I see that Equador is getting a new leader who sympathizes greatly with the Venezuela way of doing things. That means more anti-USA attitudes there.

Anyone there now who can tell if anything is changing yet?

So, shipping a bike south from Panama means passing over Venezuela, Columbia, and Equador now.

Is that paranoid? Geez, I hope so.

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Done with Prudhoe Bay and Ushuaia.

http://www.errant-ronin.com/PrudhoeBayUshuaia.htm

Am in Equador now & its very laid back, no worries here even for Americans. They've had more changes of government in the last ten years than the Italians.

Colombia is a lot calmer these days & was told recently that Mexico has more kidnappings.

Dont worry about it, leave your politics at home & travel with an open mind.

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Missing, presumed fed.
https://youtube.com/@ChileBob

Most of this stuff doesn´t filter down to the tourist on the street. I spent a couple weeks iin Ecuador this fall and wouldn´t hesitate to go back. If you owned a business or property there, you might have cause to worry.

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Andy Tiegs
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/ts...lsouth-america

Most of the animosity we see is leveled at the US Govt. and its policies in Latin America, not individual Americans. In that way we, as travellers are really the true ambassadors for our country. I always try to remember that.
And I remind people I meet that I am not a govt. official, just a citizen and don't nescessarily agree with that govt. policies. (God knows, especially now)

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Just make the trip. If you don't want to be talked out of it, don't advertise it. Just do it. Regarding the "Bags" Mollydog referred to are known in the "Biz" as "Handshake" bags. I have delivered millions of them all over the world the past 25 years or so. World Food program, USAID, Care, Unicef, Feed the Children, World Vision, Catholic charities to name a few off the top of my head. They used to be made of linen and became a fashion statement in Argentina and Brazil where they were made into shirts,pants, dresses and handbags. In desert countries, I've seen the plastic weave bags filled with sand and made into houses. If you fold and roll them up, they make great sun hats. I've been in houses in West Africa and Indonesia wallpapered with the "Bags". In Tomasina, Madagascar, a local bar has its barstools covered with the "Bags". In Port Sudan, a taxicab seats were "you guessed it". An average shipload of say 30,000 metric tons of "Wheat" or "Sorghum" will require approximately 700,000 "Bags". Multiply that by thousands upon thousands of shiploads of "relief" cargos the past forty years or so,and as George Bush might say "Hell, there must be at least a Brazilian bags out there somewhere!" The "Bags" are truly as Iconic as Jeans. And regarding Israels neighbors, I have recently brought the "Bags" to Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt. They have been on the receiving end for many years. Just for your information. Best, Captain Smitty

Why miss Colombia? Uribe has ensured that the country is more closely politically aligned with the US than ever.

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How much does a man live, after all?
Does he live a thousand days, or one only?
For a week, or several centuries?
How long does a man spend dying?
What does it mean to say “forever”? - Pablo Neruda