to David: let's get out of here

May 29, 2017

We took a restday at the Paradise Inn. It is a very beautiful place, but the staff is unfriendly and the German management does not seem to care much. The pool looks beautiful, but the water is dirty. Patrick took an evening swim last night, but after seeing the water by daylight he decides against more dips. There is a party a couple of rooms down, and things do not quiet down until after 4 am. What tips the scale is when one of the German owners comes to tell us we have to take the clothes line down we put in the parking lot. There must be a rule against drying clothes. Patrick asked him if there was a rule about noise? Anyway, it is a pretty place, the 22 dollar rooms are good value, but it feels like the overland crowd is not their target clientele, they seem to aim for the weekend party crowd in the fancier cabanas.They do have a TV in the bar though, and Patrick enjoys watching a fellow Dutchman win the Giro d'Italia. Tom Dumoulin is the first Dutchman to win a grand tour since Joop Zoetemelk won the Tour de France in 1980.

Today we set out early once again, the last full day of cycling in Panama.

"Ola, stamps for Estados Unidos" Patrick says finally getting the attention of the woman behind the counter. "Mañana" she says. It's 2pm. There is a sign the post office closes at two. No way is she interested in being friendly or helpful. Just another day in Panama.

After arriving at the Bambu hostel around noon, Patrick rode his bike to a Subway for a take out sandwich for lunch. We showered and then caught the bus to the city center and to the post office. Not being successful with mailing the postcards, we take a taxi to the shopping center and get more supplies and a quick stop at the Dairy Queen then walk back to the hostel. It's disappointing about the postcards, we've been able to send one to our neighbors kids, Sara and Lucca from every country up until now.

The cycling itself was uneventful, the road has a nice shoulder, is smooth, and due to road construction one side was closed-off for a long time so ve had it to ourselves. There were some mountains visible to our east, but the scenery was mostly pastures and trees and road construction workers.

We have only been in Panama for a week, and all our riding was on the Pan American, so our impressions of this country are limited. But it doesn't seem like the people are very happy, you don't see people smiling and service in shops, or at the post office this afternoon, is terrible. After South America where people would wave and shout greetings the experience here has been very different. Our impression is that they don't like gringos here. The scenery wasn't that great, but we probably could have done better getting off the Pan-Am with longer time to tour.

I guess one country must get the vote for "least favorite country" and since we have not been to Texas yet it must be Panama for now.

Oh, and the "w" on the laptop keyboard is out so we've been using the "v" and then trying to correct on the tablet. So in case "ve" miss some, "ve've" not picked up an accent.

On the Pan American Highway. The last couple of hundred kilometers have been a nice surface and wide shoulder.

The left two lanes of the highway are closed to traffic. This is why: they are working on this bridge. We can pass though.

Construction workers are probably the friendliest people we have met in Panama.

Taking a break. A little park with benches in the shade, a typical Chinese-run Mini-Supermercade across the road for cold drinks.

Walking dovn the street with a cold-one at 10 am.

Big fat crocodile on the bank of one of the rivers we crossed today.

Arrived at the Bambu Hostel. Pretty nice place.

Today's ride: 81 km (50 miles)
Total: 32,277 km (20,044 miles)

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