Recent Guests and Latest News @ Panama Passage!

[@panamapassage]

We have only been open for a few weeks and we have already had the chance to accommodate many overlanders so I think it could be a good idea to show some pictures.

John from Colorado with his KTM990SE, our first guest ever!

The Reyes family, Apollo, Magellan, Darma, Cat & Paul. Sans their Defender…

No photos of the inmates – but Grant, Cynthia and Max’s bikes….oh and Shaun's too. The Katoom liked having company.

Marc, Sarah, Mel, Kahung and Dante from Canada. Marc and Sarah drove the Westfalia (Bella: blog) down from New Brunswick (that’s in Canada BTW) and Kahung and the gang drove their Land Cruiser from Kingston, Ontario (also Canada).

Unfortunately the LC (The Mule: blog) was shipped out of Costa Rica back home….

George with his 650GS, Dave and Ann’s Nissan Xterra (http://www.advodna.com/), and Chris and Leif’s KIA “billy goat”.

Christian
www.panamapassage.com

 

[@panamapassage]

Luc from Belgium has already crossed all of Africa and South America, and he is on his way up to USA on a nice Transalp 600.

Stay tuned for more!

 

[viajeros4x4x4]

It's a pity we are going to the north.... already crossed thru panama a year ago...
Good luck there and lots of traveller stories!!!

 

[@panamapassage]

It's a pity we are going to the north.... already crossed thru panama a year ago...
Good luck there and lots of traveller stories!!!

Pablo/Anna

It was an immense pleasure to meet you - don't forget my invitation, you have a place waiting in Quebec!

Christian

 

[@panamapassage]

ShareNew laws regarding loading your vehicles in a container in Colon, Panama

Looks like there has been some changes regarding the loading of your vehicle in Panama:

From Shaun:

I was in Colon today to help with a friends shipment from Panama to LA in a 20′ container.

As of 3 weeks ago – the Port of Colon just changed their regulations regarding container shipping. The vehicle owner, or the freight forwarder are no longer allowed to supervise the loading of their container. Nor are they allowed to seal the container.

Essentially – I'm told by Port employees that they have disallowed any non employees to enter the port. According to them, it's too crowded and dangerous to have non authorized personnel walking around.

So – the new procedure is: when you are ready to load, you drive to the port entrance, wait in a fenced in yard where they will photodocument your vehicle, and where a K9 comes to sniff for contraband. You also provide them with a detailed list of items that will be in the vehicle. At that point – you relinquish your key, hand them the appropriate paperwork and hope that your vehicle is a) in the same shape as when it when in and b) nothing is missing out of it.

I'm also told that if you show up with boots, a hardhat, and a bright neon vest, they may let you in. But for now – no one gets in the ship yard. The next time I go to Colon I will test this theory by bringing the appropriate gear and making myself a nuisance until I'm let into the yard.

I'll update you on the condition of my friends vehicle when it reaches LA in 2-3 weeks.

More on the site, where we provide with the most accurate and recent information: www.panamapassage.com

 

[@panamapassage]

Ben from NYC on his Yamaha XT600. He rode down to Panama from NY and now headed back home.

We met on the road down to Panama...Apparently Ben is a huge fan of Expo! Here's an excerpt from his blog:

The ride from the border, from the highlands to the lowlands is pretty spectacular. Nice sunny weather, green mountains, rivers, farms everywhere and most importantly, great smooth asphalt. I am 100 miles or so into Panama and I pull over to take a pic. Behind me, a KTM supermoto pulls up and I meet Shaun from Quebec, by way of the Bay Area,, who has been trying to catch up to me for the past hour. He tells me that he now lives in Panama City and has just opened a place and a company called Panama Passage which gives motorcycle and 4x4 travellers a place to stay and sort out the crossing into Colombia (only possible by air or sea from Panama with a vehicle). I had read about this place on ADVrider and was stoked at the coincidence. To make things even cooler, Shaun's partner Christian pulls up in a modifird Toyota Land Cruiser soon after, with "Expedition Portal" written on the side. Expedition Portal is a website that I have slowly become addicted to, about and for folks who modify 4x4's especially Land Cruisers and Land Rovers for expedition travel. Its probably going to be my next thing. Oh yeah, and Christian is the president of the company! I marvel for a bit at meeting these 2 guys out here on the side of the road in Panama, and we agree to meet up at the next town, Santiago, about 90 minutes away. We hit the road together and at Santiago, Christian and Shaun decide to get dinner, while I opt to keep riding in as much daylight as possible, to get to Panama City before its really late. Shaun lets us know he is going to stay the night there, and Christian will head to PC after dinner. ( They are both coming from Bocas del Toro, an archipelago near the CR border on the Carribean side, where I will be headed in a week or so). The already good road turns into a nice 4 lane highway, straight, and I am not bored at all, instead enjoying the fast, smooth ride. I stop and fuel up the bike and eat. Its dark now, and my stop has allowed Christian to catch up to me in his Toyota. We cross the Bridge of the Americas and he leads me to Luna's Castle, a large and funky hostel where I aim to save a few bucks. We agree to meet for drinks with Shaun and some others at the bar downstairs the next day and Christian heads off. I plan on staying at Panama Passage for a few days as well, especially since Shaun and Christian have offered me a nice deal for a longer term stay. As I settle into my cramped and hot dungeon-like room, I immediately wish I had just gone to Panama Passage. Oh well, for a couple of days I can deal with it, and the location in the heart of the old city is pretty sweet. The saving grace of the room is a beautiful French- Moroccan girl I'll call "A", who is leaving the next night. We have a long conversation and agree to hang out the next day in town, checking out the sights and such. I head out myself and walk around the old city at night. It is mostly restored and very nice, and the view across the bay to the modern skyline of Panama City at night is pretty stunning. Its the first metropolis I have been in since Mexico City, many months ago, and the only city like it in Central America. I hit the sack eager to explore PC and also to ride to the end of the Pan Am highway in Yaviza, a few hundred kms away and just 30 miles from the Colombian border.

Safe travels Ben…

 

[@panamapassage]

A Swiss couple just arrived with this camper combo...I think it's almost bigger than my Bigfoot. Apparently they are having some challenges with their truck, so we are trying to help them locating a Cummins mechanic in town.

Christian

 

[Trail Monkey]

Looks like your getting nice traffic, so soon too..! truly was a need for you guys in Panama..!

 

[Victorian]

Tell us about that German BMW... please :bike_rider:

 

[Christian P.]

Looks like your getting nice traffic, so soon too..! truly was a need for you guys in Panama..!

yep, you can say so! Apparently we have 12 overlanders tonight !

3 bikes, Africa Twin, Goldwin and a BMW R1200, a swiss couple in the Dodge Cummins/Camper and more...

 

[@panamapassage]

more guests...

http://www.panamapassage.com/guestbook/

Simon and Panny, and their dirty trusty Trans Alps in the background. Panny was able to replace his leaky seal – which he sourced from another guest that happened to have a spare in his car?! Blog here...

The Beng Family – stayed with us for 2 weeks – lovely lovely people. Sad to see their Polo gone but glad they made it on the boat.

 

[High Center]

What a wonderful thing-
Your updates are inspiring and very accurately display the goodwill and spirit of the traveler.

Best of luck

 

[@panamapassage]

well, we have a problem. Our yard is full already!

Many guests from the Portal are there at the moment - can you recognize these 2 trucks?

 

[jorgec]

http://www.adventurouspirits.com/

and

http://panamnotes.com/

 

[rockandroll]

http://www.adventurouspirits.com/

and

http://panamnotes.com/

Winner!

We're all inside trying to figure out how to get these hoss' to Colombia.