Re-united with Harvey and the Tracker

Finally, finally we have Harvey and Tracker back. It has been a long, arduous, stressful and extremely expensive undertaking. I said to Uli that we would now have to stay in South America for at least 5 years so that the cost/benefit of ferrying the vehicles here would look better!! Not such a bad prospect at all. We came up with the idea to spend 2 years exploring South America because people kept asking us. We thought that 2 years seemed like a good period of time - long enough to see a lot of places but short enough so that our families and friends dont write us off altogether. We shall enjoy each day and take as long as we wish - who's counting?

Would I recommend fellow RV travellers to ship their vehicles from Panama to Colombia via the ferry? Today whilst it is all fresh in my mind, I would say 'No Way-Jose!' But, I think when we get going and exploring and enjoying this continent, I suspect that the stress and horrors of shipping the 2 vehicles will be a distant and vague memory. So ask me again in a few months.

For us the experience of shipping of vehicles was much much better than most other folks. We did not have damage or theft and the vehicles actually made it on the ship.

Other RVers were not so fortunate; a number had items stolen valuing 100's of $US dollars, vehicles were ransacked and movable items taken, especially tools. Oddly, even people's dirty laundry were stolen.

One vehicle that went on a LOLO (Load On Load Off) ship had major damage to the drive shaft under the vehicle so had to have it replaced in Cartagena. this would occur if a vehicle was dropped from a height onto the drive shaft rather than onto the wheels.

A German couple found out that their RV was not put on the ship. They ended up waiting 10 more days for the RV to come, meanwhile they had a dog with them and had to book into a b@b that would accept dogs. 10 days in b@b's soon adds up and food and drink costs will accumulate because you cannot prepare your own meals in your own kitchen(ette).

Also the agency managing their transit refused to accept any blame or responsibility and even started black mailing them saying they would not give the Bill of Laden unless the couple paid more money. The Bill of Laden is a critical piece of paper, without which you cannot get your vehicle out of the receiving port.

We were told by a Swiss German couple not to even attempt to try to get our vehicle out by ourselves because it was too complex a task and they had tried for days with no luck. They then resorted to using an agent. They had a lot of tools stolen.

So, we decided to be kind to ourselves and use an agent in Cartagena to help us get the vehicles out of the port.

Then another German couple who had shipped over a land rover did manage to get their car out with out the use of an agent and it only took them 2 days.

So we felt a bit annoyed with ourselves that we had used the agent when we may have been able to do it ourselves and save the money. We do pride ourselves on travelling independently and being self sufficient so we felt a bit like a couple of whimps after this news.

We felt terrible for the other RVers. We could only sympathise with their plights.


The process to ship vehicles from Central to South America is actually straight forward. What makes it difficult and stressful is the incompetence of the people. In my opinion it is a sham and is designed to confuse and frighten the customer in order to extract as much cash out of them as possible.

However, if you accept this as how it is and you cant change it and you still are motivated to do the voyage then forwarned is forearmed. You have to manage your mind set and accept the risk and the cost. If you can talk your self into believing that you may have stuff damaged and stolen and it will be stressful, time consuming and much more espensive than even the price that they give you when you book the passage, then if you get away with no theft or damage it will feel like a bonus prize. I guess it is reverse psychology; prepare for the absolute worse scenario and if that doesn't happen then you feel lucky, lucky. lucky!!!!

Very few RV's make this trip each year - its about 50! So don't feel bad if you decide to turn your RV around and head home after you have explored Panama City! However, that number is starting to increase slightly, and if enough of us make the trip, then we have more influence over costs and processes and we can make it a better experience for the RV's following us down in the future. I will be writing a blistering email to the agent we used and i will be copying in her superiors. She is incompetent, unprofessional, poorly motivated, seems unable to think stategically, does not respond to emails,does not provide information in a timely manner, is a liar and should be relieved of her responsibility as soon as possible. Her name is Evelyn Batista and she works for Wilhelmsen/ Barwell agency You have been warned.

We are flying to Cartagena from Panama City

I am in the dog house. Again. I told Uli I was fearful of sailing on open water against the trade winds. I suggested he did the trip on his own - with the captain and crew - and i would fly and meet him in Cartagena. But he didnt want to leave me and said we might never hook up again...so we are both flying. I feel bad about it. But it is his decision. My regret is that we will not see the San Blas Islands and everyone keeps telling us how wonderful they are.

Note to self - need to find a way to be able to sail the open seas without fear so you can visit amazing islands!

Sick as 2 green parrots!

Oh dear! We were at Captain Jack's hostel in Portobello, the Caribbean side of Panama, and I met a nice sea dog called Terry and his crew and managed to wangle my way onto his catamaran called Double Diamond. Such a great crew and what a beauty of a boat; huge and flat and luxurious!! 42 ft long. If I could sail around in a 38ft Catamaran, I might consider buying a second hand one in a few years. Except I hate the idea of being in open seas in a storm....

....the plot thickens; I meet another sea dog at Captain Jack's and he invites us on a little yacht trip, 5$US per head for a spin in the yacht and lunch. Sounds good to me and a great opportunity to test our sea legs and stomachs. Bad idea. Very bad idea. I take an anti-sickness pill 1/2 an hour b4 we leave. I am feeling fine in the bay. I then feel a bit anxious as the sails go up and we exit the bay into open water. Uli has a grin on his face - he loves sailing - yet, to my eye he is a curious tinge of yellow.

A little while later, I have popped some Ativan, still feeling fearfull but not sick, now Uli is turning green.

We both end up at the stern of the boat feeding the fish, over and over again. Poor Uli suffered more than me. I had moments of respite, whereas he stayed at the stern, head buried in arms for most of the trip. My poor darling; it is just awful when you can't help someone.

Once we returned to Harvey, we went to bed and stayed their til the next morning!

What did I learn?

* still scared of open sea
* being sea sick is like hell on earth, but worse because it is at sea
* be prepared; have bought some Stugeron Forte and we will take it as stated by anufacturers
* in the moment of being sea-sick, this eclipses open-water anxiety!
* Valium plus ani-emetics makes you feel lousy in the head for about 2 days afterwards

I am going to see if I can still fly to Columbia!

Yacht passage from Panama to Columbia

I think we have cracked it; we(me!) have hustled hard to find a yacht to take us to Cartagena, Columbia. Its been a bit of a head ache because we have had to align the dates with the delivery and receipt of Harvey and the Tracker vehicles in Colon, Panama and Cartagena, Columbia, respectively.

We are now booked on Tango a small yacht, with 6 births, and the Captain is french and loves to cook. I want to know who is sailing the boat when he is flapping his culinary wings in the galley? May he has auto-pilot and AIS??

Now that we have booked the trip, my fear of open sea water in a small yacht is getting a lot of attention; I am going to knock myself out with Valium or something.

I am hoping the visit to the San Blas Islands en route will be my reward.

Sloths

These are very sweet animals - the slowest mammals in the world. I have never seen one before.

We saw eight of them at the Smithsonian nature reserve, all living peacefully up in the trees without a cage in sight. Excellent.

We also visited a botanical zoo, and saw a tapir and a Harpy Eagle and a squirrel monkey. All animals that are rare and only found in a few areas in the world. Unfortunately all these were captured creatures.

Transiting the Panama Canal

Oh golly! It's been 2 weeks since my last confession - I mean Blog entry! Well, so much has happened since then, I don't know where to begin. A good start is the Panama Canal transit; it was excellent, totally novel, and bizarre, and extraordinary, and a dream-come-true experience.

I felt very honoured to be chosen as linehandling crew aboard So Long a small yacht Captained by Susanne a solo female German Skipper.

Uli was a linehandler for Galenaia Captained by Tony a solo male English Skipper.

Ironically, Susanne and Tony are married and are full time yachtees and sail together - but apart if you see what I mean, because they are in separate yachts. The only downside is that Tony's boat is a lot smaller than Susanne's and so he sails a lot slower - sometimes he will arrive at a destination WEEKS after Susanne. Tony needs to get a bigger boat, or stop snoring!!! That could be another reason why they sail separately. Susanne has sweet Honey the dog to keep her company too.

We were up before dawn for the transit. Got to Balboa Harbour meeting point at 0415 hrs. Well in time for 0500 hrs departure. But in fact we were left hanging around for hours awaiting a 'Panama Canal Pilot' to come aboard and escort us through the canal - a regulation for all ships, no matter the size.

We transited the canal from the Pacific side to the Caribbean/Atlantic side. You can of course go both ways.

Yachts are not allowed to sail near the locks so we motored to the first lock - Miraflores. There was
*Susanne the Captain
*me
*another Gringa volunteer from a yacht (she wanted to have a test-run through the canal to learn the ropes before she brought her own yacht through)
*2 linehandlers rented locally; a couple of young girls wanting to earn a bit of extra cash

So, five female crew, plus the Pilot.

We rafted up to Galenaia with rope so that we were 2 yachts travelling in parallel.

We motored to the first gates Miraflores which consists of 2 locks and this raises you 2 levels up. Then you exit and motor about a mile and then you enter the Pedro Miguel locks and that raises you to the level of the Gatun lake.

For technical detail read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_Locks

Suffice to say that the locks are absolutely huge, the ships seem huger and there is a lot of fiddling and hawling long, long lengths of rope to keep you in the right place at the right time within the lock. It is similar to going through a lock on the Thames river in England except that it is on a massive, awesome and sometimes overwhelming scale. And for bigger ships there are mules - heavy machines - that run along tracks to keep the big ships in position with chains.

Then you sail through the lake and keep in between the green and red buoys and try not to hit other ships travelling in the other direction.

We tied up to a buoy overnight. The pilot was picked up and then we had a little celebration party.

Next day we went through the Gatun locks. The Pilot was brought back to the yacht (a different one, nice but not as friendly and cute as the last one) then we were rafted up again and this time another gringo yacht joined us so we now had 3 yachts rafted together in parallel.

At Gatun locks we dropped down to the Atlantic sea level. Then the pilot was taken off the boat and we were dropped off on land near Colon, a notorious city, to find out way back to Harvey. This was easy even though it was so late. We caught a cab, then a bus, then a cab and we were home before midnight.

It was too late for one of the boy's crew - Ben - to get a ride in a dingy back to his yacht at Balboa Harbour, so I invited him to sleep over in Harvey. We had a little nightcap together and toasted our good fortune and novel experience.

Next day, we took Ben back to his yacht. We were invited to lunch on his yacht.How lovely!!

It was an amazing and great experience and I throughly recommend it as 'bucket list' activity. In fact, I think Panama is a great country and would recommend a visit here.

It must have been nerve wracking for the Yacht Captains though; they went through a lot of planning and logistics and work and great cost to do the crossing. We just turned up for the ride.

The Captains would have paid about 600US for each small yacht plus 65US per day for the rented linehandlers X 2, plus additional long rope ($150 US), plus a huge refundable deposit that they will only get back if they caused no damage to the lock system, plus food and drink for the crew and pilot, plus tyres to protect the yacht from the locks and visa versa. Plus mega shopping and taking on of provisions and drinking water, because as soon as they popped out on the Atlantic side, they were heading for England!

We had a really fabulous time and felt extremely privileged and honoured to have been part of the adventure. I said a few silent words for the >22,000 !!! people who gave their lives to build this canal.

Panama's Nationa Bird; The Harpy Eagle

Here is a picture of the eagle. Had to go to a zoo to see it. Also, my first Tapir and Anteater.

Gorging ourselves at Miraflores Restaurant, Panama Canal

This restaurant is located at Miraflores Lock, one of the three locks along the Panama Canal. There is also a good visitor centre there.

The restaurant offers a fine dining experience whilst watching the huge ships gently glide by in the canal. They offer an excellent buffet as well as a la carte. We went for the buffet and gorged ourselves. I particularly enjoyed the pretty presentation of the banquet, especially the amuse gueule's in elegant little porcelain dishes, and ate about 10 of them!

The Balboa Union Church - a very unusual eperience

We like to look at Churches. We like the architecture and the way they are decorated inside. They usually also provide a cool (temperature) and tranquil respite from the fatigue of sightseeing. Our favourite churches so far have been in Mexico. Simply divine (pun intended!)

As you may know I am not a supporter of religion, considering it devisive. I am however curious about Buddism.

Balboa Union Church www.balboaunionchurch.org is a pretty 1914 church perched up on a hill near where we are parked. We popped in to look at the architecture and take a few snaps. Ooops! There was a worship session going on and we were invited to join in. It was a bit awkward to walk out once we had been caught snooping around so we sat down with the congregation and prepared ourselves to 'escape' at the most discrete time. But, surprisingly, the presentation was interesting and relevant to me. And we received a very warm welcome by name during the presentation. In fact, yhe presentation and the singing of a song called Lord of the Dance was so interesting and poignant that it moved me to tears - literally! Uli was concerned and wondering what was up with me. I could only explain it as a mixed feeling of
sadness about not having my family and friends and a community around me - this is something you have to give us when you are driving around in a tin-can on wheels in foreign counties - together with a feeling of warmth and happiness at feeling so welcome and included in this little community.

The Lord of the Dance is a song I sang at school and at that time thought it was a terribly sad song.

And we had a few moments to think of the people in Japan and Libya and everyone who is suffering from poor health and that made me feel sad for them and guilty for my good fortune.

After the presentation and singing, we had coffee and cake and a chance to talk with the locals. Panama City is incredibly diverse, mainly due to the canal constuction. There are also quite a few expatriate Gringos and it was interesting to hear about their experiences and how they came to be in PC.

How do we get from Panama City to Cartagena, Columbia??/

Ok, it seems we have 2 choices
aeroplane
boat

We have been looking into paying to go on a private yacht from Colon to Cartagena. It will cost about 400$US each. I have found a few yachts on a website www.lunascastlehostel.com - trendiest backpacker hangout in the City, favoured by very young, very thin, pale people sporting deconstructed clothes, muzzy hair, body tats and piercings. I felt like an old grandma in that place. We will go back and have a chat with the organisers face to face and get the facts, man.

BUT - I am not optimistic, the Skipper of 'So Long' yacht told me it would be unlikely that we will secure a boat to Cartagena now because the winds are blowing in the wrong direction. We'd have to go under engine all the way. Doh!! I feel such a nitwit. This yachting lark is a whole new game and I am going to do a bit a cramming so I can have some idea of how it all works.

So, we may have to fly.

Woooo - we have a ride through the Panama Canal!!!

Golly, gosh and gumdrops! I was up early this morning to get on the Balboa Yacht Club bay radio and see if I could convince someone to take Uli and me on their yacht through the Panama Canal. It seems that most yachts are going the other way ie caribbean side to Pacific. I found the radio and dialled in channel 74 on the VHF waves. I was out of my comfort zone and don't understand yachting language/protocol but- miracle upon miracle - with some help on the airwaves from other Gringo yachtees, I found not one but TWO yachts looking for crew to go through. So, Uli and I are officially 'line handlers'and our trip is set for next Friday 25 March 2011. It will take 2 days and we will stay overnight in Gatun Lake. We can't believe our good fortune. We met the skippers today and they invited us for a coffee on one of the yachts - So Long - and they picked us up in their dingy and we were treated to a yummy lunch! Very nice couple - ironically she is German and he is English - there seems to be quite a lot of English/German couples out there living alternative lifestyles. There is also a sweet fluffy dog called Honey who will be in my yacht - yeah - another pooch to adore and treat.

My Skipper asked what fee we were expecting...I said 'fee ???....ummm...actually I feel like we should be paying YOU for the priviledge of being with you on this amazing trip' And it turns out they will feed and water us too!!! Am I dreaming???

Making progress...but its like pushing water uphill with a stick!

Hmmm, as anticipated, things are not quite as straightforward as one would wish. It's lucky that we have logged up so much experience with Central American bureacracy, I think if we were new to all this we would run screaming home!

Progress so far:

We found and bought a good map of City. This has helped no end. We are whizzing about all over the place and have almost sussed out the City layout. I take back my comment about selling your car and just using taxis. With patience and determination and a GOOD map, you can do it.

* When we met with Evelyn-the-shipping-agent we did NOT hand over the cash. I didnt feel confident with the process. we will pay at a later date, once I am happy with all the logistics. I have an instinct that she is not revealing all...But we ARE booked on Ship on 12 April.
* No news re linehandling through canal. We will go down in person early to Balboa yacht club and get on the VHF radio and put out a message into the bay.
*Sorted out bank. It took 1/2 a day!
*Tracker is not fixed despite spending a whole day visiting at least 6 garages in town. Uli is threatening to fix it himself - he thinks its the camshaft sensor?
* Harvey is now full to the brim with LPG. After our failed/aborted attempt last week, we nailed this job in 30 mins. Just as well because we were running on vapour!
* Car insurance. Done. 20 minute job actually took over 4 hours due to pretty-but-dim staff
* Car permits extension with customs office.Done. Thought it might take 4 hours, got away with less than 2 hours.
* Working on booking a yacht from Colon to Cartagena. It will be more fun than a plane and we will see more of the Caribbean and San Blas. I would like to go on a Catamaran because they have more space and are more stable.

Work and Play in Panama City

Hey, this is a really great City; something for everyone.

We have a few jobs to do to get our ducks in a row for the trip to Columbia. Here is our checklist

*Meet Evelyn the shipping agent and find out more about process and hand over cash
*Put posters up advertising us as linehandlers to hitch a joy ride through canal
*Contact our bank in Granada to see why we can't withdraw cash for passage to Columbia
*Fix the Tracker - weird overheating problem - not involving water cooling system
*Fill LPG for Harvey
*Extend car insurance x 2
*Extend car permits x 2 with customs office
*Arrange day for police to check vehicles and give us a 'you are not criminals and these are your cars' documentation for shipping vehicles
*Arrange a day for customs to check every item in our vehicles before handing over vehicles to the port. This will involve emptying ALL contents of Harvey and Tracker onto a tarmac road, have officer check it all, then put it all back. Such fun!
*Book a yacht or plane to get Uli and me to Cartagena before vehicles arrive
* Buy and install a bedroom fan

And if we have time:
*Eye exam and glasses/contacts Lesley
*Dental check up for both
*Uli blood cholesterol check up
*Lesley buy HRT drugs

It reminds me of product management way back when I used to work for a living; getting the logistics right so that everything falls into place and we meet the deadline. Better get onto it!

All's well at Casa Cubana - our boutique hotel in Granada

I had this message from Amazing Amanda...it tickled me. She is the best!!! (Gloria is our resident rescue parrot and official greeter.)

Good Morning!

All is well at Casa Cubana. The guests are tucked away in their beds sleeping tight (they did a 4 hour kayak tour and then hiked Masaya Volcano yesterday)
I am ready with spatula in hand to serve them pancakes when they wake. In the meantime, I will sit here at my desk and admire the view of my gorgeous pool boy as he has his backside to me checking the chlorine levels. Thank God for that test. It's the best part of my day.

Gloria has claimed him as well. Shameless little hussy. If he doesn't pay attention to her, she throws a tantrum. Hmmm, wonder if that would work for me?

More guests coming and going today. Ginger is a popular suite, and people LOVE Clove. Must be the open shower. I have a really pretty beige bedspread on there too.

Ok, time to get busy. I bought this gorgeous water jug in San Juan del Oriente for the house, and I have to clean it and set it up.

Have fun scampering around Panama!
Amanda

Bless you Amanda, if you read this Blog - we could not have continued our tour of the Americas without you! x

Hanging out with the sea dogs at Balboa Yacht Club, Panama City

Today started out well, then it got a bit iffy, then it ended on a high!

We visited a shopping Mall called Albrooks to get a widget for Harvey. We need electricity hook up because it is so dang hot here; we are sweltering by 0930 hrs. But the plug is damaged so we need a new one. There is always something that needs fixing or replacing. The road is tough on ‘systems'.

I amused myself whilst Uli hunted for the part. I had a manicure for 5$US and a trendy hair wash and cut for 14$US. I am now sporting a fringe again. Johnny the stylist was from Columbia and did not speak English. The owner was Italian so he translated. I love it when you pitch up somewhere and you are surrounded by this cosmopolitan energy. Johnny kept dropping his combs and scissors and then did not wash them/replace them so I was a bit nervous. But it in end, he cut a LOAD of hair off – he cut into it and thinned it out. It was like a woolly tea cosy before; far too heavy and hot. Now it is quite trendy and Uli likes it! Yeah!

Then we got lost in the Mall. Literally. It is huge. We wandered around and around and couldn’t find an exit. Uli became irate. I thought it was funny. Normally, it’s the other way around! We finally made it out, and then we became lost in the concrete roadway jungle of Panama City. It’s tricky to navigate this place, especially with a crumby map. We paid three times at the same road toll station. Eventually we worked it out and got back home. If I ever live here I would sell my car and just use taxis. Not worth the blinking headache plus mucho traffic. I had forgotten what a drag it is to sit in hot stinky traffic.

The fun part was hanging out at the new Balbo Yacht Club and meeting two old sea dogs; Tom from near Glasgow, Scotland and Buddy from Tennessee, USA. They have a passion for boats and were fun to chat with and gain info on how we can catch a yacht going through the canal and have a free ride as crew.

Tom is skippering a huge Katamaran (20 birth) and is awaiting his boss and owner to come to Panama City and then they will sail to Australia and sell the boat for double the price.

Buddy is here on vacation keeping Tom amused. Nice, likely lads. Funny stories. And scary stories too about being shipwrecked. They took us down to Flamenco Yacht Club at the end of the Amador causeway where the real sailors hang out – nice bar/resto surrounded by beautiful yachts in the marina and cheaper Balboa beer! I shall try to hook up with these boys again; they are great company and I would love to take a peek at the fancy boat!

Hola from Panama City!

Hey - we made it!! The drive over the Bridge of Americas was fun. Great views either side - huge tankers, small yachts, islands, a cluster of Miami-style skyscrapers, helicopters and small fixed wing planes flying around, parks etc etc. I wonder why they did not design the bridge to walk over it? What a missed opportunity. We enjoyed walking across Golden Gate in San Fran and actually climbing over the top of Sidney Harbour Bridge, Australia. Ah well, maybe one day.

We are parked up at Canal Inn in The Boca area, and are right by the Bridge of Americas - I can look up to my left and watch the trucks go by. It's a sweet private b n b and we are of course hogging the car park. It's HOT here! We will have to run Genny to get the heat down b4 bedtime.
We have a good fan in Harvey which is a blessing but I want to buy a baby one for the bedroom too so we can run it at night. Why did I not think of that 4 1/2 years ago? Doughnut!

Today we have jobs; find some propane for Harvey - the fridge/freezer is hungry for propane in this heat; we have to refill every 3-4 weeks which sounds a cinch but you have to track down a Tropigas provider and drive there and get filled up. One day I hope we will be able to arrange a home delivery - but they don't seem to carry the right neck widgets with them for an RV installed LPG tank. Proably because only about 20 RV's pass through Central America per year - hardly a lucrative market.

We need to find a bank and start withdrawing piles of cash - as per usual there will be a daily restriction on how much we can take out - we need to withdraw over 5,000US$ cash to hand over to the agent who is arranging our passage to Columbia.

Ok off we go on a reccie of the City. More later!

Food glorious food!

My BBFF just dropped me a line to tell me about the feast her young children made for the family Sunday lunch. Here is the menu:

Homemade lentil soup with homemade bacon and cheese bread

Beef bouginon with creamy mash potatoes, red cabbage in balsamic vinegar

Individual lemon sponges with double cream and homemade chocolate dipped shortcake

Ooooh I am envious. Shortcake!! Lemon sponge!!

I am sick of eggs and rice and beans and chicken everywhere. We shall make a Thai red curry tonight.

Back in a Land of Milk and Honey

Just popped into a good quality supermarket here in David, Panama. Oh my, the shelves are groaning with gorgeous grub - stuff we haven't seen here in Central America for years. We bought a stash...

+ German Pumpernickel bread - Uli's favourite
+ McVities Digestive biscuits
+ Wasa rye rispbreads
+ Friexenet dry sparking wine - my favourite whilst touring. I refuse to pay silly money for 'poo!

We bought a blender and will make Pina Colada to celebrate!

Want to travel in Harvey for a spell whilst we visit UK?

We will be visiting UK/Europe for a fews weeks from 1 June 2011. Harvey and the Tracker will be parked up somewhere in Ecuador. If you'd like the opportunity to visit a part of South America in a motor home and 4WD tow-car, nows your chance! Let me know.

Los Quetzales Ecolodge, Cerro Punta, Panama

Ok, if you still havn't seen the beloved quetzals since my last recommendation, then you can stay here and see them. Check out www.losquetzales.com its an eco-lodge up in a cloud forest up a volcano, spaceous yet still cosy, with big comfy arm chairs, rugs and copper/glass fireplaces in the centre of the room so no one can hog the heat. The kind of place when you walk in you feel you can kick off your shoes and get snuggly on the sofa and help yourself to their books and order a coffee and pineapple strudel. Which is exactly what we did.

There are humming birds too - more colours and varieties and two big labradors, one of which snores!

The villages grow fruit and vegetables at 45 degrees up the slopes - its a strange but pretty site and there are lots of blooming flowers too.

Panama - please don't cut down any more of the cloud forest...otherwise you will cook your goose AKA Quetzal!

Island hopping in Bocas del Toro, Panama!

This was a fun place to visit. The drive to the boat ferry was lovely; up and down over mountainous terrain, hardly any inhabitants. Lots of pretty water falls called Angel's Hair 1 to 4. You could really notice the change in altitude by how the plants changed; low areas for bananas and cow pastures, high up for the conifer trees.

Bocas del Toro has many little islands and you can flit between them via speedy motor boats. Its a relatively unmolested area and a paradise if you like the sea and nature.

Met a guy skin diving with a harpoon catching Lion fish; 'they have invaded the area and are eating everything and killing the coral' he said. Good news is that they taste good but dont touch them til they are cooked, unless you want a hideously painful sting.

Talking about stings; a guy snorkelling off Coral Quay managed to get stung by something in the water - he screamed out for ages. It was awful. 'They' managed to help him but he lay down on the jetty for about 3 hours, recovering from his ordeal. Poor bloke!

We bumped into a local resident who had emigrated from Czech Republic. We got chatting...as you do...and we ended up accepting an invitation to stay at his place for the night. He had a gorgeous luxurious home, hand built to a very high standard and off the grid. Uli was SO impressed with his H2O and solar and pump systems. He had a lovely and fun girlfriend and his home and garden were full of animals; birds, parrots, toucan, peacocks, baby monkey, dogs, fluffy ducklings, geese etc. He also had a little marina so we looked at the boats staying there. He took us out for a spin on his jetski and i didnt even get wet!

Such as lovely chap and so brave to invite a couple of nomads like us to come and stay.

Bocas del Toro

We are packing up to visit these caribbean islands...more later.

Feed the book worm!

Oh yes!! There is a book exchange shop just a few miles from our RV park - The Book Mark www.booksr4reading.wordpress.com - its a great shop stuffed with such a diverse range of books. I sold

1. A Room with a View by E M Forster
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow by JK Rowling

I bought

1. The story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
2. To ride a silver broomstick by Silver RavenWolf
3. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Having read all the Harry Potter books and seen all the films - love the series even though it is written for children - am interested in learning about the history of witches, wizards and magic. Maybe I can learn how to do a charm!

How do you pick a good, cheap book whilst travelling? Book exchanges! Although they are few and far between and often have poor quality books. Here in USA influenced areas, I pick up books with an OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB label on them - haven't been disappointed.

Could not find Stieg Larsson's 3rd book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest but hope it will fall into my hands soon.

Exploring Panama

We are staying at Chiriqui Storage http://www.chiriquistorage.com/ approx. 10 miles north of David - useful hub town for provisions.

We are back in a land of plenty and visited a mall. The shops are brimming with lovely 'things' and we walked around gawping and oohing and aahing at all the pretty 'things' and didnt buy any. That takes some training!

Helmut, Linda and Penelope jointly own the storage business and are very kind and helpful. H and L are into yachting so we look forward to more stories of their adventures. We are only the third RV guest they have had. Not many RV's make this trip and one of the reasons is that there are few and far between places to stay. Plus people don't want to face the border problems. So we are really grateful to Chiriqui Storage for making this space! available!

The doggy in the picture is Tigre - we have been feeding him up with German sausage!

Boquete is a few miles north and we spent a day exploring the town and area. Not hugely impressed with the village - rather tatty with very few original faded glory buildings that could actually be renovated to their former glory. Also a new water channel has been built at huge expense. It is all edged in original rock boulders but it looks like a huge scar running through the town. It badly needs some trees and vegetation planting to soften it all but i reckon they ran out of funds. The surrounding area is absolutely gorgeous. Its about 12000 meters high in altitude so has a cool and comfortable climate. A circular road around the mountains leads you to the posh areas where the coffee Barons and Baronesses have huge estates and plantations and beautiful horses running around.

There was a funky hot water spring hole near village of Caldera 1/2 way between Boquete and the RV park. It was very natural (read between the lines... very stinky toilet pit, no changing room etc. etc.) and in a beautiful setting on the side of the river. The owner(?) was dressed in his best cowboy suite and had some cute animal running freely on his land-horses, geese, chickens, baby goats, a monkey, dogs, peacocks, a cow etc - it was good to see him trying to maximise his location and create other interests to encourage the visitors to stay a while. He offered horse rides and the chance to play with his animals and take photos. He was a nice guy - although overly friendly and touchy, til he saw that I was attached to Uli - but his socks and plastic sandles spoiled the cowboy effect.

Hello from Panama!

Ooof! What a horrible border crossing from Costa Rica to Panama. Why did I imagine that it could be better than all the other Central American crossings? With the USA influence, it may be a little more streamlined and organised and coordinated? Not!

In fact, it took over 3 hours. But our all time record is 24 hours from Nicaragua to Costa Rica where we got stuck at the border in no mans land on a Sunday and hate to wait til Monday morning for a lawyer to turn up at his office. But that is another story. We made the most of that predicament and had a nice supper with the local truckies. We even received a fresh pineapple from a truck driver who was kept waiting so long that his consignment of pineapples were going off. Poor chap! It made us feel a lot better about our situation - there is always someone worse off than you.

Getting out of Costa Rica was a cinch. Entering Panama was tricky. All these CA countries are paranoid that you are going to import a foreign vehicle and then sell it in the country and not pay import taxes. And we had two vehicles. So, they make you run the gauntlet of visiting different kiosks with different bits of paper and having things stamped, once, twice, three times and more and the whole thing goes on for ever and no one is coordinating with each other. It seems the more 'corrupt' a country is, the more silly stamps and bits of paper you need, resulting in absolutely no accountability by anyone.

No one wears uniforms so you cant distinguish between an 'official' and a border urchin so you have to have your wits about you. You can use an urchin to 'help you' for a small fee but we never do. Its best to learn the drill yourself. And even so, the paper-pushers still cant seem to copy a 7 digit number plate correctly from one sheet of paper to another. So you have to double check all their work.

You have to keep a tight lid on your frustration and fatigue as becoming irrate has no effect whatsoever. I do feel a bit sorry for these administrators as it cannot be a rewarding job; but they signed up for it.

Despite our best efforts we did have a problem: we left the border and drove into Panama and congratulated each other on making it over. Then a few miles down the road at the first check point we were turned back. We had to return and have yet another stamp and signature on a another piece of paper - see what I mean about lack of coordination between the workers? That cost us an hour and gallon of petrol. The guy wanted a 'soda' for calling us back and stamping various bits of paper. He said he 'saved us 500US$' I wanted to give him an earful for being an incompetent ninnie and wasting our time and petrol. Instead I smiled sweetly and said I was very tired of being at the frontera for over 3 hours and was looking forward to enjoying his country. He did not recive a soda.

La Exotica bar and restaurant, Ojochal, Costa Rica

Had a most exquisitely yumptious dinner out last night at a French (Quebec) restaurant. Oooh it was lovely and pretty and elegant and the food was so delightfully presented and tasted divine.

The tiramisu was exceptionally good.

The staff were charming, knowledgeable and responsive yet employed deference and made you feel special; table waiting is such a subtle artform, if done well. We felt like VIP's and enjoyed a very luxurious evening. I didn't flinch when the (big) bill came - it was worth every moment. Such good attention to detail is hard to sustain and they did a superb job. It's a long time since we have enjoyed fine dining together.

Burp! Ooops. Tonight we are having sardines picante on toast!

TripAdvisor mess up...fixed!

Phew! I am saved.

There is a 'delete' option on reviews you have written. It means you can't write about the same place again for 3 months. But at least my well intended but 0 stars review will disappear and won't do Alejo any damage. Uli can resend our positive review instead and hit the correct number of stars this time.Doh!

The website for the aparthotel is www.apartotelplayaluna.com so you can see where we are parked.

Walking "quickly!" along the Whale tail at Uvita Point, Costa Rica

We walked all the way out to the whale tail and then walked back - quickly. Why? Because the whale tail is sand and rock formation that only appears for a short while at very low tide. It looks just like a whale tail from the air.

I am sure we had plenty of time to walk leisurely there and back. But it is a long tail and once we were at the end I looked back and got the heebie-geebies and wanted to run all the way; I was worried the sea would rush in and we would be stranded. What a baby! Uli was his cool self as per usual and wanted to start snorkelling. Fine - I'll see you later then, cos I am off!

By the way, I have worked out how 'Jesus' appeared to walk on water; he knew about tides and sandbanks. His audience didn't!

Capuchin monkeys at Manwell Antonio National Park, Costa Rica

Spent the day at Manwell Antonio, a beautiful tropical forest national park, just south of Quepos. Quepos was a seedy dump, but when you drive up the hill to the park, there are very nice hotels and apartment. Almost too nice really...the place was chokker with tourists and the park overful.
This is obviously the mecca of coastal tourism of CR.

The last time we saw these curious monkeys was at Monte Verde, Costa Rica. They look like they are wearing a little hat.

The park beaches were gorgeous - white sand and coconuts, all natural and unspoilt, thank goodness. A kind chap gave me his two spent tickets for free!! That saved us 20US$. Yippee!

Beach, bar and restaurant hopping!

Think we are now getting the hang of how to relax on the Costa Rica coast, Gringo style; we had a lovely vacuous day visiting different unspoilt beaches, then hotel and restaurant bars for coffee and then we had lunch in a posh restaurant called La Exotica. It is curious to see these elegantly presented developments tucked behind the tropical jungle and the sea.

I should be crawling up waterfalls but it is quite pleasant to follow your nose and see what the muy rico Gringo's get up to when they 'vacation' here. I am becoming somewhat tired of rice and beans and scrambled-to-death eggs. Here there is International cuisine - French, Thai, Italian...not a refried bean in sight!

We have reserved an evening table at Exotica. I am going to dust off a dress and fish out some high heels and war paint my face. I will order delights like homemade liver pate with a caramelised onion jam, or duck breast with orange confit. Voila!


Why all this extravagance? Well, once again the Queen of Outrageous Requests managed to cut a deal at the place we are staying. So we are going to splash out and spend the saving on hedonistic pursuits...my favourite being eating scrumptious grub.

TripAdvisor mess up!

I wrote a nice review for Alejo the owner here at Playa Luna Aparthotels. Just as I hit the send key, possibly an error occured - it all happened a bit quick - where instead of giving the place 5 stars, it gave the place 0 stars! Good grief. I will have to wait til it is published. It has gone into the ether. If its wrong how to fix it? Dang - trying to help the guy who deserves it and end up making a mess.

Playa Uvita, Bahia de Coronado, Pacific Ocean, Costa Rica

Yesterday was freezing. Now its too hot!! He he. There can't be that many countries where you can wake up in a tropical cloud forest at over 3,000 meters, then jump in the RV/car and be at a beach on the Pacific Ocean in less than 3 hours. Uvita is a beach south of Quepos. My first take is that it is a well maintained Gringo holiday resort.

There are 2 national parks here we want to explore. Maybe we will also spot the hump-backed whales on their migration. The last time we enjoyed these magestic, gentle and playful creatures was on the west coast of Bahia de California. The little babies we saw then are probably making their own way on the migration by now. Loved those whales!

We are staying parked in the grounds of Playa Luna aparthotels. Alejo is the owner and we feel comfortable and safe and we have internet and a big pool. This time we are paying 25$US per night and Uli is complaining about it!!! Had some laundry washed and dried - by the owner - - how embarassing!

Quetzals in mountain tropical cloud forest of Costa Rica!!!

Good - A dream has come true!!! We saw 3 respendant Quetzals.
Bad-Writing this Blog is already driving me crazy because it is getting out of sequence and I have to back track and I cant find the fr*gg*n locations of the places despite having 3 maps a my disposal!
Ugly -Nothing - thank goodness!

Ok, more details:
First - Quetzals!
You HAVE to make the effort to see these absolutely stunning, gorgeous, shy birds. they are from the Trogon species but I think they belong under Birds-of-Paradise. We saw them in the Cerro de la Muerte cloud forest, south of Cartago, Costa Rica.
NB To increase your chances of seeing them:

1. pick the right season -its February now


2. drive to an altitude of min 3,000 meters


3. hang out for the clouds to clear


4. get up at the crack of twit


5. hire a guide and make sure he is carrying a telescope powerful enough to spot the man on the moon. We went with a guide called Jorge Serrano. His family owns land in the area and own and run Hotel De Montana, Paraiso Quetzal http://www.paraisodelquetzal.com/ He charged us 10US$ for the guided hike 1 1/2 hours and guaranteed a siting. Very sweet chap and spoke some English. The hotel is rustic and clean and cosy and you can rent cabins with amazing views. You can watch at least 5 types of humming birds whilst you sip a warming mug of locally grown coffee after the hike.


6. hike uphill in wet slippery cloud forest for an hour or so

And then, if you are very very lucky you will see these most exquisite of birds high up in wild avocado trees. You have to have a guide - it would have been impossible for me or Uli to have spotted the bird without one. I think we are the luckiest people on the planet to have seen these feathered creatures!!

Location

We were planning to drive with Harvey down into the valley and stay at the posh Trogon lodge (in their car park!) but decided not to put Harvey (and us) through the ordeal of trying to drive down and then having to hire a tractor to pull us out. Last time we did that was in Belize, and some kindly Mennonites dragged us out of a mud pit. I wish Winnebago would make a 4x4 motor home so we can drive up and down steep muddy roads.

We stayed up on the main carretera in the secure car park of Los Chespiritos cafeteria http://www.chespiritos.com/ owned and managed by a Manuel, Eladio and Herardo. They let us stay 2 nights for free and we frequented their cafe in return for their kindness. Lovely local grub and very reasonable prices. They even had a friendly dog to keep us company in the car park. Thanks Boys - we had a very welcome and safe stay with you!

But my, it was freezing up there at night > 50 F.

We visited The Trogon Lodge http://www.grupomawamba.com/ which I highly recommend and enjoyed breakfast there and watched humming birds.

Harvey gets new shoes/tyres

Oh dear. A huge rock wedged itself between 2 of Harvey's rear tyres and created a blister spot on each. Can we keep going with the damaged tyres?

Apparently not; they risk bursting. We dont want to be up a creek without a paddle and with burst tyres so we had better sort it out.

Much, much later, we have secured replacement tyres - it has taken us 9 days to secure new tyres. We were initially 'manana'd' for the first week; we called a supplier and they assured us they could have the tyres within 3 days. We called each day and each time they promised the tyres for 'manana'. Lesley became cross and insulted and suspicious and so we took to the road in the Tracker and luckily found a supplier who had 14 of the correct tyres in stock. We never learn! And we never went back to the tyre shop who had taken our order - serves them right!

It took us all day to do 4 things:

1. drive out of the finca - problem with wet mud, uphill exit and had to use wood to level off the ground so Harvey didnt scrape his underbelly/fuel tanks on the ground. Managed it in the end and saved $30US by not hiring a tractor to pull us out of mud.
2. go and buy the tyres
3. have the tyres fitted at another location
4. find a secure place for the night

And people wonder what we do all day!

Now we are off again, 450$US lighter in pocket. Ouch! It was great to have a refuge at La Flor eco-finca, but we were getting itchy to return to the road.

2,300 metres high in mountains of Costa Rica

Brrrr! Its chilly here. We are somewhere along a mountain road south of San Jose on our way to see if we can spot the elusive Quetzal bird.

We are parked outside a 24 hour Police office so feel quite safe, but when the articulated lorries drive by, Harvey shakes a little. Thank goodness for earplugs, a warm duvet and of course my snuggly Uli.

Unfortunately its only a temporary reprieve; we need to find somewhere secure and conventient to park as a base from which to explore the area. Fingers crossed!

La Flor de Paraiso eco-finca,Costa Rica

We are staying a few days at an eco-finca, 1 hour east of San Jose, Costa Rica. www.la-flor.org It's a small farm located in a beautiful cloud forest 1,300 metres high. its on the edge of the Orosi valley and lake. We are parked up in front of the horses and goat's stables. Feeding time is 0600hrs. Great to be right next to nature. Its a really lovely location and friendly eco-responsible facility to visit and stay a while and even learn a thing or two.

There is a course going on at the moment on permaculture www.permaculture.org I managed to wangle my way into a lecture - it was fascinating. I shall put a course on my wish-list, I would like to learn more about nature and how to work in harmony with it.

Yesterday, for Valentine's day we toured the valley and lake and ended up at MONTANA TRUCHA DE CACHI, a trout farm and restaurant with a difference; you catch you own fish and they cook it for you al gusto. It is well designed and incorporates the river and nature in the area and the trout was yummy. Thanks for a lovely Valentine's Day, darling Uli!!! xx

Alternative lifestyle:10 degrees above with Kim and Barry

Had a fun and spontaneous day out yesterday. Drove from Guayabo National Monument east to Mighty Rivers Eco-farm www.mightyrivers.net near Siquirres. The owners were on vacation but we were lucky to meet Kim and Barry instead who were caretaking. They have moved from USA and have bought land in Costa Rica and plan to build a home from scratch and run a Photography Course business www.10degreesabove.com I had a peek at Barry's blog www.hovlandphotography.blogspot.com he is very talented so I am sure the business will be a great success.

We shared ideas and experiences, cleaned the car, burnt the rubbish, tried to cure some bamboo that Barry wants to use to make a St Valentine's gift for Kim - but I think we scorched it instead!

We had a refreshing dip in a local river and ate delicious handmade ice cream made from milk and eggs from the farm.

Kim and Barry were great company and hosts and we enjoyed hanging out with them in such a beautiful, eco-friendly area of Costa Rica.

Scrambled brains

I have scrambled brains today; not noodle-like, more like too much electricity and confusion.

Uli has already slotted straight back into life with Harvey. I have not. I feel unsettled. I feel tired. Yet I feel antsy. I don’t know what to with myself. I guess it will take 3 weeks to get back into it. Apparently all habits - good and bad - take 3 weeks to adopt/drop. I will be patient and just go with the flow and not put pressure on myself and just accept that it will take as long as it takes.

This park in Costa Rica is nice. My favourite butterfly the morpho azul is fluttering all around. the first time I saw one was when I was just a kid and it was in a presentation box, nailed to a bit of cardboard. I was disgusted and appalled and saddened at how all these beautiful butterflies were dead and pegged out. But at the same time, when I saw the big blue one, I remember saying to myself I wonder where that came from? One day I am going to see one of those alive….and here I am doing it. Woooo!!!

Back on road after a year in Granada, Nicaragua

Now at Guayabo National Monument, east of San Jose, Costa Rica. A very beautiful and tranquil nature spot. My favourite butterflies - the morpho azul - are fluttering around.

Yes, we finally left Granada, Nica. It was a wrench. So much to do and in the end we left with a list of 'to do's 'that was not completed.

This is the start of the third leg of our Americas tour. Panama and South America, here we come!