me here in Central America, the Republic of Panama. So close geographically to South America, but so different! Another economy, another mentality. The United States has played here a crucial role since the late nineteenth, leaving traces in the culture and economy. The language spoken is English, but everyone has adapted to the strong tourist presence North American and English is perfectly controlled. The country's currency is the U.S. dollar, and the gringos feel at home here.
For those who read the blog in reverse, I re-state that I am not in Panama to buy hats, but to find a sailboat. I donc passé pas mal de temps à « fouiner » dans les ports et poser des questions. Selon le cas, on m’a pris pour un agent de guide touristique, un acheteur de bateau, un anthropologue, un flic... Ce serait trop long à développer en détails, mais c’est ce qui arrive quand on pose trop de questions :o)
I knew only the logical continuation of my research would be to go to Colon at the entrance to the Canal, Caribbean side. After a week in Panama, I had heard so many horrible things about Columbus, I began to cast doubt ... premises tend to exagéger and focus on the miscellaneous category of cabbage leaves. In general, they never traveled and lack of comparisons to analyze a situation.
I made the acquaintance of a Uruguayan who said he lives with 2 French, in a building behind my hotel. I met this little world, and we spend a good evening to discuss. When I told them that I'm leaving tomorrow for Colon, they start like clockwork! "Holala! beware! "" You go there alone?! "Etc..
Around 8 am I went to the ground terminal, and take a bus across the Isthmus (above). road is beautiful, but my camera is resting quietly in a closet in the hotel ... 2 hours tard j’arrive à Colon un peu tendu. Immédiatement je prends un taxi. Pour une fois, je tombe sur un chauffeur honnête, qui me trouve un hôtel pas cher, dans un quartier « pas trop dangereux »... Oui, la cotation « pas dangereux » n’existe pas réellement ici. Je pose mon sac plastique à l’hôtel et reprends immédiatement un taxi à la recherche du bon port.
Je passe tout l’après-midi dans les taxis. Les gens connaissent mal les marinas, et ce que je cherche paraît un peu particulier pour eux. Sacrebleu, ça va pas être facile !
An old told me to go to Shelmar, near the former U.S. naval base. is outside the city about thirty miles! "You should have the 20 dollars. "He said in perfect English. I questioned him in English, but here is stronger than them, they must show that they speak English ...
I resume a taxi and made the acquaintance of Robinson, the driver. His wife is next door, and spoke only to complain ... I explain my adventure, and Robinson decided to take a look at another marina, just outside of town. The plan s’avère foireux ; sur place, un garde nous dit qu’il n’y pas 1 voilier ici !!! On repart, et 1 km plus loin, panne. Plus rien, la batterie est HS. On est sur une route perdue, où passent comme des dingues de gros camions chargés de containers. Une voiture s’arrête pour nous aider, mais le mec n’a pas les câbles pour nous recharger. Robinson tombe la chemise (il fait une chaleur incroyable !) et s’agite au téléphone pour nous sortir de là. Apparement, ses potes ont des enclumes à la place des sandales...
Moi j’attends dans la voiture, à l’ombre, avec la grosse qui se plaint car il n’y has more clim ... Here I am not in danger, it is out of town, nobody there. Robinson is a character but I'm confident. It is a black fifty years, the belly, and is defined as "a lion". "Yes, you see, I am direct, I'm like, instinctive! "The instinct was asleep the day he chose to woman ...
Our "rescue" is completely unreal. After 45 minutes, a car arrives on board with a thin and big. Robinson's buddies push the car to a place further back in relation to truck mad, and they change vehicle: Robinson, his wife, the skinny and I got into the moving car. The obese left alone without air conditioning, direct sunlight. It looks like that is big in the film "Snatch," one who leads (badly) the car. He had not clearly thought the matter as that! He grumbles a bit but it's too late, it starts.
is deposited in the lean him in a remote corner, and you finally hand in the direction of the marina. All that has changed the relationship they had at the beginning. It is no longer the "señor But "Hey, Rob! "" Eric my friend! "And laugh it closes in the car! I asked his wife how she called me and Rob answers for her: "Caca! Then laughs. She landed a blow on the shoulder to stun a bull , but do not give me another answer ...
It crosses a nature reserve, then approaches the coast. After a winding road, is a post-gate, where two military glandent. One enters the area of the former U.S. naval base. Some abandoned places emerge good atmosphere. Here, in a heavily wooded park, old houses remain the military. They are all identical, concrete painted yellow, with a stage. There is nothing: no doors or windows and facades begin to deteriorate well. It looks like the small town abandoned in the series "Lost." (Well what? I give you a visual reference current, since I have no photos: o)
It then comes to a track, which leads us to the marina, modern and fresh. There, I spend 1 hour to make four pontoons. Looking flag vessels or name, I know their nationality. There are many French moored, but they are absent. I speak with many owners, but without success. They are friendly but not interested, or just stay on land. I leave a posting to the captaincy and I returned to the hotel. I, in parallel, initiated research on the internet and also left an announcement. Now I only have to wait a proposal ...
I returned to the hotel. With my stories of lost and port failure taxi, I have not eaten and it is 17.30. But is not out like that! The owner on the sidewalk with me and show me the right: "Do not go there. But you can go here, follow the people. Go out into the streets where there are police and not work alone, stay close to the people! "I am the letter his instructions and everything goes well. But I see the cross streets: dirty, ugly buildings made of, water that flows between the buildings ... and especially the guys who zonent everywhere, look at the lookout. Difficult to be relaxed, even in my "safety radius". No alternative but to return to Hotel overnight. I prefer to fight with mosquitoes than those I saw in the street.
I explained that I was left with the bare minimum, which is true! I wake up without knowing the time. I am obliged to descend to the reception to watch the clock ... 7am. Unmoved, the fat from the hotel just looked at me. I want to ask him how many attacks there was that night, but in fact, I'm afraid the answer does not make me laugh ...
I decide stay one more day. So if I receive a reply to my ad left the marina, I can get there easily . The problem is that we deal in the meantime! And strolling through the streets means assured problem ... Unless all this is only a legend designed to scare the tourists. I asked a guy from the hotel where I can find a supermarket, and inflated energy, I am starting! The streets are alive is a good sign. But there's a cop on every street corner. I saw the same thing in Colombia, but in big cities. Colon is a small town and as many cops per square meter is not a good indicator of tranquility ...
My eyes are everywhere, I observe the street, detail. No white. So a white one, it shows. I spend a cuadra, two ... I meet eyes, each time a split second, but I read the danger. I am a prey, it is clear! I can not find the store. I ask a woman sweeping the front of his shop and I take the right course.
It seems to be timed, followed by a helicopter and broadcast in a reality show. Genre: "How long can this man walking down Columbus?! Following after the pub! " I change street, make a few meters and realize too late that I have nothing to do there. No cop, no passers-by to my side and a street scene worthy of a video game. Never in my life have I crossed a street like that! In the end, I see the supermarket in question ... I have less than 80 m, I continue.
In a highlight, intense, brain captures a lot of information and most importantly, keep them. This street, I'm souviendrai longtemps ! La seule chose que je ne pouvais voir et que je ne verrai jamais, c’est la tête que je faisais... Je ne vais pas vous décrire la rue sur 15 pages, mais croyez-moi, c’était super flippant ! les gens surtout, nombreux, postés devant leur immeuble, des mecs barraqués, torse nu, certains sifflent du haut de leur appart, comme un signal. La chaleur, les odeurs... tout reste gravé dans ma mémoire. Dans ces rues, tout peut se passer, les flics viendront après, et personne ici ne sera inquiété, car la plupart n’on pas de papiers d’identité et quand bien même, ils s’en tapent !
The 10 meters seem last long ... I cross the intersection and rushed into the supermarket conditioning, where I get ... In return, I avoid that street. In this case, we can get lucky once, but not two! This street is no exception! There is the same every 30 meters. The whole city is dangerous. Okay, there are cops, you can also walk in a safe street, but all around, there is a street to avoid. Those who live in the neighborhood, less likely an attack, they are "known". But even they will not do it at night, and only rarely during the day.
The city is really dangerous, the whole city! And those who are guarded by cops used to say "see, we did something for your safety!" But what a cop would do if something goes wrong? Some have bulletproof vests and with a shotgun. But all the cops are not equipped like that and do not have the same training or the same salary! and I do not want to see an attack, even with the police side.
This way the squirrel, I returned to the hotel with my food, magazine, and stay there! The next day, I check my emails. Nothing. I take a taxi and save me from this town.
There are weeks when it happens to me all along! The next day I'll at the French Alliance to see if there is a possibility to work (I went there a week before, and they told me to iron because overworked). The young hiring manager greeted me and asked me many questions about my background and my experience of "teacher" in Chile. Finally, I propose to lecture for 11 dollars an hour, from late February. We exchange our contact information.
I returned to the hotel I have a new message! It's a French ship which is anchored in a Cuban, who must go through the course and sets sail on February 27. Impec that!
the evening, I discussed all this with my friends and French Uruguayan installed near my home. They live here, so are good practical advice . Rents here are expensive (they live at 3 in the same apartment to pay). There are ways to find cheap, but in neighborhoods unsafe ... The hourly rate proposed by the Alliance is good, but they are only 4 or 8 hours per week! Thus, even assuming I do more hours, I spend my time working to pay rent and eat. I see too much interest.
As for boats, it quickly: I can not wait until April, so I'll say yes in French, which is still in Cuba.
I'll give you all the details on the boat just before leaving.
For now I am still in Panama, so much tell you what I see! I am still very little information on a place I want to visit, minimum, for the surprise of discovery. We all saw pictures of the Panama Canal, we know more or less what it looks like. But realistically, how you imagine? Personally, I could see what looked like the channel itself, but where was it exactly over the city? what was his environment? Prrt! I knew nothing. I imagined this place a bit like a port, a place full of activity, people, where one could walk along watching from near and far.
The building There are several floors with a restaurant, a souvenir shop and horrible screening rooms documentary (you must pay extra to access). In the 4th, there is a large terrace, where there are tourists to watch the passing boats in the channel ... Completely useless! I have looked at the site, and assuming that those responsible wanted to "secure" the area to avoid disturbing the people working there, there was a real opportunity to build something nicer!
Not that I'm bored, but I can give you 2 or 3 info on where I slept more semaines à Panama ; La Jungla House. C’est une auberge de jeunesse dans l’esprit de ce que je vous avais montré en Bolivie et en Argentine (voir ici http://lamavoyageur.blogspot.com/2008/01/la-paz-suite.html et ici : http://senorolala.blogspot.com/2009/11/senor-olala-en-cordoba.html
A La jungla house, les nationalités se croisent mais aussi les générations ! J’ai rencontré beaucoup de personnes qui avaient entre 50 et 65 ans. Mettez un brésilien, un grec, un argentin et un canadien dans une cuisine, et vous aurez des discussions super riches sur la nourriture. Et toutes sortes de sujets d’ailleurs !
Certaines conversations méritent d’être retranscrites : Un autrichien parle avec une nicaraguayenne (oui c’est long à écrire). Elle lui demande d’où il vient. « Austria », lui répond-t-il (Autriche en espagnol). La fille s’illumine : « Ah les kangourous ! »
« Non, ça c’est in Australia, Aus-tria's me! "Consternation, he throws me a look.
Living in Panama is cool, I was not expecting that! The climate has much to do, but people are also nice, and I love the mix of modern architecture with tropical vegetation.
I had already refused a job at the Alliance, second proposal work fell on me in an original way, and I accepted! Little explanation: As long as I had not found a boat, I spent my time running to the right, left. Once I found I could finally breathe, and I spent more time at the hostel. As I already explained, it has a lot of passage, young, old, who stay an average of 2 or 3 days.
V ere the building of the jungle, in front of the palm. The rooms are spread over two floors, the 2nd and last. I am staying at the second, calmer. Above it rocks the world, there reception, lounge etc. ... It's great fun of hospitality, to partition into different rooms, to explain how to get to that place (although I've been here less than a month ...) or choose music for atmosphere. This is not a classic hotel, there are many common places: kitchen, terrace, ... So full of meetings and a good atmosphere.
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