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Leaving the South, going to Central America
With 36 hours of bus and only two stops in Colombia - Ipiales with the impressive Las Lajas church over a river between the mountains and Bogota for looking at more street art - I left South America and flew to Panama City.
I started to feel cursed by showing up in airports as there is always something wrong. This time as well. If it hasn't been for the luck that I had a friend in Denmark at a computer in that moment, who could buy me a ticket out of Panama (in order for me to enter), I wouldn't have made it, as the wifi in the airport was so poor I couldn't buy anything myself. I was running around the airport with 20 kg backpack to print a ridiculous piece of paper, got overcharged for my luggage, because the flight company made a mistake, being sent to wrong gates, running through immigration and Security, where I had to leave my beloved Swiss knife behind, unfortunately.
When I thought it was all safe, I got pulled aside at the gate as they were questioning the validity of the new bought ticket. I was so exhausted when I finally sad down in the flight seat, and couldn't believe that there wasn't one nice person working that morning, as everyone was really unhelpful and unfriendly to me - except for the vender machine that gave me two bags of banana chips for the price of one, which became my breakfast. Trying to appreciate the small good things!
Getting to Panama City meant reunion with Kimberley once again. We counted and it was the 6th time we've met! She came from an amazing sailing trip through San Blas islands and brought some great people with her. We all had a really good time together the following days, including great food, drinks, shopping, girls talk, rum'o'clock, walking around and of course seeing the Panama Canal.
The canal was super exciting! Much more than I expected, and the boats coming through was so enormous that the entire system of higher and lowering the water level got even more impressive. Really smart invention - and a moneymaker without comparing. The ships pay by weight so the biggest ones pays 300.000 dollars for passing through - one way! The cheapest ticket ever sold was 76 cents, which was the guy who was swimming through the canal to make it to the World Records. Took him 10 days!
I continued my travel on my own from Panama City to Bocas del Toros on the Caribbean coast. It's a small, easygoing island where reggae culture lives and most people transport themselves around by bike or skateboard. Here I found great yoga, met nice people to hang with and I went diving. One of the dives was at a shipwreck and to my surprise - I might be naive sometimes - this one was sunken on purpose to make an interesting diving site! And apparently that happens often, I just had no clue and my immediate reaction was that's pollution but I was to learn that there's a whole process to it, where the ship is cleaned and emptied 100% beforehand. I had no clue!
After a couple of days in Bocas, I was moving on and next stop was Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica and seeing my Danish friend Line after 6 months. So I was happy to get going.
Also I found Panama very expensive and "Americalised" and Panama City as any bigger city in the States. Coming from South America and latest Colombia the contrast was huge for me. I certainly know what I prefer, even though it felt relieving being able to find anything you wish for of clothes, hygiene products and food without any effort needed.
I will return to Panama again with Line, in the end of our travel in Central America, so we can buy anything needed before heading south again, where it's a challenge finding a decent pair of cowboy shorts or shampoo without too much artificial additives.
I guess It's a part of the game!
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