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The Panamericana, which connects Panama City to the rest of the country, is completely fixed. There are blockades in several places, Roy tells De Telegraaf: “It was really chaos here. We stood still for at least 27 hours and nobody did anything. We did not see this coming.” According to La Prensa Latina, students, workers and others have now also joined the strikes and demonstrations.
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The view from the bus.
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screaming
The couple was told by the bus driver that this blockade could continue for a while. And the situation was not very comfortable. They made a journey that normally lasted three hours. They brought water and a pack of cookies.
There were also elderly people and young children on the bus that Roy and his wife were on: “Of course, this was terrible for them too.” Earlier in the journey, the screeching of horses in distress could be heard: “There was a wagon full of horses next to us. They were now so restless and panicked that they started screaming and biting each other. They hadn’t had water for far too long.”
“In the end we had decided to get off the bus,” continues Roy. “We had to.” “We gave the last bit of food we had to a woman with a small baby. She sat helpless in the bus with almost nothing left. Bizarre how little help there was from the government, police or local residents.”
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This choice worked out well, says Roy. “We were even able to stop a wrong-way driver who brought us to the end of the traffic jam. That’s where the protest was going on.” Fortunately, the couple also found a supermarket there. “We bought food and drinks and were then able to walk fairly safely along the roadblocks.”
Exhaustion
The newlyweds took a new bus across the Panamericana, but that didn’t go as hoped either. “Not much later we were completely stuck again.” They decided to start walking again, along the roadblocks and were able to get by fairly easily on foot. They eventually managed to arrange a taxi: “For 50 euros he finally took us to our final destination, Boquete in Panama.”
The two are broken. “We are still confused and have many question marks. How is that woman and her baby? Or with the horses that had nowhere to go? And why didn’t the police do anything?”
Despite the intense ride, they hope to have a few more beautiful days together.
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The restless horses on the road.
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