the border
Interamericana highway Panama
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2/13-14 David, Panama
We tried to get going early because we had heard horror stories about this border crossing. The nice thing was that the border was no more than 2 blocks from us, but it took us two hours to finally get the right stamps and documentation in order to cross the border. Instantly you could see the difference in the two countries. While the Costa Ricans did little to maintain their tiny highway through the jungles, Panama had a large 4 lane highway with a median in between and a shoulder to ride on. Although having a place to safely ride our bikes was nice, they have cleared the forest back for a mile in each direction to make way for the highway and farming, so there was little shade to hide from the sun.
It was nice to discover that despite the fact that Panama has their own currency, everyone uses dollars anyways. And on top of that, we discovered very quickly how much cheaper snacks and drinks are here in Panama. We haven’t sat down at a restaurant yet, but hopefully that is cheap also. We rode to David, the second largest city in Panama, and found a hostel there to stay at. We are going to take a sabbath here to do laundry and call home before we continue on.
Guys. I am ridiculously jealous of your amazing experience. I’m sitting in very cold Canadian weather… I could take pictures of this tundra, but I just don’t think it would have the same effect. The photos look awesome and the stories, oh the stories. There’s only three things I stand up for…
Glad you boys made it safely Panama – looks like you’ll be having fewer flats with the nice roads. We are looking forward to seeing lots of pictures and reading all about Panama as we are planning our own trip there asap. Que se cuiden y disfruten!
Hey Mark,
I was just perusing through some of your blog entries-looks like your trip has been incredible! What an awesome experience and I must say, you have a killer tan now! :) Hope things are well…take care!
Ashley