There are many different ways to cross from Panama to Columbia. One of the most difficult is to stay on the mainland and cross the jungle. There are some reports that it has been done by motorbike. The first time, some guys did it in 1975. Recently, I only heard of some hikers doing it. There seems to be a small path through the jungle. One has to join some local drug dealers or guerilla to walk with them so it may be extremely dangerous.

The most comfortable and by far the fastest option is to fly from Panama City to Quito (Ecuador) or Cartagena (Colombia). IMHO, there is no fun in doing that.

The cheapest option is to board a cargo ship in Colon. Here the price for a bike + one person may be as low as US$200. The trip can take up to a week and there is no real guarantee that the ship will really bring you to the place you want. Many incidents of broken engines, changed destinations and rip-offs have been reported.

The most fun option is to board a sailing boat. The price totals usually around US$700 for one bike + one person. This seems a lot at first glance but is roughly the same as flying and includes accomodation and food for four days. The fun part of the trip is the cruise through the San Blas Island area. Here the boat stops for a couple of days where one may do snorkeling and see the indigenous Kuna people.

We decided for the last option and boarded the sailing boat 'Stahlratte' (www.stahlratte.org). There are some hostels, managing the booking of the different boats. One is www.hostelwunderbar.com. The boats can usually take one or two bikes. With 120 feet the Stahlratte is quite big and can take up to 12 BMW-style bikes. To load the bike onto the stahlratte one has to drive to Carti 78 km east of Panama City and about 40 km offroad north of El Llano.

The bike are transported from the shore to the boat by Kanu. There they are lifted onto the boat using a winch. The crew of the Stahlratte took very good care of the bikes. Before heading to the open sea all bikes where securely fastened and covered with plastic sheets. The food was great. Crew and passengers were a lot of fun.