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Tim Taylor Completes Solo Circumnavigation of New Zealand

When I undertook a personal journey attempting to paddle the length of New Zealand in 2011, I was initialy disapointed to be over shadowed by another young paddler who was, that same summer, going for the record of “first ever paddler to round all main islands of NZ in one go” and do it solo on top of it.

We (Tim and I) came to be friends over email and hoped to paddle together at some stage on our journeys if possible (it never came to be however). I got over my little bit of ego envy and stood in admiration of this fiesty young blokes guts to takle such a large goal (one I had turned away from). we shared a common journey though each of us completed different parts at different times, and my journey of 3 months gave me the insight to know just how amazing Tim’s effort to complete all of the NZ coast by paddle was.

Tim Taylor was not able to complete the whole project in one go, though did finish his objective that he started in 2010 this year, Good Job Brother, Hats off to yah!

~ Jaime ~

here is a bit form his last entry, and find more of his stories here http://nzkayaker.com/journal

“Wednesday the 29th was to be my final day on the water and what a day it
was. On my plan I had indicated that I was going to take 2 days to do
this final stretch back to Tauranga but that ‘get home itis’ had well
and truly infected me and I made the decision to risk it all and just
see if I could make it After all, if I did make it I wouldn’t exactly
need any energy reserves for the next day. With a really dodgy forecast
this was a bit of a gamble but I was on home turf now and I knew that I
could take certain risks along this stretch of coast and get away with
them.
Out on the water I made myself one hard rule which was that I
would only stop on the hour for my designated snack stop. Nothing else.
Knowing I had a long day ahead of me, I put on my ‘tunnel vision
goggles’ and really just chewed up the miles. I rigidly kept to my no
stopping rule which was hard because I was passing some beautiful
coastline and because my body was often screaming in pain (particularly
my legs). Passing Whangamata not long after 10, I knew I could make it
back to Tauranga. Out to my port side (left), I had the Bay of Plenty’s
silent sentinel, Mayor Island, watching my progress and occasionally I
could see the top of the Mount come into view between swells. These both
gave me a huge boost mentally.
I was out from the Bowentown Heads
at around 3pm and after dodging the bar area, I really cranked up the
pace. From the Heads to the Mount is a distance of 25km and the closer I
got, the faster I went. It was as though the view of the Mount was
spurring me on and I was amazed that my body could actually keep up with
this pace after such a long day. Out from Karewa Island, I could see
something heading towards me and I said to myself “if its kayakers who
have come to paddle with me, they had best be prepared to paddle hard
because I’m not stopping now!” Luckily it was a boat and it turned out
it was some old friends who had come out to guide me in. Bob Ockwell had
guided me out of the Tauranga Harbour when I first left on this journey
and when he pulled up alongside he said “I told you I would meet you
when you got back.” I just replied, in a cheeky fashion “there’s a
definite lack of fishing rods on that boat haha.”
By the time I
came into the Tauranga Harbour I was buggered. I still had to paddle up
to the Wairoa River and as the tide was almost fully out this was an
extra distance of about 15km. It also meant that I had to paddle into an
outgoing tide for the last hour. Getting a final spurt of energy, I
powered up the harbour, overtaking a bunch of yachts that were racing
(there wasn’t much wind so they were going pretty slow). Finding the
Wairoa channel is always a problem at low tide as floods each year often
change it or completely fill it up with sediment. This time was no
exception and I ultimately had to drag Waverly through a series of
shallows before I found the deeper water. I was now on my home river and
I allowed myself to relax and just enjoy it. I met old family friends
Mark and Marie McGarver, who had paddled down to join me, and together
we paddled the final few kilometres of my journey. Passing under the
train bridge we were greeted by camera flashes and cheers. I stopped for
a few minutes before heading the final distance up to the main bridge.
It was now completely dark and a simply amazing evening in its own right
but the welcome I got totally blew me away. There were dozens of people
cheering me in and I was a bit shocked by it all…this had just been a
kayaking trip to me so I never expected that sort of reception when I
got home. So I have to say a MASSIVE thanks to everyone who welcomed me
in. I will never forget the cheers, the handshakes, and all of the big
hugs that I got…I was totally in awe of it all.

The final tally
for the day was 87.5km for 13 hrs 45mins. It was the 3rd longest day
distance wise that I have ever done but it was the longest I have ever
done time wise and I was completely buggered. It was a great way to end
an awesome trip. For the record, I spent a total of 112 days on the
water for the entire expedition, covering an average of 49.4km per day.
My longest day was 95.8km and the total distance I paddled was 5529.3km.

I
would just like to say another MASSIVE thanks for all of the support
that I have received during this whole expedition. I met hundreds of
people, received hundreds of emails and I was always blown away by the
level of love and encouragement that I received. Like I said, this trip
was a just a big kayaking trip to me and I always thought I was just
doing something that I do best i.e. If I didn’t do it I just wouldn’t be
working to my potential and I would ultimately be letting myself down. I
never realised how much this trip would mean to other people so I am
really stoked that I was able to give you all something. Your support
and encouragement was your way of being part of it and I can confirm
that it definitely helped so thanks for coming along for the journey.

The
next big thanks are to all of my sponsors. I was blessed with an
amazing group of sponsors who had my back all the way through. The gear,
the financial support, and the physical support that they provided was
crucial and I could never have done it without them. Please consider all
these brands when you next come to buy a bit of gear or have your next
adventure because I can recommend all of them. All of the equipment that
I used has been thoroughly thrashed, abused and otherwise treated
badly…and all of it survived. So if I can’t break it then no one can!
Most of these companies are NZ locals so help another Kiwi out and give
them some business.

So what’s for the future? Well my next
big project is starting my very own kayaking business. This will be
based around my second big love, kayak fishing, and I hope to be taking
people out on their own little kayak fishing adventures around the Bay
of Plenty. I figure I may as well try to get paid for kayaking haha.
Keep an eye out for ‘NZ Kayak Adventures’ coming to a shore near you and
on this website as I will be using it for both the business and for any
new kayaking adventures. There will also be the book, which I hope to
get sorted over the next few months. I guess you all will know about the
adventures that I’ve had but this will be the definitive version and it
will have all of the photos, so keep an eye out for that too.

As
always, I will be available through the usual channels if you ever want
to get in touch but until then everybody, get out and enjoy a slice of
NZ and enjoy what this amazing world has to offer.

Paddle hard.”

Tim.

Jan 20th; Frisbee’s and an Engagement of Scott’s

Beer bottles litter the table, along with a small bottle of single malt scotch travelers whiskey and an odd assortment of wine vessels. Guitar strings ring in wonderful symphony along with rhythmic spoons, a whaling harmonica and bucket drum. The evening is merry and joy with drunken singing and laughter, sweet music filling the air (or at least it is thought so in the ears of the drunkards). Scottish folk songs a play with a flurry at the finger tips of Calum Wood of “The Banana Sessions”, while his newly made Fiancé Jennifer sings along in accompaniment with her sweet voice and the rest of us just try to sing what we know. It is a fine night of celebrations for sure when a traveling couple from Scotland get engaged upon a tropical beach backed by a fiery red setting sun across the pacific ocean, and that is exactly what this night is all about. Sitting at the bar eating dinner the betrothed pair walk in and announce the news, I was all set for a quite night and that just all went out the window, rounds of Panama Beer started to flow, out came Calum’s guitar and a bottle of whiskey he had brought from Scotland for the occasion and the night went on to the early morn, loud with merriment. My Scottish and Irish ancestry writhed to my heart and filled me with eager joy to embrace culture and heritage I have never fully understood though feel strangely apart of! What a great evening it became when a band of American brothers joined us, I pulled out my Harmonica, they started to sing and play songs they knew on the communal guitar, while a trash bin became a drum and one brother pulled the spoons from some used ice-cream bowls, wiped them clean and proceeded to come together with his hands. “oh spoon man!” We have made a great group of friends here at surf point, and it is sad to think they will all be gone when we return from Coiba Island. We will leave in a couple of days and be gone for about 2 weeks and there will be the same Santa Catalina when we return, though not the same wonderful companions we have come to enjoy. The festive night of merriment left all the next day with sore heads and less vigour to head to the water for a daily surf session. I attempted, though after a few rides I came back with my tail between my legs to sleep in a hammock. Every time I fell from the board and got tumbled in the waves, my brain shook and was left aching and pulsating. That day was a day of rest Today we played Frisbee; the sunset glowed golden, and we hopped and skipped amongst the pools in the sand, chasing and throwing the small plastic disc as we laughed and leaped after it. Paradise is sweet and full of fleeting moments of glory. Departure to Coiba looms closer though there are some issues arising. There is mixed opinion as to whether we will be allowed to do the trip by the ANAM park rangers, some people say yeah no problem, others say no way. I have tracked down the phone number of the head ranger (thanks to Mike my mate who runs Fluid Adventures here and is actual the lead doubter of our case), and we are organizing to get someone to talk on our behalf to the Jefe Grande, or head ranger about our case. Yann the proprietor, of where we are staying, is happy to help, he speaks French, Spanish and English, we will see what happens once we are ready to call. On a great note, Allie and I will be doing three days of guiding for 3 of Fluid Adventures clients, in turn we make enough money to pay for our trips food, get a free boat ride to Coiba and have our park fees paid for. We then plan to leave right after the trip with clients is done. Fingers crossed it all comes together. Jaime

TRAK Files Episode 2

I am proud to have the second episode in the series I am filming and Producing for TRAK Kayaks out.
Check it out below and stay tuned for more soon! the series will build up in Technical aspects and challenges for the boat, allowing us to fully learn about its abilities and flaws.

STANDARD HORIZON HX851 Floating Handheld VHF/GPS Radio

Check out this, It must be the Ultimate VHF Radio .GPS, VHF, Glow in the Dark, Built in Strobe Light, GPS Messenger. wow The advanced HX851 floating handheld VHF/GPS includes a 12-channel GPS receiver allowing you to transmit a DSC distress message, report your position or send calls with your coordinates, perfect for everyday use or adding to your ditch bag. The workhorse HX851 includes 6W of transmit power, a die-cast chassis that’s ergonomically shaped with rubberized armor for a non-slip grip. A luminescent glow-in-the-dark gasket helps you find your radio at night. GPS capabilities include waypoint entering (store up to 200 waypoints), navigation to a waypoint, DSC (Digital Selective Calling) functions including: Position Request and Position Report and navigation to a DSC position. Full dot matrix display with channel names, Radio/Position, Radio/SOG/COG, waypoint navigation and compass displays. Volume & Squelch indication on display, NMEA 0183 output on cradle, water-activated SOS strobe light, preset key with 10 channel storage, NOAA Weather with alert and a submersible speaker microphone jack for connecting optional accessories. 12V and 110V chargers included. Three-year waterproof warranty.

Material: Polycarbonate housing, die-cast chassis
Controls: 10-button keypad
Scanning Modes: Programmable scan, programmable priority scan, dual watch
Weather Alert: Yes
Transmit Power: 6/5/2.5/1W
Receiver Performance: Sensitivity: 0.25µV; Rejection: 70dB
Battery Type: Li-ion 1150mAh
Battery Life: 7 hours +
Waterproof: Floating, rated IPX7 submersible
Dimensions: 2.5″W x 5.6″H x 1.8″D
Display Type: LCD
Screen Size: 1.6″W x 0.9″H
Weight: 11.5oz.
Included Equipment: AC/DC chargers, charging cradle, antenna, belt clip
DSC: SC-101 Digital Selective Calling
GPS Receiver: 12-channel, Time to Fix: cold start 50 seconds
NMEA Output: NMEA 0183 output on cradle
Waypoints: Waypoint entry (200 waypoints), Navigate to waypoint, Navigate to DSC Position Request call
Warranty: Three-year waterproof; $65 flat rate

A Week In Santa Catalina

Santa Catalina. Jan 15th – ish! “The weekend is now over, with the last of the weekend warriors headed back home to Santiago and the surrounding areas, leaving Santa Catalina a sleepy beach town once again. For two days, cars full of youth and of young families would line the shoreline, bringing surfboards or boogie boards, some with lawn chairs and toys for the kids to spend the day playing in the waves. Others though, the flash young adults of the big city would stay behind at their cars, open all the doors, the boot, the hood even! and have a tailgate party, attempting to win over their neighbour by playing their terrible reggaeton noise louder than the next. All day for 2 days did we hear nothing but this cheesy obnoxious music. (I like to think of it as the Latino version of Bollywood music but even then I think I like Bollywood better) They would drink their beers, and stand around looking for people to admire them.” “Santa Catalina has no ATM’s, no grocery shops…the only amenities consist of restaurants, hostels, a few dive centers, plenty of surf rentals, (mostly attached to the various accommodation or restaurants) a police station outfitted only with ATV’s, one lawyer, a small school, and a teeny little library. But no groceries. There is one poor excuse for a corner store that sells a few cans of sardines and packs of rice, with a fridge stocked of a handful of juices and single serve tetra packs of milk. I’m not really sure what the point is of them existing to be honest. There is one lodging that is owned by an American couple that offers massage and yoga a few times a week.” Other than that, this is a sleepy laid back “tranquilo” town, just how everyone who lives here loves it! – Allie – The Beach Here is Stunning Called “Playa Estero” ( Estuary Beach in English) as it has a little estuary mouth right at the start of it! Here there is a wonderful forgiving beach break, great for beginner surfers and long boarders, though when the surf picks up it is awesome for advanced surfers too. there is a small rock reef in the middle which makes a wonderful left hand break, great for Goofy footers like me (people who stand right foot forward). Around the point from “Estero” is the famous Wave Break of ” La Punta” (The Point) touted as the best point break in Central America. This little Town is a surf paradise, however the coastline is scattered with little coves and islands so the possibilities for exploring by sea kayak are also endless. What brings me here; apart from being able to Surf in the mornings and evenings and work on my computer doing film editing and graphics work for TRAK Kayaks in the afternoons, is Isla De Coiba. Isla De Coiba (Coiba Island) is a National Park, the center of one of the world’s largest marine parks and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Until 2004, Coiba was also home to a penal colony. The park itself, founded in 1991, is made up of 38 different islands and is home to the 2nd largest coral reef in the eastern Pacific. Coiba is the largest island in Central America (50,314 hectares) and the marine park covers 430,821 hectares. The marine life is incredible in the park. There are orcas, dolphins, humpback whales, sea turtles, huge manta rays, tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks and much more! The beaches are nesting grounds for sea turtles, and the island itself is home to at least 36 species of mammals and 150 species of birds. Coiba Island also home to several species of monkeys, crocodiles, and has one of the last concentrations of scarlet macaws in Panama and Central America. Around 80% of the island is still pristine rain forest. The presence of the penal colony (“1919 -2004 the prison on Coiba was a feared place with a reputation for brutal conditions, extreme tortures, executions and political murder. Nobody knows exactly how many people were killed in the prison during this period, but sources claim that the number could be close to three hundred. As such, the island was avoided by locals” Wikipedia) coupled with the fact that it takes a 2 hour motor boat ride to get to the island, means that the park and Coiba itself are largely untouched. The main Mission for us is to attempt to Circumnavigate Isla De Coiba. Until then we Enjoy our ocean side camp site at Surf point Hostel ($5 pp a night for camping), I love waking up to the surf right out my door and grabbing my board. A hop skip and a jump and I am riding sweet warm waves in the morning Golden light or fiery sunset glow. – Jaime – “Our spot at Surf Point is absolutely perfect, being 5 steps down to the sandy beach, perfect for the mornings to wake up and head straight for the waves or to a shady spot for some yoga. However, there are no kitchen facilities here, but a wonderful restaurant called Mama Ines. The whole place is run by a Panamanian family of 4 brothers and their sister who is married to a Frenchman named Yann. He’s the one we deal with mostly, as he runs the front of house serving our meals, keeps track of rent and can speak the broken English needed for those travelers who don’t yet have a handle of their Spanish. I love it because I can speak French with him, and his English is pretty limited so we find ourselves using a great mix of French & Spanish.” “We awoke this morning with the sun at about 9am maybe? Blazing hot in the tent regardless. There were barely a handful of people out surfing yet which was my first clue to the weekend being over. My skin needed a break from the sun today so instead of our morning session in the waves, we spent it in the shade practicing yoga, as a group of tourists on horseback passed us by, surfers headed off in the distance. It was heating up to a grossly hot day.” “The best part of the day was heading out for a sunset surf, water still warm, our faces aglow with hues of pink and purple. We were the last out of the water by a long shot, the hunger in our bellies finally drawing us out (in the dark of night) and Pulling us in for dinner on the balcony overlooking the beach. A barefoot after-dinner walk meandering the quiet road into town under a black night sky, watching for shooting stars and enjoying the peace and quiet of the night….well, it’s exactly as I hoped for when dreaming of these nights back in Vancouver. ” – Allie –

Arrival in Santa Catalina

After a rough bus ride and a feisty barter with the flat deck taxi driver ( he wanted to charge $50 to Santa Catalina) due to no more Buses that night. We eventually settled on $35 though Allie wasn’t totally happy with that. With the Back fully loaded with TRAK Folding kayaks and bags we where off to Santa Catalina.
Here is Allie’s point of view on arriving.
– J –

“Um Paradise? Hi, lovely to meet you, name’s Allie, I think we’re gonna be best friends. Ok?” (Hmm, strikingly similar to how my best friend Bree and I met years ago, pretty sure it’s the exact same conversation we had. It sure turned out alright eh Bree?!)

Allie putting up a fight for a better fare.

We are Loaded (yes, capital L loaded) down with gear. These folding kayaks are heavy business, thank god they’re on wheels! We pull into Santa Catalina in the dark, and already the vibe is laaiid back mon. Barefoot, surfboard-toting locals and gringos alike, pedestrians and bikes roam the roads, the air is smelling oh so sweet. We find a lodging right on the beach that offers a spot to pitch our tent. I can barely see our surroundings save for the twinkling lights in the trees, but I don’t need to – the surf below the ledge we’re on is loud and tells me enough to know I love where we’ve landed! The crickets might be louder though, I’m not sure. I’ve got a $@!# eating grin on my face and I squeal as excitedly and quietly as I can so as not to wake up the neighbouring tent. I’m in paradise.

Our first morning we rise with the sun, in a full screen tent with no fly, open to the light and warm breeze. Ahhhhh……next to a hammock, this is best way to wake up. I notice the surf is waaay out now, I can still smell the smoldering of last night’s bonfire down the beach, and a young palm frond grows in the grass right next to my face. I take a deep inhale….stretch my limbs….curl up and go right back to sleep. There’s all the time in the world today and I’m in no rush to get anywhere. When I do finally wake up, I take a good morning yoga stretch and look out to the water where I see Jaime playing and doing handstands on the beach. Yes! Let’s go! I grab my bikini, and head out to meet him where we spend the next 3 hours playing in the waves next to the surfers and other body surfers. Amazing. I let out a few good squeals left from the night before, and a few newly refreshed this morning. I look back at the beach where a line of perfect palm trees are backed by small slopes of lush greenery, little cabanas painted bright pink, green, blue, and purple rest in the shade. I squeeze my fists so hard in excitement throwing my arms in the air and fall back splashing in ecstasy.

Welcome to the next few months of my life in Santa Catalina.
Time for a siesta in the hammock while the reggae plays in the surrounding yard, and some light work in the afternoon doing editing on the computers then exploring the town on bike. To the good life!
– Allie –

Tracking Down Our Second TRAK Kayak

Jan 11th – 13th The rest of our time in the city was spent taxi-ing back and forth between old town and downtown, barely taking any real deep breaths of clean air (cough hack cough!), finding one tropical park for a moment of respite, taking cold showers in the land of one-tap showers, (I love even when there’s two taps you know you’re not getting any hot water) searching out the forgotten gear for our camera equipment and computers, (what a headache) finding a decent English speaking dentist for Jaime and tracking down the second TRAK kayak at the FedEx office. – A – I have a cracked root canal and cavity, the dentists in panama are a wonderful cheap and well trained option for the world traveler. $50us gets you a filling and $500 gets you a high end tooth cap. I will talk more about this adventure later when I find the time to go through with it. For now I just had a really good tooth cleaning for $25us. Now it is time to pick up the Other TRAK, I had flown via Belize with one TRAK Kayak, it had cost me $200 dollars to get it to Belize (for $10 more i got a first class set, so that was a given). From Belize to Panama no one even flinched at the Large bag even though it was slightly over the 70lb allowance for Taca. The Other TRAK kayak had been posted from Canada for a little bit less money, when we eventually found the Fed Ex station the boat was waiting in its box, I signed for it and then we unpacked it. getting a Taxi from there to the bus station proved tricky with two large Golf bags and our Backpacks. We ended up making Friends with a Venezuelan political outcast who now runs a restaurant (“Finca” with the best fruit Shakes) next to the FedEx station. Our new friend told us her interesting story of not agreeing with the politics in Venezuela thus was forced from her government job and the country to Panama. In the meantime she had called her friend, also from Venezuela, who took us for $10 to our Bus in her thankfully large trunk car! – J – Now – it’s on the bus and off to Santa Catalina via Santiago and Sona, About a half day trip. Beaches, Surf, Sun and sand along with small town living, here we come!! – A ‘n’ J –

Allies Birthday Night in Panama City

Jan 10th 2012

My first sight of the city in daylight…palm trees, heat like an oven, wild erratic driving, a skyline of high rises (mostly all residential rather than commercial), seaside promenade looking out at fishing boats, a cruise ship or two, and surprisingly clean streets and surroundings….welcome to Panama City!
We spend our first day, which also happens to be my birthday, in town mostly sleeping (my god it didn’t matter how hot it was, I was out like a light).
– A –
Casco Viejo, the old town, beautiful colonial buildings being restored one by one. Quite an undertaking with so many buildings. This area is now a mix of gutted buildings piled high with rubble inside, while others are finished and looking stately and expensive. Juliette balconies reminding me of Paris with their colourful flowers and greenery, while painted sunny and cheerful Caribbean colours, the buildings reminded us both of Antigua in Guatemala. In about 5 to 10 years these cobblestone streets will no doubt be teeming with rich gringos staying in the boutique hotels, and dining at expensive restaurants. for now though the streets are cluttered smelly and extremely interesting, lots of wonderful food options from upscale restaurants at very North American prices to roller door Comidas serving many sorts of meats on rice for $2 a large plate. we had a great Brunch of Ceviche done with Pineapple and Coconut, then for dinner we had a amazing Italian style Pizza for $7us per pizza with $1.50 Cervezas (Beer), awesome.
– A ‘n’ J –

That evening was a bit of a gong show complete with a 2 hour party bus ride for $10 each with some dancing, all you can drink Rum and Coke, travelers from multiple nations. we then moved on to a rowdy outdoor bar called Relic at this point Allie made friends with a Woman and her millionaire Panamanian friend and we found ourselves ripping around town in a Porsche Carrera looking for Places in which to dance the night away, oh did I mention all this at about 100kph and sliding sideways around corners? well it was only some times. crazy driver!!
– J –

Video of Party Bus

Video Of Porsche Ride

Jaime was wearing shorts so many places (ones were everyone was dressed in white and others where there where limos lined up outside) were a no go, that left us a strip club, and finally yes, a cheesy Latina bar playing passable music to dance to. Not my ideal choice of how to spend my birthday but hey, it was good for a laugh, and I just remember we’re only a couple days away from the beaches of Santa Catalina.
– A –

Oh yeah adventures in the City we can’t wait to get out to the Coast!

Worlds Colliding in Panama

Jan 9th -10th 2012

Here is the first blog post, it outlines our first day in Panama city and the journeys Allie and I took the day before we meet in Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport to begin our 7 week adventure in Panama. Allie’s travel day began before mine so her story starts the Narration:

7:30am: Getting to bed at 12:30am the night before I leave Vancouver, I’m already up again at 4.30am. A breakfast smoothie in hand, I arrive at the airport with plenty of time to weigh my bags; crossing my fingers they come in underweight, that my hula hoop can be allowed as a carry on, and that I don’t get questioned over my donning of my PFD for the flight. Turns out they don’t even check my bag for me, let alone weigh it, only telling me to pass it off down the hall onto a conveyor belt. Done deal. Phew! I pull my rain jacket over my PFD to casually hide it. No one notices.

Seated in last row of the plane – great.

– Allie –

12 pm:

I catch a small plane from the town of Dangriga in Belize to Belize ctiy. The journey to Panama begins; 1 Check in folding kayak weighing around 73lbs, 1 carry on bag weighing 35lbs, 1 personal item (a kayak Deck bag) loaded with film gear and a computer, a Fuel bottle strapped on as a drink bottle and me wearing my Kayaking PFD. I am flying from Belize to Panama Via TACA Airlines, they allow 70lbs combined check in, a carry on and a personal item, I wasn’t sure how they were going to react to me with my gear.

– Jaime –

2 pm: I’ve got a tight connection of only 20 minutes once we land in Houston and I manage to thankfully squeeze my way off the plane past the other passengers, running to my next gate only to find out the plane is late by an hour; most flights for Panama are late due to weather. My 3 hour wait for Jaime is now only 2 hours, but will his flight be late as well? Hmm.

– Allie –

3pm: At check in they looked apathetically amused at my appearance and odd assortment of baggage and outer wear. “how many bags are you checking?” the bored looking lady asked; when I replied “one”, she seemed a little startled and I quickly stated that I had flown with the other items as carry on to this point already, she excepted that and I placed the folding TRAK kayak, with paddle and safety gear all in the TRAK golf bag, on the scales, the scales were too small to weigh the boat it seemed and I told the bag man it weighed 70lbs and he unhappily shrugged and tagged the bag. I was issued tickets and off I went, looking like a right character in my Chaco sandals, shorts, singlet and wearing a PFD while backing a Back pack.

– Jaime –

5pm: board plane, no one blinks much at me and all my gear (from what I can tell any way), everything fits well on the plane, I am impressed by the newness of the TACA plane.

– Jaime –

6.30pm: Touchdown San Salvador City, El Salvador.

– Jaime –

8:45pm: Arriving at Tocumen Airport and the first thing I do is get to the bathrooms to wash the stinky sticky sweat off me, a much needed freshening up. Feel much better. Sit myself down in baggage claim and get comfortable for the next couple hours with my book, iPod, Spanish phrasebook, people watching and an attempt at some shut eye.

– Allie –

8.50pm: Boarding was supposed to be at 8.10pm, after a long wait we are told the flight is delayed until 2am, and we will be put up in a hotel until then. We file after our attendant, get stamped into EL Salvador and board a bus (it seems I always have a misadventure when passing through this country, last time I was driving through El Salvador with my mate Ian and we had a lady drive into the rear of our vehicle; $500us later and a police escort to the border we were cleared of further responsibilities and well on our way to the Honduras Border). 20 mins later we Pulled up outside the Intercontinental Hotel and were put in super Plush rooms and given dinner.

– Jaime –

9.55pm: I Sent Allie and email to tell her what had happened as she would now be in Panama airport awaiting my arrival (as long as she had no delays). I hopped she got the message soon and would sort herself out room in the city and would let me know where to find her. I enjoyed a hot bath and slept till 12.45am

– Jaime –

10:45pm comes and goes. One plane-load of passengers arrives and I squint my eyes at the distant crowd, worried that I don’t see him, that he might have passed me by, that I forget what he looks like and I’ve missed him…..crap

– Allie –

12:45am I pass the hours repeating my routine; pacing, wondering, waiting. Dos Policia (2 Policemen) approach me. I was prepared for this so I had managed to string together a decent phrase explaining what I was doing. They asked me to wait outside past customs for Jaime and that his Taca flight from San Salvador would be arriving in about 25 minutes. Great!

– Allie –

1am: back on the bus to the airport. Going through customs with my bags again I ended up having a bunch of stuff pulled out that I had flown with so far, they dug out a well buried Lighter, took my sewing repair kit (the needle was dangerous), went through my first aid kit; removed my tweezers, my safety pins, my wire ties though strangely left my syringe needle. The officer then repacked my stuff and I was on my way again. Annoying to have your first aid kit depleted of useful tools. Back on the Plane TACA then issued all the passengers a $300 flight voucher to compensate for the Delay. Wow good service.

I hope Allie has sorted herself out, I haven’t received an email from her yet, there should be one once I arrive in Panama, or maybe she is waiting for me by sleeping at the airport ( I hope not, it’s been a big delay).

– Jaime –

3am: I’m now really restless. There’s no internet anywhere, no food kiosks, I’m rationing what little snacks I brought with me from home, and I manage to find some grossly uncomfortable chairs on which to contort my body for a half reclined ‘rest’. Growing increasingly impatient, I can’t sit still. I do some stretching in the empty corridor, and in my forward standing bend I spot some TV screens through my legs, waaay down the hall. Ah! Arrival screens! I finally gain some information about his flight….yes, scheduled arrival 10:45pm. It’s now 3am. New estimated arrival: 5:45am!!!! I’m cursing the airlines in disbelief, shaking my head, turning to walk away only to look back again just to make sure I read it correctly. Arrgh!

– Allie –

5 am: Almost time for touch down, i have been given quite a good meal, and watched a movie, also i have been sitting in the exit row and have had lots of leg room! despite the delay the service and my experience with TACA has been great!

– Jaime –

5:40am: After managing about an hour of rest on a couch found in one of the car rental agencies, I awoke to the sounds of people stirring in the airport. Yay!! I hoist my pack on my back, rub my bleary eyes, and head towards the arrival doors and not 5 minutes later, I see him walk through the doors, laden down with boat, backpack, camera bag….yup it’s really him! I drag myself towards him, so completely exhausted.

He doesn’t understand why I’m so exhausted… “You got my message right? Did you get a hotel in town?”

“What! No?!” I reply in disbelief. I’m shaking I’m so tired and hungry. I tell him my story.

“You have been in the airport all night?” he states. “Oh. Well I guess you don’t wanna hear where I’ve been then!”

– Allie –

7.30am: We are now combined as a team for the Adventure in Panama, we make friends with an Israeli couple, Yeffat and Gillad, and we share a taxi into the city to their Hostel. There was originally no room for us at the hostel so we went looking for a pay phone and found a cheaper room in the old town of Casco Viejo, only $22 a night with free Wi-Fi, breakfast and a kitchen for cooking. On our return to the original Hostel we are informed there is a room available for $40 a night, we thank them though move on, with hopes of catching up with Yefet and Gillad later in the trip.

9am:

After boarding a Taxi for a $4 ride across town through the bustling streets and skyrise apartments of Panama city, we find our way into the narrow cobbled streets of the old town, and eventually find our budget accommodation. The area is wonderful, the room spartan yet comfortable with a nice open air window. we are more than happy we eat some of the Banana’s provided for breakfast, then go looking for Brunch before passing out for the afternoon, to catch up on much needed sleep.

Panama here we are and it is nice to be here! The day was Allies Birthday and the coming night presented some crazy adventures stay tuned!

– A ‘n’ J –

The Panama Adventure Begins

Here is a little video to bring you into the Adventure Allie and I are having in Panama. stay tuned for more written, visual and audio adventure logs.

-J-