This week, I went to Panama to renew my visa in Costa Rica. (I know, my life is so hard right?) While we were there, my friends and I decided to rent bikes and ride them to Starfish Beach. We were told that it was a 45-minute bike ride and pretty flat. So, my four friends and I went to rent bikes at 12:30 P.M. These bikes were not the best; one of them did not even have brakes! But we were all very excited, so we decided we'd make the most of it.
As we started riding towards Starfish Beach, we were headed through the town of Bocas del Toro and right alongside the beach. The ride was beautiful and I just kept thinking about how lucky I was to have been given this wonderful opportunity. I could not stop myself from smiling.
However, very soon after that, we got into the rain forest. It was still beautiful, but soon the hills started. I am not very fit and I barely made it up the first hill, and it wasn't even very steep. It only got worse from there. Hill after hill came and I could not keep up with the other girls. I started feeling really anxious about how I could finish the bike ride (now way past 45 minutes) and I was annoyed at myself for holding the other girls back. Finally, I caught up with my friends and was feeling a burst of confidence.
Then came the potholes. The first bit of destroyed road we encountered was exactly that: destroyed. There was only one little sliver of road that we could ride on without making the bike crash. When I saw it up ahead I began to freak out, not believing that I could do it. I tried to get off of my bike before reaching the destroyed road. However, I was going a little too fast and ended up crashing and falling anyway. (Oops!)
I was OK, just a little freaked out and sporting a new scrape up on my elbow; I got back on my bike. When we reached the next stretch of potholes, I opted to stay on my bike this time. I got through them, but was so anxious the whole time that I was a very close call to falling. However, each time we crossed a stretch of potholes, I got better and better at navigating the maze. Reaching Starfish Beach was so worth it!
I learned a lot from that bike ride. First, I learned that life will always throw things at you that you did not see coming, like the 45-minute flat bike ride that turned into a two-hour, very hilly bike ride with a dangerous road. Sometimes life will be easy and amazing, like riding next to a beautiful beach. And sometimes you will have huge obstacles in your way, like a giant maze of potholes.
I learned that, sometimes, you just have to trust that you will get through the potholes of life. If you freak out, you might end up falling anyway. I also learned that in the end, even though life is hard, it is so, so beautiful.
So just relax and enjoy the ride.
