Jesus, Mary and Joseph.....I'm in Colombia!

flew from panama city to bogota. original plan was to skip colombia and go straight to ecuador but after talking to so many travellers who had great experience and recommened not to skip it, plus air frieght of bike being 2x as much to quito I came.. Wow what a vast difference from central america. feels like Eastern Europe or something … though im not sure yet, its dark and only been to the airport and directly to the hotel. Which in itself was a trip. As soon as thru customs there is one glass wall with 100’s of people looking in waiting and about 20 ft to the outside door where you’re released to a sea of wolves. Hustlers for hotels and taxis mainly.
Its quite the experience with an already media scared mindset. First thought is “oh shit“, second…“mommy?”

Finally went with a hotel pusher that seemed legit. 50 skins for a room which is about 100 less than a sherton or something like that.
Hot water? Oh ya. Safe? Oh ya. Clean? Oh ya. Internet? Of course. Close? Yaya. Ok lets go.
He calls his goon who pulls up in junk old wagon. I get in. we take off and right away the steering is out….its like driving in a boat. 10 minutes and we get to the hotel. I mean scary hostel that is barred in stronger than a prison cell….$5 hostel at best for $50 (and I in the ghetto). He did a good job and deserves the commission….im here, I paid and theres no way Im going anywhere else. Hoping the bike arrives ok in the morning so I can get out of here.

ran into two other bikers at the freight shipper

blah view from hotel hostel window..step aside j-lo, bogota booty!

The Canal

Spent a day on the tourist route visiting the panama canal. It truly is an incredible feat……
It also brings in tons of $$$ for the economy here.
Im not sure for medium and large boats (the more typical) but for small boats like this old al capone owned brown and blue now tourist boat, the cost to cross would be $75k!
I think the big boats are up in the 500-1 mil range.

cool bridge over it US pulled out of running the canal and major military presence here in 2000, we just up and left and gave everything over to panama…took them a couple years to figure everything out but they have and are absolutely raking in the cash…. There is a third lock to be open soon.
The water drains and rises at 300mil gallons per minute.
10,000 people work at canal.
It’s the safest part of the city.
Took 9 years to build and the city built up at the same time to accommodate the workers.
First person ever that paid to cross when it opened back in 1914.…swam it(no boat)
Absolutely mind boggling to see it work

jack

Panama city

by far the most westernized area in all of central america and not suprising as there has been huge Americn presence here since the canal was built. it feels like miami in some parts and africa in others.
This place is alive and well but its bizarrrro world. While other economies seem to be on the down,this one appears up and booming. A true melting pot and land of contrast is a weak description but its all I got. Walk into any bar and youre liable to meet someone from every continent all with a story that ads up to nothing? Tour the city and on one side of the street you have neat old restored buildings with cafes serving up yuppies and not 10 ft away on the other side of the street lives a family of 7 in a no electricity, no water 1 room place.

Met a family at a hotel in the town where I stayed after the border. Nicest people in the world, late 30’s early 40 , 3 kids with them door next door/ town favorite genuinely good people who live in panama city half the time.. talking for a few hours about insight to the city…what to do…where to stay… safe, etc. oh we know a great hotel place to stay go here…ok. Get there and lady behind the counter says yea we have rooms but we don’t want to give you one. ?? I got money? Ya but we don’t want. Wtf? Why….well its just more economical not to. What? Language barrier and all. So I start looking at the people hanging around come in and out….ya it’s a knocking hotel by the hour and it was Saturday night, recommended by the beavers.
Drugs… night… there are more sweatbead cokeheads talking to anyone or anything they think listening or has ears than a keith Richards new years party. And of course the big money drug lords are $high-rolling$ around everywhere.
Women have only one size of clothing …XS that’s if 150+, if under 150...they‘re shopping in the toddler section (no complaints).

Men individually wear enough cologne for a small town.
Tons of skyscraping condos, in fact almost EVERY SINGLE SKYSCRAPER in the city is a condo building and there are a ton under construction , only about 3 are office building or something else covering a chunk of futura panama…. all directly across from exact oppossite ....old school architecture. at base of alot of the condos...pure slums. look left new city, right old town

157 banks and majority of people without a penny to put in one.
Wave a taxi and two guys who look like they just robbed a bank or have someone gagged and tied in the trunk pull up…no f’n way am I getting in there….lo siento, no neccessito, lo siento. Hail another and mr rogers pulls up insisting on opening the door and mas or menos about the fare, all the while telling you everything you could want to know about the city.
Seeing the buses is reason enough to come here…privately owned by pimp my ride fanatics…all of them … mag wheels, glass packs, custom airbrush paint, 2 inch strip of glass that isnt jet black tint with dangling ceiling pink fuzz, mirrors, d-y-n-o-m-i-t-e!

Panama canal…absolute transportation modern marvel..… same time 6 out of every 10 sewer lids on the roads are outright missing. (no way ride bike in this city)
Old military neighborhoods and barracks turned into best family housing option around the city…military barracks. refurbished mlitary base. dell has a call center in one

Panama city is in its own world and fascinating but…. in-look-around-and-out few days is my preferred visit.... during those few days there is a lot to take in

the harbors are full of fish

elections are coming up....could be worse this guy could be running

Panama!

I made it (at least to the crossroads of the americas) with little to no problems, daily adventure some good some bad…regardless, helluva ride. central america is not for the faint of heart….nor is the panama border crossing….the sign should read ‘welcome to panamania’

theres only one crossing into panama so no chance of a small quiet entrance. this place was packed with everything/ anyone.

panama is much more like the states or mexico as i noticed right away with the first 4 lane highway i have seen in a month right after you cross the border

50 mile pot holes

rivers are gushing mud and roads washed out.
After being holed up for days of 24hr non stop rain it finally broke so I made a go for the border. The pacific coast road to panama was awesome. coffee plantations, wicked forests, beautiful coastline and the gnarliest 50 mile pot-holed gravel stretch I could ever imagine. 100’s of thousands 1ft sized and some as big as a truck. it was a blast….amazingly going straight thru them at 50 mph is easier than trying to navigate at 5mph..… thank god for KTM suspension. 2.5 hr thrill ride.

if these rickety old bridges can hold up semi after semi what's up 35w

The paved part was cool too, breathtaking country .....