Leaving the North American continent!
I'm now in Cartagena, Colombia! I arrived via boat on 15 August and plan on staying for a few weeks, I'm taking some spanish classes and then plan on exploring the country. I got a three month visa for myself and the moto. Cartagena is nice but I'm already feeling the need to ride again.
Ok, back to Panama, I departed Panama City and rode to town of Chepo and stayed there a couple days before riding down to Yaviza on the 8th. Yaviza is located in the provence of Darien and is were the Pan American Hwy ends in North America, the infamous Darien Gap. It's 143 miles from Chepo to Yaviza and the road is good most of the way, however it took me just under six hours. Once I got to the province of Darien it was less maintained and many sections were dirt with lots of deep ruts and mud. It was raining pretty good and that was the main issue. Even though I let air out of the tires, it was still very slippery. Walking on the road in some areas was difficult. I was stopped twice at military check points however it was just routine, passport info, moto permit and reason for visiting. They keep track of tourist entering the area so they know if you've departed. They didn't search anything and were more interested the moto and my story than anything.
Chepo:
From August 25, 2013
My hotel:
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
Yaviza, end of the Pan Am:
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
The streets are made of raised concrete due to flooding:
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
Foot bridge across the river. The medical clinic is on the other side of the river, they take a boat or walk:
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
Looking back towards the main town:
From August 25, 2013
Foot brigade:
From August 25, 2013
Leaving the Darien, it was raining to much to take this photo on the way in:
From August 25, 2013
I went back to Chepo on the 10th and then rode to Carti on the 11th to meet the boat I was taking to Colombia. The ride from Chepo to Carti is only 35 miles but it's an amazing ride through the mountain jungle. The road is good however with the rain and rough areas it took me over two hours.
Arriving in Carti:
From August 25, 2013
The boat I'm taking to Colombia in the background:
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
Preparing the moto for loading:
From August 25, 2013
Five bikes total on this trip. Myself, a Kiwi couple, a British couple and two Canadians:
From August 25, 2013
The boat nosed up to the pier and we winched them on:
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
Tie down and cover and then all set:
From August 25, 2013
Andi & Ellens (Kiwi's) moto:
From August 25, 2013
After the bikes were loaded we were taken to one of the San Blas islands for the night. A total of 360 island make up the San Blas archipelago and most are very small. The island we stayed on was about 150 meters long by 75 meters wide. The indigenes people of the islands are the Kuna and are said to be the second smallest people in the world, the pigmy's of the Amazon region being the smallest. They are very proud of their islands and they don't stray far from them. We didn't met any that had ever been to Panama City. They are proud to say, I was born on this island, I will die on this island. The people don't like their picture taken, especially the women so out of respect I left the camera in the hut most of the afternoon.
Our hotel room. Three of us shared this hut:
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
The concrete structure is one of the communal outhouses and the one we were told to use:
From August 25, 2013
From August 25, 2013
Funny, as soon as you cast a shadow in the water, fish start showing up:
From August 25, 2013
The next morning we went out to the boat and then anchored off one of the islands for two days of relaxation and fun.
From August 25, 2013
We arrived in Cartagena on the 15th and went into town to get rooms. We returned the next day to unload the bikes and pass customs. To off load the bikes, they were loaded into a small rubber boat and transported 200 meters to shore. Everything went good.