truck shipping from Colon

March 13.   After a peaceful night camped just outside the marina at Fort Sherman, we were up early to prepare the truck for its 9 a.m. drop-off.  Before heading out, we gave our remaining fresh food to Kerry, a solo sailor from Vancouver, that we’d met earlier, he was navigating his way back to Canada through the Panama Canal. 

Finding Neptune’s shipyard was straightforward, though navigating through heavy traffic made it a bit of a challenge.  The facility itself was massive—tidy, professional, and well-secured with razor wire fencing and an armed guard at the entrance. It was reassuring to know Bruce was in good hands. Good hands—just not fast hands.

We opted for Flat Rack over RORO (roll on-roll off) for safety reasons. We’ve heard too many sad of stories vehicles being broken into and looted of everything of value.  Not wanting this, we opted for Bruce to travel up on the top as opposed to being below deck.  More expensive, exposed to the salt & sea spray, but more secure…fingers crossed we made the right decision.  

paperwork errors

After spotting a series of typos and transposed numbers in our paperwork, we had to have them corrected, as agents are very strict and won’t release vehicles unless they perfectly match paperwork descriptions.  Unfortunately the corrections took a long time as they had to be sent over to the port for approval and returned, combined with the staff spending most of their time chatting or on their cellphones, this process took all day.  

Thankfully, we were welcomed into their air-conditioned office, where they provided us with a table and chairs to sit.  Then, at 4pm everything was ready—final documents came through, Bruce was loaded onto the flat rack, and Tim was whisked away to customs office to have Bruce officially stamped out of the country in his passport.

loading

For security reasons, I wasn’t ‘allowed’ to take photos or videos, but I was permitted to watch from an upstairs window. From there, I saw them carefully place heavy-duty straps beneath Bruce’s wheels before lifting him with a 50-tonne crane.  Once securely positioned on the flat rack, he would spend the night in the yard before being transported to the port with the other vehicles the next day.  But, like my father, am not always the best at following orders, and couldn’t help but snap a few photos, and maybe a video too…

bus to panama city

Because the process took so long, our shipping agency kindly brought us a fast-food lunch—McDonald’s style—before driving us to the bus depot. The 1.5-hour ride to Panama City cost $3.15 each, collected halfway by a fast-counting conductor who wore a bulky coin-sorting and dispensing device around his neck deftly flicking coins in and out.

The bus interior looked like something out of a Mae West movie—faded red, tasseled curtain material lined the walls, further accented by dim, not sure why, but red lighting. The seats were well past their prime, their cushioning long gone.  Tim spent the entire journey with the guy in front fully reclined, pinning him in.   Vendors hopped on and off, selling everything from snacks to plastic containers. Loud, distorted Panamanian festive music blared from blown speakers, adding to the oddly entertaining atmosphere.

casco viejo

March 14th –  Our hotel room for the next 3 nights is on the 29th floor among other skyscrapers in the financial district with sweeping views of the harbour and old town.  

On our first day, we set out under the midday sun, walking along the Malecón to Casco Viejo, Panama’s beautifully preserved historic district. 

After the original Panama City was burned to the ground by the infamous pirate Henry Morgan in 1671, the Spanish rebuilt here on a more defensible peninsula, surrounded by thick walls to keep future invaders out.  Strolling through its narrow cobblestone streets felt like traveling through time.  History is etched into its architecture—Spanish colonial, French, neoclassical, and Art Deco styles blending seamlessly with pastel coloured facades & intricate iron balconies. 

In the plazas people sit, chat & sip coffee.  Street musicians play while cart vendors call out selling fresh tropical fruits likely just as they had for centuries while tourists snap thousands of photos.  Every corner of Casco Viejo brims with character, from the crumbling ruins of ancient churches to beautifully restored buildings now home to boutiques, cafés, and rooftop bars overlooking the bay.  Iconic Panama hats and soft linen clothing hung in boutique windows, tempting me to bring a piece of this place home.

I tried to soak it all in, doing my best to ignore the growing chorus of complaints.  When the sun dipped low and the heat eased, the town come alive.   Laughter and music started pouring from rooftop bars and restaurants. The energy was exciting, but exhaustion won out, sore feet, tired legs, and hunger took over.   Calling an Uber, we left the charm of this beautiful old city behind.  Back to the hotel—content, yet & spent.

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Flight frustrations

Our plan for the day was to explore the city some more after booking our Colombia flights.  We’d originally planned to sail from Panama to Colombia via the San Blas Islands, but due to the fact it was the windy season, they wouldn’t allow kids under 15 yrs old on board.  We’re bummed about missing out on this, so flying it is.

What was supposed to be a quick flight booking after breakfast ended up swallowing the entire day. We were trying to book with Wingo, a budget airline, but after a couple of hours of payment processing issues, calls to banks back home and problem solving etc the day slipped away.   A quick online search turned up dozens of complaints from frustrated customers, ruled out we weren’t the problem. Rethinking our options, Copa Airlines was the alternative, but at three times the price. I shot off a quick text to Michi, who was also on the same flight, and later she sent back a link to an independent booking site—ironically, Kiwi.com. We gave it a shot, and thankfully, the booking went through… but the confirmation didn’t land in my inbox until 5:30 p.m. Phew—huge relief when it finally came through!

The day gone, we ended up ducking into a shopping mall close by to pick up a few items, pizza for dinner and that was the day.

Tomorrow will be a new day, new country and new continent…