Newly paved road to Puerto Lindo

They paved the road here just three days ago.  We cycled inland on a winding hilly road on a sunny morning.  We are staying at the Hostel Wunderbar, run by Silvia and Guido; a German couple who settled here two years ago after living aboard a sailboat for 16 years.  They now book passage for travelers like us on sailboats between here and Cartagena, Colombia.  The demand for this service may end if a road is ever built across the Darien Gap to Colombia.

We joined 4 other German-speaking guests on a water taxi ride to Isla Grande for the afternoon.  We snorkeled on a coral reef and hiked up to the top of a lighthouse for great views of the bay and islands.  As I poked my head up into the fresnel light room, my eyes met those of a Black Vulture.  He could have flown in through an open window on the lower level and may have forgotten how to get back out.

Portobelo ramparts date to 1664

Cannons were left here in 1821 when the Spanish withdrew from Panama

In 1502 Cristobal Colon named this for it’s beautiful harbor.  There are still ramparts left standing to protect it from many attacks; including one by pirate Henry Morgan in 1664.

A thunderstorm developed at noon; so we bought some juice, bread, cheese, mustard and a tomato and ate lunch on some church steps while watching the downpour.  After an hour it passed and we cycled on a nice quiet road along the Caribbean Sea.  Soon another thunderstorm approached which we cycled through when we realized it might rain all day, stopping when the lightning got too close for comfort.  We planned to make Puerto Lindo today, but stayed in Portobelo at 4 pm as another round of storms came.  The power is off in town until the middle of the night.

Julie cycling along the Caribbean shore.

I’m solo no more.  My True Companion has joined me.  We departed after lunch in order to visit the Inter-Oceanic Canal Museum this morning;  it was closed yesterday.  After passing through Old Panama, we climbed up and over the Continental Divide.  With an earlier start we could have cycled from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

Julie brought new Schwalbe Marathon tires and inner tubes that I put on my bike.  The original Kenda Kwest tires had over 8,000 kilometers on them and may have gone thousands more.  I had 21 flat tires in 7,700 kms (including my shakedown run); 14 on the front & 7 on the rear.  That averages 1,100 km/flat on the rear and 550km/flat on the front; or one flat tire every three days.  A 5 cm nail punctured my new rear tire in the first 10k.  It went in deep enough to put a hole in the top and bottom of the tube.

I’ve cycled 7607 km solo in 65 days of travel, averaging 117 km/day.  That’s about 3,000 km in 4 weeks in the US;  2,000 km in 3 weeks in Mexico;  and 2,600 km in 3 weeks in Central America.

Panoramic view towards the Miraflores locks on the Panama Canal

Julie joins David in Panama City

Those of you who have been following our blog will notice some new additions today.  We’ve added two new categories:  Friends Point of View and Julie’s Blog.  The Point of View category copies others’ blogs where they have commented on our trip and,  of course,  Julie’s Blog refers to me.

Puncture after 10k on new Schwalbe Marathon tire.

Pretty dead slug

If a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, what does a journey of 24,000 miles begin with? – my first blog entry?

After much anticipation, many heartfelt good byes and  pulling an all nighter to finish dotting those i’s, my flight to Panama City was very uneventful.  The first event of note was embracing a smiling, bearded, skinny David.  Ah, perhaps that is the beginning of my journey.

Panama City was different than what I had  imagined.   Skyscrapers, bustling traffic, a newly constructed waterfront with $300,000 condo’s signs and a new bike path, are some of the sites.  We also visited Noriega’s bombed officer’s club, the canal area, and climbed the high point of the city to see the panoramic canal stretched to the interior.  David had a nail puncture through both sides of his inner tube in his new puncture proof  Schwalbe tires I brought him.  I enjoyed people watching while he fixed his tire.

Panama City skyline from Cerro Ancon overlook

Genis Murillo, Panamanian racing cyclist

Boats near the fish market in Panama City

I met Genis Murillo on the road today.  He’s a racing cyclist who gave me one of his team’s bike jerseys.  I crossed the Panama Canal, toured the waterfront, reconnoitered the bad neighborhoods, and found a nice hotel, Costa Azul, that is popular with Peace Corps volunteers in Panama.  Julie will be joining me here tomorrow.  I miss her terrible.

Frank & Dilcia Marcheski at laruinabar.com

A man, a plan, a canal: Panama.
Nueva Gorgona is where the folks were relocated to when old Gorgona was flooded to enlarge Lake Gatun during the building of the Panama Canal.  Today was a lazy day.   After fixing the front tire that went flat overnight,  I checked out places to stay on the coast for a couple days before heading in to Panama City to meet Julie on Wednesday.  I’m staying at the Hotel Gorgona for a rate even lower than their rainy season rate.  I seem to be the only guest.  I’m online now at La Ruina, a bar/restaurant built on the ruins of an old tavern and meeting hall.  It is owned by Frank from New Jersey who married Dilcia, a Panamanian women who grew up next door.

Peace Corps volunteers Melissa and Isaac Jacobs

I met a Vermont couple, Melissa and Isaac Jacobs, who are Peace Corps volunteers here in Panama.  There are 180 volunteers in Panama, including some relocated here from Bolivia.  Tomorrow is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, but here in the tropics the days are always about 12 hours long.  I’m staying at a small hotel on the beach near the huge Royal Decameron Resort and ate at  Woody’s, a Canadian restaurant just down the beach, while a thunderstorm flashed lightning out to sea.

Woody's, a Canadian joint on a Panama beach

After a rain-delayed start at 9:30, I’m cycling with a new chain on smooth asphalt with a 4m wide shoulder.  Life is good.  Roberto was right about there being lots of hills.  I told him “Me gusta lomas”, and I do like hills.  But hills can really slow me down.  My average speed dropped from 22 kph to 15 kph.  The signs showing distances to the next towns are not official signs, but sponsored by National Car Rental or some department store.  I worried I’d bike into the night when one sign increased the distance by 15 kilometers.  Thank God that was a mistake.  I did get a flat just 8 km from town and arrived here at 6 pm.

Roberto Rosas & Sylvia Salinas

I had breakfast with Tom, who made some calls and told me there are no hotels until the next big city 200 kms away.  So he arranged for me to stay with his in-laws who live 80 kms away.  With a short day of cycling I did some chores before leaving at 11 am.  On the way a TV crew shot a short clip of me cycling by and saying “Feliz Dia del Padre!”  I guess they do celebrate Father’s Day here.  I’m staying with Roberto Rosas and his wife Sylvia Salinas.  Roberto’s father was an American GI who had to leave Panama when Pearl Harbor was attacked and was never heard from again.  I replaced the chain with the new one I got my last day in Mexico three weeks ago and also fixed the front bottle cage that fell off my first day in Guatemala.  I borrowed Roberto’s drill to fix the mountimg bracket.  It feels good to get some procastinated chores completed.

This is my city.  As a young boy I was delighted to find David, Panama on a globe of the world.  I had a minor delay at the border.  I missed seeing the line to get an exit stamp for departing Costa Rica.  I went first to Panama, figuring “what do they care if Costa Rica let me exit unstamped?”  The Panama official was very polite and said “There is a problem with your passport.”  He sent me back to Costa Rica to get the exit stamp.  David got to David early and met a retired American in the central square.  He directed me to the best bike shop in town.  They do not carry my size inner tube.  At my hotel I met Tom Scobie,  a Canadian my age who’s lived in Panama for ten years.  We went out to eat and I learned much about the country.