Out of Panama

Sorry I haven't updated this with the end of the journey.  Ridiculous to spend 9 months writing a blog and then stop two weeks from the end.  In my defense though, I had a terrible fall 350 km North of Panama City, Panama and had to have stitches, many bandages, and antibiotics and such.  We were stuck in a little town with few services (including internet) and our drive to finish the blog disappeared as more pressing matters weighed.

Suffice to say I'm writing now that things are fine.  We flew back on our flight as planned, though we took a bus the last 350km.  The town we stayed in (I forget the name now, this is terrible of me, really!) had a police station. hospital, and little more.  The people were friendly though, and Erin was as supportive as can be while I lay around reading and recovering.  Did you know medical care is free in Panama? The one time I thought we would be able to use our health insurance and there were no costs!

In Panama City we had a great time staying for a few days in a couple local hostels, and enjoying all the great... well... what is Panama City great for?  We went to a museum with a show about the canal, and the Hard Rock Hotel full of memorabilia, and we went to a huge mall and got our bikes put in boxes.

Our bikes ended up costing us an extra $150 each, and we loaded the boxes FULL of stuff!  We discovered that we have a skill for estimating weight as we were able to easily get within about 4 pounds of the 70 pound weight limit.  In fact, at the airport we took some extra time to cram extra stuff in the boxes before sealing them up.

Oh, and on the way home, Delta's crews in Atlanta couldn't tell us if we should be picking up our bags and taking them through customs or if they would just go on our own, so we missed our flights.  I complained and we got two $50 certificates.  Pfffft, ya like that is worth the wasted hours of my life at your incompetent hub, Delta.  Rayne, Erin's aunt, picked us up in Winnipeg much later than we'd agreed because of the delay.  Sorry Rayne!!

So, in the end, we cycled about 7300km, leaving September 3'rd 2013, and flying back to Canada on May 29th 2014.   <3

Base of Lost and Found trailhead

In the morning at the house I washed our stinky riding clothes and made breakfast. We set out around 10 and quickly realized we stopped at a good point the night before as the hill before us went up and up and up, about 350meters. I walked a lot of it, it was very steep. By 2pm or so we came across a restaurant. But the food was not very good, either overdone or old but we were hungry and needed calories. At the restaurant there were dozens of golden orb spiders hanging about, really creepy. Carrying on uphill it alternated between raining and pleasant weather. We stopped at two roadside waterfalls; Angel 1 and 2. Both were really pretty and Rigel filled his water bottle at the first which happened to be Angel 2.

It was starting to get late around 4-4:30 and we were still pretty far from where we wanted to end up and it was starting to rain and get a little chilly, we were after all at app. 950 meters, so I decided to try and get a ride up to the Lost and Found Lodge. A few tries later a guy pulls over in a truck, but doesn't appear to have much room with all the wooden crates he has stacked in the truck bed. We told him this but he said we'll try. He completely rearranges his load and fits our bikes in nicely and straps them down. We got to ride in the cab this time and got to enjoy some good conversation (well what we could understand that is). We were about a half hour ride away from the hostel so we really wouldn't have made it by bike that night. Young stoped at the hydro dam for us to take pictures and we got to pick up a pineapple ($1) at the little stand before carrying on.

Arriving at the bottom of the hill to the hostel Young gave us the option of riding with him to David or getting off here. We hummed and hawed over the option but decided we wanted the downhill coming up out of the mountains. We unloaded and went over to the office there. We were immediately asked if we wanted to stay with this other company in a cabin for a heck of a lot of money but we declined. The hostel is a 20 minute hike uphill and it wouldn't be easy with bikes so we asked to camp under their office roof/fruit stand. Thomas let us, and over the course of the evening gave us bananas and coffee. We paid $5 for the camping. Thomas noticed Rigel's bike tire pump, asked to use it and soon Rigel turned into the bike mechanic for the night pumping up tires and fixing the holes.

By the time Rigel finished with the kids bikes he was tired (since we hadn't had supper yet) and bonked his face pretty good on a low beam. I fixed him up best I could and Thomas gave us some alcohol to put on it and also realized we hadn't eaten yet. He later came by with a plate of food from his own table. It was very generous of him. We were able to go straight to bed after we ate.

Mali

Hills 2 may 13-14
Leaving the wonderful family we set off on the hilly terrain. At least the road flattened out a little more than it had the previous day. It wasn't a very exciting day but the scenery was breathtaking. Distant views of the ocean amongst rich green forest and grassy rollig hills doted with livestock. It resembled scenes from Hobbiton in the Lord of the Rings but without hobbit holes and instead wooden plank houses built on stilts some painted pretty colours.

We recognized a greenhouse like structure in many families yards from the family we stayed with the night before as being chocolate fermenting and drying houses. So many communities are able to make their own chocolate.
For lunch we stopped at a store off the road and made sandwiches as there were no restaurants in sight. About 45 minutes of riding later as we came closer to civilization restaurants and grocery stores started popping up everywhere. We ate some sweet roadside guaba fruit as a snack. We turned onto the road that leads through the mountains and rode for a while longer before looking for a place to set up camp. Around 5 we crossed a river and asked a family if we could stay in their yard. They didn't look like they had another building so I didn't think it was going to work and then we would have to climb the hill in front of us BUT as it turned out the family had an extra house they didn't live in anymore that still had water running in it. Tracy walked us back across the river and showed us their empty house. It was huge! It had two levels, the bottom being concrete and the top wood with a wrap-around balcony. Tracy said we could sleep there if we wanted, but said it was a bit dirty. We didn't mind so we gratefully thanked her and set up camp.

Rigel made some dinner and we ate while it rained then he opened one of the chocolate pods. Surprisingly the fruit around each bean is fuzzy and tastes lemony. But the bean is a little bitter. As we were getting ready for bed we noticed an abundance of flashing lights in the dark; fireflies!

Cocao pods cut open

A little before Miramar

In the morning at the firehall we had some more gallo pinto before leaving. We were told by the guys the road is very hilly, just up and down all the time. We stopped at the bank and attemped to change our traveller's checks but as it turns out the National Bank of Panama does not do that, or change neighbouring countries money..grr.
On the road there were many hills to ascend and speedily decend because they were so steep. Walking the bike up the hill definitely hapened, many times. And it rained. There were no restaurants and very few stores so we pieced together a lunch.
On one of the downhills I noticed a grey lump on the side of the road and immediately knew what it was. Sloth! Stopped and turned around to investigate further. He was soo cute! We couldn't really tell why he was a foot from the road nd he didn't look hurt so we figured he was probably better off away from the road and back in the forest. So Rigel ran away and came back with a stick to carry him away. The soth slowly grabbed hold of the stick with his claws, slowly looked around before Rigel carried him over to a tree. Rigel got him to grab hold of a tree a few feet up so he was safer.

The adorable little sloth!

Late afternoon with the threat of more rain we decided to start looking for a place to sleep. We found a school that had a nice covered area that looked great so we walked to the neighbors to ask. The lady was really nice but said no don't camp on the school property but in our neighbor's yard in their little house shack behind their house. I guess it was more of a shed on stilts but anyway it looked perfect so we agreed. We put our bikes under the shed and set our tent up above. And then it started to pour. While we cooked dinner a bunch of kids came out to play soccer in the rain in the field between the shed and the house. The game quickly turned from try and get the ball in the net to try and stay standing on the super slippery mud while getting the ball in the net on the sloped field. Everyone was barefoot and those that wern't quickly were. It was quite the entertainment while we ate and stayed dry under the roof. But man did it look like fun out there in the rain and mud.

Kids playing a very muddy soccer game

That night around 3am we were woken by an earthquake which we later learned was a 6.8. In the morning though we had forgotton all about it until the family mentioned it. Seemed like a dream I guess.
In the morning while more closely observing our surroundings we discovered we were surrounded by cacao trees! Rigel promptly loaded his bag with 7 large pods, each weighing a few pounds. I think he likes the challenge of hauling weight up mountains..

Cacao pods on the tree next to the shed

Also while we were packing up we were greeted with a scorpion between Rigel's bag and the post his bike was leaning on. It crawled up the post underneath the floorboards above our heads. We took some pictures of it but didn't get too close as it looked dangerous. And the family confirmed that if we were stung it could be fatal.

4-6 inches long, and mostly translucent

Almirante

We chose the ferry over the water taxi because it was cheaper but should have asked how long the ride was...almost two hours later we arrived back in Almirante.
The water taxi to Almirante takes less than a half hour.. With our plans of riding a little ways out of the town shot and the hotel being rather expensive, we decided to try the bomberos aka firefighers. We rode up and before much of a conversation started they read our minds and asked if we needed a place to sleep and if we had a tent. Perfect. So they showed us a nice covered spot on the concete and the boys got to work clearing and sweeping the area. Awesome. We set up and found the washroom but quickly learned what they were trying to tell us; no water. Apparently the whole town was out of water due to a broken pipe somewhere. We were really looking forward to a shower..

While looking at our maps in the kitchen, one of the guys dished us up some gallo pinto and pork from their giant caldrons of food on the stove. It was delicious. Then later in the evening we were given a bucket of water that they filled from the dribbling tap for us to shower with. So thankful. Even though we couldn't ride further that day it was lots of fun with the firefighters.

Back to Bocas

Bocas may 10-11
Back in Bocas we went back to Hostel Heike and the lady there let us store and dry our things, gave us coffee and offered us pancakes. We then decided to make a day trip over to Isla Bstimentos to see Red Frog beach and find some chocolate. On the boardwalk to the beach we saw three caimens in the swamp, just little guys though, a few feet long.

These little guys were practicing their stealth skills sliding under water silently and hiding in the muddy water

Holding a red poison dart frog. Made Rigel's hand feel warm until he washed.

We ordered some pizza at the restaurant before heading out in search of chocolate. We were told La Loma's is only reachable by boat and there were no boats at the dock to take us there so we settled on the little shop 'Up in the Hill' which we were told sells all sorts of wonderful things including chocolate but as the name implies its up on the hill and since we were on the wrong side of the island we had to take the long trail to it and it was muddy. The shop was really nice, we bought a ton of chocolate and ordered a hot chocolate made with coconut milk. Delicious!

The walk down the hill to Old Bank was no where near as hard and we were quickly on our way back to Bocas. We ended up staying at Heike again that night. On our last day in Bocas we explored the beaches on Isla Colon and doing some laundry before heading to the ferry around 3.

Carenero Island

People playing at the aqua lounge  bar.

We decided to skip out of Bocas town, so we cooked up our included pancakes, went to the grocery store, and then went across to the Aqua Lounge on Isla Carenero across from Isla Colon, where the capital Bocos is.
The Aqua Lounge was fully booked, so we wandered along the coast of the island until we found someone that would let us camp, and for free! We set up the tarp and tent and our beds, tucked our bags into our impromptu host's house, and headed for the relaxing Aqua Lounge to bounce on the trampoline into the ocean. Woooh! For dinner we were pleasently surprised with their menu; poutine!! First time since Canada! And it was delicious!

Size of one the many land crabs creeping our camp at night. I wrestled this one upside down.

On the way back to our camp we found out what the people meant when they warned us about the crabs. 8 inch crabs swarmed our camp, we did our best at shooing them away but they kept coming back. Also between our bikes and the tent was a very busy highway of leaf cutter ants (one more danger to avoid). Once we were done playing with the crabs and watching the ants we were led to a hot water outdoor shower by our host (which was awesome even though it was hot out still) then we went to bed. But then we found out about the third danger of sleeping where we did. Bats liked to fly overhead often using our tent as a bathroom...most of the time though it didn't go through the screen..

Beachside picture. The water alternates sandy desolation and reedy abundance. And no waves thanks to the reef.

On thesecond night on Carenero, we camped on the deck of a house. It rained-hard-all night.

For the next night we were advised to set up our tent on the porch of the vacation house so to not have to deal with crabs, ants and bats. We spent most of the day on the beach swimming and meeting new people as they were dropped off by boat for the afternoon. We explored the 'town' on the island as we looked for the store. There are no roads on the island, just a winding sidewalk that goes inland and a sandy path around the edge. Also if it has been raining the only non flooded part is the sidewalk because the island is so low.
In the middle of the night we woke up by the wonderful sound and feel of being rained on so we quickly as we could in our sleepyness moved the tent furth from the edge of the deck and tried to go back to sleep. We had to pack up really early unfortunately because the vacation house was to be cleaned in preparation for the guests later that day so the tent was packed up soaking wet.
On the walk back around the island to the main dock we had to cross a fast flowing flooded bridge, Rigel managed to stay dry but I had to get my feet wet...

View of Carenero from one of the many docks.

Bocas del Toro

Giant golden webbed spiders dining on dump flies

On the way towards Almirante, port to Bocos Del Toro city, we climbed a lot of hills. Some were VERY steep so we had to push our bikes.
Near the top of the first hill, a dump was burning garbage attracting many flies, and the smoke and smell wafted along our road. Further on, nearer the top, many spiders gathered to harvest the flies. The spiders must've been 4 inches long with gold and back backs in a micro-golf ball like colour pattern. The webs were very thick too, with obviously yellow colour.

Bocus overview map

Had lunch at the top after only 15 km at the mirador (view point) restaurant. Finally made it to Almirante at around 2pm, found out the ferry only runs at 8am. A fellow named William convinced us to take a ride with the boat company taxi 25. Went off without a hitch, and very quickly we were in Bocas town.

Fire dancers in Bocus town

Bocas del Toro is definitely the Caribbean, and more than half the people speak with a Jamaican accent that makes you think of marijuana, coconuts, fish, and white sand. The town is set up almost as much on the water as off the water with pilons resting in the sand supporting the many dockside businesses that are now predominantly tourism related. After wandering around for a few hours, we decided to stay at Heike hostal and dragged our stuff up to the second floor room. Then we went out for a belated lobster birthday dinner at the Reef Restaurant. At 3am the rain started again and pounded quite hard. We didn't see the sun again until almost noon.

Out of Costa Rica

Selfie! Erin riding in the background. We're just south of Limon.

Happy Birthday Rigel!!!!
In the morning Ericks mother made us breakfast again before we set off for the days ride. It rained a little bit but no big downpours. We rode towards the border with coconut oil vendors  lined along the coconut tree lined highway.  We said our goodbyes to Bryan and Maggie near Pureto Viejo. They're leaving their bikes there at a couch surfing hosts and continuing their magical trip in San Jose by bus meeting Bryan's parents for a couple weeks of cmagical Costa Rican fun.
We continued on for another 15km or so and slept at a church in Bribri, or fields, not sure which town it counted as. We went for pizza, which was delicious and they had internet so we ommunicated our well being before continuing on.
In the morning we rode the remaining 22km to cross the border into Panama. They charged a bunch of surprise taxes, as is typical at questionable border. We were not asked for a plane ticket, though the next fellow in line was and could not produce it. We tried our best to get away from the border as quick as possible, which meant we ate late unfortunately.  At around 5pm we found a place and stayed at Finca 4 in Panama at another church.  Mass was going on while we cooked and, though we were encouraged to go into the church, we continued our routine and were inundated with a swarm of kids around us asking questions and generally being interested in not-church.
After church, the adults came and asked us questions too. Other than the strange swarms of flies,the place was nice. We took advantage of people's absence in the sermon to wash in the not very private clothes washing area. Any riding day with a shower at the end of it is a not too bad one!

Crossing the Sixoala river bridge border crossing.

Limon

Beach near Moin, north of Limon

The next morning we woke up to sun in a heat filled sky; apparently the rain was taking a day off. The road was pretty flat and shaded so it turned out ok. We had our leftovers for lunch at a bus stop then kept at it. All arround us were banana plantations and we got to finally see how it all works. They use a hook tolly system to transport the banana bushels to the trucks for shipment. But the system is not motorized, the worker pulls the line of bananas with a rope.

With this highway being the main link to the port it was filled with semis. And the closer we got to Limon the more trucks there were clogging up our air. Once we made it to Limon we found the central park where we thought we would catch up with Bryan and Maggie. The park was quite beautiful with its tall trees, shaded paths and nice architecture. We rode around, found some internet and found out Bryan and Maggie were just a few blocks away. We were going to be staying on a couch that night and surprisingly he found us while eating at a resturant. We followed him back to his house (unfortunately up a super steep hill) and got settled in. We each got our own room but in the morning could not quite figure out where the rest of the family slept...

The next day Erick's mother made us all breakfast then headed out to the beach. It was gorgeous but had some big waves. The water was so clear and the sand so white!
Later we went for food and got to try the Caribbean specialty of rice and beans with coconut! Mmm so good! Then we hit up a second beach in the town, Moin just beside Limon. Even though the beaches were close to eachother the sand here was black.

Eating out for a change! Meals were delicious and huge for under $6 , so we shared a plate since it was a very late lunch.

Siquirres

Beautiful Costa Rican river

The next morning we thanked Damien for allowing us to stay in his house and carried on down the road. Making it to Guapiles we went for lunch at a chinese chicken restaurant and waited out some more rain. The road from Guapiles to Siquirres was mostly a gentle but super fast downhill. Once there Rigel and Maggie did some much overdue printing while Bryan and I went out scouting for a hotel. We found one for cheap and settled in. The beds were very hard so we set up our sleeping mats on the bed, but the fan helped quite a bit to dry out our clothes. We made dinner in the kitchen then went to sleep.

Another beautiful Costa Rican river