Cycling with Sally

Cycling towards Ambato we passed two day cyclists.  We waved at each other and called out friendly greetings.  This happens often and we thought nothing of it.  About 20 minutes later we came across the town of Salcedo that sells delicious and unusual flavoured ice cream.  While sucking on avacado ice creams and playing a round of crib, the same two cyclists stopped by.  After some time chatting, Leonardo invited us to stay with him and his family in Ambato.  We were takenaback by this generous offer and were quick to take it up.  We cycled with them the rest of the way.  Although we were complete strangers, Leonardo and Daniela settled us in and gave us full use of the house.  We lost track of time, enjoying a meal Leonardo kindly gave us and realised we almost missed the worldcup soccer final.  We were instructed by the bus driver to go to the mall just outside of town.  We were starting to doubt his advice as the bus continued further and further away from town.  However, we reached the mall and was in time to watch the second half of the match in the supermarket along with 100 others.  It was quite a sight watching people drop their groceries to run to a TV when they heard cheers coming from the electronics section.

A day off the bike is always welcomed and we jumped at the chance for a soak in the nearby town of Baños, well known for it's thermal hot springs.  This was quite the tourist attraction, which sported more hostels and hippie cafes (complete with museli, yoghurt and fruit concoctions and lentil burgers) than we had seen in who knows how long.  Reeling at the prices and the cliche backpacker scene, we were much more content at a local joint that served full breakfasts for a buck fifty. 

This brings us to a good point.  We are having a few thoughts with where we fit in with the whole tourist thing and really if tourism is such a good thing.  We have to say, on this trip we have had far more enjoyment in the places less travelled and not on the "must see" list of things to do.  However, this is still rather hypocritical because at the end of the day we are still tourists and people need to earn a living.  Can you blame people for catering to the "gringo" market who think in "gringo" dollars and charging what they are happy to pay?  It's clever really.  But the point is, the local farmer doesn't go into town to spend $3 on a coffee, heck you can get two full meals for that price.  Also, there are times when we have craved home comforts but again it's the different cultural experiences that hold firm in our minds.  Furthermore, generally tourists only have a finite amout of time so can't always clue into the acceptable going rates and tourists visit a country for different reasons and will travel in different ways.  A concern for us is that with mass tourism, a town is prone to losing it's identity or charm.  But if a good spot is found, can you deny certain people the opportunity to experience that too?  This is just another one of our many thoughts in motion and not a criticism on how any one person chooses to travel or the local neighbourhood catering to foriegn capital. ANYWAY!

That night, Leonardo learned of our pizza making skills from sharing photos and stories the previous night.  However, the whole truth is that it was our first time making pizzas from scratch in El Salvador but Leonardo was convinced we were experts and wanted to learn how to make them.  So being true Kiwis we gave it a go!  We found a non-yeast recipe on the net (as we didn't have a lot of time) and kept our fingers crossed.  In Ecuador to buy a pizza costs about $10 which is super expensive (even though the large pizzas here aren't shrinking like other places in the world), so Leonardo hopes to make pizzas at home in the future and save some dosh.  The night was a success, with them sharing a traditional evening meal and us with our pizza (that was cooked on an upturned cake tin!).  It was a pretty good recipe so we will share it with you if you are tight for cash, time and need to make your family's tummies happy in a rush.

No yeast pizza dough
2 cups of flour
1 tbsp. of baking powder
1/4 tspn of salt
2/3 cup of water
1 tbsp. of cooking oil

Set the oven at 400 degrees F, add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, knead for three to four minutes, roll thinly and bake for 15 to 25 minutes with toppings of your choice.

Roland's Dad will be very pleased to know his daughter-in-law not only had a relaxing day in a hot pool but also got pampered that night with a manicure (complete with flowers painted on her nails) by Leonardo's talented sister.  It was tough saying goodbye the next day after we had sweated and huffed and puffed our way up to the mountain pass where Leonardo left us.  We had half views (due to the cloud) of Volcano Chimborazo, which is the highest mountain in Ecuador and the furtherest point from the centre of the earth.  

Just after we had packed up our campsite and got back on the road for the day we bumped into two cyclists.  Arnold and Marieke are originally from Holland but call New Zealand home now and live in Albany, Auckland which is pretty close to home considering we are in Ecuador!  Every year they go away for four months and cycle which we thought was pretty cool.  They were heading for the coast but maybe we will see each other again in Peru somewhere?  

Right now Ecuador is supposedly in their dry season i.e. no rain but since leaving Quito we have had day after day of rain.  In fact one day we were cycling through such heavy mist we could barely see 20 metres ahead.  Maybe this was a good thing as not only did it feel very mystical but we couldn't see the ginormous climbs we were about to go up!  Being in The Andes it's pretty typical to climb up to about 3000 or more meters and then whiz down again to about 1800-2000 meters.  Belinda thought she was going to really struggle with the terrain but has actually been enjoying the cycling much more with the combination of spectacular scenery.  And well, Roland is simply in his element!  

Already feeling pretty stoked to have just bumped into some fellow cycling tourists, the very next day we met Sean, Ingrid and Kate (who is an amazing 10 years old!).  They are a family from Scotland who also started in Alaska and are slowly making their way to Argentina.  Sean and Kate are on a tandem bike and so we had much to talk about and compare notes.  It was hard to say goodbye to this family as it seemed like we could have talked for hours but Ingrid was recovering from one of those nasty tummy bugs and we found our cycling schedule to be a little different.  We truly hope our paths cross again as we believe they too are card fanatics and to have some playmates would be nice for a change!   After treating ourselves to a night in a hostel and some cable TV (as we needed to dry out a little bit) we checked out our first Inca ruins, Ingapirca.  Unfortunately, the museum had all the explanations in Spanish or maybe more rightly, unfortunately our Spanish wasn't up to scratch and so we didn't get much out of it.  Then we walked around the ruins but the combination of the rain, cold, being ripped off in the cafe close by and our comparisions to the grand Mayan ruins we saw in Mexico and Central America, left us feeling a tad underwhelmed.  The good thing of seeing the ruins in the morning, it that the rained peatered out and meant our afternoon of cycling to Cuenca was pretty much a dry affair.

To find out more about our volunteer work in Guamote and Roland's birthday, click here.

Five things more.......
 
What is an "Almuerzo"?
a) A fried pastry typical in Ecuador.
b) A shoe cleaner that you commonly see in the main plazas of towns ready for business.
c) A set lunch menu that comprizes of soup, rice, meat (usually chicken or beef), salad and fresh juice for $1.50  to $2.50.  

* No matter how busy a business might be, you'll always be hard pressed to get change for a bil greater than $5 unless you go to a bank or a big supermarket (which you'll only find in the big cities).  At times it will make absolutely no sense because you'll be in a restaurant full of people and many people before you pay and yet still no change?  Where does it go?  This is a phenomenon that has happened through all the spanish speaking countries we have passed through to date.  

* Did you know Panama hats are actually hand made in Ecuador?  

* Toffee is a speciality in Ambato and Baños and you can watch people making it from their doorways!  

* And no, we are not champion cyclists that have won medals but we know someone who has and that's Leonardo.  As a parting gift he wanted to give us something to remember him by and that was the medals.  We felt very priviledged to receive these from him as they are some of his most prized posessions and winning competitions are his livelihood.            





* What is an "Almuerzo"? Answer: c)

By the time we arrived into Quito, Ecuador and met Luis (aka monkey), we felt like we were meeting a long lost friend. We had already swapped a bunch of emails with him updating our progress, co-ordinating some volunteer work and suggesting attractions to take in Quito and the surrounding area. We were made to feel right at home with him and his beautiful family, Gabriel, Martin and Margarita who are just as wild about cycling as Luis.

Our time in Quito was divided up by volunteer work, taking in some of the beautiful colonial buildings of the old town with fellow cyclist Byron (www.byrongoessouth.com), getting firmly acquainted with the bus system, Belinda getting over the flu, resting, watching soccer on t.v. in every shop, utilizing a fully equipped kitchen to prepare a few meals and a prison visit.

Roland was a bit undecided and uneasy with the idea of a prison visit in Quito, when our host Luis first suggested it. After reading several blogs on the internet, he found myself wondering whom the visit was meant to benefit. It came across as either an exhilarating experience like that of sky diving or bungy jumping, or as a compassionate gesture that might break from the routine of prison life. As you can imagine, this prison are not an inviting place and once inside your free to roam around with all the inmates. The only thing that disguishes you from the prisoners are a series of stamps issued at various security check points. Lugging around a few grocery bags of food and toiletry items Roland went about searching for a Canadian inmate. Without going into too much detail, a scared Roland was impressed at the courage and mental toughness it takes to survive in a place like this, particularly when your a foreigner. Everything and anything is possible if the price is right. Roland still has mixed feelings on the experience.

When it finally came time to leave Quito, we thoroughly enjoyed our ride out of the city with Luis and the Ciclopolis crew (a cycling organization that promotes cycling and organizes a weekly ride through the city with roads cordoned off from traffic) escorting us to the city limits and beyond.

This precious drawing was done by Sofia in Tuluá.  We met her and her mum, Elizabeth while staying with them through Couchsurfing.  We spent an afternoon tubing down a river in a local park.  Apparently on her return to school, when asked about her holidays she talked about this time with us.  It was a very memorable afternoon for us too!

 

Why do it in two when you can do it in one?  We originally planned to camp between Cali and Popayán (approximately 130 ‘stairmaster’ kilometers).  However, late in the afternoon and 40kms away a friendly motorcyclist stopped for a chat and to invite us to stay with him in Popayán.  This sounded all too wonderful to wait a day and so we put ‘the pedal to the metal’ and made it to the ‘City of White’ just before dark.  Feeling a little tender we had a walking tour of this historical colonial city, with its abundance of churches, museums, pretty courtyards and cobblestone streets.  Fabio was a real sweetie and wanted to ensure our time in Popayán was memorable and we had our own personal guide the following day, thanks to his young friend Miller.  We visited Museo Arguidiocesano de Arte Religioso which holds statues that are used in Holy Week (Easter), which Popayán has the most elaborate celebrations and processions in all of Colombia.   You know you are in pretty special company when the person you are staying with apologies for not having more money to provide more living comforts.  We were so humbled by staying with Fabio and his family and will remember our time with them fondly.

It seems like touring cyclists have a special radar always on alert for the potential to see other fellow cyclists.  We were happily strolling down the street in Popayán contemplating the day’s activities when an Argentinean guy (Ramiro) asked us if we were ‘the tandem cyclists’.  It’s not like we were still in our spandex or anything!  Ramiro and his cycling buddy (Jeremy) have a cool story.  Jeremy flew to Colombia from France to embark on his cycling adventure through South American to have his bike stolen early on in the piece.  He happened to bump into Ramiro and his girlfriend who had started their travels in Cuba.  Ramiro’s girlfriend (who may be the smartest of all) wanted to take a break from cycling and escape some of the mountain climbs in the Andes.  By a stroke of luck Ramiro had a free bike and Jeremy needed a bike so now they are happily pedaling together.  We have enjoyed seeing them on the road from time to time and hope to see them again in Ecuador.

We were totally wowed by the scenery between Popayán and Pasto.  We spent these three cycling days ducking and diving, up and down and around mountains, farmland, and desert.  At the end of our first day, it seemed as if simultaneously as we were asking for permission to pitch our tent on a farmer’s property, we were being warmly greeted and ushered in the gate.  Alberto didn’t only give us a place to pop our tent, but the use of his kitchen, a cooking class on how make fried plantano (which Belinda adores), showers and a covered area for our tent and even a table, chairs and a fan!  This is what luxury camping is all about baby!  Our next night, proved to be more challenging to find a camp spot (maybe it had something to do with the sheer cliff face that hugged the roadside for kilometer after kilometer ).  This was our first true night of cowboy camping as we didn’t use our tent but rather used caribenas and a harness hammock  and clung to the rugged mountain outcrop until first light*.

In Pasto we were further treated to some amazing Colombian generosity and hospitality. We rolled up to an internet café to contact our couchsurfing host Alfredo and soon found ourselves on the receiving end of some free internet use thanks to the owner of Full Net.  We spent two tranquil nights with Alfredo in his quiet home and visited Laguna de la Cocha 12kms from the town.  The lake is one of Colombian’s largest and is surrounded by wooden houses with colourful flowerpots decorating the facades.  It was a lovely way to spend a lazy afternoon and get another taste of the plentiful Mora (blackberry) that grows abundantly in these parts.  Thank you Alfredo for giving us full range of your home and giving Roland a run for his money at chess.

Onward to Ipiales, the border town of Colombia and Ecuador…… the middle of the earth!

 

*Okay, okay for those of you that were on the edge of your seats hearing about our adrenaline camping rush…. we don’t actually carry climbing gear and slept (without our tent) under a rocky outcrop, out of view from traffic but man those engine retarders make a racket!  Also, you’ll be pleased to know Belinda didn’t get eaten by snakes , spiders or the goblin that lived beneath the bridge.



Tid bits about Colombia:

·         Every day at 6am and 6pm every radio station (by law) must play the Colombian National Anthem. 

·         Almost every second shop you go by in Colombia sells ‘minutos’.  Meaning they have a cell phone you can use for between 5 and 10 cents a minute.  This works out to be very economical for locals so if they need to make a call they pop into a shop and make the call (even though everyone carries their own cell phones too).

·         In the big cities of Colombia they have driving restrictions to reduce traffic congestion.  It is organised by the last digit of your license plate.  One day of the week you are not allowed to drive between peak hour traffic in both the morning and afternoon.  This concept is very well supported by the locals as it has noticeably freed up traffic.

Thanks to a techno savy fellow touring cyclist (Matt Kelly) we have learnt about what the RSS Feed does.  If you scroll down on this page on the right hand side you will see "RSS Feed" (Below Archives).  Click on the link and you will go into another page where you can choose to subscribe to pages on our website.  This way you will be notified of when we have updated our blog via email.  Thought this would be handy for our most avid viewers (our parents!). 

Colombia has a dark past and it is only in the last 10 years where it has been safe for tourists and locals to travel.  Many of the towns we visit here don’t typically receive many foreigners and we are finding Colombianos so thrilled to have us in their country that they will go out of there way to disolve this dangerous image that still lingers.  We have met so many generous, kind, thoughtful, inviting people here and now we find our bags are weighed down with treasures to remember our experiences of this beautiful country.

David (couchsurfing) seemed to know everyone in the cute town of Chinchinà and although he had a manic schedule with work he was determined to showcase his town.  We had a pleasant few hours at a local coffee plantation (Hacienda Guayabal) where we learn about the coffee production process.  We took in a lot of interesting things with David but a highlight for us was taking a trip to the market where we marvelled and sampled a  range of exotic fruits (see video above).  This was so helpful as we often see unusual looking fruit and want to try them but are unsure of how to prepare and eat it.

We don’t really want to share this news (but it did happen) that we had our first theft of the trip.  Our pump, lock and key, and dog dazzer were taken from us where we had stopped for a break in a bakery.  We were literally four metres from our bike but could only see the front half.   This could have happened anywhere as we were in a big city and it was a good reminder we need to be more vigilent with Big Bird and valuables.  We had hardly had time to feel upset about our loss when we were flagged down by Luis and Aura, two strangers that saw us panting up a hill and wanted to invite us in for lunch.  It was very unexpected but perfectly timed.  We had an entire conversation in Spanish while feasting on some typical Colombian cuisine, with our favourite being the dessert of sweet baked pumpkin in milk (Ahuyama).

In Armenia we were guests of Diego (couchsurfing) and his parents.  We were pleasantly surprised when Diego suggested we visit the nearby town of Salento in Valle de Cocora as we had hummed and ha-ed (is that a real word?) about cycling there ourselves.  It was a little town surrounded by rolling hillside with all the doors of the buildings painted different colours.  It reminded us of the many quaint towns we passed through in Mexico.

Two times on this stretch we have been mobbed by curious and friendly locals in the main plazas of Chinachinà and Tuluà.  At points we had maybe 100 people around us, studying our bike, asking questions or just simply watching our every move.  My sister Emily said we should break out in dance one time and really get them talking!  In these smaller towns the local news channels got word of us and wanted to interview us (see video above).  We really don’t know how we did at satisfying their questions but we did answer every question!  Hopefully we will get the clips put on youtube so you can have a giggle at us stumbling over our Spanish. 

Just when we thought the terrain of Colombia was all about mountains, we hit our first patch of flat and made exceptional time to Tuluà.  Our host here (Elizabeth from couchsurfing) wanted to keep us forever!  She and her daughter (Sofia) were such sweethearts and it was difficult to say goodbye.  We spent a really chill afternoon at a park with them which has swimming pools, a river, and playing fields.  By far the best actiivity was taking a tube ride down the meandering river.

We then busted-it to the third biggest city in Colombia, Cali.  Typically we struggle with navigating in large cities with our clumsy beast (sorry Big Bird!).  The combination of the traffic, multiple lanes, noise and unfamilar surroundings can be stressful.  This was not the case here as Claudia and her family (friends of Malo, who we stayed with in Costa Rica) received us at the edge of town and guided us back to their home.  We ate so well, trying different typical foods (love the pandebonos)!  Eyes were popping watching Roland eat plate after plate, not wanting to waste a morsel!  We weren’t allowed to lift a finger to pull our weight but we did sneak in some zuchinni pancakes.  We got a complete tour of this sprawling city with the entire family from the comforts of a car and listening to Colombian salsa and Cuban music.

Things you may not know…..

·         Arrepas are to Colombia  are what tortillas are to Mexico.  Arrepas are made out of corn, are quite thick and complement every meal.   Panela, the other Colombian staple is made from sugar cane and comes in large brown blocks.  You then dissolve it in water and creeps its way into various drinks (coffee, hot chocolate and juice) and also sweetens desserts aswell.  They love cheese here too, they put it in anything: hot chocolate, bread and sweet pastries.  It’s actually pretty good with Roland’s favourite being a cheese and toffee donut.

·         Bamboo can grow 7cms a day and in optimal conditions up to 10-20cms.  We have seem a lot of construction here made out of bamboo so it is put to good use.

·         Coffee bean workers earn 300 pesos (about 15 cents U.S.) for every kilo of ripe beans picked.  The most someone has ever picked (on the plantation we visited) was 400 kilos earning him $60 U.S for a very labour entensive day.

·         You can’t just slap on a stamp and mail a letter here in Colombia.  There must be a return address and you need to fill out a form like you would with a package.  It is quite the formality!

·         Over the weekend was the Presidential Elections and to increase voter turnout all bars, clubs and liquor stores were closed two days prior.

Fernando (SERVAS) has a sweet apartment that is filled with interesting pieces of art, photography, and artifacts.  On arriving, his son (Daniel) whipped up a tasty pasta and gave up his room for us during our stay.  It must be in the genes as Fernando too has some pretty mean culinary skills to boot.  We exchanged recipes as we couldn’t get enough of his eggplant dip.  Over the next couple of days we juggled our time between relaxing, necessary chores (i.e. bike maintenance and acquiring a new stove pump), and seeing a sight or two (none of which were in the Lonely Planet!).  We can’t thank Fernando enough for all his help with many mundane chores that we won’t bore you with and taking us to some of his favourite places to hang out in Medellin!

On one outing we managed to roundup another Panamerican cyclist by the name of Matt Kelly (http://www.pedalpanam.com/) and Fernando girlfriend, Berta Lucia and headed up to the tranquil town of El Retiro. This is a small mountain pueblo with cool old houses and uniquely hand crafted key holes. We had a ginormous meal, icecream cones and a good oldfashioned stroll around the main plaza.  It was rather a pleasant outing!  To boot, we got to check out the pad where Matt was staying that was set on a mountainside overlooking Medellin.  The air was fresh, the coffee delicious and the artwork in the house quite remarkable.  We hope to meet up with Matt and his other cycling comrades down the line. 

In the four days that we stayed in Medellín (the second largest in Colombia) we witnessed numerous accidents.  It’s one place we would not like to drive.  Infact, the neighbour of Fernando that helped us with finding a good bike mechanic collided with a drunk pedestrian and fortunately due to having his helmet on) he only had superficial scrapes on his face, arms and legs.  We left Medellín on a public holiday so there was much less traffic on the road, as well as Fernando following behind us in his car.  He also arranged a police escort so we were very well looked after.

The fun stuff:

• Motorcyclists must (by law) wear vests with their license plate number on it.
• You can buy yoghurt in plastic bags.
• Colombians drink “Milo” but they pronunce it “Meelo”, which we thought was entirely a New Zealand favourite of chocolatey goodness in a mug.
• Colombians just loves going uphills on bikes and they can really clip along at a good pace, leaving us in the dust!
• Feijoas (Belinda’s all time favourite fruit in New Zealand) is also found here but it’s necessary to pronunce it as “Feihoas” otherwise no one will have any clue of what you are talking about.
• Fernando has a great radio presenter voice.
  

Please note:  These photos are a mix of ours and Fernandos.

Fernando (among many jobs) is currently commissioned by the City Hall to facilitate the compiling of a series of books about Medellín.  One afternoon, he needed to take some pictures of a suburb built on and around an old landfill for one of the books.

One initiative in Moravia that is seeing great results and cultivating a sense of pride is the community centre that was built about three years in the heart of the neighbour.  One of the reasons for its success is that the community had the opportunity to specify what the centre provided, looked like and needed i.e. daycare, internet service, dance and music studios, auditorium for special events and performing arts.  The community centre is a beautiful structure and very well maintained but we forgot to capture it on camera!

We had three teenagers eager to show us around the neighbour that is slowly shrinking as residents are being relocated to a more healthy environment through a government programme.  This neighbourhood had a real flavour about it and although it can be a dangerous place, it was quite invigorating meeting the people and seeing unique, beautiful and not so beautiful sights at every turn.  Also, the three boys lived and breathed break dancing and they weren’t shy to display their talents at every chance possible!

Just after I had asked Fernando if they were going to remove the hill made of rubbish, one of the boys boasted about how fortunate they were to  live in a place that has 360 degree views of the city.  Talk about perspectives!


 

The final 50km stretch into Panama City was intense.  We both had to stay very focused and aware of the traffic that was speeding by us as the shoulder was non existent or had debris and broken glass on it.  We cycled over The Bridge of Americans that spans the Panama Canal but unfortunately we couldn't stop to take in the view.  

Two days prior to arriving in the Capital we meet a friendly lady while at a truck stop trying our first Pastellitos (effectively corn fritters) and playing some cards.  She invited us to stay at her house and gave us her address and contact numbers.  We were feeling pretty stoked as we didn't have a confirmed place to stay in Panama City.  We arrived to her house to find no one home so while Roland stayed with the bike I went to find a phone.  I had no luck with getting through and on returning Roland said we weren't welcome here.  I thought he was kidding but as it turns out the lady's husband came home and politely asked us to leave.  This was rather confusing for us as the lady we had meet had been so nice but I guess her husband didn't know about us.  At a bit of a loss we cycled aimlessly and found ourselves in front of an Office Depot.  We decided to call a SERVAS member that we had emailed but had not heard back from.  This turned out to be the right thing to do.  Turns out she had received our email a month prior but was not able to reply due to computer problems.  She had infact already spoken to her brother about us staying and so when I called she was like "oh great, you are the tandem couple and I've already asked if you can stay with my brother".  This was music to our ears and within half an hour we were meeting Geovanna's nephew, Omar who led us back to their house which was close to where we were already.

Omar and his Dad, Carlos are pilots and live in the old American military base for the Panama Canal.  Their house is set up for leisure and we enjoyed chilling out watching movies in a theatre type atmosphere and lazyboy chairs.  They treated us as family and even gave us the use of one of their cars.  IWe got to have a typical breakfast with Carlos's inlaws, which we discovered his father-in-law was a famous sport's commentator here in Panama, who had met Muhummad Ali, Farrah Fawcett, Sugar Ray Leonard and many famous Latin American boxers to name a few.

Omar took us out on a day trip to see the Panama Canal.  It is so cool.  The canal connects the Altantic and Pacific Ocean and was completed back in 1914.  We went to one of the three 'locks'  (Miraflores) where the level of water is controlled as the oceans are 85 meters lower than the man-made lake in the centre of the country.  It takes a ship about 8 hours to pass through the entire canal but is a real time saver not having to sail around the tip of Patagonia.  Right now they are constructing an additional lock to cater to larger vessels and a larger volume of traffic.  Since 1999, the Panama Canal is entirely owned and operated by Panama after the US relinguished control after 85 years.  It is the main source of income for the country and an engineering feat they feel very proud of.  They are also trying to increase water efficiency and preserve the surrounding environment that is the home to 16,000 types of butterflies and 6,000 types of cicadas, amongst other wildlife.  The canal also creates electric power and drinking water for the surrounding district.

We shared a couple of meals with Geovanna and her husband Gustavo and two children, one at an italian restaurant that is very popular on Sunday nights with the locals and one at home where we cooked lasanga (thanks to Muriel's (Roland's Mum) delicious recipe).  Geovanna gave us a driving tour of the downtown area, which has many interesting and grand towers.  Currently, one is being built by Mr Trump that will set you back at least half a million for an apartment.  I think we will pass for now thanks.  

At present there is no official road that connects Panama to Colombia.  So we opted for the plane option over the Darien Gap.  There was many nervous moments as we had heard from other cyclists that getting bikes and trailors on the plane could be tricky and expensive.  Additionally, a tandem bike can only be dissembled so much but Roland did a wonderful job packing it down to 265 linear cms.  When all was said and done, checking in went very smoothly, without hassle and cheap.  They didn't even measure the bike box!  The advice from a couple of tandem cyclists ahead of us (http://www.ericandchristie.blogspot.com/), to leave the handles out on the Bob bag was invaluable.  We got a ride out to the airport from our host's friend, Herman, who happens to be a famous Comedian in Panama.  Sadly, we couldn't understand his jokes but apparently he is very funny.  He does have a great laugh though!  It was cool when we stopped at toll booths, people would recognise him.  

Maybe of interest:

*While packing up the bicycle, Roland got stormed by about 50 Gato Solo creatures (see video).  Which translates to 'only cats' but we still don't really know what this means!  They came right out of the blue (Roland got quite a fright), are apparently endangered, quite tame, and only move in packs.  It was obvious they had been fed before and enjoyed a meal of mangos.

*Panama has butterflies that have patterns on their wings that look like an owl's face and insects that have heads in the shape of peanuts!

*Speed bumps are called dormir policia in Panama and policia muerto in Costa Rica which translates to dead policeman and sleeping sleeping policeman.

*See the Salvation Army page for our volunteer work here in Panama or click here.

Honest thoughts by Belinda:

The last few weeks I've been feeling a strong need to hiberate or live in a hobbit hole for a week or two.  I keep having overwhelming urges to be alone or being magically teleported to New Zealand to get an injection of comfort in people and surroundings I know.  Right now I wouldn't describe what we are doing as a 'holiday'.  It has definately become a mental challenge.  While cycling my thoughts stray more and more to life after the trip.  Getting a dog, buying a house, having babies, doing a photography course, volunteering with The Salvation Army, dreaming up ideas about different businesses I could have AND hanging out with family and friends (which consumes most of my thinking time).  It's strange because if we had to pull the plug on our trip right now I would be truly gutted and yet at the same time the thought of still needing to get through the entire length of South America (which is huge) seems like a really big drag.  I've been told this is normal, particularly at this point of the trip where we have reached a milestone but it still makes me question my mental strength and resilence.  Physically I see my body changing, becoming more toned and muscular and yet even going up some of the smallest hills sometimes feels like we are climbing Everest.  I still don't consider myself a 'cyclist', even after 10 months on a bike.  I'm not naturally atheletic.  Just the simple action of getting a good peadalling technique has taken months.  I think that's why my neck was so messed up in Alaska and Canada.  There are times when I feel so inferior to Roland and a weak link as he can always keep going.  He may look exhausted and be grumpy but he can still push through it and keep going.  He is quite a marvel but also at times makes me feel inadequate.  Please note: these are feelings I have created, not something Roland has done to put me down.  I also wonder if I could do this if we were on single bikes?  I hear about women that are cycle touring on their own and have the greatest respect for them and maybe in part because I'm unsure if I could handle it on my own.  In saying that, I am very proud of my achievements.  It's something quite surreal to look at a map and know I have gone that distance with my own power.  Also, it's something quite special travelling by bicycle; it's very intimate.  A unique experience I am so stoked be having and sharing with my husband.  It's not about jumping from destination to destination.  A lot of our most memorable experiences have been inbetween, passing through the small villages and towns or things we have seen on the road.  So many things we haven't captured on film but are very vivid in our minds.   One of the hardest parts of this mode of transport is that we are always on display.  White, blue eyes, blonde hair, cycling, on a tandem, with a trailor, with dreads, with a beard, with no car and only a tent is a combination that generally creates a jaw-dropping moment for many people in this neck of the woods.  It is so lovely to get waves, smiling faces, words of encouragement, thumbs up etc but at times I just want to get on with the business of cycling and observing, without having to interact or being the topic of conversation after we have passed by.  Sometimes I just want to be invisible.  After thinking all of this I generally end up feeling very selfish as we have choosen to do this trip the way we are doing it.  It is not forced upon me and I can stop or change how we are doing it at any time.  We wanted a challenge and we've got it.  So we go on, feeling very blessed for all the generous people we continue to meet that help us on our journey; continuing to grow in our faith in God and be thankful that we have this wonderful opportunity to explore and experience new cultures and countries; continuing to learn about the value of giving, holding nothing back and expecting nothing in return; continuing to grow in our marriage and understanding of one another and finally continuing to learn more about ourselves and our possibilities.