Central America - Panama

Woke up exhausted and angry about last nights events so decided to head to Panama for a few days and then continue south. Booked a bus ticket to Panama city (Panaline, $25) for 1pm and spent the morning uploading photos to my server (a precaution in case my camera gets nicked). The bus was a cheapish one with seats to give you sore joints even after just 1 hour and as usual on Central American buses it was freezing (with a capital free) because of the air con.

After a very scenic drive through the Costa Rican highlands we reached the Panama border at 9pm. Did the usual Immigration procedures at Costa Rican side then crossed no mans land on foot to the Panama side (all easy and no charges). I had planned to jump off the bus at a small town called Baragua, stay the night and then head to a desolate island but the driver told me we'd arrive at 4am and he could only drop me at the road-side. Still feeling a bit shell-shocked after last nights events I decided to head straight to Panama city.

Arrived at the city at 5.30am and shared a cab ride with a Norwegian fellah called Torpen who'd had his whole pack nicked while he was staying in Tomarindo. To cut costs we shared a room at the hotel Ideal (which I later found out to be in a right dodgy area) at $9 each a night. Did some email checking and walking around. Amazingly didn't see any Gringo's all day long. Really liked Panama city..very bustling and lots of characters around.

Tonight was my weekly piss up night (hadn't had one for weeks) so me a Torpen headed out and did some bar hopping and got totally wasted on 'Panama lager'. He told me a scary story about when he was in Tomarindo. He hung out there and surfed for a few months. It seemed he fell in with the wrong crowd of crack heads and sniffers. One evening he asked a local dude friend (or so he thought) to guide him to a famous spot where the sunsets are said to be spectacular. After an hour of walking and just reaching the shore he noticed 2 boats and 8 guys in a group on the beach. They were running towards him with torches and guns. He said to his pal 'look Tomas, be honest with me..do I need to run?' and his pal said in a hushed voice 'Run, amigo, run!'. So he legged it up into some surrounding hills where the gunmen followed him. Lucky for him he'd spent 2 years in the Norwegian army as a sniper so he used his skills to cover himself with leaves and mud and lay still for 12 hours in the dark. Insects and creatures were biting him all the time and at one point one of the gunmen walked close to him. Eventually dawn came and the police were everywhere looking for him and the gunmen (he told somebody at the hostel where he was going). He crawled out from his hiding place and they took him back to town. What the gunmen had in mind was to kidnap him, hide him in the basement of a crack den then call his family (who are quite rich) and get a ransom paid. Problem is because he knew some of the gunmen they would have definitely killed him to cover their tracks (that's some scary shit).

After exhausting my nights spending money ($40..not bad for a night out) I rolled in at 6am (Torpen was busy with a girl he picked up at a club). Good night had by all.

The plan for the next week is a couple of days more in Panama city to catch some sites then fly from here to Cartagena (Colombia). And so will end my crazy time in Central America. And a fresh start in South America beckons. I can't bloody wait to start this part of the trip.

Like a bear with a sore head from last nights drinking fest it was a very late rise. Just about managed to drag myself out of bed for early dinner in the bustling Avenida Central. Allot of people have told me Panama's more pricey than Costa Rica..not so. It's roughly 20% cheaper in most vital things; transport, food and lodgings. Found a shop that sells T-shirts for 25c (blimey) but didn't succumb to the temptation. Walked around a bit to clear my head and do some people watching.

The Panamanians are much darker than their Costa Rican neighbours and especially in the city there's much more colour and vibrancy around. Kind of reminded me of my time in Africa with the great smells of street vendors food, dirty streets and strange goings ons. Saw an old fellah sitting on a chair in the street with a stethoscope (not sure if that's the right word for a doctors instrument) round his neck plying his trade as a street doctor (hmmmm..should I get my booster injections from him...I think not).

Using the power of the internet I booked a flight from Panama city to Cartagena (Colombia) for the 2nd December (Copaair $240). I wanted a flight sooner but it was all booked out. There are only 3 options to reach Colombia from here: 1, take a boat or ship which can be time-consuming but rewarding as you can visit beautiful islands. Judging by the weather and season I don't think my legs are ready for the sea yet. 2, Get a bus or any other mode of transport through the Dariun Gap (possibly the most dangerous place on earth and full of Guerrillas and coke gangs).

I heard a fellow traveler once say 'if you get mugged once or twice there you've had a good day' (not sure if he was exaggerating or not but it is dangerous there). 3, Fly for 1 hour. The choice was made for me when I realised I'd overspent my time in Central America by 2 months (Sweet Jesus..where does the time go?).

Got a chinese take away (chicken and rice for $1.80..wooohoo) and watched a film called 'Beer fest' at the hotel which meant my top10 of worst films is turning into a top 20 (it was absolute crap).

Well, just when I thought things would get simpler and I would chill in Panama city for a few days..have discovered that my room-mate from Norway is a crack head. He spent most of the day coming in and out of the room from a dealers place round the corner. Normally I would have said 'look pal, you're on your own and then found another place to stay (when someone's hooked on the pipe I'm really not interested) but he's a really decent bloke but with a bad habit so I stuck around and helped him out when the supply turned out bad. Many trips to doctor's and chemists to find him some calming pills (Diazapan..or something like that). I was supposed to go see the canal today. I'll have to do it tomorrow morning.

Well, at least I can say my Spanish is improving and if anyone needs to know the most sympathetic hospital doctor in town and where the best chemist is..I'm the one to ask.

Walked around more in town and strolled along the Panama city promenade (great view of the city but didn't take my camera). Did some internet stuff and made a few calls home in the late afternoon.

Came back to the hotel room and found a calm and normal Norwegian (he was on some kind of 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' trip before..talking about the cops coming and the dealer's a snitch..all rubbish of course). After a few beers in the hotel bar (it's seen better days..to me it looks like the hotel Ideal had its hey-day in the 50's and has just been left as it is since then in a state of disrepair). Still, I like the place..its got character.

Early night tonight as tomorrow morning its time to visit the famous canal and then catch a flight to Colombia.

Caught a taxi to the amazing engineering feat of the Panama Canal (affectionately known locally as 'the ditch'). Designed by the French (apparently) it was amazing to see the ships slowly rising step by step in the various lock sections and then dropping slowly to a normal water level. The entrance to the Miraflor Lock was $8 including a short 10 minute film, museum and access to view the lock.

By 12 I was a bit nervous about my 3pm flight to Cartagena as I'd only reserved it and not paid yet (total cost of flight including airport taxes $280). Getting back to the hotel I bid a farewell to Captain Crack (nice fellah though) and got a discounted taxi ride to the airport from the same taxi driver ($10). Everything was cool at the airport and clutching my ticket and boarding pass I was ready for stage 3 of my travels (South America). I had a few hours to kill so went through immigration early to check out the shops (Panama being a duty free country). While I was browsing the shops I made an executive decision after seeing a compact and light laptop for sale at $700 (£350) it was a bargain. I weighed up the pros and cons and then bought it even though it goes against all my light packing. Benefits of having a laptop while I'm traveling are; internet and phone calls when I want (depending on wireless access), blog writing on a proper keyboard and screen, I can edit photos and videos when I need to and quite possibly do a bit of work. Bad points are weight, size and a slight worry about it getting nicked (have checked my insurance and its covered so that's cool). If it gets too cumbersome I can sell it.

The flight was very short at 1 hour so before I could even read my guidebook's section on Colombia we had landed. I was quite nervous at the immigration point because I didn't have an onward ticket but it was all cool and no questions asked. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous about going to Colombia but most people say its a great place to travel. Its slowly shrugging off its reputation for kidnappings, robberies and all-round danger.

First thing that struck me when I walked out of Cartagena airport was the heat....super hot and it looked very tropical with palm trees everywhere and a Caribbean feel. Caught a cab to the Casa Viena hostel and as is my habit when first arriving in a new city I opted for a room rather than a dorm bed (just to sort my pack out and get adjusted). Quite a lively vibe at the hostel and pretty packed out. Went out for some chicken and salted potatoes and then had a few drinks in the hostel lounge area and chatted to a few of the international backpackers here. New currency to get used to now. The Colombian Peso is 1,850 to the Dollar and a slightly annoying thing is the 1,000 and 10,000 Peso notes are quite similar.

Around midnight when I was about to sleep I heard allot of shouting and screaming outside. Had a peak out the window and there was a gang of coked up Columbian trying to break into the hostel. They were trying to kick down the re-enforced metal door but luckily had no success. After 5 minutes of this the police came and they ran off. Apparently this hostel is in a slightly dodgy part of town.