The Nomads

Turn around day!

Left Panama City, Panama Province, Panama
Temp: 30 degrees C
Sunny, some cloud, rain in the afternoon

Susie wished me a happy father’s Day and a promise of new motorcycle boots when we get to California!

I studied the map hard and we were on the road around nine thirty hoping that Sunday morning traffic would be more sane and manageable than usual. It paid off and we were on the Bridge of the Americas and out of the city in about fifteen minutes with no scary incidents.

One of the peculiarities of Panama City is that private drivers buy old school buses from the States and pimp them up with every colour of the rainbow, but the predominant colour is red. The entire bus is coloured with painted pictures of family or country and Jungle scenes and flames and flowers…and the exhausts are usually replaced by twin chrome stacks up the back of the bus. Sue spied on this morning with large golden tassels where the mud flaps would normally be behind the front wheels!

The drivers have no special training. They are independent operators who compete with the regular buses as well as each other. It’s not the least unusual to see them run red lights and stop signs and race around and ahead of other buses and taxis to try and steal the customers. They do not recognize nor obey any of the traffic rules, if “might makes right”, they are the biggest thing on the road and they make it pay! Hence the name….Los Diablos Rojos (the Red Devils). But they are a sight to behold!

We had blue skies and no traffic for most of the day and only got rain in the middle of the afternoon. We made good time and pulled into David around four and headed for the Alcala Hotel where we had stayed on the way down. We were fed and watered and settled in well before five thirty!

Kilometers - Daytrip: 443 km total: 14,386
Gas: $ 35
Lodging: Hotel Alcala $ 33

# posted by Richard and Susie @ 5:01 PM