Brian's up but I go higher

It looks like we are nearly ready to continue on our adventure and start to head south. Brian's back is much better now and yesterday he managed to stay out of bed from 1pm until 8pm. This was helped by the fact that I left him at the surf shak drinking beer with Mark and, I found out later, Tony. Whilst he did this I was off with Becky doing a bit of tandem paragliding. Now I know that anyone who knows me well will be aware that I don't like heights, and the girls that came on my hen party were witness to me almost being reduced to tears and shaking like a leaf when I had to cross a rope bridge just 10 feet off the ground. The very idea of me strapping myself to a guy and jumping off a cliff will be difficult to believe but there is photographic and video evidence of this. Let me tell you how it happened.

In the morning I decided to go for a walk down the other end of the beach

to take a look at what was there. It was a beautiful, sunny day and to be honest I was starting to get cabin fever. Brian has done incredibly well to remain on the bed, despite being very, very bored. He has managed to keep himself occupied with the computer and the cell phone and has now got about 350 applications downloaded to the phone to help him with this. However, having spent 3 days virtually bed ridden, he was feeling much better so when I got back we went down to the surf shack for lunch. Becky joined us and as we were sat chatting Pete came out to tell us that the two guys booked for paragliding and cancelled and asked if Becky and I would like to do it in their place. Becky immediately said no but I asked if she would do it with me. Surprisingly she agreed. We then had to wait almost an hour during which time our enthusiasm started to wane and we were both becoming fairly quiet. This was not helped by Brian making up statistics of injuries and accidents from paragliding, informing us that some people are lost for days etc and reminding me that our insurance doesn't cover us for this type of thing. Eventually the landi came for us and we very sheepishly climbed aboard.

Again we were both very quiet travelling up the cliff, but remained determined to see it through. I was the first to get strapped into the harness and to listen Mike as he patiently explained what to expect and what I should do. The guy I was attached to was called Tulio, an Ecuadorian with incredible patience and understanding. This was it then. It had all become very serious and even though I knew I was in safe hands (or should I say -limbs -arms and legs) I suddenly felt very, very nervous.

The first attempt at lifting off wasn't good. The wind lifted the wing and pulled us back with such speed that it took me off my feet. Something that I shouldn't have done but couldn't prevent. After a little bit of manoeuvring we then had a perfect lift off. It was amazing. The views were spectacular, the silence was striking and the grace with which we changed height and direction was spell binding. At one point Tulio encouraged me to control the wing, getting me to turn us round and rise higher in the air. Very brave of him I thought but a fantastico experience and not one I had expected to do at 52 years of age. Another box ticked I think. From the air I could see the houses I had photographed earlier in the day. A birds eye view. We had a perfect landing

and then it was back up the cliff for Becky to do her thing. It was quite something actually watching another person doing it and I became even more aware of what I had just done and how tiny I must have looked from the ground.

Both of us were absolutely elated at our achievement and were grinning from ear to ear. In fact, the journey back to Canoa was probably more of a safety risk than the paragliding when the rope that was securing the bonnet gave way and the bonnet flipped into the air making it impossible to see the road ahead. From the reaction or lack of reaction from Mike and Tulio, this must be fairly common place.

So, here we are then. I've had a fantastic time in Canoa and would like to think that we will be back. At one point I thought we may not even leave, but we have to finish this journey and we have so much left to see and do. There is another lovely roast dinner to look forward to tomorrow night and then off we go on Wednesday morning back on the road south.

A right pain the the arse

Just a quick update for you all. We are still in Canoa, a place we are beginning to feel is like home. It's so friendly and welcoming. We went to a fund raising gala day at the local bilingual school which is funded and run by donations and volunteers. I was impressed with the whole set up and how so many people in the community seemed to be supporting it and were clearly very proud of their achievements. Quite rightly so.

Our days have just been slow and gentle whilst Brian has been resting his back to try and get it ship shape for the rest of the journey. It was helped along by a fantastic roast beef dinner put on by Mark at the Shamrock. There were six of us for the occasion and we all spruced ourselves up a bit. Becky and Jonny supplied a lovely apple crumble and cream which was topped off nicely by some cheddar like cheese that Tony had brought along. I can't tell you how nice it was to sit around a dinner table chatting and laughing, drinking and eating in such a friendly and comfortable environment.

It looked like we were on target for leaving here on Saturday and yesterday we agreed to meet up for one last party in the Shamrock on Friday night. Sadly, things have taken a turn for the worse this morning. Brian seemed much better when he woke up, got out of bed and suddenly felt excruciating pain in his back and down his leg. So much so that he is now unable to stand, get in or out of bed. Try to imagine the situation. Neither of us speak Spanish, no doctors, not knowing where the nearest hospital is or how to get there. I decided to go down to the surf shack where Becky and Johnnie are partners to see if I could get some bi-lingual help to contact a 'medico' A guy there called Pete told me of the options. Strap Brian to a surf board, throw him on the back of a truck and take him to San Vicente to a doctor there. If necessary, put him back on the surf board and take him on the ferry to the hospital. But the option we have gone for is to let the local vet take a look at him first. Hopefully he won't turn up with rubber gloves and a big hypodermic filled with horse tranquiliser.

As you can imagine, Brian is taking this all in his stride ....... NOT and though he will say he's not demanding let me tell you - so far I have been to get help, to get medication, to get a pizza, to get juice and the latest was to get a banana smoothie and all before 1pm.

I will keep you all updated on the situation. Really I think it's attention seeking and if he wants to stay here there is no need for all this drama. He just needs to say 'lets stay'

There are some pictures to post on this but it seems that even the blogger.com site isn't fully functional today!

We may have found 'the place'

We spent 7 nights in Quito. The longest period of time we have spent anywhere so far on this adventure. The weekend was full of celebrations ans the weather during the day was quite nice. On Sunday we went into the Old Quito town where we saw the latest of the independence parades. Very colourful and very loud.


Monday found Diego back at work and finally the shed got a thorough going over. By the time we picked her up on Wednesday she was gleaming, both inside and out, was proudly showing off her new tyres and Diego's Mum, Miroslava, had even cleaned our helmets.


It was an absolute joy to feel how she had got her power back. Diego very kindly came to collect us later in the evening and took us round the Old town at night when it was all lit up. We tried some local delicacies in a quaint little bar. One of the drinks was like drinking rice pudding and it took a bit of getting used to when I had a slurp then found lumps in it. Fancy having to chew your drink! We also tried a sort of mulled wine and a corn snack which tasted a bit like a Greg's pasty. Diego was an absolute treasure and seemed pleased that we were going to travel down the coast. He identified where the nice places were and also the places to be avoided. Thankfully, he explained the easiest way out of the city. We said our goodbyes to the hostel staff and got ready for leaving early the next day. Of course, there was the inevitable party goers returning in the early hours, noisy, hungry and oblivious to others in the hostel. Thank goodness for ear plugs!


Absolutely no problems getting out of the city and heading out towards Esmeraldas on the coast. It felt great to be back on the road. We went through a few of the coastal towns before deciding on staying at Sau. This is a very small town and many of the hotels and hostels were closed, probably because it was out of season. One thing was for sure it was a lot warmer than it had been in Quito. At the far end of town there was a run down hotel. The room was very basic, parts of the building was damaged and the guy who greeted us was clearly working very hard to put it right. However, it was right on the beach front, had a bar and a restaurant and was only $18 for the night.


We had a quick dip in the ocean and a swing in the hammocks before eating and watching all the beach activity involving lots of young people and boats.

The room was very hot but believe me we soon got to sleep. No partying at 3am, no odour of frying food at 3.30. Finally we had peace and warmth. Just what we ordered. In the morning we had a feast for breakfast. He just seemed to give us a bit of everything. We ate looking over the sea and in the company of rather a large green thing which I was brave enough to take some photos of. Well, I have to admit I didn't get too close and I took full advantage of the zoom facility on the camera. The guy at the hotel told me in his best spanish that it is called a Saltimantis but I'm sure that somebody somewhere will tell me it's real name.


Not too early a start and then we were off to Canoa where we find ourselves at the moment. It's nice and warm but very cloudy. There was no problem finding accommodation because it is still out of season here. The town itself is small and sandy. The roads are covered in sand which nearly caused a bit of a problem for the shed. Canoa has a lovely feel about it. Lots and lots of beach (mostly deserted)

bars and cafes, lots of restaurants.




There are some caves at the far end of the beach and quite a few surfer dudes. Of course, we found an Irish Bar. It's called Shamrock and is owned by a guy called Mark. He serves delicious food and last night we had bangers and mash. It was lush! The Pinacoladas served on the beach are fantastic (mostly rum of course) and everything is so very, very cheap including land and houses. We find ourselves lying in the hammock on the balcony or in the grounds or on the beach dreaming about what it would be like to live and work here.


In our minds it all seems perfect....... I think we have found 'the place'.

The Equators - all of them cold

The rest of our journey through Columbia was full of beautiful mountains and hills and a few difficulties with the shed. Cali was not as we expected. In fact it was quite a dirty, noisy and very busy place. It could be that we stayed in a particularly bad part of the town but the hotel was pleasant enough and quite cheap though a little past it's best before date.

The city itself is undergoing a lot of development, new road surfacing, new paving etc ready for an increase in the tourism. Riding out of the city we managed to get caught yet again in a market street which meant neither the shed, nor Brian, were happy. I was just really looking forward to getting out and moving on to Popayan which was, according to the lonely planet book, a beautiful 'colonial town'.

The road trip just got worse and worse with both Brian and the shed complaining. The shed finding it difficult to give anything of herself when going up gradients and Brian expressing concern about how her condition was getting worse and worse. Following the help and effort of a chap at a petrol station we found ourselves in Popayan with the name of a place to go to for new spark plugs. We didn't get that far. Instead the guys at the Honda dealership took over and tried to put the shed right. It was funny watching Brian's face as they slowly started to take her apart and squirt her with various treatments etc. I was, however, very impressed at how relaxed he became

about it and the manager was clearly very pleased to be able to help. We spent the afternoon walking around the town which was a mass of streets that all looked exaactly the same. Rows and rows of white washed houses built on a grid.

Finally we found the old square and the two bridges. One built for the priests and a twelve arch bridge built later and now used as a place to sleep for some of the down and outs.

The following day we set off and immediately realised that the shed was no different so we limped our way to the Ecuador border. The crossing went without a hitch. We actually understand the process now and can anticipate what we are going to be asked so we stood there, dripping wet from the rain and moved dutifully from window to window. The chap that processed the 'importacion temporal' had obviously worked there forever and would continue to work there until the day he died. He was a bit of a grumpy sod and he and the computer system he used was painfully slow right up until I asked if I could take his photograph. All of a sudden he was full of life and very, very jolly.

My first impression of Ecuador was one of disbelief and anxiety. We approached the border town of Tulcan and I noticed that everyone was wearing thick ponchos, puffer jackets and woolly hats. This was Ecuador! The equator was here. It's supposed to be hot for goodness sake. Brian and I have no warm clothes anymore but it appeared that we would be needing some. The hotel wasn't up to much but met all our needs and we were only going to be there a night. We were just glad to be in Ecuador and close to the guy who was going to repair the shed. The next day and following another rubbish exit from the town and a curt exchange of words between rider and pillion, we were on our way to meet Diego in Quito. We stopped at the equator for photos of us, the shed and the fish and had a chat with a fellow biker, Marco, who has also been travelling for quite some time.

We managed to get quite close to where we were to meet Diego but had to telephone him as we couldn't find his workshop. He met us at the petrol station, arriving on a dirt bike, stood up on his pegs and grinning like a Cheshire cat. I could hear Brian's brain screaming 'He's a kid' He certainly was not what either of us expected and nor was the location of his workshop. We met his lovely family and then Diego took us and our belongings to a hostel, the Blue House hostel, in the tourist area of Quito where we intended to spend the following 5 or 6 days.

The following day we went to the tourists' equator. When I say we you would think that I went with Brian but I actually felt at one point that maybe he had morphed into Victor Meldrew. The Mitad del Mundo is a monument built to mark the position of the equator. It's slightly off the mark but was built on a historic site where the French had worked out was the middle of the world in the 1800's. Brian was unforgiving in his comments in the visitors' book advising them that it maybe a good idea to move the centre onto the proper equator and ranted on about the sham of it all as we walked around the place.

We then went to a restaurant where earlier we had seen Guinea pig being spit roasted. Brian had promised his friend, Richard, that he would eat this culinary delight. I don't think either of us expected it to arrive looking so much like a Guinea pig that had been a victim of road kill. It was definitely easier to eat when you covered it's head with a napkin.

I had some of the meat and it tasted just like chicken but there wasn't very much of it. I couldn't help but think of Squeaker, my pet Guinea pig I had as a child but, with the napkin in place, it was much more palatable. The next pleasure was to go 250 metres to where the real Equator was located and participate in the various experiments. You know the sort of thing – water going down the plug a different way depending on which hemisphere, changes in physical strength etc. Of course Victor, I mean Brian, made comments like “I don't believe it” and “that's impossible” Actually it was most definitely 'fixed' in some way and he was absolutely right but hey – it's how they make a living and it was certainly good fun. Much better than the place next door – the fake equator.

Yet again we were fortunate enough to hit a city when they were about to celebrate their independence and the added bonus was being able to sit in an Irish pub eating bacon butties and watching the England game. As they didn't do too well we then went out and bought two Ecuador shirts, went back to the pub and watched them loose their game. However, at least they scored a goal and that was certainly an exciting moment.

The downside to celebrations is that no work could be done on the shed until things got back to normal which is today. We are now starting to get a bit twitchy and wanting the shed back so we can continue on our way. It's also got quite cold, cloudy and wet again. No matter which equator we get close to it seems we have hit winter. Hopefully things will move along now. It's been nice reading the comments on the blogs whilst we are grounded here. It's the comments that let us know who's reading them and if we are telling you what you want to hear. Please keep them coming

Bad altitude and happy to be here

So, Tuesday 29th September, we set off for the cargo terminal to deliver the shed. We were meeting Globebusters at the terminal who arrived soon after 11am - en mass. I have to admit that at one point I was questioning whether we could have got all this palava over with a little quicker earlier in the week and on our own instead of our paperwork being put through with 17 other bikes. However, Roddy had made good contacts with the shippers and, with Kevin and Julia's help, got us all through very smoothly. It was a great opportunity to get to know quite a few of the guys on the adventure tour and we spent time chatting and comparing stories about our journeys so far and the history of the bikes. Once the shed had her bar code sticker for shipping and Julia had got Brian, Kevin, Roddy and myself booked on a flight in the morning, we went back to the hostel to pack ready for an early start.


This was a time to reflect on my journey through Central America.

I had been very apprehensive about the countries we would be passing through and this proved to be totally unnecessary. It would be unfair to group the countries altogether as one. Some of the countries were clearly trying to improve the lives and potential of the people and to rid themselves of corruption .
They were also trying to retain the individuality and history of the culture, towns and cities. Other countries did not appear to be putting as much effort into this. Despite these differences the majority of the people we met on our travels were friendly, helpful and appeared to be interested in our journey prior to meeting them and in what lay ahead of us.They were all happy to have tourists in their towns. I'm afraid I found that I was continually shocked at how little many of the people had and the massive gaps between the people that had and the people that had not. As we approached and left towns, we rode through areas of obvious poverty. I found it hard to understand how families could live in such small spaces and in houses made of wood with corrugated metal roofs weighted down with bricks to prevent them blowing away. There were no paved streets in these areas and dust and dirt appeared to be everywhere but believe me, this contradicted the evidence of absolute pride and cleanliness evident in the lines and lines of bright white washing to be seen every day and women out sweeping the front of their houses to make room for the next lot of dust to be blown their way. The school children here were always immaculately turned out both on their way to school and on their way back (not often evident back home with shirts hanging out, socks rolled down etc etc) I also became aware of not hearing the sound of children crying or parents shouting, either in the shopping mals or at home. I would see them sat quietly on their porches, playing happily with each other or sitting on the parents or Grandparents laps. They didn't appear resigned to their situation but seemed contented and comfortable with where they were, who they were and who they were with. I can only try to understand why this is but I think that they have to spend lots of time with each other and so have to get along. They can't go to their room to play on their computer or watch TV. They can't wind their parents up asking for the latest game, gadget etc like 'all' their friends at school have because they and their friend all have the same. There was a nice air of peace and contentment. This will be a lasting memory of Central America.

Enough of all that now. Here I am in Columbia. All in one piece and very, very happy to be here. We stayed a couple of nights with the Globebusters in Bogota before heading off on our own again. I had begun to feel like a 'hanger onner' and, though the group had made us feel very welcome, felt we needed to be doing what we did best which was traveling on our own. We went to visit the Catedral de Sal in Zipaquira just north of Bogota (recommended by Jose). This was a fascinating place to visit and as a taster I've put this photo in but there will be more in the Album when I get it ogether.


The plan was to collect the part from BMW then be on our way towards Honda. However, the part hadn't arrived so we had to stay in the city another night. We stopped at the Hotel Regency a few doors away from the dealer to ask about the price but it was too expensive. However, the reservation co-ordinator, Irwin Rodriguez, was enthralled by our journey and offered us a room at a greatly reduced price. All of the staff there were lovely and keen to ask question about the shed etc.

After a really good nights sleep in a luxurious bed we were desperate to make haste out of the city. This was delayed by the BMW dealer who couldn't find the part but assured Brian it had been delivered. As a result of the delay we hit a lot of heavy traffic getting out or the city which caused a bit of friction between the rider and pillion but eventually all was well with the world and we found ourselves on a fantastic windy road through the mountains but unfortunately it was full of heavy traffic. Brian rode like a demon taking bends beautifully and overtaking whenever possible. We passed some lovely small towns and I began to realise how beautiful Columbia is.


It was getting very humid again and it was apparent that the road shown on the map did not resemble the roads we were riding. What appeared to be a short distance was doubled by the number of hairpin bends and ups and downs we were doing. By the time we reached Honda we decided to call it a day.

Honda is a rough and tumble town with few hotels. We chose the best of a bad lot, ate slept and in the morning prepared to leave. Brian bought some water for the camelbaks and off we went. It was a nice sunny morning and I soon got thirsty. I had a drink of water only to be surprised to find that it was carbonated soda water. Still. It was very refreshing and did the job. We were on another winding road, but well paved. It took us higher and higher into the mountains as we headed northwest. We actually reached 3,700m above sea level at which point I had a drink from the camelbak...... My God ...... It hit the back of my throat like a water cannon. It nearly blue my brains out! The altitude had inflated the carbonated bubbles and when I looked at Brian's camelbak (which was right in front of my face) it was blown up fit to burst which explained why I had kept banging my helmet on it. I couldn't understand why this had been happening ? I hadn't moved but, it seems that Brian's camelbak had ... towards me. The video below will explain all.

So, all major mishaps averted we found ourselves in Pereira at the start of gale force winds, rain and then hail. Fortunately we had stopped at a hotel to get prices and the doorman invited us in to stay until the storm passed. It was so strong that it actually blew one of the big panes of glass out of it's runner!
We are staying in another hotel round the corner (it's cheaper) and continue to find the people of Columbia a pleasure to be with. They can't do enough for us, ringing people they know who speak English to explain things to us, recommending food, places to visit and generally making us feel very, very welcome.

Onwards

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We left Granada on 22^nd September after having a nice chat with an American guy who had lived there for 15 years . He was a cheery chap who, having heard that we were going to Columbia, proceeded to tell us of a biker who had gone there 9 years ago and had been kidnapped, tortured and beaten and held for 6 months. We have now got very good at listening very patiently to this type of doom and gloom merchant and then giving it no further consideration. The ride from Granada to San Juan was lovely apart from when we were stopped at a police check point and the policeman got into a bit of a stress about our paperwork. We couldn't understand him so he got his colleague involved and he just waved us through. We stayed in a hotel with a room overlooking the Pacific, ate in a beach restaurant watching crabs racing along the beach and witnessed yet another thunderstorm just on the horizon.

We started our search for somewhere nice to live and found a house for sale for around £70k – the first of many properties that will try to entice us to live in warmer climates. The people in San Juan were very chilled and relaxed.

We got to the border very early the following day and discovered why the policeman had been so excited. The customs form we had been given was for one day only and we had overstayed our permit. It got sorted out very quickly as it seems they are never given for just a day and it should have been one month. I really enjoyed the ride on the coastal road, the jungle and plantations, the little stalls at the side of the road selling colourful clothes and an abundance of fruit. It was all very beautiful and was looking very tropical. Costa Rica is a very picturesque country but also very expensive, especially on the coast which is very popular with surfers. After looking at several hotels in Jaco, all out of our price range, we eventually found a place on the beach that was being renovated so the room rates were greatly reduced.

The storm we witnessed that night was spectacular with lightening illuminating the ocean and the tropical foliage around the hotel. The young girl, Celia, that served in the restaurant was fascinated by the shed and had lots of questions. She rode a little 200cc bike which looked like a toy next to the shed.

The Panama border crossing was much easier and Brian did it all independently. The helpers that were scattered around were exactly that – helpers not hasslers. The shed had to be fumigated for what we aren't sure but for which we had to pay a dollar and received a certificate to be shown at police checkpoints. Initially we thought we would stop off in David but this was such a short ride we thought we'd carry on. Unfortunately we didn't come across any other towns with nice hotels so we eventually ended up in Santiago which is an industrial town with few hotels. Well, hotels were would have dared to stay in. We had seen one on the way in so back tracked a bit a stayed in a very, very bright and cheerful hotel called Le Hacienda. In the morning we went to Panama city, eventually found signs for the airport and started to look for the hostel that John, a friend of ours, had stayed in. We rode all around the area unable to find it and both of us commenting that the airport didn't look like a big international airport we were expecting. I memorized the name of the airport so we could confirm if this was the correct one later. We eventually stayed at another expensive hotel to take stock and check the internet. Here we discovered that despite all of Brian's planning and researching the previous night he had neglected to find out the name of the airport we would be flying from. We were at the wrong airport at the wrong side of the city but the plus side was that we had fish fingers and chips for tea and met Jose Mata, a friendly guy from Venezuela who told us of some places to visit in Columbia. He made a real fuss of us, it was lovely.

Brian did really well the next day, riding across the city and finding Tocomen airport, across the road, exactly as John had said, we found the hostel. It was very basic but clean and very cheap. Again there was not hot water in the rooms and only basic Spanish TV. The staff were friendly and helpful. They did all our laundry free of charge which was very brave of them. The humidity in this part of Central America is incredible and believe me, we stink, our clothes stink and our biking gear ....... well, I'll save you that unpleasant description. Because there were no cooking facilities or Internet access we had to go over the the airport every morning for breakfast and to check emails. All part of the adventure. A Canadian guy called John arrived at the hostel and decided to stay there with us to try and get on the same flight as us to Columbia.

The Globebusters were due to arrive in Panama on Monday 28^th September and we were to meet them in the evening to make final arrangements for flying the shed out to Bogota with them. During the day we went to the Panama Canal. John took the lead through the city explaining that he preferred to not do the toll road. Of course we hit the early morning rush, and eventually got lost.

Panama City is a real contradictory place. It has some very beautiful, gleaming and clean buildings and areas but is filled to bursting with filthy diesel buses and trucks which cough out thick black smoke. Not nice to breath in and eventually covers your clothing and skin with black greasy soot. All we wanted to do then was get out of the center. Brian found the way out very easily and we got to the lock just in time to see the last ship sailing away.

The next one through was not until 3pm some 6 hours later. We took a few snaps and went back to the hostel to get ready for meeting the Globebusters in their very posh hotel in the city. Roddy, the guy we met from James Cargo was there and it was lovely to see him again. It seems he has been following our blogs which is nice. I got chatting to Lorraine and Edwin who were on the tour and live near Middlesbrough. They are very well travelled and friendly people. When we had the details about the flight etc, Brian, John and myself went into the city to eat (which made a change from eating at the airport) and then got a taxi back to the hostel. What a ride! I couldn't stop laughing at Brian's facial expressions. His complete and utter disbelief at what was happening. The taxi was crabbing all the time and we were often on the wrong side of the road. The driver asked for money for petrol, then money for the tolls. He started chatting on his mobile phone, had no idea about the speed limit, but eventually got us back to base safe and well and all in one piece. A bit of a surprise to all of us.

I'll blog about leaving Panama when we reach the next internet access point which is actually prooving to be more difficuolt than we had imagined.