Costa Rica & Panama
Time is continuing to slip away as episode 9 of Long Way Up begins with the boys finally receiving some good news. They’ve managed to get the green-light to fly, seeing them heading over to Panama via a ferry. There’s two planes – one of which holding our bikers and their bikes. The aerial views are spectacular, following the snaking river up as they eventually land. As they touch down at Buenaventura Airport in Colombia, the first part of their journey is done. Only, there’s 45 minutes to try and catch the next ferry, which sees the duo back on the road again. They make it to their ferry which is a wreck, to say the least. The duo grin and bear it though, watching anxiously as the locals help get their bikes on-board. With the tide going out and precious little time to set sail done, Ewan and the others watch from afar as their bikes are loaded on ready for 2 days at sea. Eventually the boat departs and Ewan soon gets into the groove, enjoying the fresh food they’re served. With lots of time on their hands, the pair start talking to the local fisherman onboard – some of which happen to have spent all their lives at sea. Determined to take a detour, they head up to the village of Nuqui which happens to be the wettest in the world. Rain hammers down, and the streets are soaked in muddy water. Thankfully, friendly people dotted around help to brighten up the day. After a bit of a swim, the duo head back onboard but Ewan receives a call from Harley Davidson. The only way to get his replacement parts are in Costa Rica meaning he’ll have to continue on straight through Panama alone. Only, that means he’ll have 40 minutes to clear customs. Ewan isn’t cleared to go though and they’re delayed by 24 hours. With Ewan by himself, the plan changes to have Charley driving up alone while Ewan presses on ahead to get his bike fixed up. While Ewan gets a wet welcome to Central America, Charley revels in the arts and checks out a mammoth cruise liner on the canal. One for the bucket list – Charley then goes swimming in the canal where his Father made a movie. It’s a pretty touching moment, and one that’s equally as reflective for Ewan. He discusses a critical moment in his life while filming Long Way Round. He adopted a child thanks to a literal fork in the road which took him to a nearby orphanage. Ewan eventually makes it to Costa Rica and gets his bike all fixed up. With both bikes ready to go, Ewan meets back up with Charley again as the pair prepare to hit the road.
The Episode Review
The split focus between Ewan and Charley is a nice touch here and helps to see double the amount of scenery in the same sort of time. Long Way Up delivers a decent episode again, one that sees the group in uncharted territory most of the time but handled really well. Ewan’s positive attitude is such a refreshing change of pace and seeing him reflect on that fork in the road moment really hammers home how one moment in history can change your life forever. So far Long Way Up has been an enjoyable ride, and with two episodes to go, will the duo make it to LA?
