Sunday, January 20, 2013

Panama City

I am a bit behind...Have traveled thru Panama and  recently crossed over to Colombia by a 120 ft sail boat this past week. I was very impressed with Panama and once again my preconceived idea of a country did not match the reality. Panamanians, I feel were the friendliest people of Central America..I have a friendly scale going. It will be hard to beat Vietnam.
My moto friends would have loved the ride from Costa Rico ( around Palmar Norte) to Volcan, Panama. There are 140,000 acres of protected National Parks between the 2 countries. The ride was spectacular in the mountains with fields of coffee, sugar cane and wild flowers everywhere. I chose a remote border crossing that was only accessible by dirt road as I do not like the hectic chaotic scenes at the regular borders. It was a beautiful crossing with only locals and a handful of back packers. However, as crossings go, it still took 3 hrs to get all the paper work and insurance done. I stayed in Volcan, Panama for a few days as i met some local expats that showed me around. Thank You Emily and John !!

Shoe repairman in Casco Vieja ( Panama's Old City)






Moto Friends..Tanya + Dell on a BMW 650 and a KLM and Hoa and his wife Suma riding two up on a BMW R1200.. Excellent pilsner at this local micro brewery..:))

Our favorite roof top bar / club overlooking Panama City.


Homeless...around the corner from our hotel.. A world wide epidemic...

Loved watching the ships pass through the Panama Canal..Ingenuity at its best !



My morning fruit stand...



Panama City  is  thriving and has a gorgeous skyline. I stayed in the old city where the office of the President was several blocks away . Major renovations are going on in the old city and when its all done it will rival some of the prettiest streets in New Orleans... It was also very exciting as fellow moto riders from other parts of the world were trickling into the hotel waiting to take the same boat over to Colombia as I was. There ended up being 13 bikes and 22 passengers. The two hour ride from Panama City to the tiny hamlet of Carti where we caught the boat was amazing...quite a technical ride..:)) Well..ill post pics of Panama and friends ...then the voyage... all the best to you all..

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