Panama
Panama

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    • Päivä 160

      Looking for an exchange office

      14. helmikuuta 2020, Panama ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

      Our day started with a nice ride through the region South of the Panamerican Highway to avoid traffic. The flat and slightly downhill route combined with very few cars made it easy for us to look at the scenery while cycling. The road wasn't the smoothest, but so much better than cars on the highway!
      First, we went to Puerto Pedegral to see the mangroves and wetlands there. We were a bit disappointed as most of the area was locked, so there wasn't much to see.
      Next, we headed to the city of David. What a nightmare! So much traffic and really crazy drivers! No fun to cycle here - how should we survive Panama City??
      We also looked for a place to exchange money as we had missed this at the border. But after checking several banks and shops with no luck, we gave up. Hopefully, we can find something in Panama City.
      As we didn't like David, we decided to go straight North towards Dolega where we could stay with Max and Ken. The highway was busy again, no fun cycling. We were a little frustrated because of the experience in David and a busy highway with more crazy drivers and headwinds, so pulled over at a supermarket. In this moment, a car stopped, a lady jumped out and gave us a coke each. They had seen us struggling on the road - how nice! 2 minutes later, another family came and gave us some pastries. We were thinking of just staying at the supermarket, seemed to be a great place for hungry and thirsty cyclists 😂
      However, we continued and passed a bridge over a river. Quite some locals bathing, so we joined them, before continuing to Dolega. Here, we were welcome by Becky and Jonny, a cycling couple from the UK who are also staying here and are heading North towards Canada. Perfect, so we can exchange recommendations! We jumped into the pool and shared a beer before Max and Ken arrived. They had been on a music festival during the day. The night, we spent playing "Mexican train", a version of dominos, with everyone. What a nice day in the end!
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    • Päivä 161

      A lazy day in Panama

      15. helmikuuta 2020, Panama ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

      Today, we decided to do nothing but relax. We started the morning with a coffee at the pool watching the sunrise. Afterwards, we had breakfast, did some research for the last days in Panama and went swimming in the pool. In the afternoon, we exchanged lots of information about possible routes and places to stay or visit with Jonny and Becky.
      For dinner, Jonny and Becky spoilt everyone with a yummy Shakshuka. We closed the night again with a round of Mexican train.
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    • Päivä 162

      Exploring Boquete

      16. helmikuuta 2020, Panama ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

      Jonny and Becky left after breakfast this morning and we decided to go to Boquete to have a look at this nearby mountain village. It's only some 20km away, but the climate is a lot different as it's higher up in the mountains. There is a constant rain or mist which is quite refreshing.
      Max and Ken gave us a lift up, as they went to a music festival there, so we had another day off the bikes. We walked around, looked at the fair grounds where they had a flower festival last month and peaked into some coffee and chocolate shops. Herbert was impressed by the beer selection in the supermarket. In general, the supermarket had lots of different products - a way better offer than any of the other supermarkets we had seen in Panama before.
      After some hours of exploring, we took the bus back to Dolega. We went for a swim, fed the dogs and cooked Bratkartoffeln for everyone for dinner.
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    • Päivä 163

      Sauna ride

      17. helmikuuta 2020, Panama ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

      After our little holiday in (Max' and Ken's) paradise, we were well rested to continue our last stretch in Central America. We left after breakfast and started with some beautiful remote roads, the first 10km even dirt. Most of the time, we could see Panama's "spine". This is the mountain range splitting the country into the Carribean and the Pacific side and - at least from what we see - is permanently covered in clouds.
      Afterwards, we hit the Panamerican highway again. We dreaded this and expected heaps of traffic. However, it wasn't too bad: Most of the time, it had a wide shoulder and traffic was ok, only very few trucks. The shoulder was quite dirty with glass and broken tyres, but our tyres seem to have survived it without a puncture.
      As it was 46°C today, we felt like being in a sauna and had to stop at supermarkets twice to buy more drinks. The supermarkets were disappointing, not many products in general, almost no fresh produce, quite expensive and all run by Chinese.
      However, we met Gregorio in one of them. He was on his way back to the capital and very interested in our trip. He gave us his number, so he can help us out once we get to Panama City.
      We decided to stay in Las Lajas. We were not too motivated to camp in this heat, so decided to check out a hostel. When talking to the owner in Spanish, I noticed a strong German accent - most likely from the Leipzig area. We switched to German and Christian confirmed. He gave us a little discount on the room, so we decided to stay.
      We still went to the beach for a swim - nice ride through green landscape. The beach was empty and huge. As Herbert saw a fin swimming around on the water surface, he immediately run back to the beach. Don't know which creature was on the other end of the fin.
      On the way back, we passed the 13000 km mark 💪 A good excuse to enjoy a Panamanian beer on our porch while watching first a flock of green parrots and later the stars in the sky.
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    • Päivä 44

      Panama city/kanal

      17. helmikuuta 2020, Panama ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

      Am morge simmer zumene outlet zenter, da mer no es paar sache für ufs schiff und nachher brucht hend. Aber ussert boxershorts hemmer det nüt gfunde.

      De simmee wiiter zumene andere zenter und chle im mittagsverchehr mit em taxi stecke blube. Bi dere mall hemmer de regejagge, pulli, hose und hemmli kauft.

      Nach em zmittag simmer zum visitorcenter vom panamakanal gfahre und hend det vo de platform obe abe gluegt. Debi hemmer chönne beobachte wie die eher grössere schiff (aso tanker) dure gschleust worde sind. Mit de schleuse hends d höheunterschied vom kanal usgliche.
      Lustig z gseh isch au die zwoit schleuse wiiter obe vom kanal. Es gseht us als wär eifach en riese tanker zmitz im land usse.

      Nach em schiff beobachte simmer no churz durs chline museum ghuscht.

      Bim zrugfahre zum hotel simmer frühner usgstiege und no chle de promenade entlangspaziert. Die stadt hed en sehr beeidruckendi skyline.

      Abig gmüetlich mit esse und packe verbracht. Morn gahts los mit segle.
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    • Päivä 164

      Extreme sweating

      18. helmikuuta 2020, Panama ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

      Another sauna day - quite above 40 degrees... We also knew we had a rolling road, so we decided to leave after sunrise. Christian (the hostel owner from Saxony) made us coffee, fruits and a dish he called "Bennkeks", mostly known as pancakes, for breakfast - and off we went.
      The first 20km were on the Panamerican Highway. Again, not too much traffic and a broad shoulder. Then we decided to go for the scenic route, highway number 5. What a beautiful alternative to the main highway! All day, we encountered more horses than cars on this road. Furthermore, we heard and saw many different birds, even a toucan. The route was green and shady and we enjoyed stunning views over the mangrove area.
      The road was quite exhausting though, lots of ups and downs, all to cycle in this heat here. The area got dryer as well, so no more shade after 11am. A scorpion next to the road reminded us that camping spots have to get selected carefully.
      We are also getting closer to Central Panamá which seems to be THE place to be for celebrating carnival. We only passed little villages, but even there they'll be partying 5 days in a row starting this Friday.
      At about 2pm, we arrived in Soná. For the first time we are staying at the firestation. In many of the Central American countries, the firemen let biketourists for free, so it's often used by the guys who travel on a very low budget. As hotels in Panama are quite expensive, it's an option for us as well and it's actually a pretty good standard: we can camp on their 3rd floor under a roof and use their kitchen and their shower.
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    • Päivä 165

      No fun cycling

      19. helmikuuta 2020, Panama ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

      After a day of great cycling, we had a really bad cycling day. The road after Soná was busy and there was no shoulder. Plus, the headwinds were very strong, so it was no fun cycling.
      After Santiago, we got back on the Panamerican Highway. At least, we had a shoulder, but still lots of traffic, strong headwinds and boring scenery. The best thing was that we met Bart, a Dutch cyclist, who we had a quick chat with.
      However, the people here make a difference. Jonny and Becky had given us a contact in Aguadulce who we could stay with. The family was just amazing! The parents, 3 kids, a lot of cousins who visited during school holidays (maybe 6), the daughter's boyfriend, 7 dogs (I think) and a cat - all sleeping in 4 bedrooms and sharing 2 bathrooms. And they even prepared a bedroom for us, so we had some privacy. They also spoilt us with lunch and dinner and some fresh fruit juices. At night, we went to the local beach for a game of volleyball and some fun on the playground. The guys had competitions on who is fastest in climbing the jungle gym or running across the balancing tyres. We were pretty tired after our day on the bikes and were happy to return at 11:30pm. But we had so much fun! By the way, it was still 29°C at that time...
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    • Päivä 167

      Fighting wind and traffic

      21. helmikuuta 2020, Panama ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

      Another day on the highway... Luckily, we had a good night's sleep in an airconditioned room and 2 breakfast (because we had to try 2 different traditional dishes - no complaints from our side 😉). Strong headwinds, more and more traffic and a shoulder in a bad condition. No fun! Also, a police officer stopped us to have a chat and warn us about crazy and drunk drivers around carnival. The positive thing of the ride was a little bit of refreshing rain.
      We were going to go for a swim at one of the beaches further up North. But when we got there, it was all private and they wanted us to consume for at least 25 dollars. So we decided to call it a day and half-heartedly tried to hitchhike to Panama City to also avoid more of the highway. However, it was a bad spot with cars passing way to fast and no shade to protect ourselves from the sun.
      So after 10 minutes, we decided to cycle to the next town another 20km from that spot and try again. Once we got there, we really didn't want to cycle another metre on the highway, pulled off to stop anyone who could take us to the city. After 5min, a minibus stopped, they tied the bikes to the roof and we finished the last 90km to the capital by bus. We were actually happy to sit in a car with a crazy driver rather than being on a bicycle with crazy drivers around us.
      In Panama, we found a place where we could sleep in a giant tent with a fan for 10$. We cooked dinner with the residents and shared a beer before going to bed.
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    • Päivä 167

      Exploring the canal and Panama City

      21. helmikuuta 2020, Panama ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

      Today, we decided to explore the Panama Canal because that's the most important attraction in Panama I guess. As we prefer nature over museums, we took the famous tourist train to Colon. It's an old railway connecting between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans mainly following the canal. It's pretty expensive, 25$ person for a one hour ride, but at least you get a small coffee, some snacks and especially great views of the canal, some boats, bridges, the docks and rainforest scenery. We really enjoyed the ride, as we also met Susan and Steve who sat next to us. They were a retired couple from New Mexico and did some birding in Panama. Great conversation partners as well.
      Colón is a very rundown place, a pretty dodgy area. Most of the other tourists on the train were picked up right in front of the train to get driven to a couple of other tourist places in the area. We just walked to the bus station and took a bus back to the city. This was an experience in itself. The first bus wasn't working properly. After driving for about an hour in walking speed and still picking up people, the driver finally realized that the bus would not miraculously fix itself, so he stopped and we could get out to just catch the next one passing by. This one brought us to the terminal in Panama where we tried to find a local bus to our hostel with no luck. We ended up walking half way on a highway before stopping a cab to take us back to the hostel.
      In the afternoon, we crossed the city to our next accommodation which was on the other side of town. On the way, we passed the stadium and some monuments, got a view of the Bridge of Americas, cycled the cinta costera, a circular road in the ocean around Casco Viejo, saw the fish market and the highrises in the back. There was also a great bikeway along the sea. In general, we quite liked the city itself, it's very diverse. Unfortunately, the bike way ran out after the center and we had to fight our way through the busy roads for another 16km.
      Samuel welcomed us at our Airbnb. He is turning 19 in March and very interested in pretty much everything. He even accompanied us to the nearby mall to discuss politics, the German economy and our jobs on the way. Before going to sleep, I got a haircut. Stella, Samuel's mum, is a hair dresser and used my cut to explain the art of cutting hair in angles to her son.
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    • Päivä 45

      Start segeltour aka tag 1

      18. helmikuuta 2020, Panama ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      Mit en auto simmer abgholt worde und über autobahn plus schotterstrasse zum speedboat gfahre. Schotterstrasse sind meh oder weniger wie achterbahnfahre gsie. Speedboat isch de nomal ganz en starch holprigi aglegeheit gsi.

      S boot isch grümiger asi denkt han. D crew macht en mega coole idruck.
      De captain isch de mit eusne päss zum zoll.
      Mer hend ipuffed, sind zu de insle nebedrah gschwumme, gschnorchled und zmittag gesse. De choch isch argentinier und hed bi dem begrenzte platz es richtig guets gulasch gmacht. Bim schnorchle hemmer en recht grosse roche und en sternfisch gseh. Leider ischs wetter scho noni top.
      D crew hed bi iheimische auno es paar lobster/hummer gekauft.

      De simmer zu de nexte insle gfahre. Sind das mal mit em boot übere. Uf de Insle es paar fötteli gmacht. Nach dem hed sich d anna (dütschi psychologin) anerbote mit eus en yoga lektion z mache. Sie macht sowieso täglich und isch yoga lehrerin. Recht cool gsie am strand.

      Weder uf em boot hemmers sehr gmüetlich gno. Zum znacht simmer weder zrug uf die insle wo d crew d lobster grilliert hed. Dezue heds herdöpfelstock und salat geh. An aschluss simmer uf d insle nebedrah, wos en bar geh hed.

      I eusere gruppe isch nebe eus drü schwiizer, 2 dütschi, 3 franzose (devo eis älters päärli), es päärli vo wales und es pärli vo holland.
      D crew bestaht us zwoi columbianer und zwoi argentinier.
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    Saatat myös tuntea tämän kohteen näillä nimillä:

    Republic of Panama, Panama, ፓናማ, パナマ, 파나마, ପାନାମା, ปานามา, ປານາມາ, ប៉ាណាម៉ា, ประเทศปานามา, สาธารณรัฐปานามา, i-Panama, Orílẹ́ède Panama, Pa-na-ma, Panamá, Panamà, Panamā, Panamaa, Panamaja, Panamän, Panama nutome, Panamo, República de Panamá, بنما, پاناما, پنامہ, פנמה, Παναμάς, Панама, པ་ན་མཱ, པ་ནཱ་མ།, Պանամա, პანამა, पनामा, पानामा, પનામા, పనామా, ಪನಾಮಾ, பணாமா, பனாமா, പനാമ, পানামা, ပနားမား, පැනමා, 巴拿马

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