Walking from Panama to Colombia

Sam Salmon says on Feb 21, 2005, 21:17:

FORGET IT!!!! Joe-the Darien is the home of some desperate violent people who don't want to see your face.Call them Narco terrorists/drug runners producers/plain old Bandidos the Darien is no place for honest people.The chances of running into armed criminals is 100%.Being beaten up and held for ransom is the least of your problems trying to pass through that miasma.








' a la orden!'

' a la orden!'

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Lionheart says on Feb 21, 2005, 21:36:

Darien Gap thread Darien Gap

This was a good thread about the Darien Gap last year.

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piquemacho says on Feb 21, 2005, 23:40:

Coastal route I have never done this myself and in general I agree with what the other posters said about this area. However, if I wanted to be able to say that I "walked from Panama to Colombia" in order to impress people, then I would go to Puerto Obaldia in Panama, beside the border with Colombia. Apparently there is a short trail across the border to Zapzurro in Colombia and then on to Capurgana. Capurgana is a popular beach resort with Colombians and from the photos I have seen this area looks very beautiful. You will be safer here than anywhere else in the region near the Panama border - although I don't know exactly how safe.

I think that boat or plane are your only (sensible) options to get to and from Puerto Obaldia and Carpugana.

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Atrevido says on Feb 22, 2005, 04:03:

Capurgana is indeed a beautifull beach resort. My wife and I have been there twice. There are no roads but there are foot/horse trails between the villages along the coast including up into Panama.

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greenday says on Feb 22, 2005, 04:05:

read the book "The Cloud Garden" by Tom Hart Dyke and Paul Winder. It should convince you that crossing the Darien Gap by foot is not a good idea.

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Joe T. says on Feb 22, 2005, 16:19:

Thanks for your help so far... Crossing the Darien has been done successfully, as I can see from this gentleman's website: http://www.earthtrekuk.net/Dariengap.html

How different are the circumstances now (or will they be in a few years) compared to February 2001?

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Mr. Hollywood says on Feb 22, 2005, 17:24:

One difference Joe, one difference I'd consider is that in 2001, the FARC and ELN had territorial control of LOTS of space within Colombia. These days they've lost most of that control and are forced to hide-out in remote places, like the Darien. I suspect the concentration of FARC and ELN in that part of the frontier is higher, not lower, than it was 4 years ago.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Feb 22, 2005, 17:49:

Just read that excerpt Jeez. I just read that guys diary. Pretty incredible. He's lucky to be okay.

If you're curious in seeing Darien without crossing into the actual hot-zone there was a story in Outside magazine a few months back about exploring it from the Panama side.

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dwmte says on Feb 22, 2005, 18:48:

got to hand it to this lad... that's one hell of a journey. the bitch is it's un finished. where's the rest of the story.

i think i've been in some wild places...and i have...really wild, like s.e. iran between kerman and bam, or northern ethiopia by mekele, or eastern antioquia. but nothing like what this young brother shares with us.

like GIB said, i'd buy this chap a drink, anytime, anywhere.

hope to read more of his tale.

douglas

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utopiacowboy says on Feb 22, 2005, 21:41:

I had to read it after those comments and it was quite a saga. It just sounded like a hellish experience and sure enough he did encounter both the FARC and the AUC.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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Gomezman5 says on Feb 22, 2005, 22:02:

I have seen some strange ideas....but I"ll get to the point. Anyone who would even consider such a journey is, quite simply, a fool !!

The danger to your life outweighs any positive experience that is gained in venturing into this territory.

Enough said.

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Peter (Moderator) says on Feb 23, 2005, 01:17:

If you search the site for "darien", you'll find some older posts with details.

Just so you know, Joe (you've only been a member for a day), people on this site aren't generally of the easily-scared type. And yes, people HAVE traversed the Darien with success. But it is highly dangerous. I'd rather go travel in Congo (even right now) than go through the Darien.

Poor but snappy

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p0gue says on Feb 23, 2005, 14:00:

People talk alot about trekking the Darien but I havent heard of anyone outside of the region doing it in quite some time aside from that earthtrekker guy. Considering the fact that people used to do it fairly regularly, Id guess that the trek itself probably isnt too outrageously tough...on the main trails. Its just the fact that everybody in there knows who is walking those trails, and so if there are unfriendlies in the area (as it appears certain there now are) they will know you are there. And that is probably not a good position to be in.

OTOH, if you know how to navigate for days, off all the trails, through some of the densest bush on the planet, without being seen, then hey, youre good to go.

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Lionheart says on Feb 23, 2005, 18:07:

Darien Gap Stories - don't say it's not possible! Bridges Across Borders
For the last ten years activist/artist AnaMaria Vasquez and Carol Mosley have co-coordinated the Darien Gap Projects to bring economic empowerment and eco-preservation to the Pacific coastal region of Colombia and Panama. By giving slide presentations of her travels through the Choco/Darien region, Carol hopes to bring awareness of the horrors created by "Plan Colombia."

Crazy Swiss Guy
Uwe Diemer started from Switzerland to an 8 month Africa motorcycle tour. He crossed the Sahara on his Yamaha XT 600 single without any support. He traveled 15 African countries along the legendary Paris - Dakar route! He crossed the Congo, hiked to the top of Mont. Cameroon, Mont. Ruwenzori and Mont Kenya. In 1994 Uwe Diemer traveled by boat from Europe to South America. He started a 33000-mile long motorcycle adventure tour on a special build Yamaha TT 600. Within 18 month he visited 18 South- and Central- American countries. He drove the Trans Amazonian Highway and traveled the Darien Gap!

Need Motivation?
If it were not for the Darien Gap between Panama and Columbia, one could drive a motor vehicle from the northern edge of Alaska to the southern tip of South America. For engineering and political reasons, the 200 miles of jungle and swamp between Panama and Columbia has never been tamed. I decided to be the first to drive a motorcycle through, what is known as The Darien Gap. It took four attempts before I was able to cross the Darien Gap by motorcycle.

More Crazy Bikers
And the quest for romantic high adventure continues! Almost eight years after our successful Jeep expedition through the Darien Gap and six years after the completion of our Roads End to Roads End expedition we were on the road again, actually that's off-the-road. The Darien Gap of Panama and Colombia is a most worthy opponent, a motorist's nightmare - or an off-road adventurer's dream. The roadless Darien Gap is over 125 miles of thick jungles, tortuous rivers, low but rugged mountains, and a vast marshy swamp that separates Panama from South America. The Pan-American Highway stretches some 17,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina, and is yet to be completed across the Darien Gap. We spent 49 arduous days of near never ending romantic high adventure to become the first to cross the infamous Darien Gap of Panama and Colombia - all on land - via motorcycle, the unique two-wheel drive American made Rokon Trail-Breaker.

In The Name Of God
Ten years after God told me to carry a 12-foot cross around the world, I found myself confronted with one of the world's deepest, darkest, and most inpenetrable jungles. The famous Darien Gap faced me. Approximately 400 miles of mountains, jungle and swamp ... the only place from Alaska to Argentina without a road; a place of five-layered forest where the sunlight often never gets to the ground.

So nobody say it can't be done!

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dwmte says on Feb 23, 2005, 19:23:

cheers, friend... i'll drink to that...

dw

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gabriel says on Feb 23, 2005, 23:05:

Well Joe T. if you do decide to go into the Darien make shore that you go in the dry season, from january to april, because if you don't your chance of making it are slim.

Another heads up, Its illegal to be in that sector of panama without permission from la guardia nacional. They have thousands of police troop patroling that area, so if they catch you they will arrest you....but thats the least of your worries.

No doubt in can be done, hell I'm quit sure that many people have played russian roulette, swam with white shark etc.... and live to tell about it.


Yerba mala nunca muere....

Yerba mala nunca muere....

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Sam Salmon says on Feb 23, 2005, 23:31:

"Ten years after God told me to carry a 12-foot cross..." Peter you're really reaching here-LOL!
He never 'carried' that stupid fucking cross he wheeled it.
That's right the thing had wheels and he supported it on his shoulder and dragged it along.
I was onto this wingnut many long years ago-you never get to see the end of the cross-where the wheels are attached.
Of all the bothersome BS on this green earth I loathe religious fanaticism the worst.




' a la orden!'

' a la orden!'

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Miguel says on Feb 24, 2005, 00:24:

Nevertheless... Some interesting reading; thanks Lion.

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Lionheart says on Feb 24, 2005, 00:53:

too much adventure for me I am still looking for the story I read a few years back. That's how I found these stories. The British military send a famous special unit to the Darien Gap for survival training. A sargent leading the unit wrote his story about it, he has survived the ordeal several times. Alone how the soldiers prepare themselves personally for survival is amazing. The plant and animal life there is the deadliest part of the survival. Then a few indio tribes living there prove to be incredible fighters/killers. The other human vermin crawling around there are peanuts in comparison. I hope I find the story again.

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gabriel says on Feb 24, 2005, 01:22:

Lionheart When the U.S. miltary was still in Panama "especial forces" us to train with does indian in Darien, best jungle training in the world. If anybody knew how to survive in jungle it was does bastards....the mess up thing is that they trusted the American but never the local panamanians.


Yerba mala nunca muere....

Yerba mala nunca muere....

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dwmte says on Feb 24, 2005, 17:36:

the whole fricken idea is too much... i thought for years that my wander lust took me to the strange and exotic if not the dangerous and horrible. but the stories about going through the darien are really out there.

anybody see the movie 'sniper'? wasn't that filmed in panama. the stories of darien sound infinitely worse than the scenes in the movie.

so does anybody know where we can read the end of the story of the guy who went through there starting in medellin?

interesting read.

dw

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Lionheart says on Feb 24, 2005, 17:43:

I saw Sniper a few times I didn't think the jungle scenes were too bad, nice and swampy though. The images I get from reading about the Darien gap remind me more of the Amazon jungle movies.

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dwmte says on Feb 24, 2005, 17:48:

is it amazonas or darien.... where they sharpen their spears/darts with carari (sp)? nice stuff...nice like a cobra bite. i think id rather deal with a suicide bomber

dw

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Lionheart says on Feb 24, 2005, 18:21:

curare That's in the Amazonas, the deadly frog poison, prefered usage with blow darts. But from the military story I read there are plenty of other poisonous things just as bad in the Darien Gap, some just live there only.

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gabriel says on Feb 24, 2005, 23:21:

Embera & Wounaan indians Lionheart,

The boroquera (blowgun) are use in the darien jungles by this indians, they use the poisonous frogs and the bullet ants to coat the darts. This indians are more similar to the amazon indians than the rest of the indians in Panama. A quote from lonely planet, "the Embera and Wounaan are about the toughest people you'll ever meet, yet their smiles could melt silver".



Yerba mala nunca muere....

Yerba mala nunca muere....

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dwmte says on Feb 25, 2005, 05:20:

okinawa? hah...that's like a walk in the park compared to the darien. is spent my military time there in the police and saw every inch of that island and there's nothing to compare with the jungles of central america.

i'm curious, why okinawa? what jungle? it gets brrrrrr cold and there's frickin typhoons nearly every month...or more. sometimes 13 or 14 a year.

dw

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gabriel says on Feb 25, 2005, 08:10:

Don't know for shore but I think jungle warfare training is also been done in Puerto Rico.


Yerba mala nunca muere....

Yerba mala nunca muere....

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dwmte says on Feb 25, 2005, 16:51:

sounds better....puerto rico, that is... at least there's salsa in the woods. imagine jungle training without salsa music and ron? you couldn't even get in the mood.

dw

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Save the Wildcats says on Feb 25, 2005, 16:56:

Okinawa... my dad was there, also.

Were you a Marine?

Kim

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dwmte says on Feb 26, 2005, 09:00:

heh there wild thing... nah...i was R.A. but oddly enough, i was one rare army who got assigned to the jar heads. really rare.

i was in the RASP (ryukyu armed services police) in sukaran. i gained a real respect for the marines in that detachment. they had something the army didn't esprit de corp. period. semper fi.

dw.

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carter says on Feb 26, 2005, 09:53:

Recent About a month ago a group of 5 Aussies I met said that they came through the darien Gap but they said at some stages they caught short boat trips in areas they heard were more dangerous than others.

If you want I can try and contact them if you need more info.

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kboregon says on Jun 12, 2008, 18:36:

I know I'm late, but I am one of many who have walked the gap, from Puerto Obaldia to Acandi. Traveling alone, I met several fellow traveler in 1974. We took a bus to Colon from Panama City, and then by service boat (soda pop, candies, etc), through the San Blas to Obaldia. A few in our group took dugouts with outboards to Colombia, but me an three other guys walked three days along paths to Acandi. Just before you get to Acandi in Colombia, on the trail, there is or was a large metal monilith. On one side was the stamp of Panama. On the other was Colombia. That's how I got to South America. We three took a motor-sailer supply boat from Acandi to Turbo, and our S American adventures began. So long ago, but tremendous experience.

Kenn

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Mr. Hollywood says on Jun 12, 2008, 20:05:

You did it in 1974?

That must have been amazing. A total wilderness without much of the crime and political strife that makes it a tough neighborhood now.

Do you have pictures?

I have a friend who works in the Darien now, and believe me, a LOT of people walk through the Darien from Colombia to Panama, but they're not tourists.

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kboregon says on Jun 12, 2008, 22:50:

I have not idea how it is now. Back then, there were mostly locals that used the trail. And the trail was difficult to find sometimes. We'd end up climbing along cliffs overlooking the water until we got back on track. For food, we'd pay a local family to prepare a meal, and we slept on the floors of old abandond or vacant churches (cold and hard). Seems most small villages had one. We never really thought that it was dangerous, and even now I don't think it was. And when you are in the moment, you don't think of it as being a unique thing, or that different. Now, so many years later, I realize what an experience it was to be so far off the path. By path I mean that there were hundreds, if not thousands, of travelers, from America and Canada, to Austrialia and Europe, moving south along the PanAm Highway in those years (and probably still, as the sun also rises for new generations), but few really took the trails less traveled. None of us considered ourselves tourist, but in the larger sense, I suppose we all are life tourists. I am sure we could have made the distance more quickly, but were in no hurry, body surfing when we found good shorelines, and watching the distance movement of storms. Just a note about Panama City that not too many people know. I never quite got use to the sun rising in the Pacific and setting over land. It really messed me up.

No pictures. My mom has a couple of letters I wrote when I got to Medellin. My buddies were the kids who sold cigarrettes in the downtown mall; lucky, kent y marlbouros.

Later I made it into the jungle with two French Swiss girls I met in Los Banos, outside of Ambato (I think thats the right spelling), on our way to Puyo? a frontier town on the edge of the Amazon. The girls spoke pretty good spanish, and got us on a DC3 military transport plane, and we flew into the jungle near the boarder with Peru. They(the Ecuedorians) are still pissed bout lossing a chunk of the jungle to Peru, but what can you do. Anyway, we all got serious amebic dysentary after drinking chicha, a local drink made from saliva. But I diagress. The walk into Colombia was a most incredible journey, as was my later ride across Afganistan in a magic bus.

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Lisa Zee says on Jun 12, 2008, 22:59:

Estas LOCO????????

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dwr says on Jun 13, 2008, 06:35:

That Goliath Expedition guy is really out there. I think I will read his whole journey over the next few days. Even more out there is the story of Theodore Roosevelt's journey down the River of Doubt in Brazil. An amazing boook: The River of Doubt. Check it out.

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kboregon says on Jun 13, 2008, 13:21:

So, no comment about the Panama City thing, hummm. I guess nobody in this forum has ever been there? If so, tell me, why does the sun rises in the Pacific................. And tell me the dimensions of the monolith on the path that separates Panama from Colombia. Never seen it? I have. And if it's still there, I can tell you exactly what it looks like. And tell me what the most famous and favorite cigarette in Cartegena is. Its trade like money, and its not mota and its not Ful con filtro or sin filtro. Any idea where they make Ful? And if you are familiar with the hospitals in Ecuador, which relgious group operates them? Don't know? I do. And what is the most coveted export of Colombia, something they take from graves? No idea? Looks green to me.

Some watch from the side, and only wish they could. Algún reloj del lado, y sólo desea que ellos puedan.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Jun 13, 2008, 20:54:

Lots of folks here have been to Panama, Kb. You just have to balance out the disorientation of the sunrise by racing over to watch a Caribbean sunset.Then it all makes sense.

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kboregon says on Jun 17, 2008, 17:19:

Not exactly, but then, snow in Quito? 1974. Fishing for catfish in the Amazon with the Ecuadorian army, army style (explosives?). Tasting smoked monkey...that was a bad one. And helping to fund good teeth for a young Colombiano in Cartegena. Life is rich, no doubt.

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