The last day in Costa Rica began with a drive of about three hour from Turrialba in the mountains near the center of the country to Puerto Viejo, a seaside town on the Caribbean Coast a short distance north of the Panamanian border. The scenery quickly changed from lush mountain forest and hilly cropland to coastal rainforest and plantations of sugar cane and especially bananas.

Puerto Viejo is Costa Rica's main tourist town on the Caribbean Coast, one that’s still more of a hippie and backpackers’ resort than the more upscale destinations that predominate in some other parts of the country like the La Fortuna area and the Nicoya Peninsula . In Puerto Viejo we began our last bike ride in Costa Rica, a route of about 22 miles or 35 kms that began with a flat ride of several miles on a flat backroad along the Caribbean Sea past many of the areas small inns and resorts. Of course, no cycling day can be allowed to be that easy when you’re on a tour. The next part of the ride was on an unpaved road connecting the coast to the main highway to the Panamanian border, six miles on a rough and hilly road through forest and farms. With the low elevation and rainforest climate you can imagine how hot and sweaty this stretch might be, particularly the long gradual stretches up hills. I don’t think I’ve ever sweat so much in such a short time in my life!

The last 9 miles (15kms) were a completely different experience. Although still hot and humid, the stretch was on an almost completely flat and straight main road with a wide shoulder and little traffic, the kind of terrain where I do my best on a bike. When I have hills to ride up I’m inevitably at the back of the pack, but on flat terrain strength and power dominate over stamina and I can blow most people away . With the ideal terrain and knowing the day’s cycling was ending at the border I had no need to conserve my energy. I raced the entire way and was only overtaken by "Fez" (our guide Christopher) right at the very end as we pulled into the Costa Rican side of the border at Sixaiola.

If the Panamanian border post is any indicator of what’s ahead in the country I’m not optimistic. They said their computer system was down, their explanation for the long lines of people waiting in the heat that barely moved. It took the group about two hours to get through Panamanian immigration at a border crossing that is just not all that busy.

Panama is quite a contrast with Costa Rica. Although the rainforest and plantation scenery are similar on both sides of the border, the first towns in western Panama looked very ramshackle and quaintly Caribbean, a contrast to the more modern look of most places in Costa Rica. We pulled into the port at Almirante shortly after 5:00 in the afternoon, fortunately in time to catch one of the last speedboat ferries to the Bocas Del Toro archipelago. I’ve never in my life moved so fast on water.