Adios Central America, Hola South America

The skyline out of our host's 15th floor apartment window tonight in Medellin, Colombia...pretty....yes....but how are we going to get out of here?!

Christie: Mostly a narrative for this blog. We lost half of our Costa Rica pictures and all of our Panama pictures. A bit disheartening, but the priceless memories will remain strong (with the help of Eric's brain that never quits). Side note: for entertainment on the bike, he can recall every place we have slept this trip and the day of the week it was...is that freaky or what?

In CR, we ran into some hurricane strength gusty winds...at least that's what it felt like when it pushed us off the road, into the ditch twice, in less than 1 mile. We finally had to seek shelter at a nearby church for an entire day and a half because...well (the truth)...I was in tears because I was so scared. Darn wind. Our other weather challenge was the heat. Being less than 10 degrees from the equator at about sea level makes things pretty steamy...about 100 degrees that is. Sure doesn't feel like January.

In Costa Rica, we got to meet Gary (57 year old Wisconsinite and has the body and stamina of a 30 year old) who has been pedaling from California south, then had to fly back home because his sister had a massive heart attack...would like to finish his trip to the tip of Argentina some day. Also met Matt, who has dual citizenship in England and Canada and is biking super speed from Montreal to Chile before he goes back to bush piloting in May. He started the end of November (YES Canada in NOV), through MN and followed the Mississippi, straight down Mexico and zipped through Central America in 2 months...amazing. Fun to travel the road with them for a couple days. We also hit our 6,000 mile mark in CR at a great lookout of the Pacific. The last time we saw the beaches was in Mazatlan, Mexico 4 months ago, so it was fun to camp and enjoy the sound of the waves again...although, we could have done without the biting ants EVERYWHERE and the salt on the bike is tough on ol' JoJo. Our only other pesky animal encounter were the crocodiles, about 20 of them, we noticed as we crossed a bridge...nothing close enough to get excited about though.

We crossed into Panama, got a little more mountainous than CR and hotter yet. Eric was on a pedaling spree of 10 days in a row and finally I (literally) put my foot down and said I needed off the bike. We ended up staying in one of the nicest hotels for our money yet, poolside, and we soaked in that pool all day. On the road again, after realizing BOB was without a Panamanian flag, a nice lady ripped one off of her windshield and gave it to us...a fun encounter. We were also greeted by a kind gentleman who was doing some maintenance work at a restaurant in a big city just before Panama City. After going to 3 different hotels and finding out one was full and the other 2 over our budget, we went back to him and asked if we could tent in his restaurant (that wasn't open that day)....(I know it would have been a better story if it had been open)...he asked his 89 year old mother for her okay, and the restaurant floor became our resting spot for the night. Carlos then took us in his car to meet his sister, who served in the US Army for 20 years. The whole family has dual citizenship because their father (now out of the picture) was a US soldier in Panama. They had wonderful things to say about all the Army had done for their family, including providing university educated children who are engineers now in Panama. Additionally, Carlos thought it was pretty great that he got a Pension check every month.

The day we layed eyes on the Panama Canal was one never to forget (it was a good picture, believe me....get over it Christie...I know). Before crossing, we took a few minutes to take it all in....6500 miles, across the US, Baja, Mexico, Central America, and now at the end of the road (well...almost). It took 25 minutes to walk across the bridge, and it wasn't very glamorous....it was incredibly noisy with traffic, the side walk was narrow and garbage everywhere....not just old wrappers, we're talking entire car bumpers, old tires, and metal scraps. I had to walk in front of Eric, who was pushing JoJo, so I could clear a path for him...not really what we were expecting. We did have some nice views of the locks in the canal and the huge container ships loading at the dock. Our host, Harvey, was a friend of a friend of Eric's dad. Harvey is a retired gentleman from Mankato and has lived with a Colombian family in Panama City for over a year. They were wonderful hosts the 3 days we were with them, spoiling us with field trips of the city, homemade Colombian food, and my spa makeover including a massage, pedicure, manicure, and haircut! There was no way we could say thank you enough, but tried by treating the 7 of them to tatertot hot dish (this is a new word in Spanish). Eric spent a day and a half disassembling the bike and boxing it up....what a darn process that was! We ended up piecing 3 boxes together, taping and taping and taping it more, then saran wrapping it (that REALLY was a good picture).

Some of you may be wondering why we had to fly to Colombia. There IS land that connects Panama to Colombia, the kicker....there is no road. The Pan American highway completely dead-ends about 100 miles after Panama City, so the options are to trek across the drug infested gorilla war zone of the Darian Gap, take a cargo ship that has an unknown timeline, take motorboats from island to island on the Caribbean side, hope that a sailboat in the Panama City harbor is leaving for Colombia and wants a bike and cyclists on their boat, or fly. We considered checking out the motorboat option, but seemed too risky with the damage the waves and salt could cause on the bike...so we flew. We took the cheapest flight available on an airline called Aires and were seated in row 8 of 9 on the mighty Dash 8.

Our first look at Colombia high in the sky was exhilarating...there is something to be said about going from 1,000 feet to 5,000 feet in a matter of hours and never sweating. Medellin is a gorgeous city of 2.5 million people set along a valley of 2 huge, rugged mountain chains. We loaded our 2 boxes, we had been fighting all day, into our last obstacle...the taxi, strapped them into the trunk, and arrived at our host's apartment. Maricello, is a friend of a friend at Eric's former employer, Dotson....(these friend of a friend deals are working out quite well!) He and his lovely wife Doris, have showered us with generosity from the moment we unloaded our heap at their 15th floor apartment door. We ate an amazing roast chicken, veggies, and potatoes for dinner on their deck, then took a stroll around their hip, young neighborhood...the skyline is breathtaking, we keep taking ¨one more look." Today Eric spent 6 hours reassembling JoJo...it's like putting Humpty Dumpty back together again....oh my....I reorganized all our other stuff and also put my handy bike mechanic skills to work by screwing on two water bottle cages. I must admit here, as I was repacking our gear, I realized I am getting really tired of my same two outfits everyday. When we were in Panama, we were out for a walk and I asked Eric what he was going to wear on the plane (I don't know why I asked that)....he turned and looked at me and said "Ta da." I guess it does make wardrobe decisions pretty easy. Tomorrow, Eric is psyched because Maricello is going to give us a tour of the foundry he works at (I just hope there in a candy dish like at Dotson). They talked foundry all night tonight at dinner...it's good he can have a conversation about metallurgy that goes beyond the question "Is that English your speaking?" from me. Then we will hit the mountains on Saturday and right out of Medellin, we have a 4,000 foot climb over 18 miles, and at an average climbing speed of 5 miles per hour, it should be....fun.

Panama City to Medellin...all accounted for (notice the blue saran wrap:)

Bare bones: What first?....hummmm....

Nicaragua wrap-up and Costa Rica fun with family

Christie: We started pedaling south in August not really having a clear answer to the question ¨Why are you doing it?¨ We basically wanted to allow ourselves to feel uncomfortable...to allow the world to impact us in unexpected ways, and then to let God work with those experiences in our hearts and transform us as Christians and servants in this world (whatever that may look like). Nicaragua most definitely impacted us in some difficult ways. It is the second poorest country, next to Haiti, in the Western Hemisphere. Spot was stolen (replaced and in commission again!), a blatant and planned robbery, different than the mere curiosity that walked away with spot a few times in previous countries. In Nicaragua there seemed to be a sense of desperation that blanketed morals and over-shadowed the expansive and ornate Catholic church buildings. The feeling of material inadequacy (70% unemployment) was compounded by the sights of tourists dining in restaurants and peering over their second story balcony hotel. Additionally, media was around every corner in the form of magazines and TVs. It was suggested that we NOT give money to the kids on the street requesting ¨1 dollar.¨ There are several reasons for this including 1) begging for money is more attractive than school, so they stop going 2) there are food kitchens in most bigger cities 3) there is most likely native Nicaraguan food available to them at home, but they prefer soda and burgers that the tourists eat 4) parents may pressure their kids by abuse or kids may be paid to go out on the streets to get money 5) few children are homeless and do have homes to go to. By giving change to the open hand, these behaviors are encouraged. It goes as far as this....Carol was strolling down the street sipping a Coke, and was asked by about 6 different people along way for her half empty bottle. Kids would sometimes hiss and spit when we passed them by without giving them money. I decided to start giving the kids a ¨five¨with my hand...that seemed to by more valuable than money measured by the big smiles and giggles I got back, especially when Greg followed behind me with a ¨high five!¨

When we were in the Peace Corps in Vanuatu, people did not have much money, the vast majority did not have ¨jobs¨, but they did have huge gardens, they were strong and thankful Christian people, and generally content with their life (no cars, no electricity, dirt floor houses made of bamboo and palm leaves, and open fire as kitchen). No doubt, there are many many factors playing against the Nica people, recent political turmoil, revolution, and war, a sense of hopelessness related to unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse...and more that I could never understand after only 3 weeks there. It was very interesting to get Greg and Carol´s perspective after completing 3 months of their Peace Corps service there.

The oldest Catholic church in Granada. On Christmas morning, the cross pedestal was the site of the stolen SPOT, quite sad and telling of the desperate state people are in.

The main mode of transportation, not only in Nicaragua, but in most Central American countries. People carry EVERYTHING on bikes....we´ve seen huge sacks of rice, generators, re bar, firewood, on and on. The most impressive was the family of 4, just add one more child riding side-saddle on the back rack to the picture above.

Haven´t ran across many long distance cyclist, but in the last 2 weeks, have meet 4! These 2 girls are from Germany, started in Mexico City heading towards Argentina. Despite meeting some wonderful people, they have been tormented by men shouting profanity at them as they ride down the road. This has affected their trip greatly, have had to take buses for stretches, and has left a sour taste for Central America unfortunately. It is quite a different experience traveling as a married couple.

Wandering the streets of Granada with Greg and Carol.

We took a chicken bus (yes, there was actually a chicken under Carol´s seat) and ferry to the island on Lake Nicaragua for lunch. The bus was an experience...kind of fun to move without having to burn calories (although still sweating). Most interesting was the amount of people they can smoosh into the good ol yellow school buses with standing room only...not to mention, the lady who then got on to sell her basin of fresh made cheese and tortillas and actually sold out with only one determined pass, shoving her way from the front to the back!

Ma and Pa Nelson. Such a cherished time together! We love you guys.

Our favorite ¨Gran promocion.¨ Made a number of stops for the Eskimo fudgesicle.

The border crossing into Costa Rica was the most disorganized and lengthy by far. We stood on the Nicaraguan side for almost 1.5 hrs through rain and 6 randomly scattered ¨lines¨ among, I´m guessing, 750 other bothered people, then onto the CR side for another 45 minutes. Here, on CR pavement, looking eagerly to what awaits with a volcano in the back ground.

More cyclists! The couple in yellow and white (middle), Peter and Sally from WI, have cycled sporadically for shorter lengths of time throughout the world. And Dave and Lynne from England (on the end of the table), have been on the road for 18 month and started their trip in Asia, flew to Venezuela and cycled south to Bolivia, flew to San Jose CR and are heading north to Mexico. They are quite inspirational...after the devastating early losses of their parents to a brain hemorrhage and cancer, they realized tomorrow is never a certainty, and retirement is not worth waiting for, so set off to live their dream today at age 52 and 54.

Just a week after saying good-bye to the ma and pa Nelson in Nicaragua, we said hello to ma Strecker and sis Michelle. A brilliant rainbow welcomed us to the Costa Rica Nation Park of Rincon, we hiked 11 miles to boiling mud and lagoon pools, then too...

this spectacular waterfall....

.....and this beauty. So much fun to swim in the cool turquoise colored water, under and behind this 60 meter waterfall! The next day, we all shreaked whoooeee, as we flew through the canopy of the forest on a zipline, then relaxed at the beach. Had a great hike through the cloud forest, called Santa Elena Biologic Reserve, 5,000 ft high and on top of a lookout tower provided a great view! The 69,000 acre reserve opened in 1992, initiated by a group of Canadian school kids who wanted to save the rainforest, and now has long term sustainability. The entrance fees are reinvested for the management of the reserve and given to a local high school to help upgrade technology and fund courses in environmental education...pretty cool! Also visited a huge butterfly park and greenhouse that houses thousands of butterflies, including all parts of the lifecycle. Here an Owl Butterfly is just emerging into adult-hood, notice the owl like eye AND and snake looking face on the wing! Good defense! An awesome rainbow to close the day...we all agreed the most spectacular we´ve ever seen.

We will be back on the bike today after dropping mom off at the airport. We had a great time with family and seeing the sights of Nicaragua and Costa Rica with them. Looking forward to pedaling again and the surprises the road brings. We expect to be in CR for another week or so, and about 2 weeks in Panama before flying over the Darian Gap into Colombia....here we come South America!