I found my little toy in Atlanta airport rushing to catch my plane. He had fallen on the ground some poor kid dropped him. I washed him up and stuck him on my pack.

Today he must have jumped ship. I lost him somewhere in the past 5 miles. I hope some little boy finds him.

Here are a few photos of him today.

I had sat down on a concrete block by the roadside to look at my map. And I’m sure that’s where he fell out. But am I willing to walk 3 miles back to look for him? Sorry Irving! (Cue Tom Hanks yelling “Wilson!!!”). Maybe I’ll look for a Spanish toy to replace him.

I thought today’s walk was going to be the hardest part. I divided up the section into two days because it was nearly 23 km long.

The blogs I had read said that this was the hardest section. I must have did the hard part yesterday because today was fairly easy. I did have one steep hill but it was in the woods and wasn’t too bad.

I spent about an hour listening to my dad and I’s favorite album: Kris Kristofferson’s “The Austin Sessions.” It did make me cry when I remembered when he and I drove to Alaska and played this album over and over, singing every song together in the car as loud as we could.

I don’t think Kris Kristofferson would mind that I change some of the words to “Me and Bobby McGee”.

“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose. Nothing ain’t worth nothing, but it’s free. Feeling good was easier when Papa sang the blues. Feeling good was good enough for me. Good enough for me and my daddy.”

Yes, I had my ear phones in and of COURSE was singing this as loud as I could. No, there was no one around (or they hid). Tears flowed. I will miss my biggest fan. Papa.

Here are a few shots from my hotel in Osa dos Rios (highly recommend) and the trail today. Enjoy!

Tomorrow is the longest day—-16 miles! Can I do it? You betcha!