James and Rob's Blog

Introduction

06 October 2007

© 180 Degrees

We are now in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, after 4,329 miles of cycling since New York. We have travelled over 8,000 human and natural powered miles since leaving the North Pole in April.  So, 179 days after leaving that bleak and desolate wilderness our challenges have shifted somewhat from avoiding polar bear encounters and keeping warm to avoiding pot holes and keeping cool!  Yesterday we crossed into Nicaragua and spent a tedious 4 hours at the border post before being granted the various permits we needed.  At 5 O' Clock we eventually started down the main Central American highway which was a mud track with pot holes so deep that the water came knee high when we waded through with the bikes.  To add to this experience we were cycling in what was now pitch dark and only illuminated by the frequent lightening strikes and surrounding fire flies!

We have been sending reports back to the website of our findings about the severity of deforestation, soil erosion or social problems here in Central America.  Many of the countries have suffered badly from natural disasters in the past few decades and Managua is still a building site with evidence everywhere of the devastation caused by the 1972 earthquake.

From here we will cross into Costa Rica on Sunday and should be in Panama City next weekend.  We have a huge amount to sort out in Panama and have yet to find the yacht we need to bridge the Darien gap and take us to Guayaquil, Ecuador.  Unfortunately we loose Marcos in Panama, who has been with us since Austin, Texas.  A new support driver will be needed when we get to South America so any suggestions on this would be most welcome!  We hope we have sorted the logistics of freighting the vehicle across and if all goes to plan we are hoping to be in Guayaquil for the end of this month.  From Ecuador, we have to repeat the distance from New York to Panama to get down to Punta Arenas where we will meet Ice Maiden in time for Christmas.  We have a lot pending on this game plan and so many people are trying their utmost to ensure that the remainder of the trip goes as planned and we arrive safely in Sydney next February.  Thank you for your continued support.

Best Wishes,

Rob and James