And so we reach the half time oranges...

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From Playa Hermosa we head to Volcan Arenal. The route plan is to take in the Cloud Forest (it is what it sounds like) but this is a gravel road and the recent heavy rains mean it is a no no. Only five people have done it in previous tours and two of them blew their rear shock absorbers. So we climb into the volcano range and the clouds close in and the humidity drops. We ride with Kevin and Julia and stop for lunch at a German owned café / gallery. It looks OK from the road but when we walk through it surrounds a stunning football pitch size lagoon. Howler monkeys are heard in the trees and the variety of brightly coloured birds is huge. Humming birds are feeding on the flowers and are almost too fast and too small to photograph. After a very pleasant lunch we press on to Volcan Arenal. Outside town on the side of the road is a Yah Yah monkey, with a long pointy nose. Unfortunately they have learned that tourists will stop and feed them, and we are tourists. We glimpse the volcano through the clouds as we ride into town. Town is an adventure tourist trap, the upside being a good variety of restaurants. A short 170 mile ride and Selva Verde Jungle lodge and a rest day beckons us so we set of late the next day and we are last to leave, in glorious sunshine. Today is destined to be one of those days....

Ten miles in we are stopped by Police apparently just doing a survey. Twenty five miles in we meet a very recent accident. Many small river bridges in Costa Rica are single lane even when the road is two lane. Two cars have both tried to cross and met head on on the bridge and the wail of a police siren can be heard in the distance. We sneak through a gap and are gone before the police can close the road. Forty five miles in we are climbing once again as the storm clouds gather and we don waterproof jackets too late to get trousers on. Having checked with a local (Esta la careterra para Naranjo señor?) we plough on and meet the next accident in the low cloud and mist at fifty five miles. This is announced by a mile queue of stationary traffic that we meander up the outside of and get to the front. Another head on, van meets 4x4 on a left hand corner when the van has drifted over the centre line. Again we slip through a gap when waved on by a policeman. Onwards we forge and pass a group stopped for coffee including Kevin and Julia. A few wrong turns quickly spotted and re-traced and we are making good time. Take the left to La Paz falls and we are have only thirty five miles to run. Except we pass Kevin and Julia and two or three others coming the opposite way and signalling to u turn. Stopped at the junction we learn the only (gravel) road round the volcano has been taken out by a earthquake and is simply missing.... So plan B, consult the map and realise we are at the Volcanoes 9 o'clock position and our destination is slightly north of 12 o'clock. The are are two choices go back to the last main road and go in a big anti clockwise loop on main roads through San Juan the capital or wend our way anti clockwise around the volcano through the little villages until the 4 o'clock position where we can pick up the Pan American heading north and cut across to the hotel. Choosing to avoid the capital we set off and within half a mile we hit road works! These are not UK style traffic lights, safety barriers etc This is diggers and graders dumping gravel all over the road and watering it. Because we are on bikes we just get waved through and told to go slow. The graders and diggers just keep operating around us. The works last 5-10 miles and are distinctly tricky in places with no discernible road or track. At least the rain has stopped and we are dry. Right up until we hit the truck laden Pan American Highway when just as we are dry the heavens open and we get the full force of an early evening tropical storm. We arrive at Selva Verde soaked in the dark and having covered considerably more miles than planned. Great day through.... The one thing that proved accurate about the day was Selva Verde a lodge in the jungle. Take care of vipers and poisonous frogs as you walk along the long raised walk ways to you cabin on stilts. Monkeys, frogs, two inch bullet ants and all sorts of wildlife abound. Bullet ants are so called because of they bite you it feels like you've been shot!

The next day is a rest day to allow time to explore. For a rest and to ensure all our clothes are wet we go white water rafting in the morning down the Sapisqui river and then zip lining through the jungle canopy in the afternoon. Restful it isn't but lots of fun and invigorating. The longest zip line is over 750m and crosses the river at 40m high. Fantastic fun.

From Selva Verde on to a nowhere town called Cahuita and the “Suizo Loco” hotel. This is via Port Limon, where Columbus landed. If he went there now he would sail on quickly. A massive container port, for fruit export, it is smelly dirty and nasty looking. The first place that we have travelled through that comes close to unpleasant. The ride down the coast of the Caribbean sea is surprisingly humid and although there is an on shore breeze still hot.

We spend the evening with the group psyching themselves up for tomorrow's crossing into Panama. Customs will be no problem but the border itself is the first of the two infamous banana bridges. Built over 100 years ago for trains they have had some boards nailed down each side of the tracks and are now used by trains, trucks and pedestrians, although they try not to do all at the same time! On the film of 2005's ride most participants pushed their bikes across and those who rode included several fallers. Fall inwards and you just hit the railway tracks and the gaps in between the sleepers which drop to the river 50 feet below. Fall outwards and where there is a bit of wire mesh the bike and you would go through it and where there isn't then it won't interrupt your fall into the river. Despite the risks and the scary drop it only requires you to be able to ride on either 1, 2 or 3 planks width, ignore the gaps between them sideways and longways and the fact that many are loose and not look down. It has never been done with a pillion before. Well it has now! Karen didn't scream once! Yee Hah!

Once over we look forward to the next longer but supposedly in better nick bridge. However when we get there, its been closed because they have built a big new two lane concrete bridge. We are positively disappointed. Chatting to the locals we learn the first bridge will also be replaced in the next two years, so Karen and I are the first and only people to ride it two up. 200 miles of twisty mountain roads still to do to get to David today and much fun is had. The video attached is taken from Paul's bike following us, with Julia and then Kevin leading. It is quite scary how close the right hand pannier gets to the ground on occasions. Thirty miles out of David the heavens open. Now I am conscious of the number of times that I have used the word torrential when talking about rain. This is worse. Visibility drops to feet, boots fill with water and as we finally get into David the drains are overflowing, the man hole covers are lifting and there is up to 3 feet of water standing or running across the road. It is biblical. Car and house alarms are going off, cars are breaking down and the water is up to the wheel spindles on the bike most of the time. The shear scale and volume of water defies belief but it is very real. Fortunately after David we have one more day to ride to Panama City where we will have 3 nights to get everything washed and dried. There is no chance of getting stuff dry by tomorrow. The combination of wet and sweat means although we washed all the bike gear in Tucson and again in Pallenque, we stink. Karen is mortified, not having smelled since mucking stables out as a girl. Everything except what we will be wearing is destined for the laundry in Panama.

And what a shock Panama City is. Sky scrapers, building work, cranes, chain hotels, mad mad traffic and casinos. We are back in Western / American culture (not sure that is the right word) and civilisation (or that). For the first time since Tucson you can flush your toilet paper as opposed to putting it in the bin next to the toilet. The El Panama Hotel has electronic swipe room keys and air conditioning so cold you could keep a side of meat in your room. The American influence and money is hugely obvious, so in an act of rebellion we go off for a drink in “The Londoner” a traditional English pub. What beer is on draft mate? No Draft. Not even Guinness? Nope. Its about as traditional and English as Baseball. Oh well if you can't beat them join them. Dinner at Hooters, “Delightfully Tacky”.

Day 2 in Panama is spent next to an air freight shed at the Airport arranging shipment of the bikes to Bogotá, along with Brian's bike, a chap we met in Nicaragua, who has bought the last space on the specially chartered plane. A quick shopping trip to replace stuff lost in the laundry in Antigua and a group dinner at a traditional Panamanian restaurant rounds the night off.

This morning we grab a taxi and go and see the canal and the Mira Flores Locks. All very impressive. Cost on average for a boat to transit the canal $96,000!

So here we are getting ready to fly off tomorrow on 9.49am flight to Colombia. Half way through the trip time wise and having covered 11,800 miles, just over half way mileage wise. To come we have Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina. With the half way mark passed, we are still in the limited club not to have dropped their bike (Kevin, Julia, Chris and us) and the bike is behaving perfectly. Lets hope we continue to be lucky for the next 10 weeks. We will certainly keep being careful and having fun.

PHOTOS TO FOLLOW DUE TO PROBLEM UPLOADING AT PRESENT; WILL RE PUBLISH WIH PHOTOS ASAP.....

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Photos

Lady Bug Cafe
The lagoon was lovely as was the stuffed peppers...

Costa Rica
A tropical paradise if you can avoid the Burger King and McDonalds...

Monkey
Obviously we are not feeding the wildlife we just left the biscuit on the panniers by mistake

BANANA BRIDGE
Try not to look at the gaps between the boards... This is where it was 3 boards wide - eg a good bit

Lizard
Lots of wildlife in the jungle you know...

Local Houses
Panama is very rich or poor, but this is sort of middle class?

Panama Canal
Thats a big boat and a big lock gate