September 6 Dylan:
  Today we biked the short distance to the border along a stretch of road which left me gaping in awe at the spectacle of nature before me. Lago de Nicaragua a massive body of water which appears as an ocean in the distance sparkles and reflects the sunlight behind the scattered flight of multiple flocks of waterfowl. On the east side of the lake the sentinel like forms of two 1500 meter volcanoes rise in perfect order above the lake in a tapestry created by the greatest of all artisans, nature itself. There is a freshness here that takes me away from my last days at the community in Nandaime. Upon doing a presentation to some young people in the community, they did not beat around the bush and come right out with some hard questions: "So you plant some trees, clean up some rivers, talk to some people, what's the point?" It is a question which plagues us all, and coming from a young man who knew a life much different than ours, and who watches the struggles for subsistence life around him. It is no wonder our journey should appear, and in some ways may be, a flamboyant effort on our part when compared to third world reality. Hence I must swallow the truth of our different realities; feel guilty I can. Comparing to deduce a conclusion is too easy. My quest is to (as impossible as it may seem for me) excorcise my own judgments and accept my own feelings of ineptness to affect change here. With more of these experiences I see more and more the limitations of the perceptions of myself and those I meet. We all come from our own places (realities). I guess I like to hope it is the difference we each make in our own place of being that counts.

September 7 Devlin:
  Today I had the pleasure of riding first and starting at 5:30am. It is our first day in Costa Rica and as I cycled through the jungle, all around me it was waking. Flocks of parrots would whirr past in a flash of green, yellow, and red, screaching as they went. The valleys were blanketed in mist with only the hilltop showing. This is a beautiful place and already I know I will love it. We made our way to San Jose, the capital, and arrived in a tropical downpour. We are here in the rainy season and it buckets down every afternoon. It is much cooler though, for which we are grateful.

PS. A big hello to everyone in S.A. Thanks for the support

September 8 The Girls:
  After several hot, muggy days on the road, we were finally given a few days to relax. The three girls decided to head towards Jaco, a surf beach on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. The bus ride took us through beautiful Costa Rican rainforests on twisty, narrow, tree lined roads. Since it's the rainy season here, it pours every single afternoon for a few hours, so the sound of the rickety bus was hushed by the steady thump of the rain drops. Once arriving, we decided to check out the main strip of the famous surf town. We saw a sign about surfing lessons and were immediately tempted by the thrill of learning a new sport. We met the very charming instructor, Gustavo Castillo, a national surfing champion in Costa Rica for many years, and after his gurantee that we either stand up on the board or not pay, we all decided to go for it. He was very detailed in his teachings of the various techniques and after an hour of practising and explaining on the sand, we went for the waves. Two waves was all it took to stand up and surf....woohooo!!!!! Needless to say we are no experts, but we fell in love with the sport and ended up surfing all day! We rented some boards for the rest of the weekend and Gustavo graciously told of us nice places to eat and hang out in the evening. We went to a cute restaurant for a dinner of "casado con pollo," a typical Costa Rican plate of rice, beans, and chicken and then headed towards the dance club. We were very excited to meet a German from Canada named Dennis. After talking for about five minutes, he realized that a few months ago in Canada's Explorer Magazine, he had read an article about Pole to Pole and had been very impressed by the expedition. We were thrilled to have met someone who knew about the project and the message behind it.

We had an incredible time, not only because of the surfing but also because of the beautiful people we met in such a short time. They were all very friendly and giving and made us feel incredibly welcome. This made the farewell all that more difficult, but in this case, we knew that some day, somewhere down the road, we would meet up again. Pura Vida!

September 9 Dylan:
  Parque National de Cerro Chirippo (Costa Rica's highest mountain - 3819m)
A three hour bus ride from San Jose, then another hour and a half on a bus which winds its way on a narrow gravel road slowly up into the heights of the Cordeillera Talamalanca. From the small village of San Gerardo, Naoki and I set out, our enthusiasm uninhibited by the looming heights of these rugged ranges. We arrived just in time for the afternoon rain and our first few hours up to the first little shelter that would be our bunk for the night took us through the womb of the Costa Rican jungle. The dusk brought many birds to song and shared a special sunset for which I took a moment to appreciate on my push to the top. The tracks of the caballos (horses), and coyotes left told me that I was not alone here, and I wondered as I walked how much I missed around me. The most grandiose trees rising above 100-150ft, more plants in one square meter than I could count on all my fingers and toes, and smells to bring even the dullest sense of smell to life. The pounding of the rain is quieted through nature's most profound filtration system, falling from the ceiling of the forest quickly and being gently diverted from leaf to branch to plant until the raindrop which approached the forest canopy at blistering speed is laid down softly by the time it reaches the forest floor. My words cannot do justice to this place. In my mind only the senses can qualify the reality of the jungle.

So, after another half days walk to a hut and some exploring that afternoon, the next morning we are off to summit. 6am finds us atop the mountain to witness the waking of a Costa Rican day. To the west we look upon the Pacific Ocean; to the east, the Caribbean is barely visible and to the north and south lies the rugged mtns, jungles, volcanoes and majestic rivers and oceans that make up this unique place which is Costa Rica. Yet all is not romanic allurance as I gaze over the many hillsides cleared and being cleared for agriculture and cattle grazing. Far below me I can see the dotted shapes of a few cattle grazing on a large parcel cleared for such purposes. I wonder in that moment how many species of plants,animals, and insects were lost there so that one species (or two: the humans that eat them) could live. The reality is that humans require agriculture for food and that takes priority over natural diversity, especially in other central American countries; so with that thought I let my mind drift elsewhere to somewhere with less internal dialogue. Like out on the Pacific Ocean, laying far in the distance, a place we may find ourselves very soon on our way to Ecuador. A strong, cool breeze at my back eventually foretells of need to be on our way. It's a good way to walk.

September 10 Renaud:
  I don't really know what day I'm writing for here, since for the last days, Friday to Monday, we had some time out and went in different directions. The web site reports I hope you like to read are written by someone different every day and to have various stories on Costa Rica we decided to change the order and write about a few days rather than one. So this is not the story of Pole to Pole the 10th of September, but the story of Renaud and his 4 days out in Costa Rica.

It all begins by entering this country, very different from the last ones we crossed since the standard of living is very nice. It actually looks like luxury after Nicaragua and Honduras. It's amazing the difference you can find in the exact same region of the world between so small and proximate countries. The peace and democracy that Costa Rica is enjoying now certainly has a huge role in their well-being, and Ticos (Costa Ricans) are proud of it, having so many flags all over the place. It's with this feeling of safety and easiness that I opened our Lonely Planet book to find out where to go. Volcanoes and Nature is what I was looking for. One place then was ideal: La Fortuna, a small touristic city at the bottom of a Volcano - Arenal, the most active in Costa Rica, and one of the most famous worldwide. Sad proof: two weeks ago a guide died by being burnt by the gases of the last eruption. So, as the young American guide (after fighting for her life in an hospital in the States) in addition to a plane of curious people wanting to see the place after that drama, crashed, adding ten more deaths in this black period. But I learnt that arriving there, and if you're cautious it's not that risky anyway.

Probably more dangerous are the four hours of bus ride, with the "Jesus guides me" on the windshield! Arriving there, Noel a cool black Costa Rican from the Caribean coast jumps on me to offer a few tours and a room. It's all really interesting and what I planned to be rest time for me will become very active as usual. OK, let's start the list. First leg, after four months on a bike, I suddenly felt the need of a massage and couldn't resist the sign on the other side of the road. Full rubbing with the mud of the volcano, shower and one hour of massage from head to toe, the therapeutic way: my contracted shoulder muscles have been twisted pretty hard! Going around the place will conclude that first afternoon, the only rest period. Second leg, kayaking. Friday I went around the rafting companies with Noel to find out who would have a tour on the class IV part of the Penas Blancas river that I could follow with one of their kayaks. No one, but wait and see. Fortunately, that same day, Noel had jumped on a German guy Thomas, and three Danish guys Lars, Thomas and Kennet (sorry for the spelling or mistake guys, and remember that with that mention on this web site report one of you has to quit smoking !!!). After a few words on the pleasure of white water activities and the celebrity of Costa Rica for that, we're gone in the small van up that dust road in the jungle. It brings us right through the rain forest, surrounded by the two walls of the gorge covered by trees. Carrying my kayak for the last piece of the path, I'm wondering if Costa Rican quotations are similar to French ones: in other words, how am I going to get out of here ? First good news, the water is really warm compared to the Alps; second part, the first rapid is already going around some nice rocks and down a couple of meters and it just feels like home! As I have stopped paddling frequently a few years ago, it takes a short while for my confidence to build up but fairly soon I'm relaxed enough to really enjoy this paradise of fun in the river, the beauty of the forest around, the sound of the birds mixed with the water, the waterfalls along the way, and the fun we Europeans bodies are having (I told them they would, good because those Nordic babies are not that small!). We stop in the middle to enjoy a bigger waterfall and jump on the fruits our guide just bought for us before... it's finally cool to be on the tourist side. The only dark point after 2/3 of the trip down: the dam that is being constructed modifies the river and leaves us finishing in brown water. Pretty sarcastic, one of the guide tells me that Costa Rica sells electricity up to Mexico ... I hope that the reputation of the environment awareness of the country is not a legend and that this example is not seen too often. Anyways, kayaking is great and Costa Ricans know what it means! Third leg that same day, a tour in front of the volcano. I take a chance, even if it's raining, to go up to the observatory. We can see the lava in the middle of it, big red front sliding slowly down with sometimes a few rolling rocks. On the rare occasion, the clouds tear up and we can admire the two craters, one of which exhulting fumes and lava pour continuously but without any big fire in the sky for that day: pressure had unfortunately been released on the bad moment two weeks ago. We then go down to the hot springs a few hundred meters down, and there in the hot water, under the rain, the clouds go up and we can discover the whole picture: a beauty that awakes the will to see some lava in a safe place but much closer one day somewhere! I share this feeling with a very cool couple from Austria, hiking a lot they are probably as I am: fascinated by the beauty and power of the nature. The link between that part of my stay and the next day will be Europe: the Austrian told me about the political situation in Austria and their xenophobic leader while the next day the Danish will tell me about the vote they will have by the end of the month to decide about what they'll do for Euro ... Nice to talk about those subjects, pretty different from what I usually have around me for now.

This brings me to the fourth leg: a hike organised by the Danish guys with a local guy. Nine hours up the Cerro Chato, through the rain forest, around Arenal and under baskets of rain at the end. Great time, beautiful landscape, huge trees, dense vegetation, cool talks with everyone and sore muscles by the end of the day.

September 11 Jay:
  It was the day that the team decided to gather back at the campsite. I had to leave the beach (called Quepos), where I stayed for my rest days. It was a nice place to stay, just for the rest. I had a clean bed and a TV for real cheap price, and there was a cool beach to look just outside of the door. I read some books, lay down mostly, slept a lot and so on... It was pretty sad to leave there and go back into a team. Anyways I had to go... About four hours taking a bus and another hour on another bus, I was there. The team POLE2POLE. However It was a different feelings than what I expected. I felt good and pretty energetic!! I was feelling...FRESH! It was so nice to realize this. It's my team, no no...our team... POLE2POLE!! I realized this is what I loved...and what I still love. VICTORY 'POLE TO POLE'!!

September 12 Naoki:
  We had a presentation at the United Nations UNIVERSITY for PEACE today. This is the first presentation in Central America. Created by the United Nations, the UNIVERSITY for PEACE is commited to the mission of global education and research in support of the peace and security goals of the UN and contributing to building a Culture of Peace. After just getting comfortable with doing presentations in English, now I'm giving Spanish a try. So far so good. We then went on a tour of the university. We had the honor of being taken on a tour by Dr. Robert Muller. Dr. Muller is the chancellor of the university, former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, and has been an activist for world peace for over 40 years. I was inspired by Dr. Muller's story and hope to promote Global Citizenship in Japan.

September 13 Renaud:
  We're starting to know more about our the crossing from Panama to Ecuador, it looks fine. We found a sail boat, we're finalizing things for the vehicles to be shipped and I think tonight we might even have confirmations on the dates. So we have one more day around San Jose. After so much "rest" the last days, I'm spending this one on my computer. Two main reasons for that: first, I'm still thrilled and inspired by our meeting with Robert Muller yesterday, wanting to act now more and more towards developing Global Citizenship all over the world. So, I'm surfing the web to find information and working on ideas. The second reason is sending emails which is not that easy when you don't have a house, and when you passed seven countries in the last month with each their own systems and providers. At this point, I'd like to send a huge thank you to GRIC.COM. Those guys are really helping us a lot. They are a US-based start-up focused on allowing international access for people like us, travelling around. They offered us a login and allows me to sleep much quieter, giving me the first step on how to find a way to get connected and send the pictures and updates we have on the web site. One example: the Mexican access was faster than what ATT offered us in the States. Since we are travelling in camp grounds and so fast, it's not always easy, but I know somehow I'll return to the more classical business traveller, staying in hotels and those days I'll be very happy to know GRIC exists: when you have a lap-top and classified messages and files, the yahoo-hotmail-internet cafe solution is not at all efficient.

September 14 Dylan:
  Costa Rica - Panama
Following the path of the Pan American highway we climbed out of San Jose high into the Sierra Talamalanca over a 10,000ft pass and back down into the agricultural area around Swan Jose. From here we followed the foot of the mountains traveling through rolling hills and jungle in a southerly direction for the Panama frontier. On our way we passed some of the most magnificent rivers I've laid eyes on, crystal clear, fresh and free flowing, reflecting the story of their birth in the jungle-clad valleys above. The reflective times of the last week and the beautiful journey following, were abruptly interrupted as we arrived at the border. In contrast to other borders we've crossed, it wasn't the worst experience. Since tomorrow is Costa Rica's independence day, we happened to arrive during a special ten-day celebration period between the towns on the border and the energy was especially high. First the smells - all manner of meats and veggies frying, soda shops and the invasive yells of all who wish you to capture their product. Multiple street-filled mercados surround us with a mixture of reggae, traditional Spanish and American music playing. The streets are crowded and noisy with modern and traditionally garbed individuals. Drumming, cajoling and a general spirit of fiesta engulfs us. Mercedes and Jessica have traditionally been doing most of the work at the borders (not just because of their charm and good looks) but mostly being able to communicate best, skills which have been invaluable. This time Heidi and I decided to give it a go! Let me explain some typical border synarios. We are told, un momento but waittrente (30) minutes. The moment we begin to speak in our garbled Spanish or even better listen to a rapidly spewn out set of orders, the locals crank their base a notch louder, start their parade, or one of the local loiterers begins to chant an indiscernible Spanish hymn. When inquiring about a vehicle permit we are told we need a permit for each bicycle! Luckily for us it was near closing time and I think the boys wanted to go home so, after some emergency intervention from Mercedes, we were clear. Three to four hours later we slipped through the fumigation and into Panama. Interestingly enough, of the 7-8 border crossings we've been through, not yet have they asked to go through our stuff (knock on wood!). I think mostly they are wondering what a silly-looking bunch like us are up to and how they can connive a few extra U.S. dollars out of us.

September 15 - Devlin:
  Police, the canal and 15 km's more.
After yet another night at a gas station (petrol garage), I feel we are now experts and could write a guide book about "Gas Stations of Central America". I set out this morning before sunrise and, even though the light was good, it was overcast and misty and it was a very wet three hours. Today we headed for Panama City, which meant about 70 km per person. The day was uneventful except for losing Naoki again (temporarily). We also got to cross the Panama Canal which is one of those things that I have always wanted to see. The bridge across is awesome and Panama City looms in the background. My highlight today was getting pulled over by a traffic policeman. Apparently it is illegal to drive without a shirt on in Panama. Imagine telling this to someone from 'Sunny South Africa'. Nevertheless it was a serious offense as far as he was concerned and a fine would have to be paid. We looked at each other, us not wanting to pay and he, reluctant to have us pay at the nearest police station, i.e. no money in his pocket. Eventually he let me off with a stern warning and we drove off laughing and set about finding Naoki who ended up doing an extra 15 km's.

September 16 - Mercedes:
  I woke up in my tent with the sound of many cars running close to me and wondering "Where am I?" I kind of lost it. It took me a few seconds to realize that yesterday at night, we decided to camp in the middle of the city, in a park, in front of a Police Station. I wonder what the people think when, in their typical morning, they discover in their way, at least four bright tents; camping in the city! This morning we were very lucky because we needed a mechanic and the police provided us with one. The vehicles were ready before noon when we moved to a real campsite, a cool place on the other side of the Bridge of the Americas. This afternoon most of the team went to see the boat and meet the captain, they told me the boat is beautiful and everything is organized and clean in it. While they were explaining it to me I started to feel very excited about our next adventure on the sea. I feel very lucky for this opportunity. I hope I feel the same way when this trip ends, because I remember my first experience on a boat and it wasn't very pleasant for the whole three days of the trip. For the evening we were invited to enjoy a folklore dance presentation at a residential country club, El Carrizal. It was a great presentation with groups from Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Argentina. The Argentinean group reminded me of home and made me very excited for the up coming months.

September 17 - Heidi:
  We spent the day preparing for our week-long sailing trip to Ecuador.There was much to be done: laundry, repacking, cleaning, organizing . . . Our trip is going to last between seven and ten days. We spoke with our Captain yesterday and he let us board the boat to see what it will be like. It is a 40-foot beauty which we will be glad to call our home for the coming days. He said that we will most likely experience lots of rain and high winds. We won't anchor at any time, just go full sail ahead to catch up to our vehicles in Ecuador (they are being shipped separately). What looks to be the most fun is the fact that this boat usually only sleeps four people but we will squeeze 12 people on board. We are also going to get the opportunity to fish for our dinners, tuna most likely. This is looking to be quite an adventure from which the entire team will learn a lot.

September 20 - Naoki:
  Today is the day before we leave the port. We have to prepare for sailing tomorrow. Mercedes and I washed and peeled all the vegetables, and put them into a stable place in the yacht. We have to take care of the space which stores all the food, otherwise all the food will fall down with a hard shake of 90 degrees. The indoors of the yacht called "Freedom" will need to be kept clean everyday because this will be our living space for the next week. If it is messy, our motivation level will be very low. We went through the departure formalities from Panama also. The sailing is about to start! At night, we had an interview with some media people. Thanks to The Ocean Fun Tours, we were able to finish the inteview. I' m so excited to go sailing tomorrow!

September 21 - Jay:
  We are waiting to sail. I personally had to get some visas that I still don't have. So today I went to the Bolivia embassy. It's not always hard to get a visa, however it was pretty tough today. They needed some documents from the Korean embassy. So I went to the Korean embassy, and I had to wait there for a couple of hours to get what I needed, and then I had to go back to the Bolivia embassy. But it was lunch time, so I waited there for another hour. Finally I talked to a woman who was in charge, but she wasn't very nice. She said I had to wait to get it for a couple more days. I had no time, so I tried to explain. It was as tough as biking or skiing for me. Eventually I was lucky . . . I got the visa!!! There are lots of different things which are very tough being a part of 'POLE2POLE 2000'. Will be continued...

OTHER PICTURES & REPORTS: 

Puerto Escondidas to Nandaime

Los Angeles to Puerto Escondidas

Washington to Los Angeles

Ottawa to Washington

Thunder Bay to Ottawa

Vancouver to Thunder Bay

100 Mile House to Vancouver

Inuvik to 100 Mile House

North Pole to Resolute Bay

Training Camp