CHAPTER 15
We hadn’t really planned things out very thoroughly, so our time in Panama ended up being pretty short and uneventful. Our good friend Taylor had wanted to come see us on our trip somewhere, and because he had a friend from work who had family in Venezuela, he decided to go there. Unfortunately, due to a month delay to our departure date from Colorado, it was necessary to change our route to skip Venezuela because of lack of time. About half way through Costa Rica we got the idea that if we skipped Panama instead, we might still be able to make it to Venezuela in time to see him. With this new plan in our minds, we rushed to Panama City and started arranging the shipping of our truck.
The road between Panama and Colombia is all but non-existent, and only those with a wish to become intimately acquainted with the sharp end of a drug bandit’s machete dare attempt to cross the infamous Darien Gap. A few hardy souls have made the trip successfully, though I won’t say unscathed, but many who have entered that unforgiving stretch of jungle have never been heard of again. For the rest of us, the only way around the gap is to load your vehicle onto a south bound cargo ship, and then either fly or sail to the southern continent, yourself.
We had made plans with Erik and Noah to share a 40’ cargo container that could fit both of our vehicles, thereby reducing our shipping costs, and we had decided to go with the Barwil Shipping Agency. This turned out to be one, if not THE, biggest mistake of our trip. Though we had read a few good reviews of Barwil from other travelers on the internet (why we picked them in the first place), we ultimately discovered that they are the nemesis of the South American bound traveler. Our own experience was one of frustration and bewildering astonishment at the deceptive practices, insensitive customer service, and downright lies issuing forth from both the Barwil office in Panama, and their partner agency in Cartagena, Colombia- King Ocean Services. Regrettably, we later heard of other recent travelers having similar experiences to ours, but by the time we learned this, we were already sitting in Cartagena waiting, for a full 2 weeks it turned out (instead of the 2 days promised by Barwil), for our truck to arrive.
We spent what time we had in Panama City walking around the old colonial neighborhood, Casco Viejo, and we even made the obligatory tourist trip to see the Panama Canal in action. Erik and Noah arrived a few days after us, and with high spirits we drove our trucks into the dark cave of a cargo container one gray rainy afternoon. The next day we took a cab to the airport and were on the 1pm flight to Cartagena, Colombia, South America!
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