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Photo by Daniel Rintz, Himba children, Namibia

The only impossible journey
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Photo by Daniel Rintz,
Himba children, Namibia



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  #1  
Old 10 Dec 2011
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DarienGap.info



http://dariengapinfo.dreamhosters.com/ is the easy way to find and talk about great (and not so great) methods for Crossing the Darien Gap.

On my ride to Ushuaia in 2010 I researched crossing the Darien Gap by reading other travelers’ blogs and scouring ADVrider and Horizons Unlimited. The information was mostly there but it was all over the place and exhausting to find. In the end, I spent 7 days on a 4 day boat trip and had a less than savory experience with a crook of a captain. (Don't take the Metacomet!)

Have you already crossed the Darien Gap? Was it wonderful? Was it horrible? Write a brief review so that other travelers can learn from your experience.

I wanted to build a resource that continues the spirit of travelers helping travelers. This isn't a business - I don't get any money out of it. I'm not a web developer and it's not beautiful (but hopefully riders will find it useful). What do you think? Will you post a review?
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Last edited by Dr. Benny; 29 Nov 2012 at 20:07.
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  #2  
Old 10 Dec 2011
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It is still one of the most discussed topics on this forum for years and everyone is intrigued by it!
For years it was my dream to get there, so the goal of my last trip was "Yaviza"
I only knew it was south from where I live and if you followed that rule you end up there one way or another!
I glad I did it and will do it again!
MADE IT!



Check http://utilamoto.blogspot.com/2011/0...june-2011.html
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Last edited by scooper; 10 Dec 2011 at 15:53. Reason: Corrected wrong link!
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Old 10 Dec 2011
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It will be interesting to see if things start to carm down/get a bit safer in this area .A few weeks ago the FARC leader was killed and they have recently handed over some hostages that they have had for 13 years. I have had some interest in crossing the gap for some time .In 2009 i spent 2 weeks in the gap .Traveling along the coast then taking side trips inland up river on small boats .to visit small vilages. the was a lot of millatery activety there . I camped out in the jungle for a few days every morning some soldiers would come by for a chat . they were camping near by but i could not see there camp . I was told not to go walking about in the dark so they dont shoot me by mistake
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Old 10 Dec 2011
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This looks like it could become become a really useful site - if people provide the reviews you need to make it a good source of information. As far as I know there is nothing similar already on the HU. Perhaps if you ask Grant he may provide a link to your site from the HU site or at least make this thread a sticky on the SA forum
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Old 12 Dec 2011
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We'd LOVE to have this sort of info on HU - and it can easily be a sticky thread on the HUBB, or what is coming this winter is a full on wiki - perfect for this sort of stuff, so Dr. Benny, if you're not planning on making money on it and you're not a web developer - talk to me! We're already in progress but new ideas are terrific.

Let's get together and make it a great resource that people can actually find - it's going to be a lot easier to find here on HU than in some remote corner or the web that no one knows about.
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Old 14 Dec 2011
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Hi Grant,
I built it for the travelers and it's only useful if it's used by the travelers. Certainly, let's chat. I'd love to contribute to the community if I can.
-Ben
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Old 14 Dec 2011
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Wild card jack

Me and the wife travelled from Columbia to Panama last year on the yacht Wild card jack, captain John was great and we had a good trip, so good I posted his details in bike friendly on horizons, loading the bikes was , ahem different as we loaded offshore from a dingy.
He can be contacted on face book aswell
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Old 14 Dec 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jabez Clegg View Post
Me and the wife travelled from Columbia to Panama last year on the yacht Wild card jack, captain John was great and we had a good trip, so good I posted his details in bike friendly on horizons, loading the bikes was , ahem different as we loaded offshore from a dingy.
He can be contacted on face book aswell
Hi Jabez,
Glad to hear you had a great trip! I highly recommend you take 5 minutes to post a review at DarienGap.info so that future travelers can make good decisions when choosing their gap crossing method. Cheers.
-Ben
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Old 15 Dec 2011
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Stahlratte

We, my girlfriend and me. took the Stahlratte in August 2011. Nice crew, huge boat, Food was good. We had a good time onboard.

And yes it is a strange feeling, the moment you see your bike get loaded on a rope to the deck.
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Old 15 Dec 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ize View Post
We, my girlfriend and me. took the Stahlratte in August 2011. Nice crew, huge boat, Food was good. We had a good time onboard.

And yes it is a strange feeling, the moment you see your bike get loaded on a rope to the deck.
Hi Ize, glad to hear you had a nice ride! I too remember the feeling of the bike "hanging by a thread..."

Please take 5 minutes to post a review of your crossing at DarienGap.info and help future travelers make good decisions for their own crossing! Cheers.
-Ben
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Old 25 Nov 2012
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What happened to DarienGap.info?

We're at the point of our trip, we even referenced DarienGap.info months ago on our website...but now, when we need the .info most, the site seems to be down. What gives?

Dr. Benny, if you're no longer paying for the domain name, that's cool...but isn't there a way to keep the info up on a site like Wordpress or Blogger? This was a VERY helpful resource.

If not, let's get this going somewhere on the HUBB! It would be invaluable for Pan-Am travelers...
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Old 28 Nov 2012
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Great suggestion. Will do! Give me a few days...

I had let it slip because it wasn't getting much traction. Grant and I talked about integrating it into the HUBB but that never took off. I still think it has the opportunity to be a great resource, but like so many others, it requires a lot of user generated content.
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  #13  
Old 29 Nov 2012
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As you wish

Here ya go, back live on the internets (and free): DarienGapInfo.dreamhosters.com
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