Putting all our ducks in a row before the big shipment

Our first day riding in Panama went pretty smoothly: the Panamerican highway was pretty nice, straight and with very few towns on the way. We were making good progress after leaving the border and made it the first day to Anton, only 120 Kms south of Panama City.

Finding a boat to ship the bikes

Panama was going to be our last country in Central America and since there is no road through the Darien Gap that links this country to South America, we had to find another way to get there. The two options we had were either by air or by boat. Air is a very expensive option (about $900/bike + plane tickets for us) so we had already favored the boat option and heard of many bikers who had done it previously. We had been in touch with a certain Captain D. who had a boat in Portobelo that we could take to Cartagena, Columbia. That was another key decision we had made a few weeks ago: so many riders and other travelers had loved Columbia and so we were determined to add it to our itinerary. In addition to finding a boat, we had also a few things to buy in Panama City but unfortunately, it was Sunday so instead, we went visiting the Panama canal before going to check out the boat.

The Panama Canal allows boats to cross easily from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean (and vice versa) through a set of two locks on the Pacific side, then through an artificial after a man made cut, and finally throug one last lock on the Atlantic side. The whole crossing takes about 8-10 hours which is nothings compared to the 20 some days it would take to go around South America. We drove to the Mariflores lock where they had set up a nice Visitor Center and hurried up to the viewing platform since a big Greek ship was passing the lock right now. We could not believe we were there, standing in front of the world famous Panama Canal. It pretty much works like any other canal but its size is very impressive, with little trains pulling the big ship to help it keep in line. It is hard to believe the amount of water you need to move these big boys and as we visited the museum later, we understood better the incredible technology behind the canal. It is quite remarkable that Panama makes $2.5 millions a day on fees from the canal!

The other interesting part was to learn about the history of the Canal since it involved both our countries. The French started to build the canal in 1880 and were digging hard to make a 14 Kms cut in the land. Unfortunately, facing some technical issues with the land constantly sliding back, especially in the rainy season, the workers dying from Yellow Fever and Malaria, the progress was not made as anticipated and they had to give up, only for the USA to continue to giant undertaking a few years later. They were more successful and completed the Canal in 1914, under US administration. This agreement worked until there were some protests from the people of Panama, for them to own their own land and after a few demonstrations that ended up in violence, an agreement was signed in 1977 between the USA and Panama that on December 31st, 1999 at noon, the Canal would be managed by Panama. So far so good, already 10 years later. In addition, the people from Panama had voted to improve the canal with a set of new locks for bigger boats to be completed by 2014. We loved our visit at the canal, learning so much about its history and future, but also making us realize that we had made it that far on our bikes to see this marvel of technology.

Getting an early taste of the Columbian hospitality

After sightseeing, back to business. We had to go to Portobelo on the Pacific side and check out a boat that could take us to Cartagena and was leaving in the next few days. We were to meet with Negrita, the wife of the captain, who would run us through the details. We arrived a little early and as we were waiting in the main square, three guys approached us and starting asking us questions about the bikes and our trip. After a few minutes, they invited us for a beer. They were super nice: all three were Columbians, the father who just opened stores of his franchise in Panama and two of his sons, visiting during their vacation. We told them about the boat and that we also had to go back to Panama City before leaving and in no time we were invited to stay with them in the condo they were renting in the capital. We accepted their offer, amazed by how nice and super friendly they were. At 5:30pm, we found Negrita and she told us more about the boat, that we could put the bikes on a big sailboat called the Fantasy (it was actually the boat made famous in the Fantasy Island TV show from the 70's) and that it would take us all to Cartagena, Columbia after 4 days of sailing with a stop in the paradise islands of St. Blas. This really sounded like the way to go and after we talked to Dennis, the Captain, who was on his way back from Cartagena, even our new Columbian friends were excited about it. We would meet with Dennis the next day to finalize the details of the shipping and the trip itself.

We followed our Columbians into Panama City that night: they gave us the best room in their condo and even invited us for dinner. The dad, Jose, also happened to be the founder of a fast eat chain called Pandebono's, where they sell mostly this typical little bread filled with melting cheese. It is a typical eat from Columbia and he standardized its making processes and franchised it in Columbia and other Latin American countries. He took us to the shop he just opened in Panama City. We were impressed to see one of his stores, being here with the owner, and he made us proudly tasted his specialty. It was really good, even more with the icy yogurt that he serves with it.
We had a wonderful night sleep in their comfortable condo, only after they had taken us to a full visit of Panama City by night. The next morning, we woke up to the amazing view from the apartment and understood how many constructions were underway in Panama. We thought we were in an American city, modern and active, with its big skyscrapers. Jose told us all the buildings were mainly built from drug money and hence only empty buildings used for money laundering. The bright side for us was that the city also had tons of shops and that we should find in no time what we needed. Jose and his sons took us all over the city in their car to find what we needed: two sets of tires that we found right away since they had a friend who knew exactly where to find them, tie downs and plastic tarp to secure and cover the bikes on the ship and sea sickness medication. Without them, it would have taken us the full day but we were done in hours. So nice!!! We stayed at their place another night. They thought about joining us on the Fantasy boat for the cruise but the sons had to go back to school as a new semester was about to start at their university. We still shared dinner and good laughs with them until they had to go the airport. The next day, Jose who was staying another day, helped us find some last articles for our upcoming boat trip and took us one last time to his store so that we could enjoy his delicious little cheesy breads. As we prepared the bikes to leave for Portobelo and get on our boat, he made us promise to call him when we would be in Bogota and Quito as he also had a condo in each town and would be happy to host us again. There was so much kindness and positive energy about this man and his family. Hopefully, we will be able to see him again as he has this amazing way of putting you at ease and sharing good times with you. If all Colombians are like that, we will have a blast there.