Panamanian meal, La Parada, Panamá city, Panamá, February 23, 2018
These days I’m enjoying days with no plans (well, I’m still working hard to catch up on things that are not about travelling). By chance, my hostel is a bit far from the city center, so I’ve been stuck at the hostel while only making occasional visits to a nearby mini market to buy eggs and onions to make my repetitive but otherwise satisfactory meals. As I was going to the mini market today, one señora suggested me a local restaurant. It turned out that it...
Boquete, Panama, February 17, 2018
Boquete was the second city in Panama where I stayed. This city is another example which proves that itineraries are always subject to change when traveling. In order to get to Panama City on time, I meant to make it to at least Santiago that day, but the city only seemed to have poor quality accommodation options within my budget. And I thought it was important to avoid poorly-lit depressing rooms for two nights in a row. So I decided to even make a detour and...
Vehicle shipping in Panama, @colon, Panama, February 20, 2018
For a night owl like me, having to wake up at 5:30am is something I normally avoid or ignore. But today I had no other option – I needed to load my car into a container at the port in Colon. Darien gap, an infamous jungle between Panama and Colombia, is the only part of the PanAmerican highway that is not passable by land. Worse, there is no ferry connecting this route, so the only remaining option is to ship vehicles via containers, which is an...
Go-to dinner menu, hostal casa nativa, Panamá city, Panamá, February 19, 2018
It turns out this is my favorite combination as a dinner when 1) I can use a kitchen 2) I have time to do grocery shopping and cooking 3) and I am not interested in trying the local cuisine at the moment. Actually this was one of my go-to menus when I was living in DC. Old tastes die hard. @hostal casa nativa, Panamá city, Panamá, February 19, 2018
Pre container vehicle inspection, panama city, Panama, February 19, 2018
Got the vehicle inspected at the Dirección de Investigación Judicial in Panama City, first step to ship it in a container to Cartagena, Colombia. He just checked the VIN and the engine. This was also the meeting place with other overlanders with some of whom I have been sharing info online. Tomorrow the vehicle will be shipped at the Port in Colon. @panama city, Panama, February 19, 2018
City view, Granada, Nicaragua, February 13, 2018
In Latin America, every city I visit has a church, so I began to almost not care about any churches. In Leon, however, I visited Iglesia La Merced to climb the roof – the church is the tallest building in Centro area. There was a boy collecting $1 before climbing the stairs. The stairway was steep and narrow. Finally, the view was clear and the wind was refreshing, but I think it was better in Leon! @Iglesia la Merced, Granada, Nicaragua, February 13, 2018 https://listeningtotheworld.net https://www.facebook.com/listenworld/
Hot spring “Rio Chollin”, La Fortuna, Costa Rica, Feb 15, 2018
Costa Rica is known for a variety of adventure activities in nature, but this time (my second visit to the country) my body demanded a hot spring. I was originally going to a hot spring near Liberia, but the rough gravel roads did not sound motivating. Then I remembered a place where the tour guide had taken us three years ago. Only remembering that it was near La Fortuna, I began to track it down. @Hot spring “Rio Chollin”, La Fortuna, Costa Rica, Feb 15, 2018
Border crossing, Peñas Blanca’s, nicaragua, February 14, 2018
Exiting Nicaragua was the toughest vehicle exit so far. Exiting usually takes about 10 minutes but it took 1.5 hrs in Nicaragua. I am now comfortable with the usual processes and identifying who are real government officials and who are private helpers with similar looking uniforms. What was new here was that I needed to get approval stamps from a customs agent and a police officer, who allegedly were around this open square but in fact it was hard to find them. The police officer had...
This website chronicles Leebong’s journey around the world for 2+ years, for the time being. To find out more, see The Travel & The Why.
To catch me, see Itinerary.
Impressions Series
