Our first trip to the Caribbean Panama

Last weekend we made our first reconnaissance trip to the Caribbean side of Panama. Panama has two coastlines; one on the Pacific side (where we live now), and one on the Atlantic side. The distance between the 2 coasts is 50 miles at its shortest. So we headed off towards Colón on Corredor Norte. Driving in the shadows of the jungle made us happy it was daytime, especially with the car's tinted windows.

Colón is the biggest city in the Caribbean side of Panama. It's got a big port, and it's a hub for commerce. They have tried to get rid of its seedy reputation by adding tax-free incentive zones and a huge tax-free shopping area. We didn't go there, but approaching Colón we could see all the different ads for the stores. (many pics here, but not all...)

Our intention was to drive around Colón, but with our less than accurate GPS, we ended up driving right into it. Luckily we were able to skim through the outskirts of the city, and not into the inner city that all guide books and forums warn you about. We did, however, notice how run-down everything was, and by the looks of all, I was glad it was daytime.

Finally, getting past of Colón, we continued our journey east, with the intention of reaching the town of La Guaira with its beautiful beaches. On the way there we stopped to enjoy the scenery here and there. The ocean breeze was warm and refreshing, and we started liking the coast very much...

The Easter weekend (Semana Santa) is one of the biggest holidays in the Latin America, and all the beaches were packed, like the small town of Portobelo, we drove through on our way. 

There's also an ancient fortress right as you drive into Portobelo, where you can still see the cannons lined up. The area was very popular with the pirates, and it's said that some of them might even found there last resting place in the town.

As we continued on our way, we were flanked by the palm trees and crystal waters of the Atlantic on one side, and the rolling hills of the inland on the other. 

When we got to our destination, we found that there were so many people packed in the beach that we couldn't even find a parking spot. With one last look, we decided to head back home and try again another time. I did manage to snag a few pictures of Isla Grande tho, a very popular holiday destination for many Panamanians with it's beautiful white sandy beaches.

On our way back we saw an interesting looking "Castle" on top of a hill. El Castillo is apparently a hotel, and its commanding presence overlooking the sea and the road made it intriguing. Like a toy castle.

Also looked like the CIA had a branch here. The Caribbean way.

So, we never got to splash around in the water, but we felt strongly that the Caribbean side was where we wanted to set up our place at. They seemed to have wi-fi in many places, so it wasn't as technologically challenged as we first thought either. We'll be back!

Life is a Beach

On Sunday we packed up the exuberant Kaleb with us in the car, and headed off to Playa Santa Clara, to check out the beach about an hour away. Kaleb was so happy not to be left behind, home alone, which usually happens.

Here are some pictures of the beach. (You can click to enlarge them.)

And finally it was time to jump in!

 Then it was time to head home. I have to say, I loved it, and so did Kaleb. We didn't have our ears and noses full salt water, didn't have to gag every other second to purge the water out of our breath. I didn't have to hold on to my bikinis for fear of them falling off at the waves. And it didn't hurt that the water was nice and balmy. Yes, I think I'm going to love it here!

Glimpses of Panama City

We've had to drive to Panama City quite a few times, mostly when buying our car. The traffic there is crazy, I'm so happy Chuck is doing all the driving. Here are some pictures of the city that the locals just call Panama. (It was a little confusing at first.) Here are pictures of the skyscrapers by the ocean (no ocean pics tho...)

Our attorney's office was in one of these buildings, and we were in awe, having to first introduce our business to the front desk to get a "ticket" to go in through the gates (like subways). Then we had to take the elevator up to the particular floor. Believe it or not, we needed assistance to figure it out. Apparently you pressed the button to call for the elevator by choosing the floor you wanted to go to. The number it then showed on the display was the number of the elevator you had to go to, and not the floor number...

This house (above) I thought had a pretty look: there were flowers hanging from the balconies and a cute rooftop garden also. 

And of course there is a nice-looking church in town too. (you can click the pictures to make them bigger)

These are pictures from the old town Casco Viejo.

And here, just one example of the traffic in Panama. This is actually a 2-lane road: 1 lane each direction. Our car is in the middle lane, the only official lane.

Move to Panama

What a trip... We love our Kaleb dearly, but next time... it's going to be a kennel and an airplane for him. We're not driving across borders ever again! Just saying.

Our driver came to pick us up at 5:45 AM. AM?!?!! I like my morning sleep, so this wasn't all happy turn of events. However, we had the alarm go off at 5'ish, so we were prepared. Grudgingly so. We had packed most of the stuff in the car the night before, so it was a quick lift-off, saying bye to our dear friend Carlos, who got up just to say Adios to us. Our driver, Miguel, didn't speak much English, so this was an intensive Spanish class for us.

It took us about an hour to reach Peñas Blancas, the border crossing to Costa Rica. We parked out car, and went to the passport control. Luckily the lines weren't too long, since we were there so early in the morning, just as the border opened. I had to pay about $20 for one day's overstay, but we already knew that, altho.. it was more expensive than the original $5 we thought I'd have to pay. Still cheaper than flying out of the country to keep the date. After getting through the passport control, we went to the Agriculture-side of the area, and got Kaleb's paperwork stamped and cleared. Then back into the car, and driving to Costa Rica.

We stopped at what you might call a no-mans's land to switch cars. Apparently you can't (or it's very difficult) to take a Nicaraguan car across the border, so we changed and packed to a car with Costa Rican plates, and off we went to the Costa Rican side of passport control. When going to CR, you'd need proof that you had a ticket out of there too. So you wouldn't want to stay and enjoy their tropical paradise without paying taxes to them. We thought our driver would've gotten us to the Ticabus booth to buy us return bus tickets, but he had expected us to do it ourselves, before entering the passport queue. Well, thanks to my quick thinking .. ahem.. we had our Panama address on Kaleb's vaccination papers, and that was enough to convince the official that we were actually going to leave the country. Phew!

Another trip with Kaleb to the Agriculture-portion of the area, this time he was seen by a vet there. He checked and stamped Kaleb's papers, and then gave me a lecture about how to travel with Kaleb in CR, not to upset their fragile eco-system with a foreign dog or something. Didn't get much of it, since it was in Spanish, but I kept nodding like I understood. The driver of the Costa Rican car was bff's with Kaleb from the start. He was so nice, making sure Kaleb had a nice drink before we continued our trip.

Miguel, who is actually a Costa Rican, I think, and just lives in Nicaragua, wanted to take another route to the border, one that would take us along the coast. The beaches there were indeed beautiful, but I had read some traveler complaining before about Nicaragua not having as lush flowering trees and bushes as CR has. I didn't see any of that in CR. It was pretty much the same green as Nicaragua, I would even venture to say there were more flowering trees and things in Nicaragua, than what we saw in CR. There are probably more maintained green areas in the tourist spots, since CR is a richer country than Nicaragua. But at least Nica has the Trees of Life! (slightly sarcastically)

After a few stops for potty breaks and food, we arrived at the Paso Canoas border crossing at around 4 pm. The area is also a tax-free zone, which means a lot of stores are selling their wears there and it can get really crowded. So no wonder we missed the Costa Rican side of border control. Oopsie. We had to walk back there, get our passports stamped and then go back to the Panamanian passport check. The passport controls are somewhere in this area:

Finally at the Panama passport control. Of course they were asking us when we get out, and what do we have as proof of that. Still don't quite know how we got out of that, mostly, I'm sure, by Miguel's invaluable assistance. Until it was time to have Kaleb admitted. Across the border that is. Apparently the vet in this border crossing only works from Mon-Fri.. in any case, not the weekends. We had a choice of leaving Kaleb there, and coming back on Monday when the vet was there, or stay there until Monday. So much for that.

After getting that situated, they wanted to see all of our luggage, and we had to carry it to the customs office. Chuck actually dropped his computer and associated equipment there a couple of times. Not a good start. Finally they let us continue towards the border, where we were stopped once more by a police/army patrol, questioned about our motives and having the dog with us. Eventually we were allowed to cross the border through a decontamination shower for the car.

It was getting late by now, and we would rather find a place to sleep overnight, than to drive all through the night, so we decided to drive to Santiago, some 4 hours from the border, just to be a little closer to our final destination. It was already dark, so I didn't get many memorable pictures of entering our new home country, but what was memorable tho, was all the police/military stops and inspections we went through on our way to Santiago. I think we were stopped 2 or 3 times before reaching the destination, every time our paperwork and luggage being checked. Miguel told me that one of the officers had even asked for a "donation" to let us pass, but Miguel told him he had already paid enough at the border, and wasn't going to pay a cent more! So, so happy we had Miguel with us!!

Apparently the fact that we had Costa Rican plates in the car made us a special target for these little rough-ups with the law. Officially the want to crack down the drug trafficking, but I think it's just to scare the tourists and maybe get some donations (or protection money) while they're at it. At that point, I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay in such a police state.

In any case, we got to Santiago eventually, with no arrests, and checked into a motel that seemed to me might have hourly rates too... Unfortunately a nicer hotel along the way was already fully booked. At $36/night, no wonder why they were booked. This motel had only one room available, with 3-beds. Well, it all went well, altho when Miguel, even tho tired from a long drive didn't return to the room until the wee hours, Kaleb decided to "welcome" him back.. loudly.

Nicaragua Mia

Now that we are starting our life in a new country, it's time to look back to the country we left behind. The reasons why we left were varied, but mostly to do with the government, and the political situation we think might be ahead. We felt that the current government and those in power are going to a direction we don't want to be a part of. Hopefully, things don't come to a pass that's going to make my Nicaragua suffer.

It was also very important for Chuck's work that we changed to a country with more stability in electric and internet grids, and less restrictions on internet use.

My Nicaragua, with your crazy traffic

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Local wild- and not-so-wild life.

The beautiful beaches

The relaxed beach life.

Kaleb's garden of a bathroom

and especially his Best Friend Forever Marvin

We'll miss all of Blanca's and Marvin's delicious, local cuisine.

And most of all, we're going to miss our friends; thank you for coming to our little farewell party, and we'll see you again! And last but certainly not least, our precious Nicaraguan family: Carlos, Blanca, Marvin and Valeska. Thank you for having us a s a part of your family, seeing to our needs and helping us whenever we needed it. You will always be in our hearts, and  we will meet again. 

In the words of our friend Carlos, this is not a Goodbye, this is a See You Later.