Today is the big day. All my work paid off, I found a boat to take me along the Pacific side of Panama where I will get dropped off and have to search for another boats a hand full of times. I will be in the Darien! It has been rated one of the most Dangerous places in the world, I am pretty excited to make the trip. I will leave Panama City today and head to Buenaventura, Colombia. I should arrive at my destination in about 10 days more or less, it all depends on how quickly we can find a boat in an out of these small towns off the coast of Panama and Colombia. As for my travels thus far, I left Bocas finally after waiting for a ferry that never showed up twice. Once off the Isla we stayed at the same crappy hostel we stayed at on the way in. The following morning was an early morning because we have 500 +kilometers to ride in order to get to Panama City. We started up the mountains and took pictures of what we rode through at night in the rain and fog on the way into Bocas. The ride took about 8 hours, I was so pumped to get to Panama City, we crossed the bridge over the canal and made our way into the city. It is a beautiful city with a lot of construction going on. We took the first exit we found and tried to find Lunas Castle, the hostel we wanted to stay at. Once off the exit we talked to a couple Police officers who escorted us through the most dangerous part of the city. It was pretty cool have a Police officer in front of a motorcycle train going through the so called “ghetto” of Panama City. We got an escort all the way to the hostel.
I have been in the city a few days now and think it is one of the best cities I have been in yet. There is a lot of construction going on and new development all over the place. It is for sure a booming area. As for its neighbor Colon, not so much of a booming area. It is very poor and decrepit. Buildings falling apart, people look like they want to kill you, or see what you have in your pockets. It is a city that you don’t want to make a wrong turn in. So hearing all the bad news about Colon I thought it would be best to take the train in rather then ride the bike get lost and robbed. The train ride was amazing, we followed to canal from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Not to many people can say they have see both oceans in one day! Once in Colon I hopped in a cab and rode around the city to various ports with no luck on finding a boat. I am glad I went to Colon, but also glad I know it is not a place I want to visit alone or at night. The cab driver was just filling my head with all sorts of horror stories about how police don’t even try and stop assaults or run in to buildings after people because they just get shot. So needless to say, Colon is not an area you want to get lost in.
Yesterday as I was writing everyone who has helped me out while I was trying to find a boat and letting them know I was just going to fly. In the process of writing I was over hearing a conversation of a guy looking for a boat and about to go to Colon to check on some boats there. Since I had taking the train to Colon a couple days again I knew it was a dead end. So I chimed in and started talking to him. Next thing I know we were headed down to the port 100 yards away from the hostel trying to find a boat that was apparently full. If I have learned anything about this Latin America, it is if you have the money anything can happen. So with a few bribes we were on the boat, with the motorcycle as well. I also said by to the BMW riders last night over a beer in Panama City. It was sad to say by but we have made plans to meet up again in Montreal. They are on a bit of a time schedule and now in South America it is time for me to slow my trip down a bit. As of now I am waiting for my boat to leave and take me on the first leg of my voyage to South America. Once on the other side.I will write everyone and post pictures.
