Reporting my bike theft to the Toronto police is turning out to be difficult. Every time I call them, they claim to be ten hours behind and ask me to call the next day. I guess they are too busy out on the streets ticketing cyclists who are riding without a bell. Not that I expect them to get it back, but it’s good to have the theft, and my serial number, on record, just in case.

Well, after mulling my options for a couple of days, and calculating all of the expenses, I have decided to fly back to Vancouver on Wednesday. I will stay in Vancouver for a week, and then fly to Costa Rica, where I will spend five weeks.

Though I am disappointed that I won’t be making it to Quebec or the Maritimes this year, perhaps I can do it next year (when I will actually be able to speak a reasonable amount of French, if all goes well). Besides, I’m getting two great trips: one bike trip across western Canada, and a month exploring the rainforests (and beaches) of Costa Rica. Did you know that there are almost 850 species of birds – more than the total of what North America has – packed into an area half the size of Kentucky? Of course, many of them will have migrated to Canada for the summer, but there must be a few stragglers left.

Strangely enough, while it was well over 30 degrees today in Toronto, it was only 26 in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital.