Cycling © 180 Degrees
We finally arrived in Panama City on Monday following some massive rides to complete the 5,000 miles from New York. The last week has been a tough one; it started with a 55 mile climb up to almost 3500 metres as we cross the continetal divide having left San Jose. It was incredible just how cold it got, we are less than 10 degrees from the equator and yet this peculiar forest, always shrouded in thick cloud and mist is barely 10 degrees above freezing. A steep and dangerous descent followed as we passed numerous wrecks of cars that had lost traction, and both us and our tired forearms were very glad to be off the wet slopes and back into the sauna which is lowland Central America. The following days as we crossed the border and into Panama were characterized by the most consistent torrential rain you could imagine. It rained non stop, heavy tropical downpours, for over 72 hours, almost every river we crossed had breached it banks.
It was with relief that we finally found ourselves crossing the Panama Canal, via the centenary bridge, a stunning piece of architecture that clears the famous waterway by 80 metres. We were greeted by the British Ambassador, Richard Austen, who pedaled across the bridge with us to be welcomed by a media scrum. Since arriving we have tried to rest our weary bodies, but have been kept busy with a number of talks to schools and universities.
Although we are very pleased to have arrived at the end of our third leg and be roughly half way through our journey, we now face the toughest task yet. We desperately need to find a yacht to sail us on to South America, and critically, to raise the funds to allow us to pay for this and for the continuing expedition thereafter. We are organizing a frantic schedule to talk to as many of the large companies here as possible, as the sad truth is that we cannot leave until we have raised the money that will allow us to do so. We are in a testing situation, but hopefully through sustained effort and the incredible support we have, we can overcome this obstacle.
