From Anchorage to Ushuaia by Bike

It’s a common phrase for us, especially at the end of the day: “Can I see the room, please?” Who in France, or any developed country, would ever ask such a question? It wouldn’t have even crossed our minds to visit the room before paying. And yet, since Mexico, we are wary of every hotel and carefully check everything: that the door closes and locks, that there is water, that the bathroom is clean, that the sheets are clean, that there is toilet paper, that the garbage is emptied (here, like in Mexico, toilet paper is never flushed down the toilet but put in the bin beside the toilet), that if we are paying for hot water we actually get it, that the floor is clean, that the key works, that the TV works (if there is one), that there are clean towels (yes, we have our own, but we generally like to use the services that we are paying for!), etc. It’s hard to check everything, though, and so in Salvador we ended up in a room without window panes, in Guatemala we were without towels, we had no toilet paper in Honduras, and no hot water in the mountains of Mexico. 

And the last incident was in Panama. We had asked at the gas station where we could find a cheap place to stay. It had been a long day, and the day before has also been especially hard, and we were really feeling it. The attendant announced happily that we need not look further: there were rooms to rent only 50 feet away. It was a nice place in a little spot of forest, and although the owners were trying to organize a political rally (for the Panama elections on April 26), they took two minutes to show us the room. It was a little expensive, but conveniently located and it looked good to us. Sébastien went to check out the room, came back and paid, we went to settle in. I took a look around: there was no toilet paper or little soaps, but that wasn’t a big deal: it was nice just to have arrived.

We started to unpack, and since we don’t have much with us, it doesn’t take long. We took out the shampoo, all ready for a nice shower….except that there was no water! We trekked across the property to find the owners and they assured us that there would be water within 10 minutes. Sébastien took the news in stride, but I was a little agitated – all I could think about was a hot shower. We waited more than an hour and then I went to see if the neighbours had any water. They didn’t have any water either: but it had been promised to them “within 10 minutes” more than half an hour ago. Sébastien and the fellow went to see the owners again, and the truth came out. There was a problem with the pump, and there wouldn’t be any water tonight or tomorrow. The bills came back out of the owner’s wallet, and we headed out again. It was already almost 7, and the sun was going down. We got on our bikes and started out towards the “hospedaje” that they recommended, only 3 km away, in the dark, without any road signs to help us out!

PS: In Panama, there are never any signs along the road. Over the course of 4 days and 270 km, we only saw two signs: one for the next town Changuinola, but then there was nothing after that and we had to stop at the intersection and ask which way to two. The other sign was on a mountain road that joined up with the Pacific Panamerican: there was a road sign in the middle of nowhere, telling us to continue straight ahead. Happily, there was no alternative.

Sara