Thu, 26th Feb;

So at 4pm, it was time to say adios to my comrades on board the good ship ‘The Linge Trader’. They were a good lot, maybe not as much fun as the crew of the MV Miriam, but they were a little under-staffed so they didn’t have as much downtime to spend entertaining a rather waylaid traveller from Liverpool .

I left the ship with Raymundo, the wonderful shipping agent who sorted me out with my passport stamps and who took me to the bus station. Veracruz , MEXICO!! Yay!! I’m so excited…I could pop! I’m actually on Terra Firma and today, I begin the long trip down to Panama . I can’t wait.

The bus for the border left at 6pm. Perfect timing. Well, here we go again…The bus was fast and VERY well air-conditioned and they had little mini-jack sockets so you could plug in your headphones and listen to the bus company’s surprisingly good playlist, which was just BRILLIANT! Loads of Spanish-language versions of all the old classics as well as just the most bizarre tracks thrown in for good measure (the jive-funk version of the theme from Star Wars was the best bit). Ahhh, long distance coaches, how I’ve missed you. Although, got to say – bit cold – AC whacked on full all night., which is a theme I think I’ll be returning to over the next few days!!

I pulled back the curtain and enjoyed the starry night sky without it moving to and fro…to and fro…to and fro…