Ryan Romps

A few shots of Panama. Today the ship docked in Panama City, Panama. We got a tender ride to the city in the morning. We were told that there  was going to be a shuttle to downtown Panama City. Unfortunately, there were no shuttles at that time. Instead, we got a cab ride downtown. The driver, Miguel, said that he would show us the true local life. He drove us through some horrible neighborhoods with large buildings that were falling apart. There were lots of people outside the buildings, and many doors were open on the various floors. There were people of every age. Some were cooking, some were cleaning, some were chatting, and some were just lounging around minding there own business. Me and Miguel. Miguel told us that even though it looked bad on the outside, on the inside, they lived like kings. He said that most of them made their money from drugs. Then, he drove us through an area in the town where there were lots of abandoned, identical buildings with a barbed ...

Today, the ship docked 5 blocks from the San Blas Islands. We got on a tender, a small boat made for taking people through shallow waters and saving people’s lives in the case of the ship sinking. The tender carried us through a relatively choppy sea to the small (shrinking) island. Upon arrival we were greeted by the usual blast of locals selling overpriced knickknacks to the many flocking tourists. After getting a picture with some local kids, we found a guy who said he would take us to another island called Icodub. We agreed and followed him through some narrow passages in between the huts that the locals lived in to a small fishing boat. He said he would need at least two more people for the trip to be profitable to him. Luckily, the demonstration chef from the ship and his wife were nearby and happy to join us. After a little convincing to the chef’s wife and a little bartering with the man who was going to take us to the island, we got a ride to the island for $17 per person. ...

Today the ship docked in Santa Marta Colombia. We got off and wandered into a tourist trap. There were lots of knickknacks for sale and many people yelling out their prices. We decided to ignore the expensive souvenirs and head into the city away from the tourists. After a few minutes of walking down the main road we met a nice local man who said he knew someone who could get us rental bikes. He made a few phone calls and spoke some Spanish. Within a few minutes he had given us directions to a hotel where we could meet somebody to get the bikes. He also recommended a good local restaurant. After a bit more walking and a short ride up an elevator we were at the very top of a beautiful hotel where we waited until eventually a woman stepped very eagerly off of the elevator with a sign that said BIKES?  Get this, her name was Farrah Fawcett. Next, we followed her out to a dirty lot with walls that were caving in. She let us choose from a selection of dirty old bikes. We chose the ni...