One of the Last Unknows: Bridging the (Darien) Gap

Who doesn’t want to make money by writing about their (sometimes even sponsored) travels around the world right? The advent of travel blogging has proved it possible.  The more unconventional, the better; offbeat is the new ‘black’. Whether it’s dinners out, day trips or travel plans, there are the places you love and then, there are the places that remain to be explored. Is it possible to cross over from North America to South America by road? Is it possible that in this day and age, when you can view your neighbor’s backyard via satellite, there exists uncharted territory? (No, not even with Google Maps!) Would you be willing to give up cellphone connectivity and the internet to actually explore such a place? Can you live off Facebook for a week, a day perhaps?It’s a dark recess that has managed to elude even the Pan-American highway network. Theoretically, it is crossable on road (water and swamps included) but practically, you’re better off flying. The Tapón del Darién—literally the Darién Plug for its seeming impassability is a 100-mile (160km) stretch of dense forest (for lack of a better word). Here’s what you get:

1. A breach in the world’s longest motorable highway, the 29,800 mile stretch that’s supposed to connect the two Americas by road.
2. 100-mile (160km) stretch of largely uninhabited, unpaved dense bush and soggy swampland, impassible by general vehicle. No McDonald’s and Starbucks here!
3. Columbian drug traffickers and rebel guerrillas at war with the government. Columbia’s been in a state of armed conflict for more than 50 years so…
4. Wandering militias and paramilitary groups known for committing severe humans rights violations including kidnappings and assassinations.
5. Flora and fauna of such diversity that have never been recorded (literally).

Darien’s Story

The Panama canal was originally set to be built in this region. The Prussian explorer Alexander von Humboldt speculated that the Darién isthmus harbored a river passage that need only be expanded to be navigable. In 1850, an Irish physician named Edward Cullen claimed to have walked such a passage without trouble. He supported his assertion with detailed maps which sparked a series of expeditions.

In 1854, a twenty-seven-man team, led by Lieutenant Isaac Strain, of the United States Navy, set off to find Cullen’s mythical east-west passage. Little did they now know that Cullen was just a big old fraud and the maps were as phony as they were detailed. Within days, the team was lost and had to divide; seven men died. They refused to believe the indigenous Kuna who warned them of going the wrong way. Lieutenant Strain was found months later, naked and sick, and he deemed it “utterly impractical” for a canal.

The Chevrolet Challenge

A century later, they figured out that it was impossible to even build a road through the gap. Adventure junkies arrived eager to take on the challenge, and backpacking guides offered routes through the Serranía del Darién, the mountain range on the Colombia-Panama border. And somehow, it became an irresistible venue for automobile companies and their publicity stunts. In 1961, three red Chevrolet Corvairs took on “the world’s worst roadblock on the world’s greatest highway,” backed by support teams hacking trails and building bridges for them. Inspite of everything, only two of the cars managed to cross the gap; you’ll still see the remains of the third rusting under a ceiba tree somewhere inside…. All travel advisories warn against visiting this area, but travel advisories seem to be the new fad these days. A bomb in Mexico, a rape in India, an unstable security condition in Sudan and so much as a firecracker in Afghanistan and you will see advisories and warnings flying right, left and center from departments of state in the ‘first world countries’. Now this particular warning comes from everyone who’s ever been to the Dairen Gap, “Don’t Go!”

In 2003, National Geographic Adventurecontributing editor Robert Young Pelton and two American backpackers were kidnapped in there  by the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia and held for 10 days. They managed to make it out alive; this is what he had to say:

“The Darien Gap is one of the last—not only unexplored—but one of the last places people really hesitate to venture to… It’s also one of the most rugged places. The basic problem of the Darien Gap is that it’s one of the toughest hikes there is. It’s an absolute pristine jungle but it’s got some nasty sections with thorns, wasps, snakes, thieves, criminals, you name it. Everything that’s bad for you is in there.“

If you still decide to go, there are a handful of adventure expeditors who might agree to help you out. It’s an unpolluted, pristine environment, a lot of money and a little more spunk! Anyone interested ??