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Driving North from Panama to Jamul

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Week 3-North

Day seventeen, Wednesday 12/5/2007 I started back home.

I drove 456km from Panama City, Panama, N8 58.607 W79 32.078 to David, Panama, N8 26.630 W82 25.106

 

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I ate breakfast at the Hotel again, then went site seeing before heading north.

Looking north toward bridge over west entrance to Panama Canal. I did not actually drive all the way to the end of the road in the Darian Region of Panama, but I did drive to the last major city before the end of the road. 

 

 

 

 

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Panama Yacht club and harbor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This Memorial was in Spanish so I have no idea what it is for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Can't seem to get away from home. Here is a TGI Fridays, next to the Yacht club.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cranes to lift canal cargo in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Looking East up the Canal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lots of road and bridge work.

 

 Now I am heading back again. On my way to David a down pour put so much water into the engine compartment the engine stalled a couple of times. I arrived before dark in David, and got a room at a roadside Hotel for $35.00. After checking in, I walked up the street and ate dinner at TGI Fridays.

 

 

 

 

 

Day eighteen, Thursday 12/6/2007.

I drove 254km from David, Panama, N8 26.630 W82 25.106to Quepos, Costa Rica, N9 25.865 W84 09.585

 

 

I needed oil for a change so I went to the shopping center next to TGI Fridays. To my surprise, the Home Improvement Store was a division of Ace Hardware. I bought eight quarts of 10w40 and went on my way.

More people with cell phone cameras taking my picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Panama had lots of billboards along the roads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Road work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Costa Rica

I crossed into Costa Rica, and decided to take the unpaved road along the coast instead of the same road in the mountains that I took driving south. The drive was beautiful, the road was dirt and rock, I'm slow driving again. 

 

 

Typical  river in Costa Rica.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This coastal road in Costa Rica is dirt and rock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This family almost ran me off of the road trying to get my attention to ask me to stop so they could take pictures of the car. I stopped and let them take all the pictures they wanted too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are working to improve the road, and it will soon be paved with new concrete bridges.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roadside bar and restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cows in a field.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More roadside establishments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here we go, another single lane steel bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Costa Rica farm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had my first ever flat tire on this road. By the time I had the tire off, some road workers came by and helped me put the new tube in. I pumped it up and went on my way to Quepos. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day nineteen, Friday 12/7/2007

I drove 307km from Quepos, Costa Rica, N9 25.865 W84 09.585 to Liberia, Costa Rica, N10 37.529 W85 26.746

 

 

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New Hotel in Quepos, C.R.

The room here was $40.00. I walked several blocks to a restaurant, then to an internet cafe to call my wife.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Quepos Bay sea wall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Quepos harbor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Most of the buildings and the street look like they could use some work. It rains a lot here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Quepos is a tourist town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A large storm drain along the side of an intersection, with no protection around it..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I'm glad I didn't fall into this hole walking back from the restaurant last night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The road is improving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A new concrete bridge being built.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I waited for the gasoline truck to cross before I went onto the bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Yea, pavement again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Coconut trees, Lots of them. These coconuts are used for oil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Trucks use this road too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Appliance store on the right. The fuel truck is still in front of me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Just because there is pavement does not mean the bridges are any better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Costa Rica coast.

 

I continued on the dirt road until it became paved again, passing Caldera where I had stayed on the way south.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Caldera where I stayed on the way south.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 Caldera bay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On the road to Lago de Arenal. I wanted to see the active volcano there. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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It started to rain so much I turned around before I got to the lake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day twenty, Saturday 12/8/2007

I drove 302km from Liberia, Costa Rica, N10 37.529 W85 26.746 to Leon, Nicaragua, N12 25.458 W86 51.997

 

 

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Liberia Best Western Hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This was a resort Hotel, they had a casino here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The courtyard was well kept.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Grass roofs are ok here in the mild weather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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ERA Reality is here too. I can't seem to find any place that does not have United States businesses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Just like the USA, there is fast food in all the countries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Liberia Costa Rica is less than 100km from the border with Nicaragua.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This is a rock wall that went on for miles. It had to me hand made. That was a lot of rocks to place by hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Truck traffic jam at the Costa Rica border. The Costa Rica border was the most congested.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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If you can't pass on the left, well then pass on the right. The trucks have to wait for hours to get checked before they can cross. The cars find anyway they can to get to the border. Some drove on peoples lawns to get around the trucks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This kid helped me with my paperwork at the border. So I let him sit in the car, and he still wanted a couple of dollars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nicaragua

Crossing into Nicaragua took almost three hours, even now that I know the routine pretty well. I continued driving north on CA1, arriving in Leon before dark. 

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Lago de Nicaragua in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Farmland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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More corn fields.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cattle going home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Another dirt road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The dirt was sometimes better than the pavement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Break time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This area was cattle ranches.

 

 

 

I pulled into Leon about an hour before dark. By the time I found a hotel it was dark. I have a terrible time finding hotels. The hotel had a BBQ restaurant where I ate dinner. There was a band playing next door, it was loud and I did not get to sleep until 2am.

 

End of week three north, go on to week four.