Bicycling from Patagonia

Bicycling From Patagonia

John's photos are such high reslution that we are having trouble loading them.  So you will see some really special things once we figure it out! 

When we got to the Meziadin Camp, we did our usual routine of setting up the camper and then taking a walk around.  John spotted a couple with bicyclists who had set up their tent in the picnic pavilion. (It was raining off and on.)  He struck up a conversation, and discovered that they were from Switzerland and had been cycling for 17 months – starting in Patagonia!  

They had been in the campground two days, trying to wait out the rain.  After a brief conversation, we invited them to dinner, which they instantly accepted.  Marion and Andy are their names.  They skipped Central America, they confessed, because of time, distance and safety.  But they flow from Quito Ecuador to Cancun, Mexico, and resumed their journey there.   They came through San Diego in January.  We had a nice conversation over a spaghetti and salad dinner.  They were happy to have some beer, wine, and hot coffee!  They had told us they were running out of food so before they got to our camper, we fixed them a goody bag of some bread, ham, cheese, apples, oranges, almonds and a couple of trail mix bars.  Marion was ecstatic when we gave it to them as they were leaving for the night! We also included some cough drops and Thera Flu, since Andy was coming down with a cold. 

The next morning we watched as they prepared to leave, around 9 am, and went to the road to wave goodbye.  Andy’s cold was now full blown, and it was also his 41st birthday!   He looked exhausted.  They had such heavy packs on their bikes – we didn’t envy them the day’s ride one bit.  Marion thanked us again profusely for the food! They are continuing up the Cassiar Highway, while we are taking a side trip to Stewart and Hyder.  We fully expect to see them on the highway later as we backtrack to the Cassiar.