10/02 La Chorrera should be called the Lost City. Coming in from the south I hit a small area of commercial buildings and then a 4 lane road heading off the PanAm toward the west. I didn’t see a sign or anything indicating that the city of 60,000 was that way so I stayed on the PanAm for another mile. Looking back to where I thought the city should be I saw some cell towers but nothing else thanks to some very heavy tree coverage. Realizing the city had to be on the other road I turned around and rode back to it. After following it for a mile, the entire time not seeing any development, it dumped me right in the middle of a busy commercial area. Weirdest city I’ve ever seen.

Long day riding even though I was planning on stopping early. The weather was too nice so I just kept pedaling. I was kind of impressed with myself because even with some big hills at the end of the day I didn’t even feel tired. Bummed that I have yet to see the Pacific Ocean even though I was less than a mile from it. Trees blocked my view most of the time.

I saw something pretty sad and even though I strongly dislike dogs now it still bothered me. The highway, for some bizarre reason, merged from 2 lanes to one right before town so traffic was a bit chaotic. While I was watching for cars and potholes I looked over in the middle of the road and saw a black dog laying there with its head up looking at traffic coming toward it. At first I thought it was just stupid since I see them laying/sitting in the road all the time but when I looked closer I could see blood running out of its nose. I think someone hit it and it was either too hurt to move or maybe it was in shock. Cars were slowing down to avoid it and some people looked like they were waiting for traffic to break so they could help. The worst part was confused/scared look on the dog’s face. Brutal.

Since I’m closer to Panama City than I expected to be today I’ll stay here tomorrow and ride into the city on Monday. Karen and Martin are there so I’ll stay where they are until they leave on Wednesday. They found a bike box for me too so I don’t have to worry about that now. They are so good to me. The only things I have to worry about now are finding a huge bag to pack all my stuff in and hoping that they let me on the plane because I don’t have proof of onward travel. Many other cyclists have flown into Colombia on one-way tickets so its probably not an issue but still I worry.

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10/01 The last couple days have been uneventful. The quiet days of riding changed abruptly now that I’m on the 4 lane PamAm highway. It’ll be like this all the way to Panama City. I might end up getting there a day early thanks to some flat land and smooth roads. Knocked out an easy 68 miles today but I had to call it a day because even though my legs said yes, my ass said no. I almost didn’t have a choice because the 2 hotels in Penonome were booked so I was on my way to the next town 10 miles away when I ran into this place not 2 minutes down the road.

I kind of hate staying in hotels now. They are expensive at ~$30 a night but it’s so much less aggravation for me. Camping spots are almost impossible to find and I’m by myself so the idea of sitting in my tent twiddling my thumbs from noon, which is when I finish riding for the day, until I go to sleep at 10pm is very unappealing. I’m really hoping things are different in South America.

Panama sure changed a lot from up north to where I am now. In the last 2 days I started seeing subdivisions with houses that rival what you’d see in Boca Raton. Security is still a concern for homeowners. It’s not uncommon to have a nice house with bars on every window and a chainlink fence topped with razorwire. The cars are also getting newer and flashier. Saw a BMW yesterday and a couple other pricier models ripping down the highway. Rode by 3 different motorcycle cops looking to bust speeders with their radar guns. That’s something I haven’t seen in a long time (Mexico?). Most of the medium-sized towns have a McD’s or a KFC. No Dairy Queen though.

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Mother nature was not on my side today. Had non-stop rain all day. The big letdown was I missed out on what would have been some spectacular scenery. It was almost non-stop jungle-covered hillsides, mangrove islands along the Pacific and dozens of rivers cascading down from the central mountains. And the color… when the clouds let a little more sunlight through, everything was this amazing shade of green. The pictures all sucked so I deleted them but trust me it was awesome.

This route was my attempt to get off the PanAm highway as much as possible and it’s working out great so far. My map showed the road being paved all the way but that’s not quite true. Maybe 15 years ago it was all paved but now only about half is. The sections of gravel were easy enough even in the rain but I had to avoid a lot of potholes. The five notable climbs were OK but I had to walk up the only unpaved hill because the rocks were so loose. The gringo effect was in full force. Whenever I pull up to any store it goes from being just me and the owner to at least half a dozen people within a couple minutes, all of whom stare at me rather intently. I never even see these people walk up–they just kind of appear. Everyone I saw today waved and kids ran up to the road to watch if they saw me coming. It was pretty cute.

Last night I booked a flight for October 8th that will get me into Colombia. The bicycle tourists out there already know this but at a certain point in Panama the highway ends and there’s no way to drive (or ride) into Columbia. The area where overland travel is next to impossible is called the Darien Gap. OK, technically overland travel is possible using footpaths and a lot of boats but you’d probably be killed/kidnapped by the Colombian guerillas, bandits or smugglers that inhabit the area. From what I’ve read its probably one of the most dangerous areas in the world.

People riding bicycles to South America (or to CA if starting from the south) typically hop on a plane in Panama City and fly into Cartagena, Colombia. There are also chartered boats that you can book passage on for about $350 but I’d rather just get it over with in a day vs. the 3-4 day boat trip. There are no direct flights so I have 2 stops. The worst part is I get into Cartagena at 10:30 at night. I’ll try to book a hotel so at least I have a place to go (via taxi).

I’ve never taken a bike on a plane so I’m freaking out a little. The bike packing part I’ve been prepped for but I just know it’s going to be a big, stressful mess. I gave myself 3 days after I get to Panama City to find a bike box and a huge duffel bag to throw my panniers in.

Funny story but it’s at the expense of my friends but they’ll forgive me. About a month ago Karen and Martin were riding a few days ahead of me. They told me about this hotel to stay at so when I got there that’s where I stayed too. It was probably even the same room. Not long after I got there I started hearing this really loud noise that sounded like someone playing an 80’s arcade game. The bling beep bling noise went on non-stop for half an hour before I realized it was probably birds. Well, I found out much later from Martin that they were so annoyed by the noise when they stayed there that they were yelling into the next room to turn the volume down. Finally they went over to owner and he told them what was making the noise–frogs! While I was riding today I heard them in a ditch next to the road so I made a little video to remind Martin of when he yelled at the frogs to shut up.

09/29

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09/28 If they had a Dairy Queen every 20 miles, that also sold fried chicken, Panama would be perfect. It’s hard getting used to the great roads, friendly people and gorgeous scenery. Even the grazing land around here looks nice. Saw a huge waterfall off in the distance but I couldn’t find a side road to get me closer. Wildlife was plentiful. Along the road in a kind of squished state was a python. Lot’s of cool birds including a hawk of some sort. Lizards are everywhere–they lay on the road catching some sun and they take off when I get close.

I didn’t beat the rain today even though I was on the road at 7am and only stopped for 20 minutes. The worst part is having the sweat run into my eyes and almost blinding me. It’s still coming down now.

The shoulder on the PanAm is amazing. It’s usually at least 4 feet wide and there are no potholes. There’s a bit of glass to watch out for but nothing too bad. I’m glad it was pretty flat today because my knee is a bit sore from yesterday.

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09/25 Just hanging out here on the island. The food, especially at a place called Roots, is delicious. The hostel is a cool place to lounge around and the owner has been really helpful with local happenings. The only negative is that they are building a new house on the water a couple buildings over so a chainsaw buzzes fairly constantly during the day. It could be worse though; it’s right next to the first place I wanted to stay that was full. The plumbing is kind of crazy. Both the shower and the sink drain straight down into the water. I’m glad I’m using natural soap/shampoo but it makes me wonder where the toilet ends up going and if it goes to a treatment facility why everything couldn’t drain there. The water on this side of the island, where most of the people live, looks clean enough but I think I’d pass on jumping it.

The girls staying here left this morning but not before a German couple arrived last night. It’s fine hanging out with a bunch of crazy backpackers in their early twenties but it would be nice to run into a solo female adventurer a little closer to my age bracket. The resident drug dealers on the island have been good company for my walks around town (no, I haven’t been a good customer but my nickname is “Miami”).

Everyone else that lives here kind of just does their thing and doesn’t pay too much attention to the gringos wandering around. Aside from the people that work in the tourist sector, everyone else makes their living by farming or fishing, which is to say that they have very little money. Hopefully things don’t get out of hand with tourism like it did in Costa Rica and ruin their culture (and environment). Foreign companies love to come in to places like this so they can take advantage of the economic situation. That’s already happening with a huge, and very controversial, beach club they are building on the other side of the island.

The famous palm-fringed wilderness beaches can be reached by following a narrow path for about a mile through the jungle. Yesterday I walked over to Wizard Beach and went for a swim. It’s a popular surf spot and swimming is mostly just bobbing up and down while the waves break over you. Rip tides are pretty common so you can’t stray out too far.

Tomorrow I’ll take off again and start riding over to the Pacific side of Panama and then heading south to Panama City where I fly out to Columbia. There’s a range of mountains in the middle which I’m looking forward to.