On the road again!

Leaving Puerto Viejo we hit the road running. It was funny how quickly we both got accustomed to living indoors. The transition back to overloading life went smoothly, but normal anxieties like "where are we going to sleep tonight" and "were running out of gas in the panama jungle and a gas station is nowhere to be found" felt like we were fresh out of the gates of Portland again. But after a few hundred miles, we are back on our game, and Claudette as home sweet home has never been sweeter.

The border crossing into Panama was muy tranquillo… and maybe a little too tranquillo for the border employees. The seguro (insurance) man returned an hour and half later than when he was supposed to come back to his desk. The guys at the Aduana (customs) were in their office, but their focus was more on alcohol and pretty ladies in the office. We didn't believe the German guy in front of us who said they were drinking until we got to the window and saw it for ourselves. We really couldn't believe that they managed to print up our vehicle permit without any errors. 

Claudette pounded pavement as we headed to north to Colon to meet our broker for shipping the car. His office, in the second largest "zone libre" in the world, took us two hours to find. Think "duty free" at the airport spread over 20 city blocks. The crux in this whole trip is getting ourselves and the van into Colombia all in three separate whole pieces. Boris seems like very capable hands to place the fate of Claudette while she travels between continents. 

That same evening we headed South (we were at both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts in one day!) to Panama City where we met the folks who we will share the vehicle container and thus the super high costs of said container. 

Panama city is umber metropolitan. We thought that we might have taken a wrong turn and ended up in Hong Kong. It is huge. And of course our first night we got lost. At night. And made our way into the slums.  After a few tears on my part we turned towards bright lights and eventually found a place for the night. I wont say that it was a hotel connected to a shopping mall. I also wont say that we got dinner at Tony Romas. Im a little embarrassed. 

Tonight a hostel with 140 other stinky kids in bunks. Lunascastlehostel.com 

Miraflores locks on the Panama Canal tomorrow.

The bridge from Costa Rica to Panama. Eek!!

"Hey can I have a little sip??"

Muddy river and a muddy van

Volcano rainbow!

I heart Panama!

Driving over the Panama Canal 

Ceviche mixto. $1.25 and the best ceviche you will ever have.

Guatemalan chicken buses are back for revenge! They are bigger, meaner and stronger!

Good looking Panamanian boy I found in the street. 

Getting cozy in bunks 109 and 110 at the hostel