Some Concluding Thoughts

Well the expedition is officially over. I"m typing this on a Denver-bound Delta Airlines flight and it's really starting to sink in. The trip definitely changed when we crossed the Panamanian border - it was no longer about rough roads, interesting towns and new experiences. Deadlines, customs and shipping occupied our minds. Five of us handled the vehicles and the other four flew out on Sunday.

That's not to say Panama wasn't extremely enjoyable - in fact, it was one of my favorite countries. It's a fantastic mix of urban areas and wilderness and the surface was barely scratched. I'm already itching to go back. I'd really like to explore the northern coastline as it's controlled by indigenous inhabitants - you even have to follow their laws when you visit. I mentioned Yaviza in my last post and I can't wait to explore Darien province once things calm down. Outside of Yaviza, foreigners aren't very safe - we were prohibited from setting foot outside of Yaviza's borders. The area is rife with FARC guerillas as they are pushed out of Columbia, although there are a substantial number of lodges and resorts in the area. Most of these aren't accessible by road. I was told the fishing in the area is phenomenal, which really piqued my interest.

One of the less exciting aspects of my visit to Panama was the exportation process. I detailed the process we had to go through to get our paperwork stamped by the police and yesterday we completed the final step. In order to reach the port on time we had to depart Panama City at 7 AM and drive two hours to the port city of Colon. To paint a better picture, Panama City is on the Pacific and Colon is on the Atlantic. They are joined by the Panama Canal (more on that later). Colon actually wasn't a difficult experience - it was just extremely slow. We made a myriad of stops: the exportation office to get our passports stamped, then to our shipping agent to get our bill of laden stamped, then pay a fee to get more stamps, and finally dropping off our vehicles. The drug dogs were actually pretty cool to watch. The first dog was on the smallish side and clearly wasn't paying attention - we soon picked up on the fact that he was just a rookie and probably not even a year old. Soon the officer brought in the real deal - this was a physically impressive and well trained dog. The relief I felt when told I could leave the key in the door and leave was incredible. I felt like I was standing 2 inches taller. We had hired a van and a driver for the trip back which allowed everyone to catch some shuteye.

Scott left with Peter (Peter was our Panamana City guide and a contact of Scott's, not to mention an awesome guy and extremely helpful). Scott was heading to a local bead & breakfast as he was staying in Panama until the vehicles arrived in Galveston. The rest of the day was uneventful as my Dad and I packed our bags and prepped for an early morning.

In a fitting conclusion to the trip, traveling today has been extremely enjoyable but lengthy. That's a (tounge in cheeck) way to summarize Central America. It's a beautiful region filled with natural beauty, awesome people, and incredible experiences. When I was presented with the opportunity to join this expedition, I really didn't know much about CA and considered had considered the region (wrongly) backwards and dangerous. While my perception wasn't totally off the mark, these are of the most compelling regions to go! Backwards may have been a little harsh. Most of the countries in Central America have stable governments and are starting to demonstrate some real prosperity. But it takes time to break out of traditional attitudes and create something that most Americans consider worth visiting. All over we found government officials to be courteous, friendly, and helpful (with the exception of a short, round woman at the Panamanian border). Things just take a lot of time. It's like going to the DMV 15 years ago. Paperwork is all done manually and by hand - they just need to automate a few things.

Central America is definitely at a crossroads. Countries are small enough that building a reliable road network can really alter things for the better. This will alter the flavor and character of CA. The whole region will benefit from tourism and modern infrastructure, but a little of the uniqueness will be lost. For the record, we never felt unsafe at any point - except maybe visiting Yaviza.

Now it's back to reality (sort of). I'll be attempting to restart my life in Denver until it's time to pick up the trucks (sometime between April 8th-10th). Then I'll be driving the Jeep back to Denver for some repair. April ends with me driving to Prescott, AZ for the first Overland Expo. This is going to be cool - an entire expo devoted vehicle-based travel and overlanding (those are both really cool sounding terms for what we did). There's even a chance I may be a published photographer and I think I'll be doing some photo work during the expo (as well as admiring some of the insane trucks that will be around).

I don't regret a minute of the last two months (I left Denver on January 29th). At the time my biggest concern was that I would miss ski season. Times have changed. My biggest worry now is trying to find a way to the remote, wild, and dirty corners of the globe before they're all gone.

And that's that. You have the (admittedly rough) story. Yeah, I didn't post as many updates when I was in Costa Rica and Panama. Yeah, I haven't posted any photos since Nicaragua. But I think I've done an alright job and I hope everyone enjoyed reading it.

Chuck

P.S. This isn't the end by any means - one of the positive things about returning to the states is a stable and fast internet connection. This means high-resolution images covering my entire expedition. Also, a lot of what I've posted has been a simple detailing of the days events. I intend to do a little more reflecting on the various aspects, countries, and events I've experienced and I hope to detail a different aspect in the coming weeks.

P.P.S. Being back in the US is overrated - I found myself eating at a TGI Fridays at the Atlanta airport and came to the conclusion that rice and beans are preferable to Bacon Cheddar BBQ Sliders. Honestly, I think I could have stayed on the road indefinitely. It's not like I have a job or anything.