PUSHIN' THROUGH PANAMA

(NK) The Caribbean route took us to Costa Rica's southern coastline. The small settlements along this coast road are idyllic. Thick jungle full of wildlife meet stunning beaches and crystal clear water. It was here we teamed up with the lovely Linda - our Belgian friend from Belize. She made sure I could still roll one for her and sure enough, I have a talent for something illegal (in some countries at least). It was great to see her again and catch up.

They see me rollin'

We also met a super hero called Dave the Wave. At 55, Dave was living the dream. A very spiritual man he also liked to surf and carried his board everywhere. With his long blonde hair and killer abs he also had a taste for younger women, especially teaching them how to swim. We spent a day at the beach with Dave, he showed me his daily workout. It was very ab focused but I'm not afraid to admit that I had my ass kicked by a 55 year old. Love you Dave, keep riding that wave wherever you are. Another amazing person in a growing list of amazing people we've met.

Our crossing into Panama was the first one without Trisha. We had to carry our own cases across a rickety old bridge and into Panama. Our first stop was Bocas Del Toro but it was carnival and the place was rocking. Unfortunately so were our stomachs and we spent two days getting ourselves sorted before moving on. As a result we missed out many of the islands but our time in Panama was limited. We wanted to get to Santa Catalina and dive with sharks and other big stuff.

Nowadays we walk across borders.. sniff

This meant a 12 hour bus ride with three changes. After driving everywhere it was nice to sit back and let someone else dodge the lunatics. From a 7am start we arrived in Santa Catalina just before the sun went down. We'd made a rooky mistake though - how many more can we make? The town is in the back and beyond with very little wifi and no cash machines - and only a small number of places took cards. We managed to get sorted for the first night but spent the next day sorting our lives out. The two hour bus ride to the nearest cash machine didn't float our boat. 

After spending so long camping and staying scrimping we splashed out for a few days and stayed at a beautiful place called Buena Vida. It had all the luxuries - hot water, king size memory foam bed, a ceiling fan. Plus the food was amazing.

Settled in we got on with what we came here for - diving. We'd never dived in the Pacific but had been told it was the place to go for big shoals of fish and sharks. Just off Santa Catalina is the island of Coiba and it's protected marine park. Until recently it was a penal colony and with Santa Catalina being fairly inaccessible except for one road, the waters are teeming with sea life. 

Boat party

Put that lip away

Two days of diving we saw sharks, huge shoals of jacks, manta rays, sting rays and some Tuna almost as big as us. Fi was not happy when I motioned her to come and look behind a rock with me. I don't think she was expecting the 8ft reef shark lying on the bottom.

Idyllic

Leo Sayer crossed with a Fraggle

Wind swept

No sooner had we slipped into the easy pace of life at Santa Catalina, it was time to catch a bus to Panama City. This catching the bus business is easy enough but we did still miss Trisha.

After arriving in Panama City we took a taxi to our hostel. Most cities in Central America are dangerous but Panama City is fairly wealthy from the canal profits and commerce it brings with it. When Fi saw a drunk guy asleep surrounded by police, she was shocked to hear the taxi driver say "na, el muerto." murdered at 3pm in the afternoon. Even the wealth of this city doesn't necessarily make it safe or safer.

old bit

new bit

Like other places we would need to be sensible. When we reached hostel Aleman we were surprised to find a German flag flying outside. Then it clicked, I'd booked it in a rush not giving a thought to he name. Aleman is Spanish for German. We were staying at a hostel by Germans for Germans which felt a little odd at first. It turned out to be a great place with lots of lovely German guests and a cool Californian who owns a cigar factory in the Dominican Republic. 

The next day we were going to the canal and teamed up with a couple who were also going to the bus station. As we wandered through the neighbourhoods we thought nothing of it until an SUV pulled up beside us. A young women leaned out and said - "You shouldn't be walking here, it's not safe for you."

A couple of encounters with drunk desperate people later and we were safely on the bus towards the Panama Canal. We marvelled at the Mira Flores locks - imagine the Rochdale ship canal for giants and you're close. Sadly they were doing repairs so we didn't see any ship going through. We did get to watch a propaganda based video on how the canal was built.

Wankers

Massive locks

The next day, we left Central America.

It wasn't what we were expecting but wow it was an experience never to be forgotten. Life's lessons, friendships, amazing times, scary times - it has been a wild ride. From crossing into Mexico surrounded by gunfire to putting a con man behind bars and meeting mother Ayahuasca. It has been a lifetime within a lifetime and we are eternally grateful for the things we have done and the fantastic people we have met.

We've stayed at over 60 different places and drove over 10,000 miles but the beat and rhythm of this bat shit crazy region cannot be put into words or numbers. It is a troubled area where life is cheap and the situation has little hope of getting better. Not while certain super powers continue to manipulate and coerce governments and local people.

Despite the dangers we were robbed a grand total of zero times and shot at zero times - well they weren't shooting at us, more like all around us. Yet even with it's reputation for edginess, the warmth, friendliness and willingness to help from the people that live here everyday gives hope.

We hope an answer is found that can bring some peace. It is a truly beautiful part of the world with a culture and history as ancient as it is mystical.

Hasta Luego!!!!!

IN TRISHA WE TRUST

(NK) The time has at last come, we must say goodbye to the ‘most wonderful car in the world.’ No, not Chitty Chitty Bang Bang but our Trisha. A vehicle no less magic and amazing than a car that can fly, this was a car that could negotiate Central American roads.

With Trisha the world really was our oyster. From tackling corrupt police to overtaking around bends going uphill (standard Latino driving) Trisha has done it all without complaining once.

A special thanks to Uncle Paul and Auntie Pia, who wisely convinced us to spend a little more on a car that wasn’t going to give us any trouble. Trisha you really couldn’t have done any more for us.

I could go on with this gushing appreciation for our sturdy Toyota 4 Runner but the frustration of us trying to sell her will no doubt be much more interesting.

Our greedy little eyes had seen the cars in Costa Rica often sell for a much higher price than anywhere else in Central America. The problem with an imported car like ours is the huge import taxes which sort of cancel out any benefits. Not deterred by this small inconvenience we put our best salesman smile on and set about the business of selling a car.

We probably should’ve put an advert on Craigslist or something similar, instead we just asked anyone we came into contact with if they wanted to buy a car. This led to a lot of dead ends. Guys offering $6 or $7 grand would come back with two, saying ‘that’s all I’ve got.’

Either everyone was skint or everyone was trying it on. It was probably a mix of the two. Eventually the family that owned the hostel in La Fortuna mentioned their brother Luis might be interested. After some negotiation he offered $4k. Well under our asking price. We left for our Ayahuasca ceremony but returned to La Fortuna afterwards. We had nowhere else to go and no other serious leads so we decided to push a deal with Luis.

The negotiations began and eventually after a while we settled on $4k and a moped. Although I did like the family dog, Osiito, including him in the deal just wasn’t practical. Neither was a moped, and it just gave us something else to sell.

Luis gave us another option – a Samsung Galaxy phone worth $800 (that we could sell for $500) in Costa Rica, two tours and a free shuttle to Puerto Viejo near the Panama border.

We shook on it, that’s when the fun started. Luis was very elusive for the next couple of days, the tours didn’t materialize and we were left waiting around. Eventually the day came and we went to the bank. For reasons that should be obvious we didn’t fancy carrying $4k in our pocket so wanted to do a bank transfer. His bank couldn’t do international bank transfers. We therefore had to use his Mum’s bank. This involved some dodgy exchange rates and charges but kept our money safe. Once that was done we went to see the lawyer to do the paperwork. Lawyer, which much to Luis’ amusement sounds like ‘liar’ in his Latino accent.

We then sold the phone, which gave us some more cash - and another phone. This was getting more convoluted then we could ever have imagined. Luis had also decided that the tours would one day materialize, just not today. The shuttle to Puerto Viejo was also to be replaced by him in his new car, just not today – and we were driving. Now the money had been transferred he didn’t seem to care about the other parts of the deal.

In England Luis, we call this – Taking the piss.

We took Luis to a nearby park (the jungle reserved for bigger offences) for some stern words.

(FK) Neil liked to use the line – ‘my wife won’t be happy with that’ to help instill a little fear into the macho bravardoism during negotiations, so my opening line to Luis was – ‘Luis, I’m very angry…’ Luis could talk a lot and every point we raised was countered with seven from him, half of which were completely unrelated to the selling of a car. He was killing us with nonsense, a tactic I’m familiar with, living with Neil. Luis’ brother rode up on a bike and cheekily tried to inflame the conversation. These Ticos like a good laugh.

(NK) I cut our losses and drew it to a close; he could forget the tours, as long as a shuttle picked us up the next day. We’d been hanging around in La Fortuna way to long and were both desperate to move on. He agreed, we shook and parted company.

True to his word, the shuttle picked us up at 6.15am and sped us away to the Caribbean with a new smart phone we still haven’t sold.

Surprise surprise, selling a car in Central America is not straightforward. We took a $600 loss on what we originally paid when all was done. Speaking to a couple from the States that night we learned they’d hired a car for a month for $1,000.  $600 for five months, not bad when you look at it from that perspective.

A reminder to us to never take more than you need. We needed enough money for flights out of Panama to Oz, that’s what we got plus a bit more and Trisha went to a good home – we think.

Having a car was the only way and we wouldn’t change it. It gave us the ultimate freedom to go wherever, whenever. No timetable to stick to, no-one to wait for – just go! Perhaps, thinking about it, if we’d made the time, bicycles would have been better or even a car with aquatic capabilities or even a bicycle with aquatic capabilities – hmmm – next time.

Goodbye Trisha, you were only metal and oil, but we loved you!!!!!

IT'S A DOG'S LIFE

FK - Never count your chickens before they hatch is a phrase I would do well to remember. Having felt rather relieved to have escaped Neil's bug, it decided to strike as we waved goodbye to Yanni and Michelle in Coban and we started out on a long drive to Antigua via Guatemala City. The capital was not on our list of must see destinations, but rather a 'needs must' to pick up a new charger for Neil's mac book (now the property of new owner in Flores) and some flippy floppies as his Havianas has died back in Belize.

After some death defying driving (not as bad as Mexico City might I add), we got on the road to Antigua $100 lighter, but armed with said items plus a Cinnabon for when I was feeling better (all I could think of was where my next toilet stop would be). Neil vowed NEVER to drive there again. We headed into Antigua just as dusk was falling, I felt terrible but could just about appreciate the amazing volcanic backdrop to the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage status town.

The steep road down to  Antigua

After a false start at the Black Cat Hostel (awful room, banging techno which would be great at any other time, reports of the dreaded bedbugs and only a shared bathroom), we booked into another very cute place round be corner where I promptly went to bed for 24 hours and left Neil to explore.

Feeling a lot better the next day, Neil had discovered an organic shop and bought me a kombucha tea. "Do you want the good or the bad news first?" Bad I replied, "the car's been broken into BUT the good news is they haven't stolen anything, despite your phone and camera being in there." Phew! "Do you want the good or bad news?" Bad I replied again. "There's nowhere in Antigua to get this fixed, BUT the good news is I've got to drive back to Guatemala City, but this time I've got a guy who's coming with me to direct for 100Q!" Lesson learnt, don't leave anything in the car that you aren't prepared to lose, always park in a secure car park and never say never especially in Latin America!

(NK) My new friend taught me to drive Guatemalan style, change lane first, then look in your mirrors and indicate. He just kept shouting 'Go!' and pointing. As we pulled into a favella style neighbourhood it became clear he didn't know exactly where he was going as he was stopping to ask around. We then pulled into a warehouse where we were greeted by a mustachioed man with a huge shotgun. Not to worry, this friendly chap was just the security guard for the garage. A necessary clause in the insurance contract. 

We ended up having some good craic and it took them less than an hour to replace the window. I was still relieved to get going and see how Fi was recovering back in Antigua.

(FK) Antigua made us feel festive for the first time, with a chill in the mountain air we wrapped up and wondered around its cobbled streets. We decided to treat ourselves to an early Christmas dinner of venison stew and rum, followed by fireworks and hot chocolate. Perfect.

Together at Christmas

I love how fate works its magic. Both Neil and I had been feeling a little homesick, missing being with our family and friends over Christmas including Pip Dog. We happened to see a poster for an animal shelter, Animal Aware – the largest no kill shelter in Central America, was looking for volunteers. A bit stuck for what to do over the festive period, we thought what better way than to spend it with a load of canine companions and doing something other than getting totally pissed, spend loads of money and eat our body weight in food for a whole week.

So off we trekked the next morning to Animal Aware, which was located about 7km from Antigua, out in the countryside. We arrived and were greeted by the owners of the shelter - Xenii, a Californian former fashion designer and Martyn, a Londoner and ex teacher. Both were clearly a little kooky (something which Martyn said helped with running the shelter!), but genuine good hearted people who were trying to educate locals about animal welfare and spaying and neutering whilst caring for 320 dogs and puppies and 80 cats and kittens, plus a handful and chickens and rabbits thrown in for good measure. With only 10 staff in total, the majority of which were off over the holidays, our help couldn’t have come at a better time.

We were given a guided tour of Hound Heights and the Pussy Palace with Xenii explaining that our job would be to look after the puppies and clinic animals, clean and feed them and walk our nine packs of dogs, each consisting of between three and nine dogs. Plus get involved with anything else that needed doing. Simple hey.

To say we were a little overwhelmed by the enormity of the task was an understatement, but we rolled our sleeves up and got on with it. We were shown the ropes by two other volunteers – Lydia and Angela, the latter we discovered had been to the shelter many times with her husband and had even adopted three dogs and a handful of cats, taking them home to Canada and helped in all sorts of wonderful ways.

Dog heaven

We had planned to stay on site in the volunteer’s casita, but having got changed for bed after our first day on the job I climbed into the top bunk only to discover I was sharing my bed with a lone flea and one of the resident cats Lisa-Claire. My allergies were in over-drive and no amount of puffs on my inhaler was going to help. The relief on Neil’s face said it all when I croaked “I can’t stay here”, he was up and dressed by the time I climbed down off the bed. It was past nine pm and the local hotel was all shut up, so we had our first night sleeping in the car.

Our typical day started at 7.30am, a quick stop to pick up a pocket full of treats before we walked down to the clinic to see what horrors awaited us. Some of the packs were already being walked and came to the gate to greet us, they weren’t daft, they were after a back scratch and some biscuits.

Big softies - Japeto having some afternoon love

The clinic housed new animals, ones that were ill, just had babies or had been fixed. Having been in their crates over night meant some of the young’uns had lots of nice presents waiting for us, smeared everywhere! The next two hours were like a military operation. One person let the dogs out in small groups, took the well ones for a walk, took the puppies out to play, whilst the other cleaned the crates and outdoor puppy pens, water and feed them all.

Mama's nine puppies in the clinic - eyes opening and starting to wriggle about

Once this was done, the pack walking started. Armed with a list that one of the other volunteers had written (in Spanish), we had to figure out who was who, who needed to be put on a lead and what dogs could just run free. Slightly daunting when you’re faced with a pack of six highly excited mutts who can not wait to feel the wind in their ears.

Peekaboo - found in a ditch with really bad mange and worms - all her fur fell out so we would take her out for an afternoon in the sun to warm up

Someone take Scott, the most annoying but most loveable snaggle tooth dog!

The afternoon was followed with letting the clinic dogs back out, more cleaning up, having a rough and tumble with the six puppies, walking the remaining one or two packs and then finished with another play time and feeding at the clinic. An action packed day that became our daily routine for nearly two weeks, usually filled with some dramas of dogs that disappeared on their walks, a few minor scraps, lots of avocado eating and loads of love and fun. Home time came at around four pm and I’ve never been so grateful for a hot shower and clean surroundings provided by a Guatemalan shelter supporter Darvy and his family in nearby San Lucas.

One eyed Sparrow was found with kids throwing stones at her - she loved avocados

We were only planning on staying a week, but after Martyn and Xenii plied us with enough rum and wine on Christmas day at a wonderful and unexpected feast; Xenii said they really needed us to stay until after New Year as they were so short staffed. What could we say? It’s hard dirty graft but we get to spend the day walking in the woods and playing in the meadow with some of the most amazing dogs we have come across who gave their unconditional love and trust to people they have only just met.

Picture perfect Christmas

In another twist of fate, our newly acquired friends, Michelle and Yanni had been in touch to say they had changed their plans and were coming to Animal Aware to help out. Brilliant, getting to spend the day with the animals and our mates was perfect, plus Yanni and Michelle are such calming people that they were ideal for the pooches and weren’t fazed at all by all the poo and pee you ended up being covered in (or maybe that was just me). It also meant that as a bonus we got to spend New Years Eve with them too, a slightly different affair than our usual shenanigans, a lovely dinner with one cocktail and in bed by 11! Well I certainly didn’t fancy dealing with all that dog shit on a hangover!

Always wanting kisses

And from me too!

Although we knew our trip needed to continue and were looking forward to what lay ahead, we were very sorry to leave and say goodbye. It is so sad that these animal end up here, many have been tied up to the gate and left, some macheted in the head and back, others fending for themselves on the street and many given up by their owners as they are no longer small and cute puppies. The reality is that the majority will never be adopted into a loving family and will spend their last days here, but I cannot think of a more loving and better environment for them to be in.

A massive shout out of appreciation to everyone who looks after these forgotten animals including Darvy, Ligia, Angela, Brad, the voluntary vets and all the amazing volunteers. Last but not least the wonderfully caring and endearingly crazy Xenii and Martyn.

the wonderful Xenii and Martyn

Angela bought a 6 months supply of cat food for the shelter

Darvy and Neil's favourite dog - Mina Mina!!!

 It maybe along way from the comfort of your home but  Animal Aware needs your support as it runs purely on donations and goodwill – you can volunteer, sponsor an animal, adopt an animal or simply donate.

(NK) I do love dogs, I mean really love dogs. 320 dogs, however, was a new experience. We walked away with sadness for the friends we’d be leaving (animal and human) but will no doubt return and hope to continue to help in anyway we can when we’re back in the UK.

The beautiful Lake Atitlan

We were slightly excited about some well-deserved R&R at the famous Lake Atitlan. Deciding to forgo the hedonistic village of San Pedro we made for San Marco. Our host Darvy had responded: “Why do you want to go there, it’s full of hippies!” Well, we had some unfinished business with travel hippies and wanted to find out if we could learn to love them. Darvy, kindly drew some directions that showed the good roads that were safe and the one bad road where we’d probably get robbed.

After an eventful drive in which an oncoming/overtaking lorry ran Trisha off the road we wound our way down to the beautiful Lake Atitlan. High up in the mountains it is surrounded by three volcanoes, which create a tranquil but dramatic vista.

All the rooms in San Marco were full so in the end we did have to drive around to San Pedro for one night. On the way back to San Marcos we picked up some hitchhiking hippies to notch up our karma and try to understand these dreadlocked nomads. They didn’t say much.

We decided to splash out a little and stayed at the lovely AaculaaxHotel. The English girls we keep bumping into, Anna and Harry, just happened to be in San Marcos too. It was lots of fun to see them both again and swap tales. The next few days were spent relaxing, eating healthy food and drinking Kombucha. Unfortunately we didn’t take many photos as we were knackered.

Anna and Harry had been to a rainbow gathering in Palenque for the end of the Mayan calendar. A rainbow gathering from what we hear, involves bongos, chanting, vegetarian food, halucinogenics, nakedness, disgusting shit pits, and lots and lots of love. This is how they will one day save the planet.

San Marcos indeed had a bush on every corner as the hippies shed the constraints of human clothes and pranced around the way mother nature had intended. We must say that despite keeping our clothes on, we found the happy vibe of the place just the medicine we needed.

It all culminated in a Hippie Fest party with comedy, music, chanting, trancing and fire shows. We got involved, a bit. Hippies - they’re not that bad.

Upon leaving Harry gave me a hug with a little cheeky look on her face. She then smugly passed on a bracelet that said: “Hug it forward.” The burden was now mine.

We peeled ourselves away from the tranquil environment of San Marcos and set a course for Honduras. The murder capital of the world… surprisingly.