Wtf
 

Taking nothing away from the travels there doing from looking at the map after the boat ride. Does getting to Yuviza from where they are even count as a crossing by land?
I certainly am not belittleing the fun their having and I wouldn't put my life on the line for bragging rights but if the boat had gone farther they could have gained a road with 0 pain.

Badyboy
 

Was in Yaviza, Darien last week. Made it down to the end of the road with my 02 triumph bonneville. Riding down from vancouver to benous aires.
I met up with some fellas in LaPaz, Baja in Jan and been riding together (in circles) ever since.
A 1972 bmw 75/5, 1997 bmw F650 and an 1977 XT500. Random hey.

Anyhow I convinced the fellas to touch the end of the road as they only had panama in their plans. As with all of the countries we've past through local knowledge always saves the day. However the closer to the darien we got the locals regarded the central countries (guata, nic, el sal, hond) as risky.

Our plan was to hit Yaviza, have a cerveza, lay some rubber and then get the hell out of there.
The police are shit scared to be down there.
Its a long story but we got there fine. It was after the beer and watching the heavy heavy rain begin which turned the tale.

It took us 6 hours to go 6 miles to get away from Yaviza.
The panamanian goverment are currently building roads in the darien to develop the region - sand and clay so far, no tarmac. Perfect on the way in, but add some water and you got a shit show.
In a land where you sweat without doing anything, riding in 2 foot deep mud, splippery as ice, for hours, in a jungle, in the darien you can only laugh.
We were falling arse over tit forever.
The F650 burst into flames as a short in the loom melted everything so had to spent a night in a construction site 55km from the Columbian border.
After 3.5months on the road its amazing what you get used to.
I wouldn't of had it any other way.

Anyhow it was awesome. Couldn't ask for more.
I hope it works out. That is a mission and a half.

Best piece of advice given to me was 'no matter where you are, no matter what your doing, always try to treat it as though someone is watching you'.
Its saved us a few times. However in the jungle thats a whole different ballgame. Get a trusty machette and you'll be fine.

Who needs roads?
Best of luck
Tom

Great stuff, man, really! :thumbup

Darien Attempt
 

It appears from the Dutch version of the site , NIEUWS, that the lads were already through and standing on the Panamerican Highway 100km east of Panama City on 30 March. No English summary of this appears yet. According to Nieuws the lads had wanted to ride out of Puerto Obalda across the Serrania de Darien, but the heavy police and army pressure forced them to revise that plan. Instead they took another boat ride west along the coast with an overnight stop on one of the many islands and landed in Carti from where they rode south to get to the Panam. Now they want to ride back toward Yaviza to say that they were there. The item also says that it thus appears that the dreaded attempt on the Darien may have devolved into a series of boat rides around the big challenge.
Which brings up the point , a motorcycle is only any good as a tool for travel if there is an existing infrastructure of roads of a sort. What is the point of going somewhere with a bike if you have to carry it along on your back. I know, the pioneers of the old west carried their wagons in pieces across some of the worst parts , but I don´t think they carried their horses and oxen
The lads had fun and didn´t kill themselves or get themselves hopelessly mired and eaten by bugs.They have had a tourist experience.

Better luck next time
 

I guess we´ll just have to wait for the highway to be put through until we can actually ride through the Darien. Like Grant said regarding his conversation with Helge Peterson right after he pushed and pulled his bike through, he wouldn´t have done it if he knew how hard it was going to be. Boat trips are nice and all, but I would prefer to be able to ride my motorcycle, not carry it on my back or in a speed boat - anyway, anyone can do that. I like what Sjoerd said about a bike only being useful if there is some sort of existing infrastructure.

It´s too bad that these guys didn´t do it, I would have loved to have seen a success out of this, and that´s what it was looking like it woud be at the begining with all the preparation. Oh well, maybe next time. Either way, bravo for giving it a shot. Who´s next? Although I would also not like to see a McDarien in there - cause right, that´s gonna happen pretty soon - I would like to see the natural beauty of the place, from by bike seat. Anyway, most of the area is a protected national park (in agreement by both nations) so that would limit most development. We will see a road someday, there are too many benifits to both nations to not put it through.

I live in Medellin, and read a local newspaper article recently in support of the highway. It discussed various pros to putting the highway through that are normally seen as cons. As far as drug trafficking through the Darien, the highway would allow law enforcement easier access into the region and give them more control of what´s going on in there, and through there. Right now tons of drugs come up from Colombia because the Darien is a no-man´s land, basically owned by the traffickers, the Paramilitaries, and the guerilla groups. With a paved route through, both Panamanian and Colombia authorities would have easier access themselves to get closer to the action and prevent some of the trafficking, and could make it a safer place in general. Remember that it´s only an 80km stretch that is unpaved, and pretty narrow there as well, so a highway would give them access to a lot of the region. The highway would serve as a funnel or sorts, which would actually help the authorities.

I came accross from Colon, Panama to Monitos (Arboletes), Colombia a few years ago in a contraban boat. If you´re looking for a ride south from Panama I would look in Colon, and if you´re going north from Colombia I would try to get a ride in Turbo. Or you can get a sail boat from Cartagena if you want to spend a little more, and be a little safer. The San Blas islands are nice, if you have the time to cruise on a boat through there.