiser before I left and his eyes open wide.
“Oh man, I feel so high up here,” he said as he rode my pony around.
Special thanks to the Sibaja family for their support.
