Day 1 – Peru

The day did not start well – spent the night at an auto hotel (they are everywhere there are more ‘love’ hotels then ‘sleep’ hotels) at Huaquillas, Ecuador (the northern most crossing) and headed for the border early morning – the only problem was there was no border!?

No, ‘thank you for visiting’ or ‘thank you for leaving’, no security guards, no barriers, no nothing! So after driving for 20 odd minutes I realized that I was surrounded by Peru number plates, the gas prices had gone way up and I was being harassed by spindly assed auto rickshaws - that’s when the proverbial bulb lit up!

WTF – I am in Peru!!??

I am now in Peru illegally!!!

A rapid u-turn and back to Ecuador and luckily this time around I saw the border sign posting (damn OSM maps) – first I hit the Peru post as I was trying to come up with a convincing story as to how/why I was approaching the border from the wrong direction!?

No worries says the guard - happens all the time!

Apparently they have a semi open border and I happened to drive through the ‘opening’ so to speak!

30 minutes later I was back in Peru - all legal and curly tailed! 

Day 1 & 2 – Ecuador

I did not plan to visit Ecuador – but apparently I cannot get to Peru without driving through Ecuador.

The border crossing was seamless – took all of 10 mins checking out of Colombia and about an hour checking into Ecuador and the only reason it took that long was because they wanted color copies of my passport, driver’s license and visa and the copia shop was closed!

The roads in Ecuador are excellent and fuel is the cheapest so far – fewer than 2 dollars for a gallon and the views are great! This is Ecuador’s own Mount Fuji!

First night, I found this gem of a hotel – right off the Pan-American Highway – this is my second hotel with great charm, the other was the hacienda in Guatemala

In case you did not know – Galapagos is part of Ecuador

Day 3, 4, 5 & 6 – Colombia

Where have the days gone?

Mountain driving is tiring and takes time – finally made it to the Ecuador border and have barely seen any military presence – even in the south – which is FARC held territory. Did you know that FARC is the richest paramilitary force in the world – with an income of around 500 million a year! I wonder if they need a BI Manager!?

When you do see soldiers that signal a thumbs up – I take it means all well/all clear ahead!? Colombia is a big country comprising mostly of mountains – no wonder they have a hard time rooting FARC and ELN out - Mountains are a tough terrain to fight insurgents – take Afghanistan for example

Day 1 & 2 - Colombia

To start – you need Colombia Pesos before you enter (pick some on the ferry) everyone wants Pesos – hotels will accept dollars but you will get a crap exchange rate. Everywhere else including gas stations you need Pesos

There are toll roads in Colombia (not as expensive as Mexico though) and they only accept Pesos – I showed up at a couple without enough Pesos as ATMS/Cajeros are hard to find  - they took pity at the dumb-ass foreigner and waved me through!

The roads are good and people friendly – lots of waves and thumbs up once they noticed my number plate

Surprisingly not much of a police presence – only when driving in the mountains (there are a lot of mountains in Colombia) you see the army in all villages as its near FARC controlled territory (East and South of Colombia)

Had one stop at a check point – asked for my documents and waved me through once I produced them

Now for the dumb-ass move (once again) – Day 2 was not stop mountain driving – no place to pullover, one lane and no hotels worth the name

So I decided (as always) to keep going and then my GPS freaked out and started showing roads where no roads exist and roads between towns that again do not exist - As a result I got last lighted and LOST!!

No hotels and no place to safely pull over – as I was considering hara-kiri – saw a sign for a hotel – the approach was a little dodgy – but the end result was great!

It’s a small jungle resort run by the owners – wonderful people – named “Los Arrayanes” close to a small town called Andes – they called their son in the US to translate as a mix of their English and my pathetic Spanish was not getting the job done! They were full but rather then turn me away at that time of the night -

First, they wanted to call/ask their neighbors if they could put me up for the night - but when I suggested that sleeping in my car is a better option - they were very kind and generous to rig up a hammock in a covered area - good people!!!

Will be doing a more complete write up on the resort in another post

Colombia has been a very pleasant surprise (so far) - very different from what we perceive it to be - or have we been (once again) given a tarnished version by the worlds biggest propaganda machine - Hollywood and the US media

Panama Colombia Crossing - Ferry Express

The Ferry Express is located at (N08 58.491’W79 31.0830) http://www.ferryxpress.com/

I was wondering that if the ferry leaves at 7 pm – why ask me to get to Colon at 8 am? Well, I got to Colon at 8 am and found out

First it was a relief to see the ferry – even after I had been to their office and got my tickets I did not really believe there would be a ferry?

Big one at that capacity is 1000 plus passengers and 500 vehicles/100 ship containers – this time around they had a nice small number of 13 Cars/trucks and 4 motorcycles and it took the incompetent wankers 12 plus hours to process them!

Talk about multiple layers of redundancy – different people from different offices all doing the same thing – over and over again – copies after copies (at 50 cents a copy) – the mother of all border crossing a red tape nightmare!

A mind numbing exhausting process

Don't go with the list of required documents that the Ferry Express office/website gives you – it’s meant for locals

The only document you need to start the Aduana process is a clearance from  PTJ that largely clears you and your vehicle of any wrong doing in Panama and everywhere else (apparently they also ping Interpol)

First, go to the PTJ (Policia Tecnica Judicial - N 08°57.951' W 079°32.674) office to get your vehicle inspected - the whole process will take a day – give or take a couple of hours – get the inspection done in the morning and the clearance document in the afternoon and wear trousers! I was not allowed to enter as I had shorts on

Once you have the clearance – pre Aduana (customs) work is done – you will also need the clearance to get your ferry tickets

Get to Colon Cruise terminal (N09 21.597”W079 53.610) around 10 am as that’s when the officials show up – first someone from Ferry Express will log in all your/vehicle information to send to the Colombian authorities and also for the Bill of Lading (which will cost you 25 US to pick up once you get to Colombia) you need the Bill of Lading for the Colombian authorities but you only get it right at the end of the process and no one asked me for it!?

Get a lot of copies of your passport, vehicle registration, PTJ clearance and Panama vehicle insurance – LOTS OF COPIES!

Once the ferry person is done with you – the Aduana process starts or tries to start! There is a lot of spinning of wheels – the actual process takes 20 odd minutes but getting there takes forever! Once Aduana is done then vehicle inspections start and never end!

Humans (or a version anyway) sniffer dogs, humans again, sniffer dogs, humans again, sniffer dogs again!

In the end the sniffer dog gave up and refused to move! Told his handler (in dog speak) to bugger off - I am done with sniffing BS!

But the port authorities guys refused to give up – they now wanted us to offload all our luggage and get it x-rayed!!!??

This was the last straw we refused to unload anything – the only thing we were willing to do at this point was to board the ferry and we did at 8:30 pm

Good things to say about the ferry – clean, good food, cold beer but expensive. No one had any complaints about the ferry

Insurance scam!!! A so called insurance agent will try and sell you vehicle insurance on board and tell you that you have to buy it or cannot enter Colombia – bullshit!

The insurance on board costs 75 US – you can get the same insurance on the Colombian side for 25 odd dollars

The process on the Colombian side is long drawn but not as painful as Panama – first immigration followed by Aduana – then you get your insurance decal and Bill of lading and you are done – all that paper work and no even checked it as I was leaving!?

Great shot of the....

Cartagena skyline while I wait!

Day 4 & 5 - Panama

Took me a couple of hours to find the bloody office - even with map coordinates I had a hard time!?

Then my luck turned - the guy managing the ferry office is from Montreal - 15 mins later I had my tickets and away I went to the Panama Yacht Club!

When I was here last it was a small shack with about 6 tables clustered together and one bartender/waitress. Now, its a full fledged restaurant and bar with a adjacent Comfort Inn

of course the mooring has not changed - the same place minus my boat!

on the right of the above pic you can see the Miraflores bridge (part of it) which is the gateway to the Miraflores locks - entrance to the canal from the Pacific

When the canal was built and run by the Americans they had towns set up for the engineers, families and army on either side of the canal (Balboa and Colon) - the Balboa buildings, etc are still being maintained and used as offices or lived in, but the Colon side the town has totally fallen apart

Day 2 & 3 - Panama

Day 2 was used up – getting to Balboa (where all the permits, etc need to be completed)

Spent the night in a sad and evil looking place –reminded me of the movie Hostel – couldn't get out fast enough next morning!

OK, so I go looking for the RORO (Ferry Express) office (new RORO ferry that now connects Colon to Cartagena) – the official address leads me to a slum!?

Not looking good – it’s evident I may need help! Finally, call the ferry people – and the address has changed and of course addresses in Panama never really work – no kidding!

He also gave me a long list of requirements/documents – that should take a week to finish! Today being Friday – I need to get everything done today to make the Monday sailing – OK I desperately need help!

Checked into a nice small hotel and asked the manager for a ‘Fixer’ – no, he or she is not a hit man/woman – 'Fixer' is a person who gets things done – found them very useful when I crossed the Panama Canal

And he did – clarified what was required and what was not and 3 hours later it was all done! A process that would have had me running around in circles for days – money well spent!

Official paperwork is done tomorrow I book passage (Saturday morning) for Monday sailing ;-)

I will be writing a detailed write up – on what documents are required, where to get them, where the ferry office is – in a day or two

Day 1 - Panama

As I approached the border crossing - I was faced with the old bridge (death trap) it's closed for vehicles but foot traffic still use it - actually foot traffic have to use it! In Central America MOH (meat on hoof) is expendable!

This is the new one (on the left) - vehicles only

I was the first in line as the Costa Rica office opened - they now have a $8 departure tax - $7 if you pay by credit card

The crossing was fast and easy

On the Panama side the car insurance took the longest and now you have to pay a municipal tax of $10 (pay someone a couple of dollars to show you where it is as it's hard to find

Hour and a half later - I was ready to head south - this the road that faced me - Welcome to Panama!

Tomorrow I head for Balboa (Pacific side) and start the transportation to Colombia process

Day 2 – Costa Rica

Stopped very close to the border of Panama for the night – will cross early tomorrow morning

Drove along the Atlantic coast today mile after mile of deserted coastline – no villages, no hotels, no beach bums – nothing!

I can understand why so many Canadians and Americans buy a second home or retire here – stable government/economy, etc – but as a result the prizes are high (the same as in Canada) which makes it very high!

I would prefer Belize and Nicaragua

Spent the night in a so called jungle hotel - just off the road but the cabins are surrounded by tropical rain forest 

I had forgotten how noisy a tropical forest can be - birds calling, parrots bickering, frogs croaking, monkeys howling - its a jungle out there! 

Day 1 - Costa Rica

I was advised by the locals that the best time to hit the border is around 8 am - and I did - the trouble was a lot of other people had the same advice!

The exit process from Nicaragua was fast and easy then the long lines on the Costa Rica side started - total time 4 hours - 4 hours in the tropical heat (38 C) is draining in every sense of the word!

Had a spot of trouble with a couple of coyotes - wanted to extort more money from me - guess they picked the wrong guy

Here I am in the middle of Costa Rica for the night - a place called Playa Hermosa, Jaco - will head for the border tomorrow

Plan to be in Panama Wednesday

Day 1, 2 & 3 - Nicaragua

Nicaragua border procedures were a little tedious - must have the time of time of the day - they fumigate the exterior and interior - literally smoked me out!

Great roads! Best since the US - and its a small country so can get from one end to another in no time at all - at the Costa Rica border today (close to it anyway) in a small town called San Juan Del Sur - if the name sounds familiar - this is where the 2014 Survivor was shot - I found out the minute I got here! Gas attendant was raving about it

Road fatigue has caught up with me - will spend an extra day here or two - ended spending the weekend there! Needed the break

Day 1 - Honduras

Well, what can I say - is everyone talking of the same border and country!?

It was a no hassle stroll - no aggressive coyotes, money changers, or cops -  Maybe because I hit them early -  it was literally a pleasant friendly experience, although a long one as they do love their paperwork!

All costs were clearly printed and receipted - what the hell!?

Total time - 1 hour 45 mins

Got all the paperwork and then drove away looking for 'on the take' cops - no cops!

Maybe the goon squad moved!

Will drive across Honduras and hit the Nicaragua border in the evening

When the roads are good in Honduras they are good - when they are bad - they are non existent - terrible does not even begin to describe them - its been a while  since I have driven under these conditions and the Pathfinder and I had fun!

.. the above is a bridge - had to walk across it first!

Update - I was right the goon squad did move - to the border crossing of Honduras and Nicaragua - was OK to start with although the longest crossing so far at 2 hours plus. Then the squad showed up! Started going through all my stuff - one of them was actually pretending to read my notes on expenses etc) when he did not understand a word of English!? Once again a $ 10 bill had to make an appearance!

Day 1 – Guatemala (Take 2)

What an easy and no hassle crossing!

I was the only one there and even then the whole process took about 45 mins – guys were still waking up

Did try and make it to the Honduras border today but the first 70 km were hard going – 70 km long dirt track – on my GPS it actually shows up as a paved highway – after a 12 hour day had to stop – do not even remember the name of the place

Tomorrow I run the gauntlet of the Honduras Border - apparently ranked the toughest border in Central America!

Day 3 – Belize

Decided to take a rest day – rented a small hut/cottage in a resort (used loosely) called Windy Hill.

Very quiet and relaxing – needed it!

Tomorrow I cross into Guatemala – hopefully do not have a repeat of last time - when i got ripped off by touts pretending to be immigration officers

Day 2 - Belize

... there are two roads in Belize - a central main highway called 'George Price Highway"

 I will let the pics describe the other ....

... that's the road to the border of Guatemala! After all the shaking I finally end up with a horses ass - 3 of them actually!

was planning on  getting to Guatemala today but suddenly "my eyes grew heavy and my sight grew dim - I had to stop for the night!"

Still waiting for  'their she stood in the doorway' bit ;-)

Luckily this time I found one those Eco resorts - so far so good - have a nice cottage, very quiet and peaceful - I can certainly use quiet and peaceful!

Had a double helping for lunch - have been losing weight at an alarming rate

Just 14 days since I left - feels a lot longer!?

Things I don't like about Belize - terrible roads, no gas stations, very expensive (fuel is more expensive here then in Canada)

But, it has friendly people, lots of space, not much traffic ( that is largely due to the cost of fuel) and NO GUNS!!