Crossing from Panama into Columbia

This is the sticking point for most journeys of this kind; this is the bottle neck where there are a limited number of options and though many people do it

every year, it is still the section of the trip that requires a good bit of effort and resources to complete.

There are several ways to go about taking bikes across into Columbia (or from Columbia into Panama). Most headache-free and secure might be booking a place

on a sailboat. There are several people that routinely make the run from the north coast- Puerto Lindo, Portobello, Isla Grande- down to Cartegenas. This is

typically a five day trip, and quite the accepted method for many travelers. Boats fill up, so if you have an idea of when you will be making the crossing,

its best to book ahead. There are several good contacts for arranging this: Guido and Sylvia at the wunderbar in puerto lindo have lots of experience and

book a lot of people going across. Another good place to find out about going across (But they are not online, as far as I know you need to go in person to

arrange things) is the yaht club, also there in puerto lindo. The restautrant down on the shore is a favorite hangout for the captains of sailboats there,

and the man of the house, Hans, will be a helpful contact. Again, the only concern with this option is that you need to go and be willing to wait days

(weeks) to find a boat that is going and that will take bikes. Marco, a Canadian-born localized character in portobello is also a good contact there on the

north coast, who has experience on the Caribbean sea. Although he is not actively sending people all the time, he knows some captains in the area, again if

you are willing to figure things out along the way, go to portobello and ask for Marco- most people in town know about him as he is a bit of a legend in that

small town.

My concern with the sailboat option was two-fold: first, it is not the cheapest way to go- about 700 usd and up to get yourself and your bike across.

Secondly, if you are trying to keep on a schedule, the five-day journey can be a bit more than is desired. With a carefully planned trip and a spot on a boat

reserved well ahead of time, this may not be such a concern.
Another option for crossing is on a local supply boat. These boats generally run along the coast, stopping at islands and small ports. They will typically go

from Colon all along the coast, stopping here and there wherever they can vend or pick up goods, and run down to port Obaldia (the last port in Panama), and

sometimes continue into Columbia. The trick with these boats is that even though they are cheap- passage from Colon to port Obaldia should be about 250 usd,

from puerto lindo or Palenque, mirramar about 150 to 200. The trick here is finding a boat that will take you all the way to Columbia. In general, the

captains will take you to port Obaldia, but not across into Columbia because of the paperwork and red tape. Also, most will take a bike, but not any

passengers, to either cartegenas or Turbo.
Turbo is the big drug port, so there is always the need to keep in mind the risk of transiting through that area and to make a judicial choice about which

boat to take.

Another option is shipping the machine with a legit, up-and-up port, for example manzanillo out of colon, or perhaps another in Costa Rica (as suggested by

many acquaintances made along the way). This however requires one to find another way for one's person to travel, and then meet back up with the bike and

clear customs in Turbo or Cartegenas.

Personally, I wanted to find one of these supply boats. I thought that the most logical place to find one would be Colon- since this is a big town, and an

important port. Colon is a very poor and low-security town. I do not recommend going there unless you are braced for dealing with the threat of robbery and

the dirty grittiness of this suffering port town.
Colon definitely does have boats transiting through to columbia. The local port where small boats call in is all the way through town, on Calle 5, all the

way at the west end of the street, arrived at by taking a left off of the main street and going straight to the water. I asked there and was given several

different stories, after waiting around for two days the story was that there were no boats going until the next week, and then the boat was scheduled to

call in at many ports, taking ten days to get to port Obaldia.
But the option is there.
I headed out to beat the bushes toward the places mentioned above- puerto lindo, portobello, mira mar. Although there were again the options for several

supply boats, time was the concern, most guys planning to take 8-12 days to make it down the coast. The final solution was reached after meeting two other

beat-the-system travlers, also enroute from the states to south america. I met these guys in Mira Mar, where they were waiting for a supply boat that would

supposedly leave that day, for a very good price, and take the three of us to port obaldia. However, the boat ended up having a broken prop-shaft, and the

word was that they would need to get parts machined in Panama(city), so the wait would be several days. We scoured the coast for other options, and found a

small (32 ft) power boat that was rumored to have 200 hp of outboard power and the capability to get us to port obaldia (where everyone promised that there

would be lots of opportunity to transfer to columbia) in only one day!

What ended up happening was we left with sketchy yamaha 60 and Suz 40 outboards. we had to stop for half a day to clean carbs back in Mira mar, and only made

about 6 hrs of time on the trip that first day. We stopped at a small native-inhabited island, Nargena, for the night and for more gas. Our captain had

apparently figured low on fuel and once we got underway realized that we needed more. Unfortunately, there was no gas available that first day that we

stopped, so we sat and waited one day there on the island, and then made an early enough start the next day. We made it to Obaldia that night. The trip cost

1500 usd for three bikes; the problem is that there is no pier for public use in obaldia at the moment. With some beer and another hundred bucks, we

convinced our captain to take us over to the next town, Sapzurro, columbia. This was a hassle because we had to deal with border protection and the fact that

our boat had no papers, but at least there is a good pier here in sapzurro, and some traffic of Columbian boats down to Turbo where there is a highway going

out and connecting to the rest of the country.
The final over water leg of the trip will be from Sapzurro to Turbo, which we have arranged with a local supply boat. The 5 hr trip is costing 400 usd for

three people and three bikes.
As with anything, this was not easily arranged- at first the captain of the boat which we will take, the New Jerusalem, wanted a written permission from the

military personnel here in Sapzurro. That was not something that we were able to secure, but with some finagling, we reached an unofficial agreement with him

that we would not be hassled or arrested, and confirmed the passage to Turbo.

A funny thing that we learned not long after embarking is that there IS a confirmed route over land to Carti, a small port about halfway from the colon area

to the border. TO reach this port over land, one would need to drive along the principle route (interamerican highway) past panama city toward darian, then

turn off to the north at some point. This would without doubt save on the boat fair, but not really make the details of crossing out of panama into Columbia

any easier.

The option I recommend for reduced headache and best security is booking a sailboat ahead, and being ready to be flexible with a few days or weeks, leaving

enough time to enjoy the islands and still be able to keep your plans even if the winds and seas are un-cooperative extending the trip by several days.

For tight budgets and adventurous travelers, and what I would do if I had another shot at the crossing, the route through eastern panama to Carti and then

finding a boat from there hopefully to Columbia but probably to Obaldia would be it. The thing to keep in mind is that Obaldia is a shitty, isolated, and

empty town- with no pier. So accomplishing anything out there is tough at best, and loading and unloading bikes onto the beach could be a huge headache.

Getting into Columbia is easy- about a 20 minute ride. The cops there in Sapzurro will be thorough, checking for dope and (more likely) money coming into

Columbia. The trip should cost less than 100 usd per bike, but remember that you are at the mercy of the locals- the only bargaining point that you have is

you can wait for another boat, but in general the boats are several days apart.

There is no hard and fast instruction manual for this kind of crossing, but that is what makes it interesting. If certainty and scheduling are imporant,

there are sure and safe ways to do it, but with security and safety comes a higher price and perhaps a compromise of adventure.