Forum: Dave through the Americas

Snappy title, eh? Oops, sorry about the 'eh', I am in Canada, you know. It's been a while. And a lot has happened since I got off the bike. I think the last time I gave you an update, I had finished up in Panama City, sent off the bike, and took a bus up to Costa Rica to hang out after a hernia...

coming soon...here are some picutures

After sending away my bicycle in Panama City, I got a bus ticket to San Jose, Costa Rica. I took the 18 hour bus ride through the day and night to arrive San Jose in the early morning hours. Nelly, my Servas host in Guadalupe was expecting me later in the afternoon. I did plenty of walking around...

After spending about a week in Playa del Coco, I finally met up with John and Heather. They easily spotted me on the street while I was setting my crafts up to sell for the weekend rush. I packed up my stuff and spent the rest of the day showing John and Heather around town. I hadn’t seen Heather...

My legs recuperated well over the day of rest in Penonome. I said goodbye and thanks to my hosts and quickly rode the first 20 miles in less than 2 hours. As I continued, it became more obvious that making it to Panama City in one day was a possibility. I knew it would be a long day of riding, so I...

My first impression of Panama was the bureaucratic mess of the border crossing, but it was late in the day, after a long day of cycling, and for them stamping, and it was raining, so maybe not the most ideal conditions. I tried to make good time to the first town I could find accommodations, La...

I said goodbye and thanks to Doña Nelly and her son Orlando and got an early start out of San Jose. It took me a little time to get out of the city, about 2 hours and 20 miles. The highlight of my ride to the mountains was keeping up with a healthy pack of Tica women cyclists for a couple miles....

It goes without saying that I have learned so much more about Central American cultures. I’ve felt very comfortable here at times, and other times very uncomfortable witnessing third-world poverty first hand and feeling guilty to be a part of a first-world consumer culture that takes advantage of...

It was a nice two day ride from Leon to Granada. We stopped on the Peninsula de Chiltepa and camped out near Lago Xiloa, one of two crater lakes on the peninsula. I had a nice dip in the lake at night and the next morning, we went swimming in the refreshing cool water. We headed for Granada,...

I had heard from quite a few travelers that the border crossing into Costa Rica was a bureaucratic mess. This however was not my experience. I was through in about 10 minutes. I exchanged my Nicaraguan Cordobas for Costa Rican Colones, which have too many zeroes on them in my opinion. I was on my...

The ferry dropped me off in the town of Moyogalpa, one of two port towns on the island, the other being Altagracia on the other side of Volcan Concepcion. Volcan Concepcion, the larger of the two volcanoes on the island is still active and has a treeless upper half, covered in volcanic rock. The...

After a nice days rest in Esteli resting the buns and legs, we descended to the flat lands of Nicaragua. This area, primarily used for agriculture, is flat and featureless except for the impressive Volcanoes that stretch up the west coast. The heat became more intense as we made our way to Leon. We...

It was nice to be back in the mountains, away from the heat of the coastal lowlands and away from the rainy season. We had loads of clothes to wash up and I had lots of cleaning to do on my bike, which had recently suffered through lots of rain and mud. Clarissa invited Adrian and I to a BBQ where...

Roatan is one of three of Honduras’ Bay Islands, the other two being Utila, and the lesser traveled Guanaja. Roatan is the largest and most populated island at about 15,000 inhabitants. The island culture is a big mix of Garifuna, Black Caribbean, Latino, and foreign expatriate. In the 17th...

I am planning on touring the Everglades and Keys in mid January, I think i want to try some kayaking in the Everglades, and plan to camp out most of time. Any advice would be appreciated. Also is there anywhere to rent a touring bike near that area?

In Tegucigalpa, we spent a few days chilling out at a cheap hotel waiting for our Servas hosts to be ready for our visit. We stayed right in the busy center. I spent a lot of time on the internet updating friends and family. I had some good Chinese food, and some Chinese food that made me sick, but...

We crossed into Honduras a bit confused at what had just gone down at the border. We left with an extra slip of yellow worth 30 days and blank spaces in our passport stamp for a date to be filled in by us upon departure to Nicaragua. The customs official decided to do us a favor and rig our entry...

Once Adrian was back to dropping solid turds, we left La Libertad and had an easy day on the lowlands. Our destination was Isla MonteCristo, an island formed by the waters of the Rio Lempa exiting into the Pacific Ocean. We tested our bikes and butts on a 13 km section of muddy and rocky road that...

When we approached the Guatemalan border exit, we were greeted by eager money changers with fat wads of familiar green bills. El Salvador is one a few Latin-American countries that use the US Dollar as their own currency. Not only would I be using dollars in El Salvador, but more of them. One of my...

After a few more days in Antigua, getting the bikes and our minds ready for some cycling, we finally got on the road. We lucked out and were gifted with an overcast day and 20 miles of downhill on the nicest road I’ve seen in Guatemala and coasted into the hot and humid lowlands passing farmland...