Bienvenidos a Panama. The customs agent didn't say that, I only read it on the sign as I arrived at my last border in Central America. I reached the immigration office at 10AM and it was already blazing hot. I passed through immigration and customs within an hour after going through the necesarry steps of getting insurance and the required paperwork. This was the first country that didn't come look at my bike to verify the VIN. Somehow I managed to get in without being asked for proof that I had … [Read more...]
Panama City
I had been looking forward to getting to Panama City for a while. Not entirely for the city, but for what it marked. Panama is the end of the first stage of my trip. Originally planning on taking 3 months to get from California to Panama it was shortened to just 2. Doesn't seem like long ago that I left but looking over my route, I've come a long way. Riding down the Pan American highway into Panama City I was awestruck by the skyline. Panama City is towering with sky scrapers along the city's … [Read more...]
Crossing The Gap
Sailing From Panama to Colombia When I started researching what I needed to know about riding down to Argentina, I was surprised to learn that I couldn't actually ride the whole way. In Panama I would have to take a boat or fly to cross a wild jungle region known as the Darien Gap. The region has no real roads through it and is known to be a dangerous place as there are rebels and narco traffickers running through the area. There are a lot of options to cross the gap but the one I was most … [Read more...]
Video: Crossing the Darien Gap
Places Beyond: Crossing the Darien Gap on the Stahlratte from Places Beyond on Vimeo. … [Read more...]
