Saladin

I left Medellin, Colombia on the 28th. of May at 8pm: arrived in Turbo at 6am the 29th. Our "panga" finally arrived at 9am. I arrived in Capurgana at 12pm(a rather bumpy ride by sea.) The next day(the 30th) left via canoe to Puerto Obaldia, Panama. At 12pm and $65.00 & an 78 minute plane ride later; arrived on Albrook Airport in Panama City. It's the 4th of June and deciding where to go from here, with 7 dollars in my pocket not too many options available......ha! ha! Hopefully a former legioanire friend will wire me $200USD from French Guyana, so I can get to Costa Rica(I live there) at home I have about $800USD buried in a can in my back yard(my rent is paid for three months.....ha! ha!... read more

Well I'm still here in Medellin, things have turned to some unexpected turns. Currently my $$ point is at 170k pesos are about $85USD. The business venture I had planned on turned sore(the man I was going to do business with died) so here I am with no concrete ideas. I don't have enough cash to return home(Costa Rica) my wife is five monthes pregnant, and I'm here stuck in Colombia. But I do have options, will try to call an associate in Bocas del Toro(Panama) to see f he can wire me at least $150USD. The other option is to try and call my ex-boss in Costa Rica; hopefully he'll wire me the cash, and I'll repay him when I return home. I f anyone knows of a cheap way from Cartagena to Limon, Costa ... read more

I arrived in this beautiful city just yesterday. Just checking on the possibility of hiring on a commercial vessel; or the chance of meeting some Canadians or Americans who need an experienced hand of their ship! if not, I'll return to Medellin.... read more

From start to Present Antonio Martinez-VasquezI've been in Colombia for a few days now; the first time was about 20 years ago(I'm 53yrs. young) it isn´t as dangerous as the US State Department states. Just use common sense that's all. I'm from Puerto Rico so I'm a native speaker of spanish (not to be confused with Spanglish). So I pretty much fit in....even in Morocco (since I'm a muslim) Stay away from these condesending idiots who took an english course from the national tourism department(such as in Costa Rica) and the knucklehead swears he/she can hold a conversation and sounds like Desi Arnaz from "I Love Lucy". The same could be said for most americans who took a spanish high school course, from an anglo teacher! I hire myself out to people who need ane ... read more

Where I started Antonio Martinez-VasquezIt's Monday and I've in beautiful Medellin, Colombia for about five days. It's changed alot since I was last here in 2000. But the changes are extremely positive. There's a good likelihood of leaving tonight or tomorrow for Panama City. I started an impromptu import/export business: in order to finance my travels. During the past two years, I've been to Trinidad, Peru(it stinks) Equador(three steps up from Peru) Nicaragua(quite different from 1978-80) all throughout Central America. But the least country I liked was Costa Rica, everything is for sale from the women to the politicians. The capitol San Jose really smells, and the infrastructure of the city is an urban planners nightmare! It's amazing how dumb most american tourists are; they really think Costa Rica is neat! Everybody ... read more