We finally made it to Panama. We have three weeks to make it to the other side of the canal, to the port of Colon where a ferry to Colombia awaits. Hopefully.
We have now driven through ten countries, which means ten days of exiting one border, and entering another. "Border days", while not always unpleasant, are never really that fun. Lots of paperwork for the van and for us. The Panama border was by far the longest border day of them all... It started off with fumigation for the van, then we needed to pay a $3 tourist entry fee at another office, then $1 at another office to get a sticker in our passports, then an hour and a half getting mandatory car insurance, then three hours getting through the immigration queue, then we needed to get a temporary import permit for the van.
All of this made harder by tropical sun, and massive amounts of people. This week is Semana Santa a.k.a Easter. People flock out of the cities to the beach. It seems if you are Panamanian, you head to Costa Rica and vice versa.
Anywho, Panama is beautiful. The last three nights we have been at the Lost and Found hostel, where we met up with our friends Ali and Jeremie, who first made an appearance in Nicaragua. The hostel is set high in the cloud forest with a stunning view. It takes 15 minutes to hike to the hostel from the road, as they didn't want to build a road there. The owners are very creative. There is an elaborate treasure hunt that takes five hours to solve. There was also another easter treasure hunt in their surprisingly difficult jungle maze. But perhaps the most ceative aspect of the place is a novel written by the owner. It is a "psychological horror" that has clues about the history of the hostel and surrounding region, which opens up yet another elaborate mystery to solve.
If you are interested, website here: http://www.thelostandfoundhostel.com/ and novel here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Lost-Found-Psychological-Horror-ebook/dp/B00MCYLVAA
We have now driven through ten countries, which means ten days of exiting one border, and entering another. "Border days", while not always unpleasant, are never really that fun. Lots of paperwork for the van and for us. The Panama border was by far the longest border day of them all... It started off with fumigation for the van, then we needed to pay a $3 tourist entry fee at another office, then $1 at another office to get a sticker in our passports, then an hour and a half getting mandatory car insurance, then three hours getting through the immigration queue, then we needed to get a temporary import permit for the van.
All of this made harder by tropical sun, and massive amounts of people. This week is Semana Santa a.k.a Easter. People flock out of the cities to the beach. It seems if you are Panamanian, you head to Costa Rica and vice versa.
The crowds at the Panamanian border. No fun!
Anywho, Panama is beautiful. The last three nights we have been at the Lost and Found hostel, where we met up with our friends Ali and Jeremie, who first made an appearance in Nicaragua. The hostel is set high in the cloud forest with a stunning view. It takes 15 minutes to hike to the hostel from the road, as they didn't want to build a road there. The owners are very creative. There is an elaborate treasure hunt that takes five hours to solve. There was also another easter treasure hunt in their surprisingly difficult jungle maze. But perhaps the most ceative aspect of the place is a novel written by the owner. It is a "psychological horror" that has clues about the history of the hostel and surrounding region, which opens up yet another elaborate mystery to solve.
If you are interested, website here: http://www.thelostandfoundhostel.com/ and novel here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Lost-Found-Psychological-Horror-ebook/dp/B00MCYLVAA
No comments:
Post a Comment