THE PANAMA ADVENTURE

This is a story to be continued for a few days

It began on Thursday trying to get a permit to take the car out of the country. Here you have to have all your paper work, and a permit. You only have to pay a small amount, but getting it this time was a chore.

The computers were down in San Jose so it effected the computers here in order to get the documents on the car cleared. On Friday early Tony and I went to the muni building to apply again. I knew the women from the battered women's shelter and she recognized me, from the fiesta I help put together for all the children at Christmas, that was a plus.
It's all about who you know. She saw my leg and questioned, then immediately went up stairs and helped us get the pemitt.

Tony and I came back, notified Arja and Eric that we got the permit and would be ready to leave in a hour.
When we left it was about 11:00, cruised as fast as we could to try to get to the boarder before dark. It was a semi cloudy day no rain and some sun. Soon after Quepos, the real good road ends. Then the rocky pot hole, muddy road begins. It travels through palm orchards. Mile's and Miles of Palms. Shaky bridges, narrow bridges and bridges made of wood.
This goes on for about four hours... Normally if the road was good it would take at the most one hour and half. But as it was four was good.
It shakes you so bad that you think your kidney's would be falling out.

We laughed, a talked and got to the good road finally in Domincal. That Road is good, in fact beautiful all the way. Then after the coast line, the road got back again and went to no lanes but we managed to get the boarder before dark. When we arrived we got out and went to customs, they had a line to get your passport checked. Then you take documents with the permits to the car department. Well the Muni here didn't say we needed to pay 20 bucks for another permit in order to cross. So this one clerk talked to Tony in Spanish, and Tony asked if we could just pay them to let us Through.
Through... oh yeah right! NOT... We had to go one place for a copy of the car docs, then to another place to check the pass ports again then drive the car across the street to Panama, pay some guy under the table an then to other windows for check out. Then to another window for this and that and on and on.... While we were in line this lady and a gal and some man come up to us with these little stickers, all over there hands. They walked up to us and slapped them on our papers?? I was watching how they were taking Dollars out of peoples hands. Left and Right they were doing it till came to us. I was skeptical about this??? I asked Tony, he asked at the window if this was necessary the clerk said no... So When she came back for the dollar I told her it was not needed she insisted....
She looked at me and ripped it off and said in Spanish now try to get through.. Quickly, Eric slips her a dollar and off we went. Later I asked Tony again, he didn't have one and I told him how rude she was to all the people. Tony was mad about her and all the bull crap we had to go through just to get pass the boarder. Finally we did and then had to sprayed with disinfectant before entering the country... But only the car.

We proceeded about half mile or so when came to a police check stop. The men were all dressed in military garb, green with berets, and tall boots. Carrying machine guns, they questioned us, and looked at all of our passports, then kindly waved us on.

When we got past that I yelled PANNNNNNNNNNNNAMAAAAA OI! Before that everything we passed a car in Costa Rica I would yell COSTAAAAAAAAA RICAAAAAA oi!

Well this caught on soon Tony would yell it out when we passed a car. I got this from Helen, every time were together in Costa rica and I pass a car she screams it and says OI!!
By the end I think we all were doing it.

Driving in the pitch dark night with a semi decent map, Tony wandered off this side road, driving through country side on a basically one lane road. We Came across sugar cane fields, corn and simple pastures. Neighbor hoods were remissness of small country communities. Farms, then the street ended. Left or Right? We looked at each other and I said right. I could see lights not far off. We pulled up to a country bar? That is all there was. Its in the middle of no where. Then we drove down the left again we could see lights but not far off.
lt was THE lAS Olas Resort in Panama Las Olas.