Cycling along the Malecon

Cycling in Sabalo Country where we live has turned out to be a bit dicey.  The back roads are rutted, potholed, and sometimes cobbled, hence extremely bumpy and even dangerous at times. Plus they often just come to a dead end at a gate or a fence, so the only way from one end of the strip to the other is on Sabalo, the main drag.  Sabalo is like a speedway with buses and trucks zooming by on narrow lanes, taxis backing out, and pedestrians dodging across.  We tried cycling to our Spanish Class over in Las Gaviotas but we found we couldn’t even ride on the sidewalk along Sabalo because it’s blocked by trees, trash cans, sidewalk tables, ramps, curbs and gutters.

So it was with great joy yesterday that we experienced cycling along the Malecon.  The picture above shows it all—a wide smooth sidewalk along the ocean.  It’s flat and it goes for miles along Playa Norte and there’s room for cyclists, pedestrians, skateboarders and more.  This is the view.

We rode for a few miles past waves, sandy beaches, palapas, pelicans and people enjoying the surf.  Eventually we stopped at this beach where the fishermen pull up their boats.  You can buy a fish from a fellow or have a bite to eat here, or just watch the action.  For sure we’ll be making this bike ride part of our routine.

Here's Harry looking as though he has discovered bicycle heaven.