July 16,  2003
Flooding in Nosara
~5500 miles

nosara flooded today.  apparently it happens nearly every year, and we haven't even begun to see the worst of it yet.  the  top picture shows the main bridge between nosara and ostional, the next town north.  the picture down and to the left shows a part of the main road between the center of town and where some of the little hotels and restaurants are.  the two little yellow rails are guardrails over a small stream which has overflowed its banks.

the water was deep enough here that i had to wade waist deep across most of it.  most cars and motorcycles couldn't cross.  sometimes it goes for days like this... last year apparently they had a 100-year flood.  the water was up considerably higher and covered the entire road from here all the way into town, about a mile in all.  if anything might keep this area from being completely developed like all the rest of the coast, it is probably this flooding.  without any kind of public works projects to stop the flooding, most larger businesses and resorts probably wouldn't move in here.  lets hope.

already there are apparently plans afoot to pave the road from samara to nosara... sigh.  no more quaint river crossings?  what a shame...

diego and i made progress on the frame repair, but it is going slow.  he gets interrupted frequently, and he is also perhaps inclined to go a little overboard what is absolutely necessary, especially in buttressing the side of the frame that is not yet damaged.   however, progress is being made.  i should thank my lucky stars.

 note to self: learn to weld.

it really became obvious today how flawed the scout frame design is.  first of all, the rear leaf springs are outboard of the frame rails, unlike the front ones which are directly underneath.  now, while that in itself is not inexcusable, what it does is apply a strong torque force at the hanger brackets which attach the springs to the rails.  what is lamentable is that they simply welded these brackets on directly over the frame rail seam without reinforcing it.  as the member ages, and fractures begin to develop in the seam (mostly due to these torque forces), eventually it peels away, and catastrophically fails... as we have seen.  for shame. 

i'm getting a little tired of nosara.  need to roam again.  the only problem is, even if jesse gets fixed, i'm not sure its possible to leave now.  certainly not to the north, as the rio montana after nosara was barely crossable even a couple days ago.  the rivers south of me are undoubtedly a lot higher now too.  i may have to duct tape a shield across the lower part of my door cutouts so that water doesn't rush in the sides...  or i may just have to wait.