PowerCycle

10/02 La Chorrera should be called the Lost City. Coming in from the south I hit a small area of commercial buildings and then a 4 lane road heading off the PanAm toward the west. I didn’t see a sign or anything indicating that the city of 60,000 was that way so I stayed on the PanAm for another mile. Looking back to where I thought the city should be I saw some cell towers but nothing else thanks to some very heavy tree coverage. Realizing the city had to be on the other road I turned around and rode back to it. After following it for a mile, the entire time not seeing any development, it dumped me right in the middle of a busy commercial area. Weirdest city I’ve ever seen.

Long day riding even though I was planning on stopping early. The weather was too nice so I just kept pedaling. I was kind of impressed with myself because even with some big hills at the end of the day I didn’t even feel tired. Bummed that I have yet to see the Pacific Ocean even though I was less than a mile from it. Trees blocked my view most of the time.

I saw something pretty sad and even though I strongly dislike dogs now it still bothered me. The highway, for some bizarre reason, merged from 2 lanes to one right before town so traffic was a bit chaotic. While I was watching for cars and potholes I looked over in the middle of the road and saw a black dog laying there with its head up looking at traffic coming toward it. At first I thought it was just stupid since I see them laying/sitting in the road all the time but when I looked closer I could see blood running out of its nose. I think someone hit it and it was either too hurt to move or maybe it was in shock. Cars were slowing down to avoid it and some people looked like they were waiting for traffic to break so they could help. The worst part was confused/scared look on the dog’s face. Brutal.

Since I’m closer to Panama City than I expected to be today I’ll stay here tomorrow and ride into the city on Monday. Karen and Martin are there so I’ll stay where they are until they leave on Wednesday. They found a bike box for me too so I don’t have to worry about that now. They are so good to me. The only things I have to worry about now are finding a huge bag to pack all my stuff in and hoping that they let me on the plane because I don’t have proof of onward travel. Many other cyclists have flown into Colombia on one-way tickets so its probably not an issue but still I worry.

[osm_map lat="9.73" long="-82.695" zoom="6" width="400" height="250" gpx_file="http://www.powercycle.net/maps/leg2/100210.gpx"]

Mother nature was not on my side today. Had non-stop rain all day. The big letdown was I missed out on what would have been some spectacular scenery. It was almost non-stop jungle-covered hillsides, mangrove islands along the Pacific and dozens of rivers cascading down from the central mountains. And the color… when the clouds let a little more sunlight through, everything was this amazing shade of green. The pictures all sucked so I deleted them but trust me it was awesome.

This route was my attempt to get off the PanAm highway as much as possible and it’s working out great so far. My map showed the road being paved all the way but that’s not quite true. Maybe 15 years ago it was all paved but now only about half is. The sections of gravel were easy enough even in the rain but I had to avoid a lot of potholes. The five notable climbs were OK but I had to walk up the only unpaved hill because the rocks were so loose. The gringo effect was in full force. Whenever I pull up to any store it goes from being just me and the owner to at least half a dozen people within a couple minutes, all of whom stare at me rather intently. I never even see these people walk up–they just kind of appear. Everyone I saw today waved and kids ran up to the road to watch if they saw me coming. It was pretty cute.

Last night I booked a flight for October 8th that will get me into Colombia. The bicycle tourists out there already know this but at a certain point in Panama the highway ends and there’s no way to drive (or ride) into Columbia. The area where overland travel is next to impossible is called the Darien Gap. OK, technically overland travel is possible using footpaths and a lot of boats but you’d probably be killed/kidnapped by the Colombian guerillas, bandits or smugglers that inhabit the area. From what I’ve read its probably one of the most dangerous areas in the world.

People riding bicycles to South America (or to CA if starting from the south) typically hop on a plane in Panama City and fly into Cartagena, Colombia. There are also chartered boats that you can book passage on for about $350 but I’d rather just get it over with in a day vs. the 3-4 day boat trip. There are no direct flights so I have 2 stops. The worst part is I get into Cartagena at 10:30 at night. I’ll try to book a hotel so at least I have a place to go (via taxi).

I’ve never taken a bike on a plane so I’m freaking out a little. The bike packing part I’ve been prepped for but I just know it’s going to be a big, stressful mess. I gave myself 3 days after I get to Panama City to find a bike box and a huge duffel bag to throw my panniers in.

Funny story but it’s at the expense of my friends but they’ll forgive me. About a month ago Karen and Martin were riding a few days ahead of me. They told me about this hotel to stay at so when I got there that’s where I stayed too. It was probably even the same room. Not long after I got there I started hearing this really loud noise that sounded like someone playing an 80′s arcade game. The bling beep bling noise went on non-stop for half an hour before I realized it was probably birds. Well, I found out much later from Martin that they were so annoyed by the noise when they stayed there that they were yelling into the next room to turn the volume down. Finally they went over to owner and he told them what was making the noise–frogs! While I was riding today I heard them in a ditch next to the road so I made a little video to remind Martin of when he yelled at the frogs to shut up.

09/29

[osm_map lat="9.73" long="-82.695" zoom="6" width="400" height="250" gpx_file="http://www.powercycle.net/maps/leg2/092910.gpx"]

09/18 After being in this country for almost a week I can safely say this place has issues. Some people have ripped Costa Rica kind of hard but when comparing it to other Central American nations there are certainly some valid critiques. My main ones are roads, the prices and the general demeanor of the people I’ve encountered. The roads basically just suck. Potholes and no shoulders I can deal with but with the amount of traffic on the roads they really need to invest in some improvements here. They could certainly pay for some of it with the taxes being collected on the already over-priced food/motels/everything else. Most of the food I’ve been buying, which is the same stuff I’ve been buying in the other countries, costs more than it does in the States. Even the small, Mom & Pop places are way more than what the same food would cost in other LA countries. And honestly, nothing has even tasted that great so far.

The people thing bugs me the most. People here are either really uptight or they just don’t like acknowledging strangers. Sure people in the touristy areas are nice enough–they are paid to be and certainly not everyone comes across as rude but when I look back at every country I’ve been in the only other place even comparable was the States. This country is basically like a mini-USA now anyway so maybe that’s why people are this way.

I’m pretty happy I didn’t get run over today but I think I might be a bit of a crackhead for riding this way. My route today could have stayed a lot flatter but instead I ended up climbing right back up into the mountains.

Found a perfect motel for $20. Think I might stay here and chill tomorrow. It’s the Cabinas Francis across from the cemetary. It’s one of the cleanest rooms I’ve been in.

Drinking and driving is legal here I found out. You just can’t be intoxicated and drive. That’s awesome and explains a lot.

[osm_map lat="9.73" long="-82.695" zoom="6" width="400" height="250" gpx_file="http://www.powercycle.net/maps/leg2/091810.gpx"]

06/16 I hate this road oh so very much. Today was a perfect blend of all the things I dislike the most: horrible road surface, steady traffic and a strong cross-wind. I asked my new friend Viven if it’s always this windy here and she confirmed it. She also said it can go from sunny one day to a hurricane the next which makes me wonder what kind of warning system they have in place here. There is a hurricane shelter in town and I think the building was rating to a cat 3 but I wonder how well word gets out if one is coming.

Crooked Tree Village is very sparse in services but the people are incredibly friendly. Viven, who I mentioned above, works here at the motel. I happened to run into her on my afternoon hike and we had a nice chat. She also has a wicked arm. There are fruit trees all over the place and she asked if I wanted a mango. Right above our heads about 15 feet up was a ripe one so she threw a stick up and knocked it down for me. I ate it back at the motel and boy was it good.

Cashews are a big thing here so I bought a bag of fresh ones and chowed down on those. Lunch was at a place called Carrie’s Kitchen which was hard to find because the signs are almost non-existent. I’ve had to ask if I’m going the right way more in the last few days than at any other time on my trip. Ended up having rice and beans with some chicken which seems to be the standard menu item in these parts. Also met the smartest kid while I was walking back here. He couldn’t have been more than 6 but he knew the names of every bird we saw. It’s so nice being able to talk to 90% of the people I meet. Except for one guy who spoke Creole, everyone else has spoken almost perfect English.

GPX Track