Panama

Into Panama - We're already in Panama City

rfay — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 01:26:10 +0000

We got to Panama from Costa Rica about ten days ago and have been working our way the (fairly long) length of the country.

We crossed an old railroad bridge to get across the border from Costa Rica on the little-used border crossing on the Caribbean - once again, no problems and no hassles, although we had to wait an hour or so for the single Panamanian clerk to get back from lunch or something.

From the border we rode another couple of hours to get to the pier for the water taxi to the main island of Bocas del Toro, a fantastic touristy area with lots of snorkelling and completely overrun with tourists. We had a very pleasant day snorkeling, seeing the brightest and most beautiful coral we've ever seen. Then we got back on a water taxi, went to the mainland, and started the ride through Panama.

In northern Panama we saw some amazing living situations - lots of shacks on the water, or in other areas on stilts. We rode through indigenous areas with people in more traditional clothes.

The second day out, we had the honor of doing our biggest one-day climb of the entire trip, over 6000 feet (almost 2000 meters). We crossed over the Continental Divide, hitting a maximum elevation of 4200 feet, and then descending the whole thing. The Caribbean side was mostly virgin rainforest, with waterfalls. Besides being quite a grind to get up, it was beautiful and exhillarating.

After we got over the top, we hit the Pan-American highway and had a few days of good-quality riding on a mostly excellent road through very rural areas. Then, when we hit Santiago, it started gradually turning into American suburbs - big box stores and eventually McDonald's in every town, with the increase in traffic you'd expect. But much of this was on a 4-lane highway with a shoulder most of the time, so it was fairly safe.

We rode into Panama City today, over the famous Bridge of the Americas. Riding up to the bridge, we were stopped by the police and informed that cyclists are not allowed on the bridge, and that we'd have to wait for a patrolman to take us over. But the patrolman came with too small a vehicle, so he escorted us over the bridge and we had a wonderful crossing, with a careful flashing-light police escort!

What I've been up to: Working for Agua para la Vida

rfay — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 16:52:47 +0000

Well, Nancy will fly back tomorrow from California (where her dad is quite healthy, gracias a Diós, and we'll get on a boat to Colombia.

What have I been doing for these three weeks? In some ways, nothing. Every morning I get up at the rather boring (and too expensive at $22/night) hotel where I've been staying, walk to a little Chinese restaurant where I have coffee and read the newspaper, and then I go sit down at the internet cafe for the entire day working on the new website of Agua para la Vida, the wonderful organization we visited in Nicaragua that builds rural drinking water systems. It has been a strange little interlude in a fairly uninteresting place, lonely of course without Nancy here (both as a friend and as our primary friend-maker!)

Anyway, Agua para la Vida now has a new Drupal-based website, with database-oriented features that allow a map of the sites they have built, reporting capabilities for donations, and the like. I could have been volunteering for them in Nicaragua for these three weeks and it would have been more enjoyable and social in many ways, but on the other hand the technology would have been a real challenge. Here I have decent, cheap places to work (there's even a 24-hour internet cafe) and good speed and quality.

But I'll be really glad to see Nancy tomorrow and continue on our way!

Panama City

rfay — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 20:45:44 +0000

Panama City is certainly the most cosmopolitan place we've been in Central America, possibly in all of Latin America so far. Of course we've skipped a couple of the capital cities, like Guatemala City. But parts of the city are just full of skyscrapers and cranes, and there are gringos all over the place, and slick brochures about all the fancy condos you can buy in those high-rises. It really looks like Miami, and when you think about it, Panama City is probably giving Miami a run for its money. Miami used to be the big central point for rich Latin Americans to visit, with good shopping and comfort and luxury. But Panama City is so much more central, and has everything including the shopping, and is probably safer.... I'd say you should probably invest in Panama if you're the investing type.

Panama in general and Panama City specifically are also far more diverse than any place we've yet been in Latin America - approaching Panama City we saw several mosques. In my hotel there have been a number of traditional rabbis. And there is a vast array of skin colors, from Caribbean blacks to blonde gringos. And the Chinese seem to have the mini-super business sewed up throughout the country, and the cheap restaurant business in part of it.

But of course the rich fancy condos and diversity aren't the only story. This is a big city. There are beggars and some very poor people. You'll see the young men coming through on their rapid check of the street garbage containers checking for aluminum cans. But the sad thing is that there will be one guy coming right after another one... So there aren't enough cans to go around.

I don't find Panama City very interesting - it's quite sterile, culturally empty. But you can drink the water right out of the tap with no questions asked. What a nice thing! We haven't had that luxury since we crossed into Mexico. But it gets better. Here the restaurants ALL provide you cold water for free. And of course good quality tap water means that you don't have to worry much about salad and other things that are typically contaminated by bad tap water.

But those restaurants... Everywhere we've been so far in Mexico and Central America we've eaten fresh food, prepared for us, in little hole-in-the-wall places or on the street. Here all the food in the cheap places (and they are cheap - $1.75 for a good meal) is pre-prepared and set up like a luncheonette. Sometimes it's OK and sometimes it's horrible, but it's sitting out, not prepared for you. And I don't much care for Panamanian food. It's the first place on this trip that I had any complaints about the food.

My favorite thing about Panama City is the city buses, called diablos rojos or "Red Devils". The owners seem to airbrush designs on them to show off their wealth or something, but they're one of the most colorful things about the city. Beautiful designs. They're the same old converted schoolbuses that we've seen all over Central America (will we still see them in South America?) but here they're (mostly) painted. Beautifully. (They're all over the news right now too because there have been a number of accidents and there are concerns about poor service. It's a big media campaign.)

And there are at least a million bored security guards here. The one in front of the hotel has a submachine gun or something.

Lots and lots of people speak English, some very well. There are English phrases and English words used int eh newspaper and on the nightly TV news. It's a little disorienting because you end up not knowing what language somebody's going to respond in when you speak Spanish, and of course they expect you to speak poor Spanish, so there's all kinds of compensation going on.

The Chinese "mini-supers" were one of the most amazing standard things that we found in Panama, and they're everywhere. A food store with hardware. But not just hardware - they have all kinds of bike parts and it seems like everything you could want. And they're in every little town.

Nancy's return back to Panama

nancy — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:00:00 +0000

I am back in Panama after spending 3 weeks playing nurse for my dad. I want to first thank all of you who wished my father a quick return to good health. I am positive all the warm wishes aided in his return to health and also return back to his own home in Boston.

It is amazing to see how sick he was and how his body was able to heal and how far he has come. My family gave me the nickname Nurse Ratchett, who was the nurse in the movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest". When I arrived to California, my brother Mark and I drove to the rehab center to bring my dad home to my brothers home. I had a 2 hour crash course on how to do more medical stuff than I ever thought possible.

Two days later my brother left for the week on a business trip. I was left to take care of my very sick dad. When he was released from the rehab center, he was on oxygen, insulin dependent, in a wheel chair, 15 different medicines, had bedsores and was still very sick. Every day he made incredible strides toward health. When I left him on April 6th, he was using a cane (when he remembered), no insulin, oxygen, and took 12 medicines a day and was in awesome health. My goal was to get him health so he could return back home in Boston. He is going home on the 10th with my brother Dan. I hope my dad continues to thrive when he returns back to his own home and does not have Nurse Ratchett telling him what to do.

It is very hot here in Panama and I can not wait to get to the highlands again where it is 30 degrees cooler. I have been having such intense hot flashes, I just about drowned myself. Randy has been staying in a hotel in downtown Panama City and he is ready to get going. He keeps saying he feels like a trapped animal. We are waiting for our boat for Columbia which leaves tomorrow.

Yesterday I had a day to draw along the docks of Panama City. I was surrounded by what felt like hundreds of eyes starring over my shoulder waiting with baited breath for each color and texture I laid down on my small 4"x6" pad of paper. I was rather interesting to be on the rough fishing docks, the only female and have all those young fishermen watching me draw for hours. Needless to say the drawing was not one of my best by the drawing experience was tops.

Today we went to a Panama Viejo Museum to see the history of the settlement of Panama by the Spanish or rather the conquest of the area by the Spanish and the attacks on them by pirates like Henry Morgan. They moved the settlement about 5 miles away to Casco Antiguo because they could better defend against all the pirates that knew the Spanish where looting the surrounding countries of all their precious gold, silver and spices. What comes around, goes around.

Today we bought a lottery ticket and went down to see the drawing, being televised live from the Lottery Plaza. It was so exciting to see the whole city alive with excitement of this drawing worth about 10,000 dollars. The whole country actually get excited by the bi-weekly drawings, which are televised throughout the country. They were giving away free hats and shirts so I joined in to see what I could catch. One shirt came my way and we had a three way brawl. When I was shoved against the stage by this big stupid brute, I gave up. I did not want to hurt him. This woman half my size continued the struggle to have that shirt and took him on. He gave up after a while and yelled at her. He got a shirt later on. I finally got a very ugly yellow hat with some green words about celebrating the 3 year anniversary of a TV station, a station I never heard of. I gave my hat to the little girl that drew the numbers from the squirrel cage, figuring she should have something to remember her debut on national TV.

We are heading to Columbia next. We will take a 80 sailboat to Cartegena, Columbia and ride south from there. I keep trying to imagine the terrain, the food, the danger/safety, the culture, the people. When we are riding in the rural areas... will we see guerrilla that look like Pancho Villa soldiers? or just more honest hard working folks trying to make a living and feed their families. Stay tuned for the outcome of Nancy's and Randy's adventures "Lost somewhere in Colombia"

Take care and write soon
Nancy

On the boat to Cartagena, Colombia

rfay — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:09:51 +0000

The Stahlratte

Tomorrow we take a 4-wheel-drive to Carti on the Caribbean coast, load our bikes and gear aboard, and spend 5 days on the Stahlratte sailing through the San Blas Islands and on to Cartagena, Colombia. We're excited about the trip, and anxious about the next phase of the trip... South America! Will the climbs kill us? Will we be kidnapped by terrorists (probably not)? Do we have another year of travel and another 10,000 miles in us? Stay tuned...

Info on Sailing from Panama to Cartagena, Colombia, and other options

rfay — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:59:03 +0000

There is no road from Panama to Colombia, so many cyclists choose to find sea transportation, probably out of a purist desire to avoid an airplane. It is nice to have the continuity of traveling on the earth, although not necessarily cheaper or better.

It does turn out that while there are not regularly scheduled services to Cartagena, you can probably get there just fine. Trying to get there for free on a yacht from Colon is probably possible, but won't work for most people. However, there are a number of boats that make the trip, charging US$275 to $350, and there are hostels that arrange the connections. So if you really want to sail, you can probably do it.

Caveats: The trip is rough, and most people are seasick. Some boats do not provide food, so you need to provide your own. Some boats are disreputable or poorly run and you might get a scare or something worse. Some boats charge extra for the immigration paperwork in Colombia. Know what your payment covers.

In Panama City, the hostel that seems to do all the arranging is Zuly´s.

In Cartagena, the hostel doing the arranging is Casa Viena.

The boats seem to spend a day or two just hanging out in the San Blas Islands, and then do the 30-40 hour sailing to Cartagena. We had a nice time except for the seasickness. Neither one of us is terribly prone to seasickness, and the seas could have been much rougher than they were for us, if that gives you anything to judge by.

We took the Stahlratte, a larger ship (theoretically less seasickness?) and it was well-run. We didn´t have any crises of confidence in the captain. You can contact them directly. Like all the boats, though, they don't run on a regular schedule, so you'll get them if you happen to be on their schedule. After they left us in Cartagena they were sailing to Cuba.

Remember that there are other mroe exotic ways to get to or from Colombia. Our friends Dick and Els recommended flying from Panama City to Puerto Obaldia in the Darien near the border (less than US$100) then take a speedboat to the border facilities at Zapzurra, cross the border, and island hop into Colombia. You could get to one of the Colombian ports (Turbo or something else) and then ride on in. This requires a bit more of an adventurous spirit, but with the current (pretty good) security situation in Colombia I´m betting it would work fine.

Panama to Cartagena, Colombia

nancy — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:27:25 +0000

Here is the story of our trip from Panama City to Cartagena, Columbia – starting in a 4x4 vehicle from Panama City to Carti, Panama and then taking the 100´ sailboat the Stahlratte to Cartagena.

We got picked up at at the Hotel California in Panama City at 5:15 in the morning and threw our bikes and gear up on the roof rack and squeezed in the back with 7 other passengers, all who were going on the same sailing trip from Panama to Columbia. I, more than Randy, thought it would be great fun to take a long sailing trip. I have always thought I should try it to see if I might want to sail around the world after I finish biking half way around the world.

As we rode in the back of the jeep I was very grateful to be in the truck and not trying to ride, push or throw my bike along this route. The road was flat at first and paved until the turn off at El Llano, but that’s where the real road started. Other cyclists before us have ridden this and described this section as having 100 hills and many 20% grades. It was very impressive and I think I would have died trying to ride it. It had been raining the night before and the rain carved eroded mud-lined tracks that zigzag down the steepest parts. The truck would slide from side to side trying to find a hold in the red mush we sloshed through. Other trucks ahead and behind us also had moments of uncontrolled maneuvering. One 4x4 vehicle we passed parked at the creast of a hill was overheating from the taxing travels through the Kuna jungle. After we arrived at the end of the road, a trip which took about 4 hours, I was very happy with our decision not to have ridden this ride. Our newly cleaned bikes appreciated it too.

Awaiting to take us out to our boat were 2 large dugout canoes with motors which amazingly fit 10 people, 3 bicycles, a BOB trailer and all the gear for all those people. As we motored out to the sailboat, we passed islands which are inhabited by the local Kuna indians who live on the surrounding islands in thatched-roof huts. The huts were so crowded together, I couldn’t tell how many houses occupied the island. Not all the islands were inhabited but the ones that were had lots of people living in them.

Let me take a stab at describing the people of this area. The Kuna people make a living by selling coconuts, creating molas and fishing in the sea. The women wear very colorful tye-died wrap around skirts and hand-sewn tops called Molas. Several layers of fabric are loosely sewn together and then the top layer is gently cut and folded back and to form a design describing their traditional ways. The women are further accessorised with orange and yellow beaded leggings and gold rings piercing their ears and nose. Adorning the top of their short black hair is a colorful handkerchief head wrap. The women’s clothes are very unique, colorful and stand out as very different in the city of Panama where they often can be seen selling their handiwork.

After about 20 minutes of motoring out to the ship, we climbed aboard the double-masted 100´ sailboat which would house 23 guests and 6 crew members for the next 5 days. The name of the ship is the Stahlratte and it seems to have the best reputation in the area for sailing from San Blas Island to Cartagena.

Shortly after boarding we stored our bikes downstairs in storage closet, moved our gear to a very comfortable double-bed berth and started the 5 day adventure. The group received a lesson on rope fastening, sail raising and then we got our orientation about food, chores, and the like. And we were told that there is to be no shaving or whistling on board while the ship is underway.

We raised the sails and headed out for a 6-hour trip to a secluded spot where we anchored for two days among a handful of small uninhabited island in a protected spot in the San Blas Island. We snorkled amongst the colorful reefs and had fun sailing around the San Blas Islands in a tiny sailboat. At night we had a barbecue on the beach, a grand driftwood bonfire and sang along with a guitar.

When we finally set sail for Cartagena, we sailed for 28 hours in rough water with the sail up and the motor going. The 2 meter waves made many of queasy and some (including me) decorating the side of the boat with whatever food was in my stomach. The only relief was to lie straight on my back and not move.Randy also seemed to be felling similar but not quite as bad. Those wrist braclets we bought for sea sickness were a waste in that rough water.

I guess any dreams I might of had sailing around the world are smashed forever. I slept out on the deck at night and in the morning the waves were small, my stomach felt better and land was in sight.

You can see the pictures of our trip from Panama to Colombia here.

We arrived in the harbor in Cartagena mid-morning on the April 14th. The vista of the skyline was similar to Panama City with skyscrapers all along the shoreline. I was impressed at how many new skyscapers were being erected along the shores of the bay. The container shipping industry is in full force with the multi-colored cargo cantainers being loaded and unload in the massive storage site. Naval ships, submarines and tankers head out to deeper waters.

We anchored near where other sailboats anchored. And we waited. We waited for immigration to come aboard and process our passports. To process our passports all the passengers had to show they had either $1000 dollars in cash or in a bank account. We do not carry this much cash so Randy went a shore and printed a receipt from our bank account. It took about 4 hours to process us all and shuttle us to shore.

Once on shore, the rhythm of this exciting city filled our veins as we rode our loaded bikes on streets of Cartagena, Columbia. This marked our 9th country we have visited and the first time bike touring in South America.

We spent just one day exploring this old colonial city with many walled sections built to protect it from the pirates who wanted to ravage the Spanish treasure fleets (and often did). We saw amazing architecture, museums, and the streets filled with vendors selling anything you could imagine. The place has a latin flavor that is different from all other Latin America countries we have visited. Perhaps it is the deeper complexion of the people of this friendly folks, the salsa music permeating the air and the slow hustle of the place that makes me love the city of Cartagena, Columbia.