I've been to the Darien Gap!

Christmas in Cartagena was great but then again so was christmas eve and boxing day. Without friends and family it was just another good day on the road. The German owner of our hostel didn´t make a fuss, it was business as usual but a good business so I was glad to be in his hostel. Cartagena provided me with a wealth of new information to assist in the next stage of my travels and serves as a half way house between South America and Central America. The colonial town is also a superb tourist destination and provided for very picturesque photos.

I had hoped to secure a spot on a sail boat to Panama City for a five day voyage via the San Blas islands. However boat skippers and their crew deserve their christmas turkey too so that option was ruled out. Plan B was to fly but travellers at the hostel who had been in Panama informed me of the Colombian route for workers going to and fro between the countries and for half the price of flying direct. This led inevitably to Plan C, which provided for a wonderful travel experience that was totally off the beaten track (in fact it wasn´t even mentioned in the guide book). During this out there adventure I didn´t meet a western traveller for three days! Day one involved a bus south to Monteria where I stayed overnight. It was a fun experience and the local people were very kind and helpful. Day two saw me up early for a 4am departure on another bus to the Colombian port town of Turbo on the Darien gulf and predominantly on unsealed roads. From there I organized a seat on a speedboat journey across the gulf and along the Darien coast to the Colombian border town of Capurgana, which I was amazed to learn is a caribbean holiday destination for wealthy Colombians. They fly in for holidays in the sun and it's a really impressive little resort town. I had not imagined resort towns on the Darien coast in my wildest dreams and Capurgana sure was a revelation to me.

The boat trip was an interesting experience. There are only two speeds in South America, those being either engine off or totally cranked to the max! Our speedboat skipper was no exception as he fired up the monster twin 200bhp engines, but unfortunately on this occasion the seas were high. The two hours on board were close to the toughest travelling I have ever experienced and the reasons will become quickly apparent... When the speedboat bottomed out after cresting a large wave the impact was like jumping onto concrete from a height of twenty feet for my neck and back. Also, those of you familiar with the noble game of cricket would know there is nothing more ignoble than being doubled over by a blow to the protector while batting. Imagine multiplying that feeling by a hundred impacts, the memory still brings a tear to the eye! My fellow latino passengers were very supportive and obviously more hardy than me, as I tried to cope by adopting the brace position and gripping the seat in front of me. A safe arrival ensued but I had blisters on my hands and an upper body that felt like I'd been Mike Tyson's punching bag for the next few days.

After another shorter (and mercifully slower) boat trip we crossed into Panama. We went through border formalities which were vigorous to say the least on the Panamanian side. I have never been asked so many questions at a border and really felt for my Peruvian travel companion because at least I kept my pants on this time, unlike his experience. From there we spent the night in the border town of Puerto Obaldia and then we booked on a one hour flight to Panama City the next morning. The flight was on a thirty seat propellor plane and was immensely enjoyable. I was fortunate to be located in the front seat and the sliding door to the cockpit was left open by the pilots. So I craned my neck around in order to witness the take off and we became airborne just before we ran out of runway, in fact I thought we were going to end up in the drink for a fleeting moment! I also craned my head around to witness the landing as we came in to Panama airport. It was a very cool experience and definately a first for me.

So then how to describe my first impressions of Panama City ... modern, wealthy, with huge American SUVs and skyscrapers everywhere, and of course home to the Panama Canal which is one of the eight modern wonders of the world. I went to the canal with two American guys from the hostel. We saw huge tankers being efficiently transported through by the Panamanians and it was a wonderful visual experience. Panama gained full control of the canal from the United States in 1998 and they are doing a great job in continuing to work the canal efficiently, and this remarkable feat of engineering became operational in 1913. It's interesting to note that the charge for a single tanker sailing through the canal is $60,000 and the Panamanians move upwards of twenty ships per day. Now that's some serious dollars being raked in every day ... Ka-ching -- ba da bing ba da bing! Fortunately I found an excellent hostel to bunk down in packed out with nice travellers, although now I really feel I'm the new kid on the block. When my new traveller friends talk about famous tourist attractions in Central America it sounds to me like they're talking about Mars at times, but I'm a quick learner and it's definitely great to be here!

In summary, Panama City strikes me as a very ordered and wealthy city with friendly people and very good food at surprisingly cheap prices. As the saying goes dear reader,............ basically all of you should be here now!

Top 3 Hotels/Restaurants
Mamallena Hostal - Panama City, Panama
Manolo Restaurant - Panama City, Panama
Albrook Mall - Panama City, Panama (for scrummy food courts)

Top 3 Sights/Activities
Capurgana resorts - Darien coast in Capurgana, Colombia
Travelling the Darien Coast - Colombia/Panama
Panama Canal - Panama

As I continue my travels, until next time it´s signing off for now.

Tom

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