(^8) Puerto Obaldia
Following a long rigmarole, Ernest and I were eventually stamped into Panama.
Hallelujah!
Puerto Obaldia was a military post with truly little happening. Meeting Simon, who
hailed from Italy, didn’t take long. Simon was travelling by 50cc motorbike from
Ushuaia to Alaska. He had, by then, already set a new record for distance travelled
by a 50cc. For several days, Simon had been stuck in Puerto Obaldia, searching for
a boat around the impenetrable Darien Gap. The Darien Gap is a break in the Pan
American Highway between Colombia and Panama. The area is a dense jungle
stretching almost 100 kilometres without roads or facilities. It’s considered home to
the lawless, anti-government guerrillas and drug-smuggling cartels. The gap made
overland travel across Central America pretty much impossible, and the only way
around was, thus, by sea or air.
Spotting a small wooden cargo boat (the Rey Emmanuel) anchored in the bay, we
searched for the captain, who, like any good captain, was found drinking in the
cantina. I didn’t know if this was a good time to negotiate as I didn’t have enough
money to pay for the trip. Luckily, Captain Marseille was in a good mood and
offered us a fair price ($80 each) and agreed I could pay once in Miramar.
Furthermore, he informed me that an ATM was located about 50 kilometres from
where the boat was to anchor. The trip was reportingly going to take between three
and six days. Cooking wasn’t allowed, and no food was included in the price. Armed
with this information, the three of us took off to the single shop to buy canned
food, and ingredients we thought one might be able to cook whenever the boat
docked.
The only canned food at the little shop consisted of spam and pork & beans, which
we purchased, hoping one could stock up at a few islands. The captain further
informed us he could take us to Miramar, a village along the Panama coast from
where a road ran to Panama City.
leana
(Leana)
#1