March 31, 2016. Rio Sereno port of entry

Finally entering Panama, the last bit of Central America. From word of mouth and looking at the map, it seemed like an awfully boring place. For long stretches, one would need to ride the pan-american at low elevation and the blazing heat. Even Scott Pauker and Nicholas Gault had taken the highway. With that in mind, I moved up my return flight to Canada by 10 days, leaving me with 19 days to ride across Panama and find a place to keep my bike until I go back. What a mistake!

Entering through Rio Sereno was great, one could easily miss the immigration offices if they arent looking for them. I spotted a microwave tower on top of a hill which seemed like a good spot to camp. Unfortunately I wasnt the first there...

But a stroll down a hill gave me a respectable distance and a cool vista.

I zig-zagged my way up and down some surprisingly steep roads towards Cerro Punta - Panama's most fertile land. Lots of trucks moving produce, stalls selling fruit and veggies and cool refreshig rain.

By 2000m, the rain was no longer refreshing and I hid in a small comedor, home to some amazing food and 50cent cups of coffee. 2 hours later, against the advice of the woman working there, I headed up.

I finished the night at the top of the pass right before Los Quetzales trail, am hoping to take it over to the other side of volcan Baru. There was partly sheltered camping and full kitchen at the hut. Misjudging my appetite, I ended up cooking for the ranger as well, he enjoyed the mushroom soup - pasta - potatoes - and whatever i thew in there.

The trail on the other hand was.... something else. Backbreaking ascents and descends, barely any space for me and the bike and the only though that kept me going was the 3 hour time that the ranger gave me... I wonder if that was for hiking or if he considered my bicycle...

But when it was rideable, it was a blast! The $10 downhill monkey tire from Costa Rica held up like a champ and before I knew it, I was sipping coffee at a tourist cafe in Boquette and looking at options to go up Volcan Baru...

It would have been smart to wait till the next day but I wanted to keep going. So, I started climbing up from 1200m... the peak stands at 3400 and it was already 12:30pm. At 2000m, the dirt began...

at 2300 it was clear that there is no way to ride up...

at 2500 I shared some cake with a local who was setting up his tent to take a break. Clearly brand new tent in from the box - proof that you don't need that ultralight tent or sleeping bag to go places!

at 3000 I was singing for the sunshine and shivering with the cold.

and at the peak... well there was the amazing sunset

I also had a wide variety of camp sites. I could choose a windy spot, I could be on the ledge, I could be next to the loud generators or closer to the cell phone towers for some brain cancer. I chose a happy-medium, combining a little bit of everything.

I also wasn't the only one enjoying the sunrise

Some tourists suggested I visit hotsprings nearby and I was off... problem was... the hotsprings were at 400m elevation. After rocking down the jeep road and a total of over 3000m of descending it was clear that there is no way I am going into hot springs... I was off again up some dirt road in hopes of high elevation and cooler nights.

The roads were steep and rough, at the slightly better sections I learned to appreciate pushing, without struggling for grip or sliding backwards.

Night found me sleeping right beside the road near some grumpy frogs who did not want to be photographed.

at midnight cows woke me up by eating grass right next to my tent...

In the morning a dog snuck up on me and pee'd on my bike and then bolted off...

The road was less and less defined. Sometimes I'd walk ahead for a bit without the bike to make sure I got the right turn. It was steep, rough and unused. I was finally out there!

A donkey on a rope marked my reunion to the pavement.

I had great fried bread lunch at this stop. Everytime a vehicle would stop all these people would run up and sell all sorts of things.

I rode up to some ranch for wi-fi but instead found some dogs chilling....

Later I snuck up in a pasture for a great camp site. Panama continues to amaze, with wonderful dirt tracks, friendly people and amazing camping! I thought about how lucky I was to be able to be there and keep doing this. I need to do that more often.

Great roadside breakfast, as the woman working there sent off her kids to school.

Apparently hunting highways workers is no longer allowed on the Pan-American highway...

I thought riding the big highway would suck but what I got was 100 kilometers of construction 98% of which was machine and vehicle free. I got to chat with the workers and ice cold water from their coolers!

Even the cows were very receptive to all I had to say.

One of the highway police gave me a tip about a dirt road through the mountains but was very hesitant when I asked about biking it. That's all I needed, I was off, right after I filled my helmet with mangoes! As I was doing that somebody from the next house started yelling at me, I think he was trying to tell me that his mangoes were better, so I got few from his tree.

While moving slowly up the rocky road, a man with a horse came up and offered to take my bags. I jumped at the opportunity and he took all my gear while I had my bike. Had this been a robbery, it would have been the perfect one!

The man, 74 years old rode alongside me for 2 hours. I was barely keeping my breath walking the bike up and the horse wasn't even breaking a sweat.

It was wonderful. The cool breeze and the sunset, nearing the top of the hill and looking at the crazy hills I must somehow cross tomorrow.

He later invited me to stay in his brother's house. No TV, no lights, no electricity. All they had was that battery operated radio. Fish, rice and beans for dinner. Mud floor, bamboo beds. It was the only night of the entire trip that I did not take out my tablet, didn't set an alarm, didn't think of anything but how simple their life is. I fell asleep to the wind blowing off the metal roof, to the sound of the chickens clucking in the corner of the room under my bed and the old spanish music playing over the radio from the other room.

Well.... Good morning!

downhill, wasn't much better but rideable nontheless. My rear brake kept getting stuck so I had to kick it to release when I didnt need it anymore.

I was on the final stretch, still some walking but what bothered me was that some kid, walking to school in his crocs kept catching up to me.
"Was I that slow?"
"What's going on?"
Then I caught him! The little bugger was running when I wasn't looking. I raced him to the paved road and beat him by 20 meters thanks to a large clear section.

Google maps said there was a road all the way to the Caribbean. Well.... few people told me it's not possible and that was all the motivation I needed. But that will wait till tomorrow, i found the perfect pullout beside the road for today.

Okay... maybe I needed a little bit more motivation. It was bad. The kind of bad that locks up both front and back wheels. The rear wheel slides, for the front wheel I have to roll backwards every few meters so the mud falls off.

Sometimes I was knee deep in it. Literally... well, almost... Actually, a good majority of the traffic on this road is horses and as you know, horses poop wherever they want. there is a good chance that there is a significant amount of horse dung mixed with the mud. it sure smelled like it.

Taking breaks was amazing break from the monotony of dragging the bike and as the clouds lifted there was a quite refreshing view.

If I ever considered turning back, this would be it. It was impossible. Progress was slow and extremely tiring. It wasn't just that, if I kept going... I would need to go back too. I also wondered where would have been ideal to turn back, definitely at that hanging bridge where I had to balance myself on the rocks and lift the bike over. Now it was too late.

who am I to complain? looks like some folks here walk this barefeet...

Completely exhausted I arrived at a small village and was momentarily surrounded by people.
"You are the first one on a bike!"
I do not have a doubt that nobody else would drag a bicycle this far - only to have to turn back. This was about half way but I was absolutely done, a man invited me to stay in his house and I took the offer.

while it's true i've gotten very tanned, this isnt me. its my new friend!

I opted to set up tent next door and the cat really liked my sleeping mat. I watched him for some time, in case he started pouncing on my tent like the other cat in Costa Rica.

I also wondered if I should leave my bike here and hike the rest. Or strap the bike on my back? I decided to leave carrying the bike for on the way back - as it would be definitely easier than dragging it. For some reason I had hopes that today would be better. It wasn't.

The road was more hilly and steeper and just as muddy. Uphill was a constant struggle to maintain footing, downhill was walking the bike beside me and trying not to slide. At one point I fell and slid along the big ruts, holding the bike beside me. For a brief part, I was able to ride. Thats when the chain broke. I shrugged and put the muddy chain in a bag for later. It's not like I get any riding done anyway.

Later, I was going uphill and upstream. BUT. this was the best part of the road. With no mud and just rocks to deal with, I was making slow but steady progress. I was also spiking my water with sugar, I got a big bag from the previous town and I knew that I will be in some major trouble if I didn't get more calories in.

A boy walked alongside me.... barefeet.... he was working on some of the fields. He was in no rush and barely said anything. Unfortunately, he wasn't very good with the camera.

The moment I got to the beach, I was called by some men and was handed beer and the most amazing chicken soup I've had. I didn't scream out of happiness. I stood on the beach and thought about the Darien Gap... maybe I can paddle it... I also thought about starting the paddle from here... that's right. I just dragged my bike here and now I am thinking of dragging a canoe

Back at town, I searched for the drivers of the Tacoma in hopes of getting a ride back.
"yeah, have you eaten?"
before I could reply I found myself with a plate of chicken, rice and beans.

The ride back was.... absolutely ... amazing! not only was I saving 2 days of backbreaking work but I got to see one of those trucks in action. Here is how the ride went:

This was also, oddly the biggest test for my wheels. Strapped on top on this bumpy road... once the cooler fell off, it was strapped in a way that put even more pressure on the spokes. Nothing broke! Can't say the same about the cameras. The gopro was done for good. The canon's charger was done... I only had a partially charged canon battery for the remainder of the trip.

Before we said our goodbyes, I pointed up to the mountain across the valley:
"is there a through road there?"
"yes."
I wondered for a moment, how much video-ing for the SEE THE WORLD series influences my decisions. Would I still go up there if I had no video to show for it?

YES! I spent most of the day walking not only up but down as well. It was impossible to descend these roads safely on a bicycle.

It was a shame the cameras were gone but I still got few snapshots of some of the most amazing and beautiful riding... well mostly pushing... that I have ever done. It's too bad so many people skip through Panama and never get to see the countryside. That being said, I was able to sneak in a single photo on the canon before the flashing red battery indicator turns the camera off.

I was awoken at night by a fire in the sugar cane field I was sleeping at...

and I always found ways to escape the Panamerican highway.

In Anton Valley, I was lucky to meet Dave and Ethel. I rested few days and was able to leave my bike there.

So... I didn't quite get to Panama city but that's something to worry about in 3-5 months when I come back. I heroically snoozed trough The Panama Canal on the way to te airport. Got my backpack searched at all 3 of the security checks on the way back to Canada.