Colorado and Beyond
It's been a bit since I talked to you last, so here's an update on what's been happening the last few weeks! After the races in Wisconsin I felt a lot more confident on my skis than I had earlier in the season, and I was happy to take that into training leading up to the next race series taking place in Winter Park, Colorado. Luckily the weather cooperated in Utah, providing some progressive training days. I hate to say this, but it probably should have even been a bit colder!
There were only 2 races in this series, starting on Friday the 19th. Having class in the morning on Thursday, I elected to go with some of the older guys later in the afternoon. The drive was supposed to be about 7.5 hours long, but it turned out to be a lot longer than that. As there was a storm sweeping east into the Rockies, we elected to take the upper I-80 route. About 14 miles from the turnoff south, they closed the highway until the following morning. We ended up having to backtrack, eventually spending about 13 hours in the car! It was a long night with little sleep, but race day is race day; you just have to get on with it!
Surprisingly, that day happened to be my best skiing of the entire season. My biggest problem this year, especially in GS, has been to come into the turn too direct, eventually having to slide the skis late into the fall line and making late pressure - all of which isn't that fast. In the GS race I brought the skis out, made the early pressure, and created speed with each turn. I made a big mistake coming onto the last pitch that cost me some time, but overall I was happy with the general condition of my skiing technique. My second run was even better than the first. The leader of the race, a current World Cup skier, won that run by over 2 seconds. Comparing myself to the second place position, I was only about 1 second out that run. Starting at about 5-6 seconds per run at the beginning of the season, it's been a drastic improvement I can be happy with.
Unfortunately my progress came to a halt the next day in the slalom. I was skiing on the top section, and got a little late in the middle coming into a hairpin that was set pretty offset. Trying to make it around it, I ended up crossing my skis and going head over heels into the snow. The right side of my body was pretty stretched out, and the impact was hard enough to pull my ankle up about an inch inside the boot. Knowing how small a race boot is, you can probably imagine the pain! After returning from Colorado I went to see the doctor and luckily it is (hopefully) just a severe ankle sprain. 10 days to two weeks off snow should be able to do the trick.
Due to the injury and the fact it was my birthday that week, my friend Scott and I decided to head away for the weekend for some sun and relaxation. After some deliberation, the most open routes lead us to Panama City, Panama. Off we went, arriving into Tocumen International at around 10pm. It was a long day getting there, so we grabbed a rental car and headed to Hostel Siriri for a good nights rest.
We named her Lolita, and she proved to a be a reliable companion for 3 days. There was a lot to see so we started the day early, jumped straight into the car, and headed for Gamboa, a jungle region about an hour outside of Panama City. Walking through the forest had a completely different feel than hiking back in the Wasatch. The amount of peculiar noises coming from every direction kept us on our toes. Walking alongside the river, I was taken aback when I saw a large scaly head barely appear above the surface; it was indeed an alligator! Blue Morpho butterflies, a spectacled owl, and some wild pigs were also among the creatures we spotted walking along the trail.
Finishing the jungle, we began the journey up to Colón, the gateway to the Panama Canal from the Caribbean side. There was a very heavy contrast of the new technology and infrastructure brought about by the Canal, and the run down slums common in most of the city. Regardless of the circumstances, the people smiled and waved as we drove past them with our cameras. Once I work on the video footage, I'll have to show you!
Having a few items to check off of our list, it was time to head back down to Panama City. It's incredible that it only takes 1.5 hours to drive from one ocean to the other, and we made it just in time to see the sunset. Casco Viejo is the old town of Panama City, and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997. Some of the buildings and churches we walked past had been there for about 400 years.
Surrounding yourselves with the locals is key to experiencing a new culture, so we walked around and ate at a local bar, listened to some traditional music, and wandered the streets until dusk. Casco Viejo, like much of Panama, was amazing to be in. The 90 degree weather didn't hurt, either!
The following day was a dedicated beach/island day, and the choice ended up being the island of Tobago, just about a 20 minute ferry ride from the docks of Panama City. It was nice to spend time on the beach doing nothing, and taking a cooling dip in the Pacific ocean. A group of us from the hostel went; it's always nice making new friends along the way. My Irish skin also hadn't seen the sun in about 6 months, so I would be lying if I said I didn't stick out like a sore thumb!
A lot of the afternoon was left after hitting the beach, so after returning to the mainland the next item to cross off the list was the Panama Canal. It's made up of 3 "locks", 2 on the Pacific side where we were, and one on the Atlantic side in Colón. Witnessing this feat of engineering was mind-boggling, and a must see location if you are ever in Panama.
After a long day, it was definitely time for some food! Our new friends suggested that we all head to the fish market on the boardwalk of Panama City, to try some ceviche! Ceviche is basically a bowl of raw fish, shrimp, and vegetables in lemon and lime juice. It was a taste I'd never really experienced before, and I loved it. My stomach was fine the following morning as well, so that's always nice! The boardwalk was filled with people and locals selling their crafts, food, and even cotton candy. Scott and I decided to take a photo together with the Panama skyline behind us, and suddenly a group of young Panamanians rushed into the photo, as well as an elderly plantain chip gentleman! A truly happy people, and I'm lucky enough to have been surrounded by them for a few days. It's these small experiences that make traveling meaningful.
We couldn't leave Panama without experiencing the nightlife, so we went back to the hostel and got ready for a night on the town. We ended up meeting more people from the hostel to come out with us; some were from Norway, Germany, England, and even a fella from Kinsale, Ireland. It's amazing how small the world can be sometimes. The night turned out to be pretty incredible, but I'll leave those stories for a later time.
That's about it for now. I better get back to icing my ankle! There is still a lot of work to do, and there are races coming up very soon. Until next time.
/CL