Chat Zone for The Big Big Trip Journal!

[HobbesOnTour]

I've just realised @netman is keeping my map up to date!!!

Thank you!

 

[netman]

I've just realised @netman is keeping my map up to date!!!

Thank you!

Least I can do... really hope the grey gloom has subsided and been replaced by sunny yellow

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Least I can do... really hope the grey gloom has subsided and been replaced by sunny yellow

I do admire your optimism!

Really appreciate the map!

 

[cwskas]

The Pacific Ocean! I still get a little thrill when I say Pacific! It means I've travelled far!

What a beautiful photo!

One of my better "eat at the side of the road" spots!

It looks like it might be nice for a nap too!

Kathy says Iguana tastes really good!

I'll say one thing for a Swiss run place - it had the softest, gentlest, kindest toilet paper my poor bum has been exposed to in ages!

Ahhhh, the luxury!

Very nice and peaceful looking.

It all took less than an hour - I'm getting good at this! - and I was back on the road, my results arriving by email later.

Excellent!

When this is the road to my camping spot I just know I'm in for a treat!

 

[cwskas]

Panamá here I come!!

Kathy found your description of the CR exit to be very entertaining.

 

[cwskas]

I bet there are fewer Panamanian cycle tourists per capita than just about anywhere else in the world! Because Panamá is feckin' brutal for bike touring!

The guy in charge, all of 15 years old (a guess) . . . and the young fella was on top of it all.

An interesting personal interaction in Panamá! Things are looking up!

On the far edge of town I spotted a bakery, stuck my head in the door and asked if they had coffee. Of course came the answer from the prettiest girl I've seen in Panamá! I nearly danced a jig! I must be old because the jig was inspired by the coffee not the pretty girl!

I sure hope you find some addtional inspiration in Panama. Perhaps it is because you have been "on the feckin' Pan American" which you have been previously able and keen to avoid.

Willie

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Kathy says Iguana tastes really good!

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Just a little heads up.
I've made it to the Carribbean!

My time cycling in Panamá is almost at an end and no tears will be shed.

All going well I'm due to sail to Cartagena, Colombia on September 10, arriving (weather permitting) September 15.

I'm leaving México and Central America behind and I'm sadder than I would have expected.

Unfortunately (for you, not for me!) I am in a most glorious camping location looking out over the sea with two friendly dogs, a beach, lots of land to explore and minimal internet!

I'll probably be incommunicado until I arrive in Colombia but I'm taking time in Cartagena to acclimatise to a new continent, service Roccado and explore a city again. I'm promised good wifi so I hope to catch up then.

This day two years ago I was flat on my back on a friend's floor. I had sold my house yesterday and I was due to get on a ship to start this adventure in two weeks time. I was terrified.

Since then, I've cycled in the US, made a musical pilgrimage, visited old friends, seen some heroes on stage, rode my bike in Texas, (and someone else's!) explored and been captivated by México, ridden the Devil's backbone, crossed ocean to ocean - twice, learned some Spanish, explored Central America, been robbed at gunpoint, got a vaccine and now I'm getting ready for a boat crossing to another continent.
Excited is the appropriate description now.

I've just had a cold beer to celebrate reaching the Carribbean and the last two years. Two years!!! I should be finished by now!

@netman was perfectly right earlier when he spoke of serendipity kicking in when we commit to something.
These things can be scary before we begin but once we give it a lash things have a way of working out.

I know Covid has fecked things up for loads of people (there's a new "variant of interest", I read today, originating in ..... Guess where .......... Colombia!) but we can still get things done.

An old friend of mine once said;
Hope for the best...
Expect the worst...
And settle for what you get.
He's dead right.

See y'all on the other side!

 

[Shadow]

If you see this before 10 sep, safe sailing and safe travels.
If you see this after 15 sep, hope you had a pleasant boat trip.

I'm led to believe Cartagena is very, very touristy. I would not have thought Hobbes-like territory. But no doubt you fill find all the non-touristy, interesting bits and report on that. Yes, please!

Very much look forward to the start of the south american sojourn.

 

[cwskas]

I'm leaving México and Central America behind and I'm sadder than I would have expected.

You spent a lot of time and come away with many good memories and you have a knack for holding on to those.

Unfortunately (for you, not for me!) I am in a most glorious camping location looking out over the sea with two friendly dogs, a beach, lots of land to explore and minimal internet!

What a way to celebrate, rejuvenate and relax before the next stage.

I'll probably be incommunicado until I arrive in Colombia but I'm taking time in Cartagena to acclimatise to a new continent, service Roccado and explore a city again. I'm promised good wifi so I hope to catch up then.

I can hardly wait for reports from this 'new world' you are about to conquer.

Willie

 

[cwskas]

9 Oct 2019

The first post on The Big Big Trip Journal!

What follows is written for two purposes;

Firstly, it is for me; I'm going to want to remember as much of this trip as possible and I hope the discipline of regular updates will make me note so many of the details that I often forget.

300 Posts, over 25k views . . . not counting the Chat thread.

The second reason is to hopefully inspire someone who thinks about getting on a bike and going for an adventure. If you knew me, you’d know I’m about as unlikely a person to climb on a bike and head off.

For starters, I was born without a sense of direction and have thus far failed to acquire one. I’m a lazy bugger who really likes his comforts. I've lived in The Netherlands for twenty odd years so hills, and especially mountains, are, literally, a foreign country to me. Five years ago I couldn't fix a puncture or ride more than 10 km without rest for a ciggie. I write, with all honesty, that if I can do this, then just about anybody can.

I have been quite inspired, entertained and educated by your adventure.

This day two years ago I was flat on my back on a friend's floor. I had sold my house yesterday and I was due to get on a ship to start this adventure in two weeks time. I was terrified.

Since then, I've cycled in the US, made a musical pilgrimage, visited old friends, seen some heroes on stage, rode my bike in Texas, (and someone else's!) explored and been captivated by México, ridden the Devil's backbone, crossed ocean to ocean - twice, learned some Spanish, explored Central America, been robbed at gunpoint, got a vaccine and now I'm getting ready for a boat crossing to another continent.
Excited is the appropriate description now.

A full two years. I wonder how many photos . . .

Thank you,

Willie

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Today is the day our @HobbesOnTour sails!
Bon Voyage friend, wishing you calm seas, a swift journey xxx

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Thank you all for the good wishes!
Here we are heading out to the "big boat"

An old chap has just explained to me that a hurricane further north is going to "suck all the weather away" and that I'm in for a pleasant trip!

We depart in a couple of hours and I should be waking up in the San Blas islands.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Cartagena, Colombia!

AirBnB is "temporarily" without internet, will try to update soon.....

 

[CharlesF]

Bike tourist? No! Bike Explorer, especially after reading the latest entry.