As my Dad said, it was easy getting out of Costa Rica and to our surprise it was also easy getting into Panama.  However, it did not look like it was going to be easy driving up to the Panama office.  There were people everywhere, no where to park and it was complete chaos.  There were some boys who helped us find a parking space or at least kind of a parking space.  When the truck in front of us moved we were pretty much in the middle of the road.  Dad was inside doing paperwork and it didn’t take me long to realize that there was a parade getting ready to start.  This time it really was a parade and not a bike race.  The 5th of November is Panama’s Independence Day and they were celebrating with multiple bands that were marching from the border gates into downtown.  It was fun to watch all the different age groups dressed in multiple colors prepare for their turn down the road.  The national colors are Blue and White, so most of the costumes contained those colors with others added.  It didn’t take Dad long because it turns out that the officials just didn’t want to deal with us too much with all the commotion that was happening outside.  The bike was never inspected or sprayed with pesticide like usual and we were let go.  The hardest part was finding a way around all the parade member and spectators in order to get on the highway.

The first thing that we both noticed about Panama is how hot it is.  We are obviously getting closer to the equator.  Dad seems to be hot, but enjoying himself.  I personally am about to die and hearing about snow in Colorado makes me think about how nice cold sounds, but snow is too much the opposite spectrum of hot for me.

We stopped and got a cold pop at a restaurant on the side of the road and headed to Santiago, which is where we are tonight.  It was a nice ride, just hot.  One exception was that we had the fortune of getting pulled over another time.  I was worried when there was an actual police building and dad disappeared for awhile and I was unable to see him or what was going on.  I later found out that it was a scam just like last time and we were able to get away with a small fee.  I think that they see a big motorcycle and think that it must be American’s so they pull us over for the heck of it.  Who knows, they never get as much money out of us as they would like, so they might stop pulling over white motorcycle riders.

As you all have learned quickly, we have Internet service again.  Looking at our past pictures we were never in any harm just staying in nice places that didn’t have Internet service.  So all can rest safe and we hope that you enjoy watching us get through Panama.

Day 2 Santiago to Panama City – 150 miles

There isn’t much to talk about today.  We had a nice relaxing morning, read the paper (in English), ate breakfast and headed out on the road towards Panama City.  We were on a nice four lane divided highway most of the time.  In fact, 90% of the roads in Panama have been as good, or better, than any we have been on.  However, the other 10% have been the worse.  There are huge sections where concrete is missing, busted up and sometimes pieces sticking in the air with jagged ends.  You will definitely get a flat and have other problems if you hit these at any speed.

We also saw a lot of police officers on the side of the road looking for victims.  It seemed like they were positioned every couple of miles.  Dad was making sure he was going slower than the cars around us every time we saw one of these guys.  They always took an extra long look at us.  I wonder if they think of motorcyclists as easy targets.

We stopped for lunch in Santa Clara Playa.  I am so excited that I have a beach named after me, I believe that it is quite suitable since my brother Dillon has a street, lake and town named after him.  Lunch was nice, it had mostly seafood on the menu and it rained from about 10 miles before until we were almost done eating, but the rain stopped just in time for us to leave.
 
The only exciting thing that happened on the way to the capital city was that someone did try to run us off the road.  We were in the right hand lane minding our own business and there was someone in the left lane slowly passing us.  Well, there was a person behind the car beside us and apparently no one in either lane was going fast enough for them so they decided to drive right down the dotted line until everyone moved out of the way.  It worked and he went on his way down the road like nothing happened while people were honking at him like crazy.

I can not say that I have seen the Panama Canal.  There weren’t any signs or details to tell me that I was there.  I thought that it would be more exciting, I had to ask Dad if this was really it because it almost looks like a huge river.  It was neat though and I am glad that I had a chance to see it.  Perhaps we will do a tour tomorrow or the next day.

We found the hotel and are settling in to another night in another new hotel.  Panama is having yet another national holiday today so we will try tomorrow to get some stuff checked off our list, like how we are going to get into South America.  We soon learned that pretty much the entire month of November is a holiday in Panama, so it is not the best time to travel, nothing is open and help is hard to find, because they feel as though it is an inconvenience to work on a holiday even though they are open.

Wish us luck!!!!!

Day 3 Panama City – 15 miles running errands

Today we spent most of our time running errands, looking into our options getting to South America and trying to get hotel service.

The first part of the day went well.  I found several motorcycle shops near by.  I stopped at a Suzuki shop and asked if I could borrow some space and a drain pan to change my filter and oil.  No problemo.  Within a short time I changed the oil and completed a number of other small, regular maintenance items on the KLR.  I asked if they had any ideas about getting to South America.  They looked at me in disbelief.   The look in their eyes made it clear they had no comprehension why anyone would want to do that.

I started asking around, calling numbers and searching the Internet.  It appears that all the ferry services to South America have stopped service in the last couple of years.  With all the rebel activity in Columbia, the nearest country, the demand for service simply wasn’t there.  On top of that there appears to be very few overland travels who travel from Central to South America.

The only option remaining was air freight and travel.  This is what my previous research had told me but I remained hopeful we would have more options until I arrived and could check for myself.  This will be one of the more expensive parts of the trip.

Unfortunately, the scumbag rebels in Columbia have recently increased their activity making travel there, especially for Americans, very risky.  We have run into Columbians in Central America that have given up.  They left high paying jobs or businesses to make a living else where following too many family kidnappings.  We have heard of many more such stories.

It is a shame that a country of over 40 million people are continuously terrorized by two groups of little over ten thousand people each.  However, theses are the lowest of the low, true scumbags that murder at will and will do whatever it takes to protect their crops of cocaine.  They are funded mostly by the sell of drugs.  When that runs short they kidnap anyone available for ransom money.

These groups have been around since the 60’s.  They are well entrenched and know how to survive.  They loosely advocate communist leaning political ideas trying to drum up support from labor workers.  But clearly, their main focus is to protect their drug operations.  They have little actual support outside of Cuba.  Their influence and strength has been declining recently.  Now they have resumed some desperation type attacks.

Columbia recently reelected a conservative, U.S. supporting president by a land slide.  His strong anti-rebel and anti-terrorist actions have been well received by Columbians.  He is also getting support for these actions from the U.S.  It seems to me this is the kind of support we should be providing.  With the rebels wiped out, Columbia can prosper on its own with its abundant natural resources.  It appears the rebels don’t have much of a future and are doing what they can to stay alive.  I wish the president luck.

Unfortunately, this recent increase in activity forces me to make a hard decision to skip Columbia.  I have often wanted to visit this beautiful country.  I have heard so many good things about the countryside and how wonderful the people are.  However, the consequences of being adducted by one of these scumbag groups is too severe to risk visiting the country now.  Even though the likelihood of actually having a problem remains small I’m not willing to risk having one of my kids exposed to such a danger.

This has a big impact on the budget because it cost twice as much to fly and to air freight the bike to Ecuador than to Columbia.  Clara asked if this means she will have to eat more rice and beans.  I said, No, it means less rice and beans!”

We returned to the hotel and found that after 24 hours we still have no hot water, no ability to make local calls from the room, no wireless Internet access and no linen service.  Down five flights of stairs for the fifth time today and to the reception desk.  They smile as usual and seem so surprised that nothing is working or completed yet.  They say they will immediately call the same people who couldn’t get things done earlier.  I convince them that won’t work.  I take the manager to the room with me.  Things start to happen.

Tomorrow we try to nail down our South America options.  Another downside to going to Ecuador instead of Columbia is that there are fewer flights and air freight flies only a couple of days a week.

Day 4 Panama City to Tocumen International Airport – 22 miles

It never stopped raining.  Good thing we didn’t come during the rainy season!  There was a light drizzle as we woke to greet the new day.  What would turn out to be our last day in Central America.

We left the hotel just as the rain was breaking and the sun was attempting to make a presence.  We rode along the coastline of the Pacific Ocean to a modern airport.  We had to make our way around to the less than modern cargo terminal.  After passing through two security checks I rode right up to the Girag office.

The lady that helped me the previous day immediately greeted us and started walking us through the process.  She took my passport and Panama vehicle permit.  From these documents they were able to fill out the necessary air freight documents.  Then I had to ride the bike up on their scales to get an accurate weight.  Then we were escorted to another terminal where I had to prepare the bike and pay the fee.  It cost $750 to ship the bike to Quito, Ecuador.  The fee is about half that to Columbia.  I had to remove the windshield and mirrors from the bike and make sure the battery was disconnected and there was less than a liter of fuel in the tank.  That’s it.  The whole process took less than a half hour.  Girag has built a name for themselves as the premier carrier for transporting motorcycles across the Darien Gap.  It shows.  Everyone seems to know what to do and are not surprised to see motorcycles.  Some of the other carriers often quote a lower price but then add on a number of other charges.  Girag gives you a complete price and quality service.

We hired a taxi to take us to the custom office.  I had to have the papers stamped that were provided to me by Girag.  Then we went to the passenger terminal.

We missed a late morning flight to Quito by less than ten minutes.  We booked an evening flight that allowed us to relax for half a day before having to get on the plane.

We are now at a crossroads.  Looking back we had a great three weeks in Mexico and Central America.  We traveled over four thousand miles on a motorcycle and spent multiple days in six different countries.  We got to spend a day at the most famous of all Mayan ruins at Copan.  We rode horseback and dropped over a half mile through the jungle on 25 different cables getting a close up look at eleven waterfalls.  We saw many types of wildlife up close and personal including, toucans, macaws, iguanas, snakes, tarantulas, wild horses, chickens, many loose dogs and something that was a cross between a rabbit and a giant rat.  We visited countless tiny villages and some of the largest cities in the world.  We saw numerous volcanoes, lakes, rain and cloud forests and extreme mountain ranges and climate changes.  We visited with many local people and made several new friends.  We never met anyone who was unfriendly.  We ran into a surprising number of Americans and Europeans who have traveled here and elected to live here.  The further south we went the lighter the skin.  In Panama, everyone uses dollars and speaks some English.  In fact, it is a common notion that there are more people who speak English in Panama than in Miami.  I wouldn’t doubt that.

Looking forward, we prepare to enter into South America knowing we can slow the pace a bit and take in some of the amazing wonders that await us.

To read about our adventures in Ecuador click here.