July 14th-21st. Days 104-111.



It took us a little while but we finally left the air conditioned comfort of the nicest hotel that we’ve stayed at thus far.



And by the end of that day, having ridden through the rain, we were where we were going to stay that night. All of our things ended up sprawled around the room, in a vain attempt to dry them out. Useless really, but we tried.



The next day was the same story, rain followed rain, and soon thereafter we landed ourselves on the Panamanian border. $16 dollars and about 2.5 hours later we landed in Volcan, Panama.



Arriving around 6pm we tried to find a lavanderia to dry our soaking wet clothes. They were all closed, and without much ado we found a cheap place to eat, and hit the sack.


The next day, awake and somber with the dreary overcast skies clouding over our enthusiasm, we hung around. Apparently Patrick was right behind us. You haven’t heard much about Patrick, but he’s a cool dude. We first met him at the Zephyr Lodge in Lanquin, Guatemala when he arrived with Charlie having traveled with him for a few weeks already. Patrick has ridden from San Francisco and is cruising on a Dr400. Please meet Patrick, who will be joining us on our way south to Panama City!



We all stayed a second night in Volcan, but not before Tom and I performed quite a bit of maintenance on our bikes. We replaced his rear wheel bearings, and my front. All under the pleasant overhang of the hostel parking area.



For all of you guys/gals who are about to take a trip, or are planning a trip, or are in the middle of a trip and don’t have a centerstand, I can HIGHLY recommend the Trail Stand offered for sale in the Vendors section of ADVrider. We’ve used it many times without fault and consider it a very useful, if not essential to our tool kit. Especially when removing wheels.



Here we are at a local motorcycle shop. Having never removed/replaced bearing, we let a “pro” show us how it was done. We paid him $8 for the removal and replacement of 5 bearings in 2 wheels. Tom wasn’t too stoked to be working on the bearings of his bike wheel. His chain had been squeaking lately, and his sprocket was pretty f’ed. It was replaced, and so was his rear bearings, and soon after we were set to go.



The five of us put up with each other and had 2 rooms to ourselves with 7 beds to split between the five of us.



The next morning, in our latent rush to get on the road, we lined up our bikes, and loaded them. AND believe it or not, the sun was shining (more or less) and we were motivated to see some of the Panamanian countryside.



Of course, before we could leave we had a chat with this guy, who liked motorcycles, and knew a guy with one, who he called, to lead us out of town. I had been carrying a Semana de Los Motos hat ever since Mazatlan and this guy was the lucky recipient. Not only was he wearing a similar style hat (the clue that he’d wear it), I didn’t want to carry it around anymore, and can’t afford to send it to my Grandpa. This guy will enjoy it for sure. He was pleased to accept it at least!



In no time at all, his friend arrived on a Yamaha XT250 and we headed out of town. At the edge of town, we found two new friends, riding a 2009 Dr650 and a 2005(?) BMW F650 Dakar. They offered to take us the rest of the way, and soon enough we ended up at the home and shop of Paul along with his friend George.



We had a look around and checked out his shop. He had a cool place.



Anyone see one of these before? A easily tuned jet for altitude compensation. Intelajet. Paul swears by them and has had one on each of his bikes since he encountered them a few years ago. I’d be interested to hear any opinions on them.



After looking around, we jumped at the chance to utilized Paul’s self offered shop and do some more general maintenance on our bikes. Tom and I installed fuel filters that Paul had on hand, I found the cause of my failed running lights (the dimmer unit failed) I re-wired my heated grips, and tuned up my rear suspension. All the while we admired his shop which housed his other bike (Dr400) and a couple of his other toys, his two Ultra lights.



Patrick also dealt with his suspension which had been a bit spongy lately. All was well afterward.



Charlie and George shot the shit for a while after Charlie installed some Rox Risers on his Tenere. His bars had had a nasty vibration at certain revs for quite some time, and it just so happened, that Paul had some in his shop and with slight modification, Charlie’s bike became the new recipient.



Somewhere in the middle of the shop day, Tom and Andy took off towards Boquette, our destination for that night. It wasn’t far, but it was far enough. While they were riding, Charlie, Patrick, Paul, George, and I went off for some lunch. The five of us ate Chicken, Rice, and Potato salad for the generous sum of $12. Excellent.



After lunch, we finished out preparations, and took off to find Andy and Tom. We found them pretty quickly and had an easy night in Boquette, a touristy town full of Retired expats from the USA and other countries.
That night we had a look around, but not much else happened. In the morning, we had another guy lined up to show us out of town who Andy and Tom had met before we arrived; an English guy tearing up the streets of Boquette on a Yamaha WR450F that had been supermoto’ed.


We also happened to find a local Panamanian post office that was able to ship some of our things home. Andy needed to offload some things to Australia, and I intended to send some things back to my parents house north of Seattle.


In the end, Andy send 5.8 kilos home, and I shipped off 9.8 (21.5lbs). I sent my tent, my stove, my pan, a couple of trinkets, a pair of pants that were too big, a backpack, and other small miscellaneous things. All of which I had not used more than twice in over 100 days. Their departure was welcomed. It cost me $79, and I never looked back. I now have a free passenger seat for when Kristi arrives, AND provided she doesn’t bring too many things, we’ll easily be able to accommodate her small backpack and travel together. That in itself was my main concern, and has been worrying me slightly for the past month or so.


Now, I’m not too bothered, and rather excited to have her join me a month from tomorrow. I just have to decide where to fly her into, and where to fly her home from. It’s up in the air. Into Bogota, out of Cusco? Into Quito, out of Cusco? Or into Lima and out of Cusco. I’m thinking either the first or the third option. But I’m not sure yet!

On the way out of Boquette, the Panamanian roads were again nice to us, and the sun shone as well. We had an easy ride out to Almigrante, the port town that would be our passage to the island of Bocas del Toro. On the way, we had some nice scenery and came across this dammed lake quite unexpectedly.




I stopped to snap a photo, and then waited for Tom to catch up, and catch up he did as he tore through this corner.



Upon arrival in Almigrante, we soon realized that the next ferry that would be able to carry our motorcycles to the island didn’t leave until 8am the next day. A quick decision was made, and we quickly had our motorcycles parked behind a sturdy guard dog protected gate, and all of our unnecessary things locked inside a car. We ditched the bikes, and piled into the next available “lancha” out to the island which run every 30 minutes.



The boat moved at a good clip and within 30 minutes we arrived on the island.



I like being on the water and had a good time. Hey Mom and Dad! Hi Lorraine and Brandon, Ellie and Spencer! Hi Kristi! Hi Debbi and Kevin! Hello everyone else!



Patrick was “chillaxin” and also enjoying the boat ride.


Andy says “Whats up?”



As soon as we landed on the island we were propositioned by as many people as there are hostels and hotels on the island. Ruben, the most relaxed stood out from the rest and inside of 5 minutes we were on our way to his hostel called Cayena Backpackers. $10/pp and we each had a bed in an air conditioned dorm room with a private bath. Excellent.



We passed up the offer for this place, Mondo Taitu, as it was too crazy for us. Happy hour anyone?



The next few days consisted of some swimming at the beaches, hanging out with the locals, meeting up with many previous friends, and going out at night to various bars and hangout spots, namely the Iguana Bar, and Aqua Lounge. Pictures will come in the near future, but suffice it to say, it was a GOOD time.

A local buffet style place, open from 6am-11pm fed me for the handsome sum of $4 a meal, and never disappointed me. If only I could buy protein and carbohydrates like this as often as I desired.



The day after we arrived, Patrick, Charlie and Andy moved out of our hostel and into this hotel. At an unaffordable cost for Tom and I (poor bastards that we are), we placated ourselves by hanging out in the rooms. Charlie had a waterfront view, and thus his balcony served as a hangout. Beers were abundant for those who desired, cigarettes for anyone else, and food was only 3 minutes away. Easy money.



While we have been here, Anna and Kim (Kiwi) have shown up with Roberto in tow. Mara and Chilanka (Dutch) have been showing face, and Andy, Charlie, Patrick, Tom and I have been having a blast. Every spare moment I have (not too many unless we plan them) I remind myself that it’s nice to do absolutely nothing. And better yet, it’s nice to do absolutely nothing in Panama. In the Caribbean. With friends. Riding motorcycles. Meeting people. And living the dream.

--Alex

__________________
NJ, NR, NBTTN

Upon arrival to the mainland from Bocas Del Toro, we went to recollect our motorcycles and our gear. Pretty soon thereafter it was found that Tom had a bit of an issue with his motorcycle. Mainly, it wouldn’t start. Not at all. Not only was it just that, but it didn’t even SOUND like it wanted to start. No hesitant chugging, no belied belch of smoke from the exhaust, NOTHING.

We checked for fuel. Yes. We checked his air box. Yes. We checked for spark. NO. Not even an ounce of a shock.
Well that sucks. Let’s check your ignition coil. How? Lets attach mine. Ok let’s do that.
And so we did. And his bike didn’t start. Did I mention that it is no raining heavily and we’re all soaked now? Ask that nice women who runs this parking lot for an umbrella. Success. Umbrella activated. Slightly less level of wetness achieved.

Well what now man? You have to be in Colon, Panama by the 26th of this month to catch that big ass Steel Rat boat across the Darien Gap so we can tear it up in Colombia. Oh right. Dammmmnnn…

Truck? Where? Panama City? Eh… David? Better idea. Let’s go there. And so we went.
Within 30 minutes of asking if anyone knew someone that might know a guy that had a truck that somebody else could drive that could carry a motorcycle and make it to David, today, we had our man. The guy with the “thumbs up” got a 5 dollar tip from Tom for helping us fanatically until we departed. He also asked me to get him a Balboa () from the mini super when I went. I didn’t. I gave him 50cents to buy his own.



We had to take the front wheel off the bike to get it into the back of the shorty pickup, and Tom wasn’t able to ride in the truck because “he didn’t have room for him with all his work stuff”. So with a final smile from the Dude that was helping us help the guy who was driving the truck that was carrying Tom’s bike to David; we loaded a bag of Tom’s shit onto my bike.



Tom was decidedly unhappy about having to arrange to get his Motorcycle trucked to David. Dammit. We hope it’s worth it. I’ll be pissed if it’s an easy fix…



Well. We asked Mr. Truck Drive Man if he knew a Suzuki mechanic in David. Oh yea, I know the Suzuki Mechanic. I’ll take your bike directly there. No problems. Ok. Let’s go. And go we did. And Tom and I rode two up on my trusty steed for 110 miles through the mountainous terrain until we reached David. All while following the truck at a gradual speed of 30-50 mph. I achieved a whopping 37mpg. I’ll have to keep that in mind when Kristi arrives. Go slow.

And then, we were there. And do you think we found a Suzuki Mechanic? Haha. No, of course not. We were delivered to Mr. Truck Driver’s friends family mechanic shop in the middle of an urban area. Oh well. We knew we’d end up somewhere like this.



So the guy poked and he prodded, and Tom whipped of his side panels, and his seat, and his gas tank, and the guy pulled out his multi meter and he poked and he prodded some more. He pulled of the connecting plugs to Tom’s bikes computer, and he stabbed at them with his multi meter prongs, until. “EHHHHH…. Si, eso, eso esta la problema. Tu capacitor esta chingada.” (Ehhhhh… Yes, this, this is the problem. Your (stator) is f’ed)



So he pulled out the Stator. But before that, like a prudent mechanic would, he pulled Toms entire computer of his bike, plugged it into mine, and I fired my bike up, proving Tom’s bike computer was in working shape. Then he pulled out his multi meter and stabbed the same contact points on my bike computer plugs. The multi meter read 290. Tom’s? It read 1865. Too much resistance coming out of his Stator. DAMN IT. Stators are NOT cheap.



And so the man checked Tom’s stator, and within a few minutes determined that Tom’s stator pickup was the culprit. “I’m going to cut it off,” He said. Well, no, he didn’t really say that. He said nothing at all. He just chopped the piece off Tom’s $300 stator. Just. Like. This.



Ugh… We’re feeling pretty confident in this guy by now, and we’re hoping he knows what the hell he is doing, and all the while I’m telling Tom everything I know about motorcycles to try to explain to him why that LITTLE part is his problem, and he’s understanding the concepts, but damn it, that mechanic just chopped it off….

Well, in the mean time we had a look around while this guy is working. There was music blasting, and soon we realized that it was coming from the surround sound speakers on the shop owners cousins Honda Goldwing 1500. And that Suzuki Fireblade (CBR1000RR) over there inspires some confidence in bike bikes. Oh, and this Xr650r, over bored to 750cc’s is pretty cool…. Too bad someone hit a car on it.



Well. Obviously our mechanic friend didn’t have a new Dr650 Stator pickup in his pocket, nor did he have access to one. NOR does the Stator Pickup come separate from the Stator itself, and used Stators complete with their pickups run $220 on ebay. SHIT. He ALREADY chopped it off…

Well. We’re in Central America. Who cares. Let’s BUILD ONE.



And so he went about his business, rummaged through some parts (parts that looks obsolete, overused, and damaged) and pulled out what we would soon find out would be either our saving grace, or a definitive slap in the face. AND, it even looked good. Problem was, it didn’t have the same mounting bracket. No problem, he’ll put the OEM bracket on it.
Meanwhile, this other guy is bondo’ing a car, and someone else is changing its oil.



They have a good set up going on.

Soon, Tom’s new stator pickup was taking shape. And it looked good… Well. Let’s be honest. What the hell do we know about good? A Baja mechanic took my bike from totaled to road worthy in 4 days. This guy diagnosed Tom’s problem and built Tom a new stator pickup in less than 2 hours. Our standards are sliding down a scale from, “Please sir, I’ll take the new one,” too “Please sir, give me the cheapest shit that will serve its purpose, and I’ll be on my way.”



In no time at all, he had the newly made used stator pickup soldered, heat shrunk, and zip tied back into the OEM location.



Multi meter at the ready, our friend stabbed some contacts and the reading was as shown.



Have I mentioned that this guy took off half the screws and plugged in connectors with his trusty Swiss army knife?

Well. He did.

Before he remounted the stator pickup definitely, he painted the contact on the pickup,



Notice that ? It’s his 5th one that we’ve seen him drink. He’s becoming more carefree as the s come. Hopefully he’s finished soon! Hahahahah!!!!!

He removed the left case center plug for access to the crank shaft, and within a few moments felt a mild resistance when turning the crank.



Stator pickup is touching the magneto… Well that’s no good. We can’t have that. Where’s my damn drill?!



Meanwhile, the mechanics daughter is tearing up the neighbor’s yard on a beaten down Honda Xr100, and she loves it.



Did I mention that in the middle of this adventure that the shop attendant filled up a crate with empties and returned with 24 more, and that Tom and I were the recipients of no less than 2 s each, and that our mechanic friend had no less than 6 or 8 in 3 hours?

Well, if I didn’t mention that, I should have. WAIT? What is that sound?!?!?!

All of a sudden, the stator fit well, and the left cover was put in place and screwed on, and the oil was replaced with Mobile 20w-50, and the mechanic stepped back, took a look, and VROOOOOOM. Fired up Tom’s BIKE. SUCCESS!!! (You can’t tell… But it’s running…)



FAMILY PHOTO TIME! We’ve been there for 3 hours. And we’re now part of the family. Yessssssss.



The man directly behind me is fist pumping his success. That is our mechanic friend, and he is awesome.

It was just that day that I mentioned to Tom, as a result of our inconveniences, that we’ve noticed that no matter where we have been in Mexico and Central America, no matter what it is you need, you can find someone INSTANTLY that will help you do ANYTHING, IMMEDIATELY.

It was within 30 minutes that Tom found the man that drove the truck that carried his motorcycle to David. And it was the man that drove the truck that found us our mechanic friend. And that mechanic stopped everything he was doing, quit working on other shit for the day, and fixed Tom’s bike all while drinking and fabricating a serviceable stator pickup.

We love Central America. And we LOVE PANAMA.

Tom’s bike now runs like it always did, and we made it to Panama City the next day (yesterday). We found Charlie, Patrick and Andy whom rode ahead of us the day Tom’s bike took a nap. Additionally we found Ty and Jill! They hauled ass south from Guatemala over the past 2 weeks, and they met with Charlie, Patrick and Andy yesterday. Now we’re all at the Panama Passage Hostel. There are 7 of us on 6 motorcycles and we look awesome.

Have I mentioned? WE LOVE PANAMA!!

--Alex

__________________
NJ, NR, NBTTN