6
PANAMA
Capurgana, Colombia – Puerto Obaldia, Panama
It rained hard during the night, causing a fresh and damp start to the day. The boat
operating between Capurgana, Colombia and Puerto Obaldia, Panama was quite
expensive, and it was best to wait at the dock to get a better offer. Finally, a deal
was made, but the “regular boat” had a problem with the “good offer”. After
fighting it out amongst themselves, we were taken to Puerto Obaldia at no extra
charge.
The sea was rough, but our tiny boat got us safely to Puerto Obaldia where we
proceeded to the immigration office for a second time. Still, it took explaining in
broken Spanish (proudly presenting the embassy’s letter) that South Africans didn’t
need a visa to Panama beforehand. Nonetheless, we were told to return in the
morning when the boss was in the office. At least we weren’t sent back to
Columbia, like three days earlier.
The annual rainfall in the area was more than 10m/a. Luckily, a covered area on the
veranda of a derelict community hall provided space to pitch the tents. By then, I
had $85 to get Ernest and myself to Colon, rumoured to be the first place with an
ATM. Ten dollars were spent buying food and a few beers and with rain gushing
down, we settled in. The roof we camped under at least allowed cooking and
chatting.
Even though in Panama, we weren’t out of the woods as no roads ran to or from
Puerto Obaldia. The small landing strip could nonetheless accommodate small
planes. Still, I had no money, and even if I did, the six-seaters which flew to and
from Puerto Obaldia couldn’t accommodate bicycles.