Panama
Crossing over the border of Panama was our first experience of why this part of the world has a reputation for being so corrupt. We were on an overnight bus from San Jose and were woken from deep sleep for the crossing. Firstly they didn´t want to accept Costa Rican money for the tourist visa payment. Panama uses the US dollar, but all the change houses were closed and there were no ATMs near the border. Eventually one of the guards found one of the dodgy street changers and watched exactly how much money we changed (only US $25 after border fees thank goodness) and we were able to get our visa. Next the guard wanted to see our onward ticket. A sign in the window said if you had a visa card it was sufficient but he was not going to let us through on that basis. After a lot of standing around and him waiting for us to offer a bribe which we didn´t, a tout said he could get us return tickets for $25US - ironically. He took our money, walked around the side of the building and gave it to the guard who in turn gave us a stamp to let us through. Later we found out this crossing is notorious. We weren´t the only ones who had troubles either, they were indiscriminate in who they tried to extort.
Panama City bus station was a wonder to behold. It was worthy of any Western country with a huge range of shops, cafes and the ever useful ATM machines. We had lost our Lonely Planet Guide back in Costa Rica and couldn´t remember the name of the hostal we wanted to stay at. We took a gamble and risked trusting a taxi driver to take us to a backpackers. Amazingly he took us to the exact one we wanted - it was named the Voyager. We wanted this one as it posted local yachties advertisements for crew or spaces for passengers to Cartegena. Marty emailed a few of the contacts then we spent the day sleeping (overnight bus trips are killers), and looking around at the shops. Panama shopping is amazing with clothes and goods really cheap. US products are half the price they are in the USA. Apparently a lot of the shops buy mystery containers from ships going through the canal and sell the goods off really cheaply. It was difficult not to shop for things we didn´t need but we resisted temptation.
The next day we visited the old area of the city reminiscent of Havana in Cuba. After exploring the colonial buildings for a while we went out to the Miraflores Canal Locks and enjoyed looking at the museum there. We watched the painfully slow process of 2 large container ships moving through the locks. They do it in 3 stages, each time opening new gates then lowering the water level to the next gate. It took well over an hour. Back at our hostel we joined some other travellers for Chinese food. It is always fun to hear others stories and it was a good night.
The next morning we met Fabio Massimo, captain of the Fenicia. A crazy Italian who is sailing around the world with his family, he had sent them home to Rome for a couple of months and was looking for backpackers to take down to Cartegena via the Sans Blas Islands. The Sans Blass have a reputation for being the last untouched Carribean Islands where the local people fiercely defend their lifestyle and have thrown off various invaders who have tried to take over. At one point the islanders were driven off their islands deep into the moutains of the mainland but when the police left to help with the building of the Panama Canal, the islanders came down and slaughtered everyone regaining their land. Ever since they have been left alone apart from a recent influx of yachties and their backpacker passengers who buy the local crafts and trade for coconuts. Actually we heard they weren´t interested in money preferring to trade in goods.
Over the day we found the 7 people Fabio was looking for and at around 4pm we left for the Port of Mira Bella just off Colon. On the way we stopped for supplies at a huge supermarket. From there we rentd a truck for the 45 minute drive through the early evening darkness to the anchorage of Mira Bella. After a locally cooked dinner of lentils, rice, octopus stew and plantanas, we puttered out on an inflatable dinghy through phospherence in the water to spend our first night in a king sized single fitted down in the stern of the Fenicia. It was strange to be lying in a bed hearing water lapping right by my head. In the morning at pre-dawn we woke to see the stunning Mira Bella anchorage slipping away in an early morning haze.
