Saturday 17th November: Into Panama.

A 3 1/2 hour process, not difficult just frustrating.  However out we come with 3rd Party Insurance for a month and our Temporary Vehicle Import Papers.

We also needed to change our Costa Rica currency into US$, the official currency of Panama. (Also called the Balboa) However we sat in line at the bank for half an hour and it looked like another hour at least, so off to the Duty Free Shop and spent our funds on a couple of slabs of Smirnoff  Ice mixer. At less than $0.80 a can I think it was well spent !

Following security clearance from the Crude Oil Terminal we drive through the complex and onto lesser roads. These roads finally give way to dirt tracks and after Bella Vista it is more of a goat track down to the beach.

Here, access to the beach is blocked by this tractor pulling a load of sand. The battery is beyond flat, we swap batteries but in the end just drag the tractor and its load of sand off the beach and in the process also manage to clutch start it.

The guys are quite happy with our help and show us the beach turnoff to the furtherest and remotest point of the peninsula.

It is about a 800 metre beach run over sand and rocks and with the tide coming in we had our fingers crossed just how far.

Off the beach and now the goat track appears even less than that.

Very unused, but a great drive.

Right on the furtherest point we find a great camp site overlooking Burica Island and the Pacific.

Here we will stay here for a couple of days.

Camp 277:  Happy Monkey camp

Cost: Nil

N08* 01.922    W082* 52.197

Today :  126 Kms.  

Trip Total: 95,283 Kms

Sunday 18th November:

A little further up the now walking track is Mono Feliz or Happy Monkey, this is the hideaway and small guest house managed by an ex-pat American.

We breakfast there, and were joined by lots of the endangered squirrel monkeys.

These have become tame enough to eat bananas out of your hand.

Then the Capuchin monkeys arrived.

It was a great treat, for them and for us.

Spent the rest of the day swimming, walking to, or actually attempting to walk to, Burica Island. (The tide beat us), more beach walking, and then the monkeys started to come past our camp.

It was all too much, out with the cameras again !

As they jump through the trees they and we finish up at our other ‘neighbours’ house. Here they also get a banana feed.

So clever sitting on the wire fence

Monday/Tuesday 19/20th November:

More monkey business again before we leave camp and travel the tracks.

and the beach run.

Following lesser roads we travel towards  the town of La Conception, and David, but not before being stopped by friendly Police and Customs on a old one way bridge.

There are many non-border crossing roads that cross from Costa Rica into Panama and this is a check point.

David is just another big city town, the second largest in Panama.

76Kms down the CA1, our turn off to the beach and Playa Las Lajas. It is a quiet end of the road area that has been marked for future development, however at this time it is still quaint. Found a great beach camp, only $5/vehicle, so elected to stay a couple of nights.

Also at the same camp we met a charming Danish couple, JP and Hannie, www.jphannieontour.nl with their problematic American built overland vehicle.

Camp 278:  Playa Las Lajas Beach Camp

Cost: US/A$5/night/vehicle

N08* 10.342    W081* 52.553

Today :  223 Kms.  

Trip Total: 95,506 Kms

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