He took us to a building in a complex with no signs on it to say it was Aduana (customs). We parked the bikes and were led into a dirty room with three chairs where we handed over documents and waited, and waited, and waited.
Finally after 4-1/2 hours (1:00 at this time) we get the boss to sign the forms and we head off to pay the fine in another area of the building. First the guy who brought us over took our keys then a lady took the paperwork (some 10-12 pages each bike) and had to call her boss to see what the fine would be. A little more waiting and we were told it will be $1,550. Ok, I expected a fine, but not this much.
So then we had to wait for the bill so we could pay. And we waited again. Finally at 3:00 the bill came (maybe they had to call another boss). We paid then had to find the guy to get our keys back, oh and Karen's original registration (why just hers, I will never know).
So in total, having our bikes in Panama for longer than 6 months, cost us 2 full days delay and a lot if cash. We had been expecting 3-1/2 hours per border, but not days delays.
What also sucks is that we have not had water since the morning. We carry granola bars for this type of situation, but we need food, water and coffee. Everyone is a lot on edge and all directed at me. I offered for Karen or Jada to take over negotiation, translation, navigation, planner and general shit taker duties, but no takers.
So we were escorted out of Panama right to the border. I've never been kicked right out of a country before!!
Entering Costa Rica was really easy and only took 1-1/2 hours to get through. Although I drove right through the whole border, thinking it was farther ahead. We had to turn around to go back!
About 20 minutes into Costa Rica, we found a nice hotel with three beds and air conditioning. Yay! It was right close to a cool looking cemetery.
Remember Stew,
Enjoy your journey!
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