Big Sur

Bike problem no.1: Sarah's broken Rohloff hub, supposedly the “Rolls Royce” of gear systems for bike touring. With worn hub bearings, it's currently winging its way to Cycle Monkey in California – one of only two places in the world that can repair it. When I write that, it does seem like the most ridiculous choice of bike part ever for touring. Thing is, they're not meant to go wrong…

Bike problem no.2: my seized Rohloff bayonnet connector, which prevented us from changing a broken shifter cable and forced us into the bus for the last 300km into Panama City. Unsurprisingly, after a trouble-free first year, we're quickly falling out of love with our Rohloffs. Luckily we were in time to get an order in before my brother Ed (aka our kit mule), arrived…

…bearing a lovely pink-spotted Santa's sack of replacement parts and spares. After a year of abuse in all weather, it seems our “kit honyemoon” is well and truly over, with things breaking and wearing out with increasing regularity.

Panama City, perched at the end of Central America before the impenetrable jungle of the Darién Gap, is truly a city of contrasts: where a skyline of lego skyscrapers…

…meets concrete apartment blocks…

…meets Old World charm.

We opted for the quieter pace of the Casco Viejo (Old Town), away from the 6-lane motorways and shopping malls. Except it wasn't really that quiet, as the whole area is currently under massive renovation to turn the city into a tourist “destination” in it's own right.

It reminded us of a mini Havana, Cuba – somewhere between Habana Centro and Habana Vieja, with steakhouses and boutique hotels gradually replacing the gloriously ramshackle wooden apartment buildings and balconies.

Above the diggers though you could still see signs of the original residents clinging onto their space…

…and keeping an eye on proceedings below. You have to hope that in the rush to regenerate, the character and soul of the original Casco Viejo is not entirely lost – as we felt it had been in other colonial “gems” such as Antigua, Guatemala and parts of Oaxaca City, Mexico.

Down at street level, these murals by Panamanian artist Rolando de Sedas added a splash of colour…

…and pouting Latina spirit.

Walking around the Casco Viejo, we bumped into Jorge (with his Mexican wife María) and Jere, both Argentines on epic motorbike trips. Jorge has been on the road for over 10 years…

…while Jere is doing the reverse of our trip, heading north from Patagonia up to Alaska.

Our one day whistle-stop tour of Panama City with Ed started of course with food – a delicious lunch of ceviche and fried Corvina (sea bass) at the fish market.

We couldn't visit Panama without visiting its most famous landmark – the Canal, and so we headed out to the Miraflores Locks to catch the afternoon's action. Although sceptical at how excited I could get about some big ships and a lock, it was actually fascinating to watch them line up from the Caribbean side…

…move into the lock with the help of some very cool tug trains, and slowly drop as the water level falls.

Finally the enormous gates opened…

…and they inched their way out towards the Pacific, just 17m lower and their bank account $30,000 lighter.

Back in the City, it was down to the front for over a year's worth of brotherly catch up…

…followed by the first of many editions of the obligatory Butcher “bet you can't hit that” stone throwing game – just to re-establish bragging rights.

After taking in the surreal Panama City skyline by night, we called it a day – ready for an early start back over the Cordillera Central to the Caribbean, and the boat that will take us to Colombia and South America.