TO PANAMA WE GO!!!

DAY-78

1/22/2012

            We got breakfast, packed up the bikes and got on our way. We flew all day, kept on each other tails changing back and forth ripping through traffic. Down a small highway between Jaco and the Pan American highway. Gas is very expensive right now 5+ bucks for a gallon of regular. It was rad to ride with someone else again, just chasing each other around Costa Rica. We were going down this tiny little coastal road, all of a sudden I realized where I was, what I was doing and all I could do was and stand up and start laughing uncontrollable. It is getting hot and I am not a skinny little guy I sweat constantly no matter if I am cruising at 80mph, walking to the store, or just sleeping; all I do is sweat! Haha.

            Nothing to crazy happened; the roads were either amazing or all potholes, I am ready to find some dirt soon though. We were going to head for the coast about 25 km out of the way, then we decided to keep going until the next town Neily where there were places to sleep or we could push it and go into Panama. We made it to Neily around 3:30  Panama time and decided it was a bad idea to try and get through the border crossing then have to drive another hour into panama to make it to the town David to sleep. So we found a place with safe parking. We each paid 15bucks but we got fed some as well, very nice family ran hotel. We will cross the border hopefully by 7:30 or so tomorrow morning now I pass out. I had asked Clay if he ever gets lost, he said yup all of the time, he said that he too had only met people that claim they never get lost. Well I said don’t worry I always get lost so we are on the same page.. we just laughed.



DAY-79

1/23/2012

MY LAST CENTRAL AMERICAN BORDER CROSSING!!!

We woke up around 6am got all of our stuff together and packed up the bikes. We heard if the border is busy then it takes for every this is the main crossing on the Pan-American Highway into Panama. We flew to the border and right through into Panama….Woooops go back to Costa and get checked out and cancel permit, didn’t even see an office thought it was a bus station. It’s only 7:30 we park our bikes in view and get into a huge line with all Costa Rican volleyball high school team. We finally are up, passports stamped and permits cancelled. We head back to panama border, get into a massively slowly moving line and wait, sweat, wait and sweat. Haha. I stood in line while Clay ran around to find the permit office, he came back and I ran around to find us a snack. Perfect timing he is only 3 away from the window that would of sucked. We get our stamps and head to the correct window, nope wrong one we are pointed in the right direction. We are then told we need insurance first so for 15bucks each we have insurance and go back to the window. But before they can we have to go to another office and get a stamp then go back to the window to get our permits. Hand over all the paperwork and copies with my passport, and then we wait and wait. Were sitting on the bench and a guy starts to talk to us he says we can’t seat and wait we have to be in the window bugging them or else they will take their time, so we go back to the window. Just in time the guy before us gets his permit and leaves I hear my name but can’t get in, oh well I will do it like the locals and ram myself through the crowd/line and get to the front. Sweet it worked and I grab my passport and permit, Clay follows my lead and grabs his too and were done..right? Nope. Now we have to find a guard to check us out and check our bikes, we find the guard without looking at our bikes he signs us out and we grab our bikes and make it 20feet before fumigation. After 3 hours, NOW WERE FREE PANAMA HERE WE COME!!!!

 We decided that we wanted to make it to Santa Catalina even though it was way out of the way to Panama City we are only on motorcycles in Panama one time. So we saw on three different maps that there were two different roads getting to the city of Sona and then one to the tip of a peninsula where Santa Catalina is. We really making good time flying with each other into David and grab a quick bite of lunch we know we have enough time to make it there in one shot so time to move. We are blasting down the road and then realized we haven’t seen a turn off at all for Sona, so we pull over and ask, yup we had missed it about 20km back or we can go another 30km forward and take a turn off in Santiago for Sona and then ride back North. No no we decide to turn around hit the small road and make it. Again this small road is on three different maps. We see a sign for Las Palmas not for Sona but Los Palmas is on the same road says the maps. So we rip up this sweet tiny paved road through the jungle all of a sudden it turns into a dirt road and we still keep flying down it. A dog runs out and starts to attack Clay I am positive he is getting bit but for some reason he slams on his breaks and stops instead of gassing it away. I pass him oh crap BRAKES, dead end. We both turn around with darks flipping out on us, somehow neither one of us got bit I was dying laughing though. We head back to the road, swear we saw another nicer dirt road we head back up the road. Clay asks a guy walking nope doesn’t connect but there is one North. We head north, nothing. We decided it had to be the road it is on three MAPS!!! So we try again ripping down the correct dirt road (which is an awesome radtastic road) I see a truck coming wave it down just to make sure we are going the right way….NOPE YOU HAVE TO GO TO SANTIAGO!! At this point we are both just laughing; it is already past 4pm so we’re not going to make it. We finally make it to Santiago see the road we want to Sona but we need gas now almost out. We go into town get gas, find out that sun sets at 6:30 with the time change, now I am 2hours ahead of home. We then ask how long it takes three hours by bus two hours by bike, it’s five o’clock. We look at each other nod and start the bikes and rally toward the road, the road is newly paved and we fly down it making good timing. Made it to Sona and took our turn off for Santa Catalina. The road goes from new pavement to potholed out dirt, I am having a hard time seeing due to my crappy Fly DS helmet shield keeps coming down on top of my Goggles, won’t stay up (this helmet sucks). We take another turn for the beach and the road turns into an amazing roller coaster ride, rolling hills fast quick turns, brand new pavement all with the sun setting in our faces. We roll into town pick out a hostel/ camping area. We miss it and end up at a river crossing, Clay really wants to cross. I tell him that there is one last hostel on the other side; enough said we splash through the fresh water river detour right and rip down the beach as the sun setting!!! So so so rad!! We pull down a sandy road, find $6 camping on the beach, we pull our bikes to the spot zigzagging everywhere spray rooster tails of sand as we go... just can’t stop laughing.

We setup our tents go grab a bite to eat and a few beers and walk along the beach as we drink and talk about the fun long 12hr day. We pass out and Clay got hit by a huge Coconut falling of a tree over his ten which hit him directly in the arm.