DOWN TO THE DARIEN

It´s been some time since my last update from Panama City, but don´t be fooled because Leana and I haven´t moved very far since then. On our initial visit to the city, we got a few things done while staying in the “slummy” affordable Santa Ana district. But the Darien jungle province of Panama was still haunting us because of the stretch we had to bypass by boat, and the inaccessable Jungle with the indigenous Embera people was another part of the magnet. So, we left Panama City heading in the wrong direction. After a few days we were in the legendary Darien province, doing a lot of waiting while police at numerous check points struggled with our passports and ensured that we were not drug smugglers (smuggling cocaine TO Columbia?!!). As planned we cycled to the “end of the road” at the town of Yavisa, beyond which lies only jungle. The road was mostly paved, not too busy, and there were some interesting small towns along the way. We also met Singh, an Indian running a pizza place, who previously lived in South Africa for 5 years. After the road ended we had to find alternative means of travel once again, so we took a river boat to La Palma – the isolated capital of the Darien province. It is amazing that there is hardly any tidal variation on the Atlantic/Carribean side of this narrow country, but on the Pacific side the difference is huge. At low tide the stilted buildings of La Palma tower over the shoreline, and way up the Sambu River our ship leaned sideways on the mud when the tide was out. From La Palma we took an open speedboat for about 2 hours along the Gulf of San Miguel and then way upriver to the Embero village of Sambu. After a couple of days there we secured a bunk on the rust bucket boat “Dona Dora” all the way back to Panama City. In the city Leana bought a new tent, and I rejuvenated my old tent with the leftover poles and other parts from her discarded tent. She also had her old camera repaired, so now I gratefully have the use of that camera. However, my bank troubles are not yet sorted out as they can´t help me via e-mail (thanks again to my sister for the continuous finances, and thanks to Leana as well). It was time to do some cycling again, and we left Panama City for the second time in the right direction, crossing the Puente Inter-Americana over the Pacific entrance to the Panama canal. Moving West since then the road has been nice, although sometimes hilly (with one or 2 stretches of the road needing some attention). We met a number of other touring cyclists going the other way (including 2 English guys, and then a German couple – all of them about to finish their trip in Panama city). Now we´re in David, the second largest city in the country. The border of Costa Rica is not far from here, so hopefully the crossing is smooth. Daily distances cycled since my previous report were:- Chepo 73 km; Qbda. Cali 64 km; Torti 38 km; Meteti 76 km; Yavisa 56 km; Meteti 54 km; La Palma 21 km (plus boat); Sambu by boat; return to Panama City by boat (plus 7 km); Capira 56 km; Anton 79 km; Aguadulce 73 km; Santiago 58 km; Los Ruices 63 km; San Felix 61 km; and David 84 km. The total distance which I´ve now cycled on this trip in more than 5 years is 94 035 km.

BRIDGING THE GAP

The “GAP” which this title refers to is the Darien Gap, the section of jungle between Columbia and Panama where there is no road. So, from Turbo in Columbia where the road ended Leana and I took a speed boat to Capurgana, close to the Panama border (that´s where I happily ended my last report). Since then things have become a bit warped, but not without a certain amount of excitement! We took a small boat for the short while up the coast to Puerto Obaldia (the first town in Panama). The place is a miserable little military outpost, and the immigration office is well suited to the place. Our introduction to Panama was not good – we arrived on an open boat in the pouring rain, and we were sent back to Columbia on the next available boat because we apparently required a special visa only obtainable in our home country (an extensive internet search had revealed that we required no visa for Panama). On arrival back in Capurgana the Columbians could not accept us back in their country because we had been away for 2 days – so effectively we were nowhere. The last money we were able to draw was in Turbo, as there was no ATM in either Capurgana (Columbia) or Puerto Obaldia (Panama). The back-and-forth boat trips are expensive, so we were fast running out of cash. However, after some e-mails we had a letter from the Panama consulate in South Africa, stating that we didn´t need a visa. Columbia was then able to give us a newer exit stamp, and off we went with almost our last money to Panama. This time the letter did the job, but it still took more than a day before they could manage to stamp our passports (were they waiting to be bribed?). Anyway, after camping on the verandah of the ex community centre with some other stranded travelers, we managed to arrange onward passage. There was a smallish wooden cargo boat anchored in the bay, and we found the captain drinking in the local cantina. This was apparently a good time to negotiate as he agreed on a reasonable price, and we could pay at the end of the trip (ATM about 1 hr from where he docked at the start of the road). The captain was making a killing, as there were 6 of us paying passengers (including Italian Simon, travelling by 50cc motorbike S-N, and he has already broken the record). This short boat trip took 6 days through the spectacular San Blas Islands, stopping at every sizable thatch-and-reed village to pick up empty gas cylinders and cooldrink crates. Meals were not part of the deal, so we were surprised to be offered food, starting from lunch on the first day which consisted of chicken feet on rice. There was not much difference between the 3 daily meals, and the stock meal was salted pork fat with boiled green banana. We had bought some tins of "Pork and Beans in Tomato Sauce" before the trip. Opening the tins in the hope of some sort of meal, we discovered that the contents were simply good old baked beans. Some of the crew trawled for fish, and a number of good barracuda were hauled in (the culinary highlight of the trip was the fried fish). At times the ocean was protected by the islands, and sailing was smooth. The open ocean, however, tended to be incredibly wild, and fellow passengers were puking (fortunately nobody was flung overboard, although there were a few close calls). The toilet protrudes over the back of the boat, and consists of a hole in the floor too small for a human to fall through. Don´t be concerned, we all made it to the end. Simon gave me a lift to the ATM on his record-breaking 50cc, and we settled our account with the boat captain. Now we are in Panama City, after cycling here via charming Porto Belo yacht haven, and slummy free trade zone Colon city. In only a couple of days I have had some bad luck financially (ATM in Colon did not give me cash but it was deducted anyway, and now someone has hacked into my account). Panama city is quite an interesting place, and we´ve been here a few days. Leana has bought a fancy new camera, and she has also taken her bike to a fancy bike shop to be taken care of (oh, that reminds me I should take a look at my poor bike, Old Saartjie –all that sea spray is not healthy). Now I have to give the embarrassing cycling distances. Well, after Columbia we didn´t cycle for 2 weeks, but at least now we have done 3 or 4 days on the bike. Oh yes, I´ve briefly seen the canal before being chased away by the security, and thanks to Leana for going back there on the tourist bus and getting some pics (there´s an entry fee). Daily distances cycled since we landed on a road in Panama have been:- Portobelo 44 km; Colon 48 km; Panama City 84 km; and The Canal 25 km. The total distance cycled so far on this journey is 93 172 km.

COLUMBIAN CARRIBEAN COAST

Lately I’m getting fat from all the non-cycling which Leana and I have been doing. We’ve proceeded rather slowly, roughly in a Westerly direction along the North Coast of Columbia on the Caribbean. After Leaving Taganga from where I posted my last report, we went over the hill to the city of Santa Marta, the oldest existing city in South America with the first cathedaral in the country. From Santa Marta Leana took a side trip to go trekking to the Lost City of Cuidad Perdida. After that we made our way via Barranquilla to the famous historical city and tourist attraction of Cartagena. Along the way we turned off to visit a mud-volcano where Leana coated herself in the supposedly healing muck. In Cartagena we booked into a comfortable hostal close to the historic centre, and spent a couple of days experiencing the place. The city was one of the first Spanish settlements on the continent, and the old historic part is surrounded by water and almost completely walled in. Of course, there is also a modern part to the place, which includes strips of skyscraper hotels and apartments (the hordes of tourists have to stay somewhere). The next country we’re heading towards is Panama, but there is no road through the Darien Jungle region around the border of Columbia and Panama (referred to as the Darien Gap). Most cycle tourists either take a yacht or fly from Cartagena to central Panama from where they continue with the road again. We wanted to minimize the non-cycling distance, so we decided to head for the town of Turbo, which is about as far as the road goes along this coast on the way to Panama. Last year this time we’d lost track of the date and ended up in Rio De Janeiro on Easter Weekend. This Easter Weekend we found ourselves at the little holiday towns of Tolu and Arboletes, on the Carribean. These were both wonderful bustling places, where we could see the locals having a good time on their holidays (and unlike Rio, we found cheap accommodation close to the beaches). From there to Turbo was also interesting, and although the road wasn’t fantastic at times we did stay in some really local out-of-the-way little places. Turbo itself is a hectic, dusty & muddy, smugglers haven of a port on an inlet amongst the mangroves. The place is a crazy mixture of old and modern, big trucks and horse-drawn carts share the burden of carting things to and from the boats. Well, that was the last time I’ve been on the bike. From Turbo be put the bikes on a speed-boat up the coast to Capurgana, close to the Panama border. Capurgana is a tiny picturesque village, becoming very popular amongst travelers. Now we are staying in a very nice little hotel overlooking the dock, and we even got hold of some snorkeling gear and went into the water today to take a look at all the colourful fish in the warm clear water. We’ve been stamped out of Columbia by the local immigration office, and tomorrow we’ll put the bikes on a small boat and head towards Panama. Daily distances cycled since my last report have been:- Santa Marta 7 km; Barranquilla 101 km; Santa Veronica 46 km; Cartagena 87 km; Cruz De Viso 52 km; Toluviage 100 km; Tolu 19 km; Cerete 94 km; Arboletes 86 km; Mellito 61 km; and Turbo 69 km. The total distance which I’ve cycled in South America is 26 484 km, and the total distance which I’ve cycled on this trip over the past 5 years is 92 971 km.

BACK IN COLUMBIA

Back in Columbia, and I’m rather pleased to be in this country again. Certainly there are interesting and scenic places in Venezuela, and Leana and I enjoyed visiting some of those places as well. Since my last post from Caracas we travelled West via Maracay and Valencia back down to the coast. Nando from Spain, a fellow touring cyclist who we met along the way, has been on the road for 7 years (nowdays we seldom meet anybody who has been cycling for as long, or longer than us). We stayed over at interesting coastal towns such as Chichiriviche (how’s that for a name!?). On the way we crossed a wetlands nature reserve, where Leana took some nice pictures of birds such as the red ibis (I still don´t have a proper camera). We stayed over for a couple of days in the historic colonial town of Coro, where I managed to get my grubby paws on some half decent new tyres for a change (I’d had to sew up tyres with fishing line at the roadside – again!). Just before we reached the second largest city in Venezuela and centre of their oil industry, we camped on the deck of a restaurant over lagos Maracaibo (the largest lake in South America, where a lot of their oil is pumped from). The restaurant was busy closing up for the night as we took over, and before we could even pitch our tents amongst the tables we were presented with drinks and a big plate of fried fish each. There is a huge bridge over the mouth of the lake to the city, but bicycles are prohibited so the police put us on the back of a flat-bed truck with a maniac driver. Again, we risked our lives on narrow un-maintained and overgrown roads fighting for space with the ancient throbbing American monster cars. Soon after crossing the border back into Columbia we reached another scenic stretch of Carribean coastline. In the isolated region of Cabo De La Vela the local indigenous people grill goat meat and corn cakes at roadside stands, and we got stuck into that tough delicacy as well. I say 'WE' because after about 30 years of vegetarianism, Leana has become carniverous and she is rather keen to try all the things she has missed during that time. Amongst other places we stayed in a crazy roadside hostal in the bustling tiny village of Palomino, where the local indigenous people come and go together with budget travelers from South Africa (us), Iran, Canada, France, UK, USA, and so forth. We camped on the beach at a small sort-of resort after that, where I could lie and listen to the crashing waves and crashing coconuts falling around (we made sure not to camp directly under any of the coconut palms!). Now we’ve made our way a little further West along the coast to the so-called “backpacker magnet” of Taganga, a former hippie hangout (and before that just a very scenic little fishing village). The city of Santa Marta is just a few k’s away over the hill, and we’ll move that way tomorrow when we leave here, as I need to have some things done to my bike (poor old Saartjie is hanging in there by the skin of her teeth). Daily distances cycled since Caracas have been as follows: La Victoria 103 km; Maracay 49 km; Naguanagua 72 km; Tucacas 95 km; Chichiriviche 42 km; Mirimire 84 km; Puerto Cumarebo 97 km; Coro 43 km; Dabajuro 134 km; Santa Rita 137 km; Mojan 77 km; Maicao (Columbia) 90 km; RioHacha 82 km; Palomino 96 km; Buritaca 38 km; and Taganga 51 km. The total distance which I’ve cycled so far in South America is 25 762 km, and the total so far on this journey is 92 249 km.

MAR CARIBE

New territory at last! Since my previous post from Bolivar city Leana and I crossed the bridge over the Orinoco River on our way North towards the Caribean coast of Venezuela. After a few uneventful cycling days we reached the town of Barcelona where we spent some time working on the bikes (the rear hubs on both our bikes were giving problems, so Leana bought 2 new hubs and I did the replacement job). From Barcelona we moved in a Westward direction, and our first sighting of the Caribean wasn’t at all impressive, as I´d imagined it may be (oil terminals and tankers lurking offshore in the haze). Further West at the coastal town of Higuerote Leana´s computer was stolen from the table in front of our room, so she had to replace it at great expense. Maintenance is not a priority in this country, and even on the highways we had to dodge the roadside vegetation and the potholes = often squeezing us into the way of the traffic. Although the coastal route offered spectacular scenery at times, the hills were often incredibly steep and the road disappeared every now and then. Cars couldn´t pass that way, and we both ruined our sandals dragging the bikes through the mud – again! Our timing was also not so great, as we arrived at this popular coastal area on the Friday night of the Carnival long weekend. We managed to find an overpriced little room in Chuspa, and we were pleased to eventually find our way out to the street the following morning amongst the local revelers scoffing their breakfast beers. Venezuelans don´t seem to do much other than driving like hell, drinking as though there is no tomorrow, and making as much noise as possible. The night after Chuspa we camped at a beach amonst the locals, but we didn´t get much sleep. We found ourselves in the middle of a ´´Battle of the Bands´´ as our neighbours tested their huge sound systems against each other – and by morning there were just a bunch of ragged distorted speakers blaring in the breeze. It hadn´t been our intention to go to the capital, but we climbed the hill through several tunnels and arrived in Caracas on the Monday of Carnival weekend – the place was totally deserted as everyone was away for the festival. We´ve stayed in the city for a second day, and tomorrow we will probably have to make our way out through the traffic back to the highway out of this place. Thanks to Dave and Ralph for donations, and thanks to Martie and everyone who sent an SMS (and thanks to Olga and Leana for looking after this vagrant). Daily distances cycled since my last post from Bolivar have been:- Peaje Camp 95 km; Anaco 108 km; Barcelona 90 km; Puerto Piritu 60 km; Cupira 104 km; Cuacagua 101 km; Higuerote 46 km; Chuspa 40 km; Naiguata 64 km; Macuto 27 km; and Caracas 37 km. The total distance cycled so far in South America is 24 472 km, and the total distance cycled so far on this trip is 90 959 km.