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Published: October 16th 2006
We bused into Panama City yesterday from Costa Rica. The roads in Panama are American made so they are much better than anywhere in Central America. In some places in Central America it could take up to 3 hours to only travel about 60 miles or so. Parts of the city are very modern modern with good shopping, hotels and restaurants. This city has many of the amenities that a city in the US would have. Last night we went to a casino, there are a lot of them near the hostel that we are staying at and they are actually pretty nice. Mike and I played some craps, we did not win but at least we really did not lose anything. We went to the Panama Canal today and saw a few ships pass through at the Mira Flores locks, it was very impressive how those huge ships get through the locks.
Tomorrow morning we are taking a bus to Portobelo, Panama, it is on the Atlantic side of the country. We meet a guy at noon that has a sailboat and is going down to Cartegenta, Columbia. We will stop in the San Blas Islands for 2 or 3 days and then get into Cartegenta Saturday or Sunday. We have met a few people who have taken boats from Cartegenta to Panama and loved the trip. We have found out that there are a lot of sailboats that go from Panama to Cartegena, so it seems to be a popular thing to do for backpakcers since it is pretty cheap. There are 2 captains in the hostel now trying to recruit people to go. We sleep on the boat and they feed us for the 5 days that we will be on the trip. We have asked around about Columiba and talked to quite a few Americans who have traveled through Colubmia and have said they have felt safe. We have heard to stay away from the rural areas and that the cities are okay. After we spend a day or two in Cartegenta we are just going to bus through Columiba to Ecuador.
So if you dont hear from us for the next 5 days or so we are out at sea. Our cell phone should start working again once we get into Columbia.
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pokey
non-member comment
happy birthday mike
Thought I'd wish you a happy birthday now since I don't know when we'll talk again. I looked up the san blas islands and they really seem peaceful and laid back. Could sure use a dose of that right now. Chicago already had some snow and here in santa fe the ski basin got its first dusting. I'm already dredding the winter. Hope you can post some pictures both of Costa and Panama. Much love, Pokey