Panama

Location:	Panama City
Mileage:	11,700

Picture - Bike freight

The first challenge of Panama is the second banana bridge. We ride around the corner and it is gone! There is a new bridge and the old one has been left to rot alongside it. Riders have a mix of relief and disappointment. So breeze over the new bridge and travel the beautiful road through Northern Panama, with sea views of Bocas del Toro and past tiny jungle villages. With only one night en route, we hit Panama City on Monday and get straight into the swing of bike freight.

The ride into Panama City takes us by surprise. Since we were here two years ago, the Panamanians have claimed around 300 metres of land into the sea, by building a completely new road into the bay! The Balboa Monument no longer looks over the sea but is in the central reservation. It takes some quick thinking to try and divert back to the hotel!

Freight is always an unpredictable beast. This time we have so many bikes, we have chartered our own plane for Bogota. But still it takes a hot and sweaty afternoon at the cargo airport to complete all paperwork and get Customs clearance for the export.

Panama City is always a milestone. We celebrate our achievement by going to a Panamanian folklore show and get ready for our flights to Bogota. There is palpable excitement. This would be the first Trans Americas group to ride in Colombia and we would be the first UK motorcycle tour company to take riders back into Colombia after a long period of overland travel being deemed too dangerous.

Costa Rica

Location:	Sarapiqi
Mileage:	10,900

Picture - Richard and Karen crossing the Costa Rica / Panama Banana Bridge

Beautiful and tropical Costa Rica. More developed than it's neighbours, and "americanised", with Burger King, KFC etc in many towns. Cars are more modern, but the roads are not. CR has some of the biggest potholes so far. Maybe its the heat, wet and humidity that plays havoc with road maintenance. Our first night is back on the beach, sandwiched between the palm trees and the ocean. The border had been horrific, with long delays issuing bike permits, so it was good to relax to the sound of crashing waves.
We then head for the central highlands and volcanoes. Arenal hides behind the clouds this year and it continues to be wet. And then we are stopped in our tracks again. An earthquake back in January had taken out the normal mountian road we use and so we had to do an impromptu diversion. Even this took us through the earthquake stricken region, as we slithered through roadworks, trying to rebuild the second road.

Costa Rica was proving to be more of a challenge than usual! But we all m ake it to the jungle lodge and more torrential rain. That's why it is the rain forest! The jungle clicks and buzzes around us and tiny brightly coloured poison frogs are dotted along the tropical walks. Most riders use their free day to go white water rafting or taking a swing through the jungle canopy.

Then it is border day! Everyone knows that the crossing involves two banana bridges - they have all seen The Ride DVD! These two rickety railway bridges always seem to claim a rider! Richard and Karen become the first riders to cross two up. Julia follows straight after (in 2004 she went down here, but now she's through!). Everyone tackles the challenge. Jim is the only one who struggles but he also makes it and we are all buzzing.

Its now Panama and the second banana bridge!

Honduras

Location:	Danli
Mileage:	10,100

Picture - Mountain roads in Honduras

It's tropical and sweaty in Honduras. We have a day off in Copan to visit the Mayan ruins, whilst Paul heads off to La Esperanza to return to a school that he helped years before as a charity project. Alas for Paul, his bike lets him down before he gets there. He manages to find local help and stays in a local hostal in San Juan, before being able to sort out the problem and meet us the following day.

Most of the dirt highland road in Honduras, has disappeared, except for a short 20 mile section of sharp rutted rocks. We bounce along it. Then its back to the Pan Am, a short stop for pizza, before the border town of Danli. The facilities aren't great and the hotel is basic. Three days in Honduras and despite the political instability, we see very little trouble. More military seem to be about than normal, but not giving us any hassle.

PS - The day after we left, ousted President Zelaya re-entered the country and all the fireworks kicked off again. We got out just in time!

Independence

Location:	Antigua Guate
Mileage:	9,700

Chichi is as delightful as ever and the riders wander through the Sunday market, but our departure the next day is delayed by the start of Independence Day parades closed the main road out of town. So we chill and watch the bands and dancers go by. It’s only 75 miles to Antigua anyway.

The main road is good. It’s been extended to dual carriageway and has perfect bends, but they are still working on it in places and you can find yourself back on the gravel. Antigua is beautiful. Lines of pastel coloured colonial houses, narrow cobbled streets all against a volcanic backdrop. We have two days rest here. The first day is spent joining in even more parades. The whole town is out waving flags, dancing, running the streets with flaming torches. It's a group evening meal tonight, which degenerates into a lining up shots of "Aguadiente de Guatemala" - the local firewater. At US$1 a bottle, it just couldn't be ignored!

Today some are nursing hangovers, the more energetic are climbing the volcano and others are just relaxing and getting done the jobs of the trip – laundry, emails, post. Honduras tomorrow.

Soaked to the Skin

Location:	Panajachel
Mileage:	9,300

Guatemala! The change is immediate at the border. It feels more intense, chaotic, poorer, colourful and happy. There a blue and white flags strung up everywhere and kids selling Guatemala flags – we will be in Guatemala for Independence Day. There have been changes at the border. Passports are quick and there is no tourist card to complete. Even the two guys on Customs rip through our bike paperwork. You could almost describe it as quick!

Everyone squeezes up through the narrow streets lined with busy market stalls and onto our first ride in Guatemala. The view is incredible. Jagged green mountains with bands of cloud and mist. Then wet season kicks in again. The rain pours down and the fog over the mountain tops is thick – we can barely manage 20mph and pass numerous accidents where locals have overshot a bend and ended up in a ditch. Even Aaron ended upside down in a ditch – by trying to squeeze past a huge truck that had come to a standstill. We all arrive in Pana, wringing wet!

We have found out that the highland road we take from Chichi to Coban is probably impassable. A result of a previous mountain collapse and that the detour is treacherous, closed again by recent torrential rains. As the weather has continued to be very wet, we take the decision to ditch the highland route and from Chichi head to Antigua. From here, we have to cross Guat City – not a nice prospect. We normally avoid the big cities.

Adios Mexico

Location:	San Cristobal
Mileage:	9,100

Before we know it the end of Mexico is in sight. We’ve spent the past few days sweltering in bright shine and high humidity, we’ve eaten fresh shrimp in beach front restaurants, wandered through the Palanque Mayan ruins, drank margaritas by the pool, bounced over a frustrating and irritating number of topes, tangled with the city traffic of Villahermosa, been bitten by mozzies and even had a small crash on a left hand bend in the mountain (nothing serious).

Currently notorious for swine flu and drug shoot outs, what we saw of Mexico was nothing like the media hype. Sure, we got the wet season a little earlier and heavier than normal, but that just made the landscapes lush and green and not like “desert and cacti”, which had been some riders expectations of what Mexico would be like.

Nicaragua

Location:	San Juan
Mileage:	10,500

Our border crossing is pretty efficient and we are in Nicaragua by midday and riding towards Granada. The police saw us coming and had a field day. We were in small groups spread out over a few hours and one by one we were picked off, fined for technicalities and fleeced of our dollars. It was only by the time we reached the hotel that we realised the full extent - over US$260 had been handed over to the police between the group! One nameless person simply paid the opening gambit of US$80 by the police!

The small Pacific beach town of San Juan delivered us the best sunset of the trip to date, combined with great strawberry daiquiri cocktails and the best seafood you will ever taste. We're all melting from the humidity, but some dive into the ocean to cool off and some stick to the naked theme - on a public beach - really!