One must back-track towards David to get on the road to Bocas. You go up over some mountains and come back down with views of the Caribbean along the way. There is a reservoir on the Caribbean side of the mountains. There are some indigenous people on the coast there and you notice a different style of house. There are no gas stations along the way, so you want to fill up when you take the turn off the Pan-American highway 1.

We came to a halt behind a long line of cars around noon, on the Caribbean coast. There are vast areas there with no roads which you can see but not explore. There were some sloths in the trees along the road which we got some good photos of. There was a large, modern tour bus full of Dutch people. We eventually got out of the car to do a recon mission to the front (the whole trip was one long recon mission) and we learned that the roadblock was a protest by the schools because they don't have computers in the schools and every political party that gets elected promises the technology and then does not deliver. The roads were blocked by dropping trees across the road and some power lines had come down with the trees.

We waited for five hours and Mimi was keen on passing the cars and moving forward. There were some vehicles which were turning around and leaving, but I told her the danger of moving up was that some people could get pissy, and it might be difficult to find another spot to fit in. We eventually pulled forward and got back in right behind a Dutch man and his wife and I told her we just wanted to jump in behind a nice Dutch woman and she was happy to hear that and wanted to know how I knew she was Dutch and her husband offered me a warm beer. I told them I was disappointed that they didn't have any potatoes or cheese and he explained to me that they weren't camping.

We eventually got past the first road block, then we were trapped in between two roadblocks. We walked to the front and they had some school furniture and trees blocking the road and police everywhere. Someone made a speech and I think it was a good speech, then a man asked me for help to move a big cabinet and we did that and ran to our car and started the race into the port town, which, like all port towns, was a bit of an armpit.

Of course the ferry schedule was all backed up and everyone was anxious to get to the main island before the ferries stopped. There was no room for us on the first ferry, so I shouted to the boat that they were all doomed and would soon drown at sea and there was some jeering and what not. We had again packed enough stuff for just a hotel stay in our backpacks, leaving most of our gear in the car, but we had some Turkish suitcases with us as well. We were assured there were grocery stores there on the island.

Lots of Germans on the main island. There is an airport there too. We landed with no overnight reservations so we checked a few places and found a nice gal in a restaurant and she pointed us to a hostel and we went there and it was fine. Not as nice as our last one, which was excellent, but it was on the water with boat excursions departing from right behind us, just a staircase down from our room. Lots of hotels/restaurants which backed up to the water. So you could sit and have a beer or a meal right on the water. We booked the obligatory introductory boat tour for the next day, the deluxe tour I might add, which included seeing some dolphins, a visit to sloth island, speeding through the mangrove islands ala Miami Scheiss (Vice), some turtle island, and lunch at a place where we could snorkel and swim. $30/head plus lunch. There are some nice resorts in this area, but you have to get to them and buy in for $250/night plus your meals. From there, I'm sure you can go on snorkeling or diving excursions. One could also stay in that big island town and take excursions out of there. The hostel was $10/head and no towels. The reception was telling me where to buy a towel when Mimi told me she brought hers, so that saved the day.

There was a big group of German guys and a bunch of Taco girls from Costa Rica. We had a young woman from Argentina as a roommate. We met her once and never again. I don't know where all the young people went at night, but they apparently doubled up in beds somewhere else that night because our place was empty that morning. I sat in front of the hostel in the evening with the reception guy and the security guy and watched people walk by. There were some whores running around and the police swept through at one point and I was advised to get in the building at that point, which I did. Lots of bars and restaurants, music, people in their 20's so I would say a party town.

We took an early ferry back to the armpit in the morning and there was a couple from Argentina on our ferry with us. I sang a few verses of "don't cry for me Argentina" for them, which they enjoyed a lot and I think Mimi liked it as well. We drove about 5 hours towards the airport and stopped for lunch and they were sitting in the restaurant. We got a speeding ticket on the way and that must have put us behind them because I visited with the police officer for quite a while. He counter-offered my $20 with a suggestion of $40, which we settled upon. I think what they do there with a normal ticket is put it on your passport. That was supposed to be $150, but I don't think it would have been processed by 06:00 the next morning and I thought it was important to keep the money local.

Dusk was closing in on us as we entered Panama City and the Autopiste disappeared beneath us. Mimi refused to get out of the car and ask for directions, so I found it couthy to get out of the car myself and ask directions to Tocumen. Had to go old school and confirm directions every kilometer. Got close to Tocumen and stopped at a gas station and got all our gear cleaned up and stowed and topped off the fuel. Dropped off the car at the arrival deck without a hitch and proceeded to the restaurant. We were scheduled to depart @ 08:00 the next morning. Got Mimi set up with a rug and a pillow and I spread out the tablecloth on the floor and slept. We were the first to do this and I woke up around midnight to find ourselves surrounded by central Americans on all sorts of tarps, blankets, etc. I think some of them were more adept at sleeping on a concrete floor than I was.

You don't want to drive in Panama after dark. We didn't have any troubles to speak of, but we are a professional driving team with cat-like reflexes, years of international experience under the harshest of circumstances and we can navigate by intuition while taking photographs at high speeds and eating lunch at the same time. Aside from the potholes and speed bumps, the roads are excellent and you don't have to worry about any directional signs because they don't exist or are sun-bleached and can not be read. Some people think that GPS is the way to go but I believe it will weaken your mind over time.