I decided to spend my last night in Costa Rica in a town in the Highlands called San Vito. Of course i missed the turnoff completely and ended up in Palmar Norte 40 kns away, so backtrack i did. The views riding up into the mountains were spectacular. The road cutting through the valleys and climbing to the cool ridgetop, small farmlets dotting the hillsides. The town was settled by Italians so an alterior motive to visiting was to get a decent pasta and a little joy it was to. The guide books advice was that the road to Cuidad Neilly was completely sealed but alas they were very mistaken. Again the road was in bad condition steep with loose gravel in places as well as stoney potholed parts. A 38 km ride took the best part of one and a half hours, and yes more land slides and washouts. The views when i got a chance to take my eyes from the road were incredibly beautiful, the Pacific Ocean always in view as the road snaked its way down the mountain. Clouds masking the tops of the volcanic peaks giving a tri colour effect of white, with green fields below and the blue of the Pacific.
I reached the base of the mountain and the border and stopped to reflect for a while on this being my last Central American land border. The crossing was very straight forward only an hour for the formalities. One dollar was paid for fumigation and i thought it would be like the other countries where they dont actually do the fumigation. I was waved through the border crossing, as Herbert and i crossed the border we were sprayed automatically the only problem was i had my flip up helmet flipped up. I now know what the poms feel like entering Australia as i copped a face full of god knows what. I was in Panama my last Central American country. Although it felt Central American it certainly didnt look it with a 4 lane highway leading most of the way to the capital. The lean look of the other republics replaced with the overstuffed western look of excess. The road followed the plains, with volcanic peaks always in view. Watching storms brewing on the Pacific and the Caribean sides as i rode along, around 2 pm they would join and the rain, thunder and lightening would make its daily appearance. 2 more days and i should reach Panama City where i will formalise details for the shipments of Herbert and myself to Colombia, hope its as straight forward as it sounds.
I reached Penomome about one two hours from Panama City as the heavens opened up. It was literally seconds after i parked the bike and for the first time in ages i had timed a stop perfectly. The next day was a short ride into Panama City So i continued on to the airport and found my way without any problems. After locating the cargo terminals i rode around a few companies for quotes and settled on Copa Air. herbert would fly on Friday three days time and so would I. They just wanted the bike no crating, no draining fluids or diconnecting batteries. The only problem was not being able to clear the bike till the following Monday. At least this will give me a chance explore Panama City and at the other end Bogota. It will be a relief when i have Herbert at the other end and can start on stage four of the journey.
Thursday came and i prepped Herbert for shipping, i then had a wet ride to the Cargo section of the airport. The paperwork done i bid a farewell to Herbert with a pang of anxiety at leaving him there. He flies tomorrow aas do i. This is my last day in Central America. Tomorrow i start the next leg of my journey, i have to admit that the nervous tension is setting in, it takes me back to day one in Mexico.
