It was only an hour from Choluteca to the Nicaraguan border near San Marcos de Colon. It was a lot easier getting out of Honduras than in and to my surprise Nicaragua was relatively simple. Best of all it all happened in the shade! I met a fellow motorbike traveller, Jacob Sherman (HU member) at the border and we decided to ride together to Granada on Lake Nicaragua. The ride to Granada was uneventful with mainly uninteresting roads. Nicaragua seemed a bit more prosperous than Honduras. Granda was a nice surprise. The historic centre of town has been recently renovated and he waterfront cleaned up to make it more attractive to tourists. And there were lots of tourists mostly backpackers and ex-pats there for the low cost of living (and apparently to a few I spoke to avoiding Canada or he USA and ex-spouses chasing them for support). Jacob planned to stay for a few days so I was off on my own the next morning headed to Costa Rica.
Once I found my way out of Granada, the ride was much more interesting than the previous day. My Garmin World Map must be for some other world because it just doesn't track on the mapped road (always about 500 metres parallel to the road) which makes it useless when you are on city streets and looking for the highway.

I was at the Costa Rican border about 10:00AM where I had to pay only $7 immigration fee and mandatory insurance for about $30. It was a very scenic ride again through smoking volcanic mountian roads and lush green forests (jungles?). I took a little detour to visit the fishing port at Puntarenas. It also has some nice beaches and is a popular holiday spot for people from San Jose. The hotels were very pricey until I found a place off the beach - Lillian's Hotel. It was very comfortable and had secure parking for the bike. I had a great meal and beers for about $4 at a beachfront restaurant full of locals.

Next morning I was in San Jose for an early Saturday morning tour before the traffic picked up. It was very pleasant and prosperous looking and nice to see after many years. Of course I got lost again but with the patient help of locals was back on track - at least for a few kilometers. I got off-track at a high-speed junction and was trying to figure out how to turn around when I spotted a traffic cop. He started to explain but then said "follow me" which started, and I kid you not, a one-half hour ride through city streets and back roads to the highway! I was getting a little suspicious after about ten minutes when we went through some dodgy areas but had no choice but to follow. He never stopped at stops signs or lights so I felt like I was a VIP - it was great.

I pressed on to get to he Panama border before it got too late and was there by 3:30PM. The border crossing was straight forward - no fees! I was warned not to drive at night so I stopped in David about 23kms from the border. The place was jammed with visitors because of an agricultural fair on in town. I was getting worried when I finally found a room at the Panama Rey hotel in the centre of town. The room was terrible but as the manager said "We normally don't rent those rooms as they are scheduled for renovation but there are no more rooms in town" That for $30! I slept in my sleeping bag liner rather than on those sheets.

Next morning off to Panama City. I had my first look at the Panama Canal about 3:00PM (I was impressed) and took a quick tour around Panama City. It seemed an odd collection of high rises and urban blight. They have a grand plan for the waterfront and to widen and lengthen the canal for larger container ships. I headed out to Toucamen Airport to locate Girag, the company that would airlift my bike to Bogota, Columbia and find a hotel nearby. The Riandi Aeropueto fit the bill nicely although it was $66 but it is a luxury hotel and I was celebrating my completion of my ride through Central America.

Next morning I was at Girag's offices at 8:30PM and by 10:30 all the paperwork and payment of $551.13 was done and I left my baby sitting in their warehouse. They gave me a lift to the passenger terminal and I booked a flight to Bogota with COPA for $260 one-way (they happpily did not insist on a return ticket in case I was refused entry to Colombia). Flights were booked solid so I had to wait until 8:00PM to fly out. My bike would follow overnight and be ready for pickup in Bogota the next morning.