So, Liz and I went back to Colon to try to catch this boat.  We wanted to be in Colon first thing so we could be at the dock when it opened.  We had spent a few days in Panama City before we left and getting up early was not a possibility so we opted to pull an all nighter.  So around 5:00am we headed out to Colon.  When we arrived in Colon, we talked to the dock and had to come back later to meet sombody else.  We went to a Laundry mat on the main strip in Colon.  This is when the story becomes interesting.  Liz was in the Laundry mat and I was on the curb smoking a cigarrette.  The laundry mat had an open front and the I was only about 10 feet from liz and in clear view.  Liz was watching our tank bags, and our Laundry.  We were taking turns, watching and smoking.  Liz came out to get the smoke from me, and i was about to walk in when a local guy started yelling to us that someone just grabbed our bags.  I turned and looked and saw a guy dart down the ally way next to the Laundry mat. I jumped up and ran after him.  Now you really have to realize how cool this was for me.  I was running as fast as I could, I bolted around the corner and i could see him.  He was a stocky guy, shorter then me so I knew I could catch him.  He was waring jeans, and a yellow shirt.  The ally way was narrow about 5 feet in width, and really dingy.  There was rusty tin roofs stiking out, garbage laying about, you couldnt of picked a better set for chasing a crook.  My heart was pounding, I wasnt sure what i was going to do when i cought him, but i didnt worry about that to much.  Behind me i could hear a crowd of people shouting at me, it was in spanish so I assumed that they were just encouraging me on.  The guy I was chasing pushed over a bike in front of me that was standing up against the wall.  Then my life sort of went in slow motion,  I had a moment... My thoughts had finaly had a chance to catch up with me, I was casing a guy that had our stuff down a crazy ally way and he was throwing things infront of me to slow me down.  How cool is that.  Okay so I am running up to this bike and being a tall guy I didnt have any problem hurdleing it. So I make it over the bike without missing a step, I am gaining on this guy Im really going to get him.  He was about 20 feet infront of me and was just about to dart around a corner, and he dropped his gun.  HIS GUN.  He stopped, and turned to grab his gun, and I had another moment.  Im going to die. This moment wasnt nearly as glorafing as the last.  Then I realized that the crowed of people were not just yelling in Spanish it was English as well they were not encouraging me to go after him they were saying that he had a gun and they would kill me if I kept running.  So then the situation changed I stopped dead in my tracks.  I dindnt run away, I just stood there.  I think I was more disapointed that the pursit had ended that way.  I watched him run around the corner with our two most important bags.  Our tank bags.  I began to walk back towards Liz, I was now kinda pissed, but happy that I got to case him a little.  I man came running up to me and told me that he had called the police.  He continued to say that  I was lucky.  He said these people put bullet in you, you cant run after them.  But those bags were everything, our passports, wallets, camera, money, mp3 palyers, my gloves and worst of all our SMOKES.  Even my photocopies of my id was in that bag.  Liz wasnt that dumb, she kept her photocopies in a seperate place.  So I get back to Liz, who was a bit in shock.  We both were, this was a bad situation to be in.  We had no money, and no way of getting money.  Then the police showed up.  It took them about 2 min to get to the seen.  The Panamanian Police are not to be messed with.  The first to show up were the motorcycle police.  These guys ride Dual Puropouse 650s and have the driver, and a gunner.  The guy on the back jumped off the bike before it had even stopped, with a machine gun in one hand, two side pistols, and a bunch of ammo belts.  The locals explained what happened and they went after them.  After a while, of talking to the police we drove our bikes to the Police sation.  The military police were given an order to not stop until the guys were arrested and all of our stuff returned.  Everything was stolen at around 11:00am and everything was returned to us by 5:00pm.  They had found everything, even the 100 USD cash in my wallet.  They had arrested 4 guys and 2 have now been sentanced to 4 years in prison.  It has been a long two days.  We never left the police station.  We had to fill out police reports, and wait, and wait.  We hadnt slept the night before so it was a long day.  There is a lot more to how the police helped us and what that was like but I will leave that for Liz to talk about.  All I will say is thank you to the Panamanian Police.  They worked hard, they made it happen.  They are brutal, but effective.  So thank you, and look back for lizs form in a few days.  We havent got our camera back yet, but we will have it tommorrow.  So we are going to try to post some pictures as soon as possible. 

Caleb Dykstra

please leave your coments its always nice to hear what people have to say.

Glad you are safe and have all you belongings back. Looking forward to hearing when you are safely across.

You guys are crazy!! Just kidding....but hey, try and be safe, OK? We want to see you back here safe and sound to hear all your great stories! Take care...

so i guess you missed the boat? *grin* hey man it sounds like i missed another big event... keep living a story. i am so jealous. glad you are both safe and got your stuff back, that makes twice in panama you had your stuff stolen and returned! how crazy. Love ya.