Last "Super sunday" l arrived from CR @ the sereno border triplicates or quadruplicates in hand ready to as always, do whatever it takes to bring my chin moto across for a weeks stay in Panama. Dismayed at times over the years at their weird need to dissuade either by sloth and or by being used generally for comedic value l do not know. But a slightly squinting red eyed senafront cadre of two at passport control officina, along with an unmistakable strong smell of pounds of herb shone light on the why one trip 2 years ago the light went on. The tension was undone by my slight knowing smile you know the one you might use in such a case where guys have guns chains and the law. This trip though it was to find both insurance venues closed and when called, both were not going to open at all that day.. l had plans in Volcan however and decidedly l'm a dick.

Having the addiction to america's violence game (nfl football) my home local team in the game, l decided to head on through without a stamp watch the game with my friends. 
It is done up there as a porous set of dirt work around options exist and people are want to visit san vito (cr) for dinner then return to Pa afterward, with neither side knowing or making any stamps. Small no look moments for locals. And so my regresar in the morning to paper up was not an anomaly. 
Once arriving behind a busload of quebecers (over 50) l was faced with a minimum of 2.5 hour waiting. This was super rare up there and l did this no stamp entry, and the return trip in the am. The route is 25 miles of magnificent circuitous vistas with everything from a waterfall, intense vacant indigenous people wandering around coffee fincas, high remote mountains and really decent pavement for riding racing style portions of it.  And so arriving in volcan after a few cattle farms and a beautiful river was pleasant time spent. So twice or thrice even is a treat, it truly it was.   The 2 check points enroute are rarely staffed by my consensus l ought to be fine via return monday morning plan.
  So going in were no issues as usual no staffed check points, although l was nervous bc the panamanians are  serious compared to the euphoric constables in costa rica. The historical transito posture there is one of smiles and waves, if you don't want to stop that's what you do. At least it used to be, now increasingly tech savvy so run your info take your plate is happening, emoji sad face.
Anyways, having lost the superbowl and my meh attitude not withstanding l don my cool wx jacket, gloves flip the face mask down and head back along the beauty route frontiera.
So no compunctions until the corner prior to it, then there they were a fully 8 am functioning checkpoint. Oh no. automatically l go "tico" on them an wave as l ride on through, their pissed off faces l glanced over with euphoric costa rican blissful goofy smiling expressions, so onward nervously and faster paced l went  a capuchin monkey in heavy mountain fur does a barrel roll across the road right in front of me as if to say.. something bemused l guess.. you know monkey's.  Onward traveling with high nerves another senafront check point l had never seen before emerges, and think l will do the same thing and do so in a slight panic.

This time now really hitting the road with determination to outrun any chase in them with enough time to get stamped, totally unrealistic.

 I know this so when the fully camouflaged passenger machine gun holding guy on back of moto pulled onto the scene people around me intuitively glanced my way.. then shortly after the driver belted out in spanish "was l just coming from volcan on a red moto?".. l lied like a rug, bike was around the corner well out of view.. l had the insurance and was in the last phase of stamping in.
 At this the machine gun toting guy stood shifted to a posture that beckoned an instinct l've had before, rarely felt but l have before.
  Moto driver dismounts and heads inside senafront hq across the tar.. gun guy, finger on the trigger.. looking hard at me the others waiting in line with me at a variety of phases of entry begin eerily to move away from me.. like a silent wave they slip a comfortable distance aside so as not to get either shot  or bloodied clothes as a result of a dire conclusion of the scene.
  Perhaps 12 minutes went on like this, the people inside the office for the line l was in ceased to operate. And so our line stayed still with no progress maybe waiting to see if l had a gun they readied theirs inside l don't know.
Finally the driver emerged from senafront office advised as to any information on the case.  l suppose that as l was checking INTO Panama it was confusing enough so with a word he disarmed tension, advised his machine gun passenger to stand down, then me but with a glance.
 The disbelief was clear to my paranoia now the checkpoint would be ready on my return.. They apparently will dirext shooters to wear camouflage l am told so if the bullet recipient does not die, reciprocity cannot follow as the shooter stays anonymous thus lives longer. 
 A collective relief spreads over the group of us in line. No drama now at least.. I finished processing unencumbered l guess everyone bought my denial, except and l am sure the moto senafronts. It was then l realized l was in for retribution en return to volcan at least to a degree. 
I felt it would reasonably be upward of 4 hours intentional delay at least and potentially expensive bribes were to be paid. 
Plan B then was a never used route of return so off l went blindly asking as l went thata way for directions. After finding the main road, point to point l embarked. It went steeply down severely and then some more.
 It went on at a grade l was sure l could not reverse out of and for a period that would have previously been incomprehensible to me. So a gone this far no turning back journey was underway. 
Finally as the badly rubbled road rounded me to a spectacle of the lost jungle river bridge, the length and depth of the valley ride was had. 
I rested a bit looking at the assent with trepidation but knowing no checkpoints or border patrol will be here about.
The up was even more significant and surface less than doable in places l had to run beside the bike clutching it out stumbling down and trying again, off and on my ass a few times bloody knees and bruised l finally came out on top.

 As the road carried me mystified as to how, l went on to get to a more familiar area as the daylight began to close.
 There it is, l arrived back and when leaving for costa rica l used paso canoas with a resolve to enter/exit that way next time and for the foreseeable future, gringos do stick out especially big stupid ones. Maybe lesser now, l learn something new everyday.