132km to Valle de Antón
Dec. 24th, 2024 07:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerPanama Travelog #8
El Valle, Panama - Mon, 23 Dec 2024. 3pm.
This afternoon we drove from Gamboa, Panama, the home of the Gamboa Rainforest Preserve, to Valley de Antón. It was a 132km trip. Along the way our only stop was a brief, foiled attempt to hike a waterfall.
Driving 132km, which is not quite 80 miles, can be quite an undertaking or can be a nothing-burger, depending on where those 80 miles are. In the wide open spaces of the western US, for example, you can drive 80 miles in many places without passing more than a one-blinking-stoplight town or two. Our route across a few states in Panama today wasn't that remote. We passed several towns, few of which were quite that small. We also had busy traffic a fair bit of the way, even on the 4- and 6- lane divided highways that made up about 2/3 of our route. It was seldom slow, but driving in traffic did require constant vigilance as drivers are much less predictable here than in the US. More on that below.
So, what's it like driving in Panama vs. in the US?
First, I've got to say, way more is familiar than not. You drive on the right. The basic traffic laws are the same. Road signs look familiar— things like Stop (though it says "High" in Spanish), One way, and No Parking. There's none of that British crap like a pictograph for "Road Turns to Bacon Ahead." Though green signs informing you which exit goes where are infuriating small, vague, and placed almost too late to make turns safely when driving faster than 40 km/hr.
Second, it's unclear what the prevailing attitude on speed is. Or, should I say, the prevailing attitude on speed is "Whatever". On a road signed for 100 km/h plenty of people are tooling along at 70-80. Including police cars.
I thought I'd just bought myself a ticket when I nearly overtook a police van cruising on one of the highways. I cautiously dropped back and matched his speed. Then I realized he was driving only 75 in a 100 zone. Plus, the van had a broken window and seemed to be full of flattened cardboard boxes, like a hoarder's car. Maybe it's the hoarder police. They write a speeding ticket, but instead of giving it to you they hold onto it.
On slower roads people speed excessively. 60 km/h zone on a highway? Count on seeing people driving over 80 and weaving lanes. And they reason they're weaving is to get around the people driving as slow as 25 in the 60 zone.
Between these differences requiring vigilance, and the poor seats in our crappy little rental, I was feeling saddle sore already halfway through this two-hour trip. That's unusual for me as I routinely handle drives 2-3x as long without fatigue. I got us there without stops (other than the abortive hiking one mentioned at the top) by force of will. If nothing else I figured I'll spend most of the rest of the day walking, standing, lying down, or sitting— in a better chair.
El Valle, Panama - Mon, 23 Dec 2024. 3pm.
This afternoon we drove from Gamboa, Panama, the home of the Gamboa Rainforest Preserve, to Valley de Antón. It was a 132km trip. Along the way our only stop was a brief, foiled attempt to hike a waterfall.
Driving 132km, which is not quite 80 miles, can be quite an undertaking or can be a nothing-burger, depending on where those 80 miles are. In the wide open spaces of the western US, for example, you can drive 80 miles in many places without passing more than a one-blinking-stoplight town or two. Our route across a few states in Panama today wasn't that remote. We passed several towns, few of which were quite that small. We also had busy traffic a fair bit of the way, even on the 4- and 6- lane divided highways that made up about 2/3 of our route. It was seldom slow, but driving in traffic did require constant vigilance as drivers are much less predictable here than in the US. More on that below.
So, what's it like driving in Panama vs. in the US?
First, I've got to say, way more is familiar than not. You drive on the right. The basic traffic laws are the same. Road signs look familiar— things like Stop (though it says "High" in Spanish), One way, and No Parking. There's none of that British crap like a pictograph for "Road Turns to Bacon Ahead." Though green signs informing you which exit goes where are infuriating small, vague, and placed almost too late to make turns safely when driving faster than 40 km/hr.
Second, it's unclear what the prevailing attitude on speed is. Or, should I say, the prevailing attitude on speed is "Whatever". On a road signed for 100 km/h plenty of people are tooling along at 70-80. Including police cars.
I thought I'd just bought myself a ticket when I nearly overtook a police van cruising on one of the highways. I cautiously dropped back and matched his speed. Then I realized he was driving only 75 in a 100 zone. Plus, the van had a broken window and seemed to be full of flattened cardboard boxes, like a hoarder's car. Maybe it's the hoarder police. They write a speeding ticket, but instead of giving it to you they hold onto it.
On slower roads people speed excessively. 60 km/h zone on a highway? Count on seeing people driving over 80 and weaving lanes. And they reason they're weaving is to get around the people driving as slow as 25 in the 60 zone.
Between these differences requiring vigilance, and the poor seats in our crappy little rental, I was feeling saddle sore already halfway through this two-hour trip. That's unusual for me as I routinely handle drives 2-3x as long without fatigue. I got us there without stops (other than the abortive hiking one mentioned at the top) by force of will. If nothing else I figured I'll spend most of the rest of the day walking, standing, lying down, or sitting— in a better chair.
