Changing a tire in 35 degrees and no shadeThe local elementary school lets out for recess
Morning coffee in Granada
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Some final pictures
Changing a tire in 35 degrees and no shadeThe local elementary school lets out for recess
Morning coffee in Granada
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
A few final thoughts - Feb 17th
"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat."
- THEODORE ROOSEVELT
Well it’s all over now and it feels just a little odd. It’s almost anti-climatic, and certainly more than a little surreal.
For the past 18 months we’ve all worked hard: we had to buy and prep the bikes, make all kinds of travel arrangements, buy extra parts in case of a break down and complete any inoculations and other travel medicine requirements for travel in the Third World. We had to each in our own way, come to grips with being away from friends and family for over a month as well as making arrangements for the necessary time off from work. If you say it quick it doesn’t sound like much now but at the time it was a huge endeavor and took a lot of our time and energy as we approached our departure date.
I can’t speak for Steve, Brad or Kevan but I was bordering on obsession during the last 90 days. The trip was all I could think about and all I could talk about, and I know there were more than a few people I work with that were very fed up with hearing about it before I left.
And then there was the trip itself. In was much harder and much different than I imagined, and in other ways it was much easier.
I had a leisurely itinerary in my mind before we left, that would see us leaving at 7:00, riding for 400 – 500 klm by 1:00 or 2:00 and then spending our afternoons lounging by the pool or frolicking in the waves at some small beachside resort. I was sure we could complete the trip in 20 days and still have lots of down time for site seeing and relaxing.
The reality was vastly different. Up at 5:30 for a 6:30 start, breakfast at a roadside taco stand or scarf down a donut at a gas station, a quick break for lunch and ride until 3:00 – 5:00, then search madly for a decent hotel with the all important and overriding factor of secure parking. Instead of rum and cokes and playing cards each evening we dealt with whatever maintenance issues rose during the day and collapsed into bed by 8:30. Our average overland speed, including stops, maintenance, fuel and lunch was never any better than 50 KPH and often as slow as 40 KPH. 400 klm meant an 8 – 10 hour day, plus whatever time was lost due to border crossings or the inevitable getting lost while leaving town syndrome.
But in some ways it was easy. Easy in the sense that we all got along well given the circumstances, we had no major mechanical issues, no one got hurt (even Kevan made it home safely), no one got arrested and not one of us, not one single one of us, would have traded it for the world.
It’s had a profound impact on my perspective and it’s affected me more than I thought it would.
I tried to go into work today to catch up on things and I found myself having a very difficult time dealing with all the e-mails and correspondence of the past five weeks. As I caught up on my reading, and learned about the latest sales targets, or newest product offering, I couldn’t help thinking of the past five weeks; and that brought me back to the young girl on the side of a Honduran road, waiving at a surprise parade her grandfather held her aloft to see. Did she sleep in a warn bed last night? Eat a decent meal? Have an opportunity to play or go to school? These things are what’s truly important, not whether or not Walmart chooses Blueray over HDV or how much Canadians can put away in RRSP’s this year.
I had to do some running around to take care of a few things before going back to work and I couldn’t help but overhear people talking to each other and complaining about this or that – all minor stuff in the big scheme of things – and I wanted to grab them and shake them and try to make them understand what I’d just seen and experienced. An act that would only get me arrested rather than imparting any kind of profound enlightenment. So I had to content myself with shaking my head and feeling pity for their limited understanding of a much larger world.
Tomorrow I go back to work and none of this will matter. By 9:00 no one will know I’ve been gone, nor care, and I’ll be right back on the treadmill with the rest of the world. But at least I’ll have a small understanding of what’s really out there and memories to keep me company until I can do it all again.
And for those of you that say I’d love to do something like this, but……
I just completed a 7,000 klm journey on a 26 year old used Honda and a VERY tight budget. You may not go but it’s not because you can’t. It’s because you won’t.
Or, as Johnny Depp would say… Are you a Mexi-can, or a Mexi-can’t?
Tierra del Fuego – only 2 ½ years to go – I’d better start my planning right away
:-)
For the past 18 months we’ve all worked hard: we had to buy and prep the bikes, make all kinds of travel arrangements, buy extra parts in case of a break down and complete any inoculations and other travel medicine requirements for travel in the Third World. We had to each in our own way, come to grips with being away from friends and family for over a month as well as making arrangements for the necessary time off from work. If you say it quick it doesn’t sound like much now but at the time it was a huge endeavor and took a lot of our time and energy as we approached our departure date.
I can’t speak for Steve, Brad or Kevan but I was bordering on obsession during the last 90 days. The trip was all I could think about and all I could talk about, and I know there were more than a few people I work with that were very fed up with hearing about it before I left.
And then there was the trip itself. In was much harder and much different than I imagined, and in other ways it was much easier.
I had a leisurely itinerary in my mind before we left, that would see us leaving at 7:00, riding for 400 – 500 klm by 1:00 or 2:00 and then spending our afternoons lounging by the pool or frolicking in the waves at some small beachside resort. I was sure we could complete the trip in 20 days and still have lots of down time for site seeing and relaxing.
The reality was vastly different. Up at 5:30 for a 6:30 start, breakfast at a roadside taco stand or scarf down a donut at a gas station, a quick break for lunch and ride until 3:00 – 5:00, then search madly for a decent hotel with the all important and overriding factor of secure parking. Instead of rum and cokes and playing cards each evening we dealt with whatever maintenance issues rose during the day and collapsed into bed by 8:30. Our average overland speed, including stops, maintenance, fuel and lunch was never any better than 50 KPH and often as slow as 40 KPH. 400 klm meant an 8 – 10 hour day, plus whatever time was lost due to border crossings or the inevitable getting lost while leaving town syndrome.
But in some ways it was easy. Easy in the sense that we all got along well given the circumstances, we had no major mechanical issues, no one got hurt (even Kevan made it home safely), no one got arrested and not one of us, not one single one of us, would have traded it for the world.
It’s had a profound impact on my perspective and it’s affected me more than I thought it would.
I tried to go into work today to catch up on things and I found myself having a very difficult time dealing with all the e-mails and correspondence of the past five weeks. As I caught up on my reading, and learned about the latest sales targets, or newest product offering, I couldn’t help thinking of the past five weeks; and that brought me back to the young girl on the side of a Honduran road, waiving at a surprise parade her grandfather held her aloft to see. Did she sleep in a warn bed last night? Eat a decent meal? Have an opportunity to play or go to school? These things are what’s truly important, not whether or not Walmart chooses Blueray over HDV or how much Canadians can put away in RRSP’s this year.
I had to do some running around to take care of a few things before going back to work and I couldn’t help but overhear people talking to each other and complaining about this or that – all minor stuff in the big scheme of things – and I wanted to grab them and shake them and try to make them understand what I’d just seen and experienced. An act that would only get me arrested rather than imparting any kind of profound enlightenment. So I had to content myself with shaking my head and feeling pity for their limited understanding of a much larger world.
Tomorrow I go back to work and none of this will matter. By 9:00 no one will know I’ve been gone, nor care, and I’ll be right back on the treadmill with the rest of the world. But at least I’ll have a small understanding of what’s really out there and memories to keep me company until I can do it all again.
And for those of you that say I’d love to do something like this, but……
I just completed a 7,000 klm journey on a 26 year old used Honda and a VERY tight budget. You may not go but it’s not because you can’t. It’s because you won’t.
Or, as Johnny Depp would say… Are you a Mexi-can, or a Mexi-can’t?
Tierra del Fuego – only 2 ½ years to go – I’d better start my planning right away
:-)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Flurry's new home
Last night Brad and I delivered Flurry and his bike to their new home here in Panama.
We put the word out to some of the taxi drivers here at the hotel that we had two bikes to sell. One immediatly passed on the word to a local Panamanian that was parked nearby because he was picking up a work associate at our hotel.
We started to chat with him and it was an immediate sale. Tito is a Panamanain photo-journalist working for the Associated Press. He´s married to a very nice girl from New York, has a 3 year old son and lives in a lovely new housing developement that was a former US Army Base. It has apartments, four-plexes, duplexes, single homes and large executive homes, all on about 100 acres of green space. Tito and his wife live in a four-plex, and an area of the development that he calls the UN because of the diversity of the residents. Anyway, Tito just sold his previous bike but regrets it because they´re on a budget and the gas bill for his Jeep is kiling them. He´s a devout Christian and he´s convinced me selling him Flurry for $500 out of the blue is a gift from God.
He looked at both bikes with a friend who´s a mechanic but he initially said he only wanted to buy Flurry. I told him it was a package deal so he eventualy brought over his neighbout to look at them too. It turns out his neighbour is his good friend and about the same age. His father had a Silverwing when he was a child and used to take him for rides so he jumped all over the chance to buy Brads´s bike so he can restore it and give it to his dad as a surprise present. Tito had to lend him some money to cement the deal but eventualy, after handshakes and final arrangements we agreed to sell both bikes for $1,000.
Brad and I drove the bikes over to their house last night and met their wives, kids and neighbours and were the talk of the town. We had a brief scare when we received an admonishment from a local Policia Naciaonal to slow down through the development but all´s well that end´s well.
Flurry is happy to be able to live out the rest of her days providing much needed support to a great Panamanaim family and she told me she loves the warmer weather. She never liked having to use her choke to start and says she´s much happier in this climate. She´ll also have Brad´s bike to keep her company and allow her to talk to someone in English whenever she gets homesick.
So, a sad day and a happy day all at once.
Adios old girl - you did good, really really good!
We put the word out to some of the taxi drivers here at the hotel that we had two bikes to sell. One immediatly passed on the word to a local Panamanian that was parked nearby because he was picking up a work associate at our hotel.
We started to chat with him and it was an immediate sale. Tito is a Panamanain photo-journalist working for the Associated Press. He´s married to a very nice girl from New York, has a 3 year old son and lives in a lovely new housing developement that was a former US Army Base. It has apartments, four-plexes, duplexes, single homes and large executive homes, all on about 100 acres of green space. Tito and his wife live in a four-plex, and an area of the development that he calls the UN because of the diversity of the residents. Anyway, Tito just sold his previous bike but regrets it because they´re on a budget and the gas bill for his Jeep is kiling them. He´s a devout Christian and he´s convinced me selling him Flurry for $500 out of the blue is a gift from God.
He looked at both bikes with a friend who´s a mechanic but he initially said he only wanted to buy Flurry. I told him it was a package deal so he eventualy brought over his neighbout to look at them too. It turns out his neighbour is his good friend and about the same age. His father had a Silverwing when he was a child and used to take him for rides so he jumped all over the chance to buy Brads´s bike so he can restore it and give it to his dad as a surprise present. Tito had to lend him some money to cement the deal but eventualy, after handshakes and final arrangements we agreed to sell both bikes for $1,000.
Brad and I drove the bikes over to their house last night and met their wives, kids and neighbours and were the talk of the town. We had a brief scare when we received an admonishment from a local Policia Naciaonal to slow down through the development but all´s well that end´s well.
Flurry is happy to be able to live out the rest of her days providing much needed support to a great Panamanaim family and she told me she loves the warmer weather. She never liked having to use her choke to start and says she´s much happier in this climate. She´ll also have Brad´s bike to keep her company and allow her to talk to someone in English whenever she gets homesick.
So, a sad day and a happy day all at once.
Adios old girl - you did good, really really good!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Day 27 - the final push to the Canal!!
We made it!!!!!
Day 27, our last travel day, was a day to remember. We left San Jose and arrived in David, the first large city in Panama, the afternoon before. By perservering, and crossing the border late in the day rather than waiting for morning like we usually do, we were able to cut our travel time to the Canal down to two days from three. We forgot about the time zone change though, so we actually started the day at 7:30, not 6:30 like we planed.
The roads in Panama are great and Panama itself is much like Costa Rica with a few differences. The countryside in the western half is as lush, green and beautiful as Costa Rica. There´s no litter to be seen and a noticible lack of tourists. My kind of place! I have friends that have bought property here and I now see the appeal. I certainly had visions of a large Finca for myself - hey, we can all dream.
Our first stop was a little roadside restaurant that we pulled into for breakfast. Parked out front were a dozen different motorcycles of various types and sizes. It turns out this was the Saturday morning ride for the Black Hawks, a local motorcycle club. Before we could even dismount, they were up and out of the restaurant, all wanting to introduce themselves and welcome us to Panama. And unlike Canada, sport bike riders, cruisers, Chinese Harley wannabe´s and everything in between all rode together. It´s the ride that matters, not the motorcycle. We had a great time, exchanged e-mail addresses and made many new friends.
We hit the road again but as we headed east we dropped into the lowlands. The temperature climbed and the countryside became drier. Our next stop was another little roadside place where we pulled into for a Coke. From a distance we saw bikes parked out front and assumed it was our new friends from breakfast. It wasn´t. It was another motorcycle club out for a ride - but the reception was just as as warm and friendly. This time the bikes were bigger, newer and MUCH better than our Silverwings but instead of looking down their noses at us we were immediatley part of the rider fraternity. Thanks Rudy, we loved talking to you and meeting you and your friends. Cheers!
From there it was time to knuckle down, suck it up and put on miles. The temperature was now in the mid 30´s, and we were hot, sweaty and tired, and at the point where we´d normally stop, but with only a few more klm to go we pushed on.
And then it happened: we followed the signage to Panama City and eventually crossed the Bridge of the America´s! It´s a HUGE bridge that spans the bay leading to the Panama Canal and from it´s highest point we could see the Pacific, the Canal, the locks and Panama City itself! We were there! We´d done it! Horns honking, fists raised, eyes blury with manly tears we managed to give each other high fives at 60 KPH without killing ourselves and rode into Panama City!!
Waiting for us were Sheri and Rosi, very much the worse for wear. The poor girls had ridden an overnight bus from Costa Rica in order to meet us at the end. They planned a huge welcome, but like all things Central American, it didn´t go completley as planned. The Hotel I had booked on the internet was an absolute dive! They arrived at 4:30 in the morning, after 12 hours on the bus, only to find a room that was probably rented by the hour and a hotel you would´t put your dog in. So, guide book in hand, they had to scramble to find a room for all of us, with parking, all with no sleep and in 30 degree temperatures. When we eventually arrived at the original hotel though, they were sitting on the road waiting for us! They grabbed a cab and took lots of pictures while we followed them to a MUCH nicer hotel. All´s well that ends well.
The final day was another 448 klm, bringing the total to 6,968! We traveled through eight different countries, crossed difficult borders, dealt with cold, heat, traffic, smoke, smog and wayward animals on the road, and throughout it all WE LOVED IT!
Team Panama 08 made it! And that includes ALL OF US! There was a little piece of Kevan´s spirit in Steve, Brad and I and he as much made this journey happen as any of us.
Congratulations BUFF - you did it!
Team Panama also includes Dad and Carol, for all their help, especially when we arived with the truck in November, and for seeing us off at the outset. And most importantly, Karen, Joyce, Rosi and Sheri - without their love, support and faith none of this would have been possible.
So now it´s done. It´s almost a little sureal and I´m not sure what the future will hold but for now we´ll savour the memories and play tourist for a few final days in Panama. I also have to make final arangements for Flurry :-(
Adios Mi Amigos Y Familia!!
Day 27, our last travel day, was a day to remember. We left San Jose and arrived in David, the first large city in Panama, the afternoon before. By perservering, and crossing the border late in the day rather than waiting for morning like we usually do, we were able to cut our travel time to the Canal down to two days from three. We forgot about the time zone change though, so we actually started the day at 7:30, not 6:30 like we planed.
The roads in Panama are great and Panama itself is much like Costa Rica with a few differences. The countryside in the western half is as lush, green and beautiful as Costa Rica. There´s no litter to be seen and a noticible lack of tourists. My kind of place! I have friends that have bought property here and I now see the appeal. I certainly had visions of a large Finca for myself - hey, we can all dream.
Our first stop was a little roadside restaurant that we pulled into for breakfast. Parked out front were a dozen different motorcycles of various types and sizes. It turns out this was the Saturday morning ride for the Black Hawks, a local motorcycle club. Before we could even dismount, they were up and out of the restaurant, all wanting to introduce themselves and welcome us to Panama. And unlike Canada, sport bike riders, cruisers, Chinese Harley wannabe´s and everything in between all rode together. It´s the ride that matters, not the motorcycle. We had a great time, exchanged e-mail addresses and made many new friends.
We hit the road again but as we headed east we dropped into the lowlands. The temperature climbed and the countryside became drier. Our next stop was another little roadside place where we pulled into for a Coke. From a distance we saw bikes parked out front and assumed it was our new friends from breakfast. It wasn´t. It was another motorcycle club out for a ride - but the reception was just as as warm and friendly. This time the bikes were bigger, newer and MUCH better than our Silverwings but instead of looking down their noses at us we were immediatley part of the rider fraternity. Thanks Rudy, we loved talking to you and meeting you and your friends. Cheers!
From there it was time to knuckle down, suck it up and put on miles. The temperature was now in the mid 30´s, and we were hot, sweaty and tired, and at the point where we´d normally stop, but with only a few more klm to go we pushed on.
And then it happened: we followed the signage to Panama City and eventually crossed the Bridge of the America´s! It´s a HUGE bridge that spans the bay leading to the Panama Canal and from it´s highest point we could see the Pacific, the Canal, the locks and Panama City itself! We were there! We´d done it! Horns honking, fists raised, eyes blury with manly tears we managed to give each other high fives at 60 KPH without killing ourselves and rode into Panama City!!
Waiting for us were Sheri and Rosi, very much the worse for wear. The poor girls had ridden an overnight bus from Costa Rica in order to meet us at the end. They planned a huge welcome, but like all things Central American, it didn´t go completley as planned. The Hotel I had booked on the internet was an absolute dive! They arrived at 4:30 in the morning, after 12 hours on the bus, only to find a room that was probably rented by the hour and a hotel you would´t put your dog in. So, guide book in hand, they had to scramble to find a room for all of us, with parking, all with no sleep and in 30 degree temperatures. When we eventually arrived at the original hotel though, they were sitting on the road waiting for us! They grabbed a cab and took lots of pictures while we followed them to a MUCH nicer hotel. All´s well that ends well.
The final day was another 448 klm, bringing the total to 6,968! We traveled through eight different countries, crossed difficult borders, dealt with cold, heat, traffic, smoke, smog and wayward animals on the road, and throughout it all WE LOVED IT!
Team Panama 08 made it! And that includes ALL OF US! There was a little piece of Kevan´s spirit in Steve, Brad and I and he as much made this journey happen as any of us.
Congratulations BUFF - you did it!
Team Panama also includes Dad and Carol, for all their help, especially when we arived with the truck in November, and for seeing us off at the outset. And most importantly, Karen, Joyce, Rosi and Sheri - without their love, support and faith none of this would have been possible.
So now it´s done. It´s almost a little sureal and I´m not sure what the future will hold but for now we´ll savour the memories and play tourist for a few final days in Panama. I also have to make final arangements for Flurry :-(
Adios Mi Amigos Y Familia!!
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