Cycling with Sally

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.