Advertisement
Published: June 13th 2010
Panama:
Well we left off when we were in Panama still at the Hostel in Casco Viejo. We were sending out emails like crazy and receiving nothing in return. En este mundo hay muchos preguntas y pocas respuestas. (In this world there are many questions but few answers.) We made endless phone calls and chased imaginary captains of boats. In the end, after a lot of stress we finally got a hold of one company, called Hamburg Süd. They were the least expensive and the first to reply to our phone calls and emails. This process was not without its own speed humps but we were able to leave our hostel in Casco Viejo and drive up to Colón to ship our car.
(For anyone looking to ship their car from Panamá to South America, check out our last blog titled “Car Shipment from Panama to Ecuador” this blog is an informative one indicating all of the necessary paperwork needed to complete this task.) We have decided to do a blog with all this information and all our contacts because; we would not want anyone else to have to go through the chaos that we went through.
When we arrived in Colón we found our port and the company that we would be shipping with. One lady, Elisa Powell, was kind enough to work late with us and get our paper work in order. Without her, we would have spent at least another day in Colón. We were also told that Colón was not the place to stay and hang around in. We were told by several people that we should go back to Panama City and come back the next morning. We decided against that because Panama City was ridiculously busy and we were not in the mood to get lost again. We spent the night sleeping in a Plaza parking lot. “El Rey” was the main store that was open 24hours with security guards. Our black Ford Explorer fit in like a dirty shirt and we had the hottest night of our lives as the night only cooled down to 32 degrees Celsius. We both lost a good 5lbs of sweat that night and slept a maximum of 3 hours. This was probably because of the mixture of heat, the unknowing of what tomorrow would bring with our car shipment, and the daunting stories and gestures by the public of how much danger we could be in during our stay in Colón. However, just like every other place we had been in that was “dangerous” we found the people to be quite kind and welcoming. We chose not to allow others opinions and stories to fill our head (too much), and instead had a delicious dinner of boiled hot dogs and buns over our stove in the company of many in that parking lot of El Rey.
The next morning we were able to continue the paper process of shipping our car. We missed the 4pm shipment on Friday but were able to ship our car on the Sunday afternoon boat. This turned out to be better for us because that gave us more days in Ecuador with our host families. After a very long day at the port, we left our car with the keys inside, so that the men who worked at the port could load the car later. Behind barb-wired fenced we took one last anxious look at Dora and left, we had wanted to get photos of the car going into the container and closing it up, but it was not going to happen until later that night. So instead we got onto a shuttle bus from the Hamburg Süd office to the bus terminal and got onto a bus to Panama City.
Once again, Carl´s ability to talk with everyone gained us a safe and reliable taxi that was waiting for us at the terminal ready to take us to the airport. Carl had spoken with a young couple on the bus and we found out that the girl´s brother was a taxi driver. He was a very nice man, who was interested in travel and wanted to follow his own dreams of traveling. He was also very keen on what we were doing and how we were doing it. Like every taxi driver, he gave us the background of the areas in Panama City as we drove through; the 10cent tour so to speak.
We arrived at the airport around 8:00pm. Just after the last flight left for Quito, Ecuador. (If that was not an indication of how our day had gone then I don’t know what was.) We arranged a flight for the next day that was leaving at 11am, this flight was also full. The other option was to wait until 8:00pm for the last flight. We explained to them that we would like to be on the first flight and that we would even take a standby ticket and check in the next morning. That night, we slept in the airport. Carl was lucky enough to get a seat that night; Dane on the other hand had the standby ticket. We grabbed a quick meal of hamburgers and fries, accompanied by a cold beer. After a few days of extreme heat and tension of shipping our car we quickly fell asleep on a row of seats in the airport. Dreaming of arriving to Ecuador the next day and having everything work out, we awoke 5 hours later ready to hop on our flight to Ecuador and be over half way done our trip. Agreeing that being on the other side of the equator, meant technically speaking, things should be all downhill from there, we happily awaited our flight.
Dane got his seat on the plane, and we would be arriving in Ecuador for 1:30pm. Carl was sitting in row 9 with a bunch of volunteers from Puerto Rico and Dane was sitting next to the washrooms with all the others that were on standby.
“It is only when you have lost everything, that you are free to do anything.”
Ecuador:
Oh beautiful Ecuador! Landing in Ecuador was the best ride/rush that any roller coaster could give you. Landing at an Altitude of just over 2,800 meters above sea level, in a mix of pressure variances from the mountains, hills, cliffs and waterfalls, we had before us, a spectacular view, but a bumpy ride. Watching from the back of the plane, Dane could see the huge tail wind shift, from right to left and back again, as the ground came up to meet the tires with a speedy landing only gravity could create. After touching down and meeting up together, we exchanged stories of our exhilarating landing, and how our neighboring companions where quite terrified! Dane had sat at the back of the plane next to a man who was late for a wedding; he was gripping his seat with so much pressure that blood had fled his knuckles. Meanwhile Dane was chuckling to himself. The woman beside Carl however, had looked as if she had fainted and was quite unconscious with her head against the window. All the while Carl grinned in excitement.
After getting our bags and slipping through customs we hailed a cab. Using the cabbies cell phone, Dane called his host sister to let them know we had landed and that we would be getting a bus and coming to Guayllabamba as soon as we could.
Dane remembered the voting system of the busses on route to Guayllabamba, and that they sometimes would skip the town all together, if not enough people wanted to go into the town. We lost the vote, but fortunately got to walk and see more of the area. Dropped off by the zoo on the side of the highway and we walked through the southern tip of the town all the way to the top of Guayllabamba to where Dane´s house was.
Welcomed, once again, with open arms, Danes host mother issued us into their comfortable home where we were fed delicious snacks of baked seasoned corn and cola, while chatting about our travels. Dane and I shared the same bed in Dane´s old room. We also arrived on Diego´s (Dane´s host brother´s) birthday; there was more food than anyone could ever eat, rice, numerous types of sausage, vegetables, cake, wine from the farm, and of course you weren´t full until they said you were! It was the best welcoming to Ecuador that we could have ever asked for. That night we were asked; why were we doing this trip? Why not fly? Our response to this question has been changing and growing in the past few months. Before we might have replied; ¨we are driving to see and pass through 14 countries, and to see all of the Americas, more over we are doing it because anyone can simply fly to a destination¨. Now however, we can say ¨we drove; to see the change of the landscape, the change of people and culture, the change in language and the accents, the climate, the food, and to see ourselves change and adapt¨. Anyone can fly to a destination and be tossed into a new country with new food and people, but to see the change and how it changes is something else entirely. Still calling us crazy, Carl summed up it up by saying ¨ What´s crazy in life, is having a dream and not attempting it!¨ Staring back at us in amazement, they finally smiled, and understood the words that we were saying. We still understand that this current answer may change from now till the end of our journey, but just as Dane had coined the phrase before, ¨Only once we are done this trip we will know how to do it, ¨ only at the end of this trip can we fully give a whole answer to why we did it.
With our stomachs full of good food, a free roof over our head, in the company of a very lovable family, we fell asleep on a warm bed. For the first time we didn´t have the worry of our car being broken into, or being in some dangerous area. We just slept, and slept well.
We were not sure how long we would be able to spend at the house because of how quickly our car may be rushing towards Ecuador´s shores. The one thing we did have some luck with was that we found out that the ship leaving Panama would not be doing so until Sunday and thus, we had the weekend to relax. We couldn´t even call the company to find out information if we wanted to. Instead of thinking about the car or anything that was coming; we played some footie. Diego had a league game to play, and afterward a weekly friendly match with some buds. Being a few players short, Dane picked up the extra spot and played in the first game on Diego´s team. With the sun beating down hard, lack of air because of the altitude, the game started. The field didn´t have a single blade of grass but instead had stones and what felt like a dried patch of land. The nets were just bigger than a hockey net but much smaller than a regular net. Carl was in the crowd trying to escape the sun and sweating just watching. Dane running on the field with no sunscreen was sure doomed for a rough burnt night. The game ended 2-0 for the “good guys” Dane assisted both goals. El Gringo wasn´t too bad and even had the crowd yelling at the other players to pass it to him (Or so Carl says). The best part of the game was the fact that Dane was able to keep the jersey! After that game ended we all piled into the truck again and headed off to the other field where we would be playing with Diego´s friends. This game didn´t mean anything and we played only for bragging rights buuuuuttt we won. This time Carl played and had a few great chances with both his feet and a few flying headers. But his real talent was keeping his opponents at bay, with his wild rugby slides and mean ball stealing tactics. The game ended with us once again victorious, 8-5 or something (not that score mattered of course )
We were able to go work on the farm for a day and pick out our own “qui” (Guinea Pig) for dinner. Carl was able to see the farm and where Dane planted all the beans and grafted the avocado trees. The trees were all growing and producing fruit, contributing greatly to the avocado market. We cleaned out the pig pens, fed the rabbits and guinea pigs. Once our partial day of work and wondering was done we headed back to the house, Carl drove the family truck back while Dane stood in the back and taking photos.
That night we were invited to tag along on a day trip to Columbia, as Dane´s host sisters were in need of a plasma TV and rumor has it they were significantly cheaper just 4 hours away on the Columbian side. Agreeing to accompany them, and succeed in our quest for stamps on our passport we awoke the next morning at 5am to begin the trek. To our surprise they had us drive their car, a manual one, something we had not driven in some time, through the twisty hilly cliffs of the Andes Mountains, all the way through to Columbia. Carl had the pleasure of driving in the morning towards Colombia. With the lack of visibility due to rain, bright lights in the face, and fog it was dismal to say the least, but we made it to the border with all fingers and toes but, no damn stamp! In fact looking back, the Columbia government had no idea we were even in Columbia, as they did not check us on the way in or out of their country. Despite this small upset (no stamp), we were still successful in finding a cheap TV for the sisters, some delicious empanadas, and native dishes to Columbia during our stay. Everything was easy to find due to the great courtesy of the people there who were more than welcoming. Dane then had to take the wheel and drive south back into Ecuador. This was satisfying because at least now we have driven from Columbia to Ecuador, like we had originally planned.
Monday came around and we started to call the ports and begin our “search” for our car. The problem was we had to stay at Danes host families house because Carl´s family didn´t have a phone, and we needed to have contact with the ports. We enjoyed our time with Dane´s family and would have stayed longer if we could have. Once we found that our car had landed in Guayaquil port we decided it was time to go visit Carl´s family; if we could find them. Dane´s host sisters drove us to Carl´s house in Rumipamba only to find that Carl´s family was no longer there, they had moved. Lucky enough, the town only had 152 people (including Carl) so we asked the new lady who lived at the house and she was able to direct us to another house where a young man lived. The man´s sister was the wife of Carl´s host brother. We got a phone number and were able to call him and find the new house. Arriving to the new house to see Carl´s host mother and father again was another great sight. Welcomed once again with open arms by another host mother, we had yet again a great meal of fish, rice, potatoes, vegetables and soup. We enjoyed their company as we ate and were pleasantly surprised by visiting brothers, sisters and aunts who all came over to say hello to Carl. We were not able to stay the night with the family unfortunately, because we had to catch a bus to Guayaquil to pick up our car. They informed us (several times) that we were both welcome to come back at any time and that their new house was Carl´s house, and of course upon our return we would need to stay for a much greater period of time, so they could show us more of Ecuador. We relaxed and watched Carl´s host dad kill flies on the ceiling one after another. Carl would comment “They were dropping like flies!” All the while, the doors to the house were open refilling the amount of flies in the house as each swat took place. After several flies had died he had to repair his fly swatter. So needle and thread came out and he sowed his plastic fly swatter back to perfect killing shape. Laughing at this current situation was exactly what we needed after the shock and sadness of the possibility of not reuniting with them. Instead the feeling of satisfaction of finding them completely at home in a new place, swatting flies. Coupled with the delicious warm tea made from Cedron leaves we spent our remaining few hours in bliss.
With the help of Carl´s host sister; we hitched a ride to catch our bus to go to Quito. From Quito we had to find our way to the bus station that had a chartered bus to Guayaquil. The bus we wanted to take left at 10pm and would take us just over 8 hours to get there. We chose this bus because we would be able to sleep on the bus and arrive in the early morning to begin our day at the port. We thought that if we had one entire day at the port we would be able to get our car. Well, we were wrong.
All the paper work that we had, and all the paper work that “was going to be all we needed” was not all we needed; not even close. (Once again, refer to the other blog to see the work needed to ship a car from Panama to South America.) After rushing around the first day and still not getting our car we found a hotel for a very cheap price, thanks to our new friend Marlo the taxi driver that was driving us around all over the place. If anyone is in Guayaquil, Ecuador and need a trust worthy driver call this man. Marlo Eras: 08-8845-402 at anytime of the day or night; he speaks English and Spanish. If you find yourselves lost anywhere in the city call him and he will pick you up and get you somewhere safe and comfortable.
We spent 2 days rushing around doing paper work and we were able to see our car in its container and everything was fine. However, because of the time of day, we were not able to get our final stamp and receipt to drive our car off the lot. So because of our luck, we have to wait until the next business day, that just so happens to be a Monday. So we are spending the weekend in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Cheap food, cheap hotel, and TV in the room to watch the World Cup. Sure our bank account is quickly decreasing every day that we are spending here in Ecuador and not on the road towards our destination, but that is just part of the adventure. Now we will see how far we can really stretch our dollar. We have even come to the realization that we might even have to sell our car before we make it to Ushuaia. Perhaps we will find ourselves backpacking the rest of Argentina. Either way, we know we will be standing in La Tierra del Fuego, with or without or car. Only time will tell.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.07s; Tpl: 0.018s; cc: 13; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0398s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Lisa
non-member comment
My two wondering boys...
Oh my goodness you really are on an adventure of a lifetime. I have been asked by everyone either "How could you let him go" or "Why on earth are they doing this?" Now I have your answer instead of my own ~ mine has been; Because I love you and I never would stand in the way of your dreams... no matter how crazy. We are so proud of you both! I am happy you got to see your families in Ecuador. Love you!