Leaving San Cristobal I had planned to ride across to the Gulf of Mexico, but the route I was on turned out to be a horse trail. It had also started raining
which made the challenging trail nearly impossible. It was a struggle
to say the least and I wasn't even sure I was going the right
direction. Tiring from my struggles over the rough slick terrain, I
made a mistake going up a steep section. I had to keep carry some speed
to make up the incline but my front wheel deflected off a rock and it
turned me to the right and I nearly went over a cliff - my front tire
pushed dirt off the edge as it locked up and slid to a stop, a couple
inches short of disaster.
The drop-off would have resulted in certain death, and it would have
been a long time before anyone found me. I had safely traveled nearly
30,000 miles thru 16 countries over 11 months and I was just a few days
from home - at that point I decided to turn around. I wasn't going to
push my luck any further. I may have taken a wrong turn somewhere but on
my way back I confirmed with the locals that the route I was on did in
fact lead to my intended destination - however, it was, as I suspected, a
horse trail! DOH! This adventure was over, it was time to head back
to the pavement.
Here is where I suspect that I made a wrong turn. First I went up...
... which lead to here. Then I second guessed and went back to take the downward trail...
... which lead to here ...
... and eventually to here ...
... but I pushed on anyway.
These are the only tracks I saw.
Not far from here, I nearly went over a cliff.
No visible tire tracks anywhere.
These guys were laughing but they were nice enough to tell me it was a horse trail.
