with Juan Arrieta and Brett, Cartagena, Colombia, February 27, 2018
When Brett and I were people watching inside the campus of Universidad de Cartagena, Juan came to us. He expressed that he wanted to show us around the city center and it took us awhile to understand his genuine and friendly intention. A law student at the University, he is a native of Cartagena. In fact, he told me he had never visited other places other than Cartagena. I appreciate that he took up courage and expressed that he wanted to know about us, especially because...
Darien crew, pollo Broaster caliche, cartagena, Colombia, February 28, 2018
Darien Gap, the impassable roadblock between Panama and Colombia let us get together and enjoy fried chicken today. Alizee and Stevy (left) are from France who started their overlanding journey from Canada. Brett (right top) has ridden his motorbike from Nebraska, US. When we were in Panama, there were two ships to choose from to send our vehicles. Alizee and Stevy chose the “right ship” – theirs arrived in Colombia on time and the rest of other tourists, including myself, were told that ours is delayed...
Panama canal, esclusa Miraflores, panama, February 24, 2018
Days ago while driving, I heard an interview of a Panamanian painter from a local radio station. He said, ”people need to know that we are much more than the canal.” Despite this fair claim, most tourists think of the canal when they think about Panama. As today was my last free day here, I decided to check it out. We were lucky – when we arrived, two ships passed by in a row. Watching the coordination between the water level changes and opening of the...
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
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
