Aufwiedersehen Panama!

Bye Bye Panama – start of the long journey back North!

playing with my camera I created this shot of Panama city

With no breakfast but a good coffee at the Mapiex FBO we are keen to take off early. 

Flippie and Phil concentrating on their tasks

All bags loaded we are in the air shortly before 8 am local Panama time (one hour time difference between here and Costa Rica).

Great views over the Panama canal with heavy loaded container ships slowly making their way through the 77 km long canal. 

There are actually less ships going through this narrow connection between the Pacific and the Atlantic nowadays than a decade ago as the locks can't cope with the size of the massive ships.  And the transit time is still 30hours - not much faster than in the nineties.

The Panama Canal was built between 1905 and opened finally in 1913 after many attempts had to be abandoned in the late 19th century. The overall idea though is as old as Christopher Columbus would you believe it! The major draw now is for tourist cruise ships to pass through the passage.

Sitting comfortably now in our Beech at 10,000ft with a good speed of 162kt I find a bit time to write and sort my hundreds of photographs and videos. 

Bubbly CBs are building up extensively over the central mountain range and Flippie and Phil try and steer along the coast to avoid getting too much into IFR conditions.

Whilst this entire trip is totally exhausting as there is really never a proper break, it is also the most incredible thing I have ever done!

This is breakfast and lunch together! (on the aeroplane)

The places we have seen from the air, the wonderful hospitable people we have met, the balloon flights achieved and challenges faced – memories that will last forever.

overflying the main airport at San Jose, Costa Rica

But the trip is not over yet. We still have to get back safely into San Jose – a tricky airstrip between the mountains with lots of high build ups and thunderstorms in the vicinity – and we need to get through Mexico which has caused us a major headache for the last weeks!

on finals

We hear so many different stories on what we need to do, extra insurance yes or no, this paperwork here or there. But we think we have a plan – at least for now!

Poor Flippie brooding over flight planning and paperwork in the airport cafe

On arrival in San Jose we make our way back through immigration, customs and then taxi the Beech to Mike's seaplane hangar. Here we offload the balloon. It will be too difficult to get all this kit through Mexico, which is still giving us a major headache despite the best advice from locals and experts alike (this is now 6.30 pm!).

with our Costa Rican aviation friends at the hangar

It's sad to see the balloon go, but we hope to be back to cover the countries that we have missed on this trip: mainly now Honduras, Guatemala, San Salvador and Nicaragua. I need to fly in all four of them, Phil only needs two. 

The last time a G-registered aircraft was at Pavas was in 1965 we are told by Jorge Solano

At the hangar we are enthusiastically greeted again by our Costa Rican aviation fan club! More photos, exchange of stories and some helpful hands to turn the aeroplane to taxi back to the apron. Thank you guys! It was lovely to meet you!

after a delicate manouver Flippie taxies the Beech back to the apron

By now we are starving and a quick lunch at the airport cafe with Mike and Dalys is greatly appreciated.

The afternoon is spent with flight planning, sorting the Mexican problem, many phone calls and in my case going shopping and making sandwiches for tomorrow's long flight and day plus this here.

We are ready for dinner in a nice Italian with Mike and Dalys and then crash....