LA BABY!

(NK) Despite all the anti - America rhetoric we were hypocritically happy and excited about our weekend in LA. The line up was action packed and we had tickets to a UFC event in Anaheim on the Saturday night.

Venice Beach, Santa Monica pier, Laguna beach, UFC 157, walk of fame, the Oscars, Beverly Hills, Malibu, fly to Fiji, cut Monday out altogether due to international dateline – could this be the best weekend ever?

Welcome to little Italy

We landed at LAX and caught two buses over to our hostel in Venice Beach where we'd be staying the first two nights. Our first night back in the first world was spent on the rooftop of the Erwin Hotel wrapped up in blankets looking up at the Santa Monica Coastline whilst sipping cocktails and eating mini lamb burgers.

The following morning we were up bright and early for some training on the famous Muscle Beach. We stayed out of the main area but loved the gymnastic rings, dip bars, monkey bars and pull up bars by the beach. Every park should have them!

On our Fixies

We resisted the temptation to hire segways instead opting for Fixie bikes and took off up the coastline on a typically sunny Californian day. It seemed everyone was filming for some TV show or shooting for a magazine - no wonder everything felt so familiar. We soaked up the atmosphere and hit Santa Monica for some shopping with the good-looking kids.

Wonder what Fi is wishing for?

Yes, a crazy dude on a bike with a sunglasses wearing dog on the trailer

The Venice vision

A busy day of cycling, walking and trying to look hip left us feeling hungry. We’d been indulging in the delights of first world cuisine but there’s one thing we were really missing. Something we’d not eaten in a long time. Curry!!!! A good hot Indian curry! As we stumbled around in the usual state of hungry confusion a beacon of light in the far distance called out to me.

At first Fi was confused, but as she tailed behind me like a good muslim wife, her confusion quickly turned to joy when she spotted the sign for the Indian. I wouldn’t say we’re connoisseur’s or anything but thanks to me good old Indian nan I was eating curry as soon as I could handle solid food. Growing up in the north west of England means there’s also no shortage of fine Indian restaurants. Expectations were high.

Mmmmmm...Indian

Looking on the walls at all the images and newspaper clippings we quickly discovered that this was Denzel Washington’s favourite Indian. The man has good taste. It was exactly what we’d been craving and the Galjar Halwa dessert was the best we’ve ever tasted – the best DESSERT we’ve ever tasted.

Next up was UFC action, we hired a car and braved the LA traffic to get to Annaheim. After checking into a motel we headed down to the weigh-ins which take place the day before the fight. This may sound like super fan territory – it is. Although about 2,000 other people had taken the day off to come along too. We managed to get quite good seats near the front only to be moved for VIP’s just before the weigh ins started. To say Fi was pissed off is an understatement, she even felt moved to tweet Dana White about the injustice.

The great seats...

The not so great seats...

Weigh ins over we were again hungry and headed to the local Outback Steakouse. I was a little taken by surprise when former UFC Champ Maricio ‘Shogun’ Rua walked past me. Looking around it appeared that half the UFC fighters on the following nights card had chosen to eat here which was a surreal experience.

Before the big fight we took a trip down to the Orange County coastline, home to various TV shows such as Laguna Beach and The OC. It was impressive - beautiful beaches and coastline interspersed with mansions for the rich and famous. We picked up a picnic from the deli counter at the local supermarket to eat on the beach. Yep, the food was better than the fayre we find in most restaurants back in England. These people live the good life to its fullest definition.

Not quite the OC, but it's close!

 Fight night at UFC 157 didn’t fail to disappoint. It’s big business in the US, the seven year deal the UFC has signed with Fox Sports is reported to be worth $700m. The fighter’s appear across national media from Rolling Stone to Time Magazine. A world away from the UK where the BBC refuse to even acknowledge it as a sport.

The car park outside was rocking with a tailgate party as fighter’s did signing and sponsors set up beer tents and stands. Inside we were ready for full on woohooing and good old American hype - it did not disappoint. The fights were great and the atmosphere got us… ‘pumped’!

It's TIIMMMEEEEEE!

 When Lyoto Machida, a Brazilian fought Dan Henderson, an American, chants of USA, USA, USA… filled the arena. Some girls were even abused for cheering for Machida… who won. Que booing and racism – two guys next to us even stormed out, though they soon returned when they realized their life had been in no way hindered by the loss of Dan Henderson.

The main event was history in the making. The first ever women’s fight in the UFC and it was for the title. Ronda Rousey Vs Liz Carmouche. The fight was good and these girls definitely have our respect. Amazing athlete’s and absolutely dedicated to their sport. Women have a place in the UFC.

The main event

The last day in LA was spent driving around. We’d hired a car so why not. A Dodge Challenger - give us a never say die Toyota 4Runner anyday.

We parked up by Hollywood boulevard and wandered down the walk of fame wondering why the street was closed off.

It was only the bloody Oscars, shutting down the whole bloody city.

As if you could be bothered to wait around all day 

And we didn’t have our formal wear with us. Turns out we didn’t need to panic, someone had forgotten to put us on the guest list so we were off the hook.

Hurray for Hollywood!

Not forgetting where we’re from we decided to cruise around Beverley Hills to take a look at some mansions and see if anyone had forgotten to lock their door. We followed Rodeo Drive and headed back out towards Malibu and stooped off for Oysters at the Reel Inn. Another Man Vs Food restaurant we can tick off.As the sun set on our American adventure we headed to the airport excited for the flight to Fiji that awaited us.

The famous palms

We’d managed to spend nearly a month’s Central American budget in only four days but we thought what the hell. The change of culture and setting were a refreshing change but we knew in the back of our minds that we’d be hankering after some more adventure soon. We wondered what our 10 day ‘holiday’ in Fiji would hold in store.

LAX is a pretty miserable airport but at our gate a band of Fijian musicians were entertaining the passengers with the classic south pacific twang of the Eukele and some soulful harmonized singing.

Our first taste of Fijian hospitality had us in the best possible mood for a ten-hour overnight flight.

PUSHIN' THROUGH PANAMA

(NK) The Caribbean route took us to Costa Rica's southern coastline. The small settlements along this coast road are idyllic. Thick jungle full of wildlife meet stunning beaches and crystal clear water. It was here we teamed up with the lovely Linda - our Belgian friend from Belize. She made sure I could still roll one for her and sure enough, I have a talent for something illegal (in some countries at least). It was great to see her again and catch up.

They see me rollin'

We also met a super hero called Dave the Wave. At 55, Dave was living the dream. A very spiritual man he also liked to surf and carried his board everywhere. With his long blonde hair and killer abs he also had a taste for younger women, especially teaching them how to swim. We spent a day at the beach with Dave, he showed me his daily workout. It was very ab focused but I'm not afraid to admit that I had my ass kicked by a 55 year old. Love you Dave, keep riding that wave wherever you are. Another amazing person in a growing list of amazing people we've met.

Our crossing into Panama was the first one without Trisha. We had to carry our own cases across a rickety old bridge and into Panama. Our first stop was Bocas Del Toro but it was carnival and the place was rocking. Unfortunately so were our stomachs and we spent two days getting ourselves sorted before moving on. As a result we missed out many of the islands but our time in Panama was limited. We wanted to get to Santa Catalina and dive with sharks and other big stuff.

Nowadays we walk across borders.. sniff

This meant a 12 hour bus ride with three changes. After driving everywhere it was nice to sit back and let someone else dodge the lunatics. From a 7am start we arrived in Santa Catalina just before the sun went down. We'd made a rooky mistake though - how many more can we make? The town is in the back and beyond with very little wifi and no cash machines - and only a small number of places took cards. We managed to get sorted for the first night but spent the next day sorting our lives out. The two hour bus ride to the nearest cash machine didn't float our boat. 

After spending so long camping and staying scrimping we splashed out for a few days and stayed at a beautiful place called Buena Vida. It had all the luxuries - hot water, king size memory foam bed, a ceiling fan. Plus the food was amazing.

Settled in we got on with what we came here for - diving. We'd never dived in the Pacific but had been told it was the place to go for big shoals of fish and sharks. Just off Santa Catalina is the island of Coiba and it's protected marine park. Until recently it was a penal colony and with Santa Catalina being fairly inaccessible except for one road, the waters are teeming with sea life. 

Boat party

Put that lip away

Two days of diving we saw sharks, huge shoals of jacks, manta rays, sting rays and some Tuna almost as big as us. Fi was not happy when I motioned her to come and look behind a rock with me. I don't think she was expecting the 8ft reef shark lying on the bottom.

Idyllic

Leo Sayer crossed with a Fraggle

Wind swept

No sooner had we slipped into the easy pace of life at Santa Catalina, it was time to catch a bus to Panama City. This catching the bus business is easy enough but we did still miss Trisha.

After arriving in Panama City we took a taxi to our hostel. Most cities in Central America are dangerous but Panama City is fairly wealthy from the canal profits and commerce it brings with it. When Fi saw a drunk guy asleep surrounded by police, she was shocked to hear the taxi driver say "na, el muerto." murdered at 3pm in the afternoon. Even the wealth of this city doesn't necessarily make it safe or safer.

old bit

new bit

Like other places we would need to be sensible. When we reached hostel Aleman we were surprised to find a German flag flying outside. Then it clicked, I'd booked it in a rush not giving a thought to he name. Aleman is Spanish for German. We were staying at a hostel by Germans for Germans which felt a little odd at first. It turned out to be a great place with lots of lovely German guests and a cool Californian who owns a cigar factory in the Dominican Republic. 

The next day we were going to the canal and teamed up with a couple who were also going to the bus station. As we wandered through the neighbourhoods we thought nothing of it until an SUV pulled up beside us. A young women leaned out and said - "You shouldn't be walking here, it's not safe for you."

A couple of encounters with drunk desperate people later and we were safely on the bus towards the Panama Canal. We marvelled at the Mira Flores locks - imagine the Rochdale ship canal for giants and you're close. Sadly they were doing repairs so we didn't see any ship going through. We did get to watch a propaganda based video on how the canal was built.

Wankers

Massive locks

The next day, we left Central America.

It wasn't what we were expecting but wow it was an experience never to be forgotten. Life's lessons, friendships, amazing times, scary times - it has been a wild ride. From crossing into Mexico surrounded by gunfire to putting a con man behind bars and meeting mother Ayahuasca. It has been a lifetime within a lifetime and we are eternally grateful for the things we have done and the fantastic people we have met.

We've stayed at over 60 different places and drove over 10,000 miles but the beat and rhythm of this bat shit crazy region cannot be put into words or numbers. It is a troubled area where life is cheap and the situation has little hope of getting better. Not while certain super powers continue to manipulate and coerce governments and local people.

Despite the dangers we were robbed a grand total of zero times and shot at zero times - well they weren't shooting at us, more like all around us. Yet even with it's reputation for edginess, the warmth, friendliness and willingness to help from the people that live here everyday gives hope.

We hope an answer is found that can bring some peace. It is a truly beautiful part of the world with a culture and history as ancient as it is mystical.

Hasta Luego!!!!!