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-   -   Imminent attempt on the Darien (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/central-america-and-mexico/imminent-attempt-on-the-darien-26158)

Stretcher Monkey 16 Mar 2007 10:55

Imminent attempt on the Darien
 
Two Dutchmen are on the cusp of attempting to cross the Darien "on" pretty old XT500's. It seems the question of possibility and safety with regard to this is something often asked about and debated here, so it will be interesting to see what happens; if they can find their luggage, that is...

Henno's rally site : Henno van Bergeijk

mustaphapint 16 Mar 2007 15:23

This looks worth following

Stretcher Monkey 16 Mar 2007 15:52

Yeah, for me, definitely more interesting than breaking the Pan-Am record. Curiously, there's no mention of guerilla, banditos or even the will of the Colombian government in their preparations. I look forward to hearing more. Go on lads!!

brennan 16 Mar 2007 20:07

Whoa!
 
I can't wait to see how this turns out. These guys rock.

Does anyone have a site or info on the last attempt? When? Did they make it?

Grant Johnson 16 Mar 2007 23:57

Helge Pedersen was the last one I know of to make it - and it took a long time. I talked to him the year he did it, and saw his slide show about it - no thanks. He also said he wouldn't have done it if he'd known just how hard it was.

Ed Culberson did it a few years earlier if I recall rightly, and wrote a book about it. Our books page here has his book on it.

The biggest concern right now is not the difficulty of it - it's that the drug traffickers own it - and don't like visitors.

Lone Rider 17 Mar 2007 00:14

This will be interesting and I wish them the best of luck. Hopefully their luggage arrives intact.
Does anybody know if they have local contacts helping them on this trek? People that have traveled it before?

SalCar 17 Mar 2007 23:14

they are looking for trouble, they are crazy and i wish i was there with them:clap:

Stretcher Monkey 18 Mar 2007 00:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by SalCar (Post 130301)
they are looking for trouble, they are crazy and i wish i was there with them:clap:

Salvador, are you forgetting your healthcare
objectives? These boys are going to a need a right going over when they get back.

Seriously though, nice site you have and nice sentiments. I hope you are reaching your goals. Keep ya posted.

SalCar 19 Mar 2007 03:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stretcher Monkey (Post 130306)
Salvador, are you forgetting your healthcare
objectives?

:nono:
they are going to need a lot medical help along the way - infectious diseases, cuts, bug bites, fallen nails etc etc. I´m not an MD but i´ll be happy to carry the necessary drugs.:scooter:

jokes apart - I did a 10 day walk into the Guatemala jungle to see the biggest pyramid in the world. On that 240km walk I learned a lot about the healthcare in remote areas. I got to listen the locals healthcare stories, got to see how they live, got exposed to some of their healthcare enemies etc. I think crossing the Darien Gap would give me the same experience PLUS it would be an awesome adventure to be part of. Here is a picture on my jungle trip.
http://salcar.smugmug.com/photos/101674130-M.jpg

once they get in the jungle how are they going to update the website???

Trotamundos 19 Mar 2007 13:38

The latest
 
It seems the boys managed to retrieve everything from customs in the end, but I think they will have to adjust to the pace at which things are done in Colombia. Their "team" have just received an SMS to say they are now in Honda on the way from Bogota to Medellin, (not sure why they are going there if they want to get on and do it), but in any event all is well.

They have wisely decided to attack the Darien from Turbo which is as secure an area to be hoped for, (paramilitary controlled). They still don't seem to have settled on a route on from there, which is also wise at this juncture.

darrien gap sms honda

Lone Rider 19 Mar 2007 14:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by SalCar (Post 130376)
.......... I did a 10 day walk into the Guatemala jungle to see the biggest pyramid in the world......

Is that El Mirador?
What time of the year did you go?

SalCar 20 Mar 2007 02:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lone Rider (Post 130407)
Is that El Mirador?
What time of the year did you go?

the area is called El Mirador the pyramid is call Danta - amazing and magical place. here is the first post when i was leaving in the first week of october.
A Journey for Healthcare Access: Off to the jungle

did u go?

pierresas 21 Mar 2007 04:54

I find that kind of attempt a bit stupid - the "Jackass" kind of stupidity, albeit with real risks, and with the same copycats.

The Darien has been a forbidden zone for 9 years and as far as I know, the only foreigners who have been there during that time are:
- the National Geographic guy from the "World's Most Dangerous Places" who got kidnapped along with 2 travelers in 2003: Magazine Reporter Recounts Ten-Day Kidnapping by Colombian Death Squad
- the Goliath guy who managed to walk through it in 2001 - but look at his pictures, he really had to disguise himself as a 'peon' to go incognito.
Peon / Pictures / Story

Three years ago, the authors of the little Darien Gap book who were acting as the central hub for people venturing in the area hadn't heard of anybody else besides these two guys who had attempted it since 1998... and neither one of them had to carry a 120kg load of dead weight through the jungle. After all, it's something to keep in mind: since you can't ride your bike through the Darien, what difference should that make to us bikers whether they are carrying a motorcycle, an anvil or a dead donkey? What's next? A canoe on top of Mount Everest? Yeah, great. Stupid, I'm telling ya...

Pierre - Photobiker

Stretcher Monkey 21 Mar 2007 12:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by pierresas (Post 130563)
... and neither one of them had to carry a 120kg load of dead weight through the jungle. After all, it's something to keep in mind: since you can't ride your bike through the Darien, what difference should that make to us bikers whether they are carrying a motorcycle, an anvil or a dead donkey? What's next? A canoe on top of Mount Everest? Yeah, great. Stupid, I'm telling ya...

Pierre - Photobiker

Yeah, good point, succintly made, and nice to have a different perspective. I suppose half the fun might be in watching it all go belly-up. I don't know for sure, like any of us, whether there is any riding to be had in the Darien - I've never been there. I presume some trails must exist, and they seem to have some idea what they are doing:

"We are still contemplating the route. From Unguia we can take the route north to Cando/Candi at the coast. But that would imply that we have to create our own 60 km trail through the Panama jungle, in western direction. If there were existing trails, they would have been reclaimed by the jungle within several weeks. The other option is to ride through a valley to Boca de Guao. A dangerous place, locals tell us."

I'm quite partial to a bit of "Jackass", myself

Noblequest 22 Mar 2007 05:41

Awesome
 
I wish these guys all the best. Thats awesome. Id love it if they found a passable route. Its bogus that you have to fly or boat across the Gap. Well the San Blas Islands seem nice, but it would be nice to be able to Ride/Drive From the top of the americas to the bottom, it would help to encourage more people to try the trip and would make "Drive to Chile" seem like more of a doable family vacation. They should really put a road in.

Rob
Noble Quest - Argentina to Alaska on V-Strom 650s

Dan 23 22 Mar 2007 05:54

No al asphalto
 
'They should really put a road in.'

Yah - and a guard rail. With adverts. And maybe a viewing platform gift shop. And a McDarien branded rest-stop. That's what they should really do.

These Dutchies are obviously ****ing nuts, but Allah takes care of the fools. Good luck to 'em.

Suerte, Dan Walsh

mother77 22 Mar 2007 16:28

Dan, I half agree with that comment, but the other side of the coin is, that as i understand it , there have been people wanting to put a road in there for years but are under U.S. pressure and influence not to.

What would be a great help to many south american export economies also means a very easy drug smuggling route straight to the largest cocaine market in the world!!

I'm sure everyone can draw their own conclusion from that.

As for the attempt on "the Gap", crazy but good look to them.

cheers
mike
(soon to be in Cali, with supposedly the best women in Colombia - can't wait!)

palace15 22 Mar 2007 18:16

;Quote;These Dutchies are obviously ****ing nuts, but Allah takes care of the fools. Good luck to 'em.


If Henno shows the same determination crossing the Darien as he did in finishing the 2006 Dakar on his XT500 then he'll have NO problem. After all he survived Senegal the Ar*ehole of the world with piles...Good luck

Dan 23 22 Mar 2007 20:30

Damp Dutch Nuts
 
re the road - maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I'd hate to see one of the world's last great wildernesses tarmaced and tamed. Fortunately, it's not gonna happen anytime soon - the Colombians are keen but the Panamanians like their natural buffer zone.

re - the Dutchies. 'Kin nuts' is a compliment. I've got nothing but respect for these fellas. But as others have already said on this thread, the Darien Gap isn't a technical enduro ride - it's a more-water-than-land jungle swamp populated by very dangerous men who have previously kidnapped and murdered intrusive foreigners. Which is why we're all wishing them luck.

Finally, Senegal, arsehole of the world? Really? I loved the place - great people, crazy capital, charming towns, quiet beaches and the finale for the world's greatest race. Potato, potarto.

Suerte, Dan Walsh

Lone Rider 22 Mar 2007 22:11

Build the road, hurry everything up, got change for the new World Dollar?, make it all the same everywhere.......... :sad

Dan 23 26 Mar 2007 19:20

Turbo
 
Latest entries from the lads -

darrien gap turbo

darrien gap cross river

Suerte, Dan

Lone Rider 26 Mar 2007 21:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan 23 (Post 131095)
Latest entries from the lads -

darrien gap turbo

darrien gap cross river

Suerte, Dan


............."We cannot afford to wait longer, because it's already raining too much. We can get troubles with that"...............
They did not receive usable info on the routes through the Darrien Gap; the national park in the south is a close for people. And it is said that guerilla's have refuge there.............

Dre39 27 Mar 2007 19:40

There's an english summary of the Darien Gap on the site of Henno:
Henno's rally site : Henno van Bergeijk

Regards,

Dre39

Dan 23 27 Mar 2007 22:34

darrien gap speedboat

I'm confused - have these fellas flown the bikes into Bogota from Holland, ridden to Turbo, then crossed the Darien in a speedboat while the bikes travel on a freighter? Does that count? Does that mean I can claim to have crossed the Darien Gap twice cause I've flown across it with my bike? Cool - I'm more adventurous than I thought.

I hope I'm wrong, but this is starting to smell like a Yamaha marketing stunt -
'They themselves found a speedboat equipped with two 200Bhp yamaha engines to bring them across...'

Suerte, Dan

lorraine 28 Mar 2007 02:02

bah humbug...
 
Any adventure where you're posting reports on the internet starts looking much less adventurous. What happened to traveling and being cut off from everything you know? You remember, when people used poste restante and you hoped you might get something in the mail three months from now??? No, I'm not showing my age as that was only 15 years ago...

Lorraine

Lone Rider 28 Mar 2007 02:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan 23 (Post 131201)
..........
I'm confused...........
I hope I'm wrong....

I don't understand the freighter thing. Were the bikes really sent on to Panama?

Something must have changed or it's something we don't understand. Why else were ropes and winching type gear involved from the start?

AMC floated their Jeeps thru much of the way...way back when....before Upton did his crossings via land.

Ed....howdy, man...

Lone Rider 28 Mar 2007 02:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorraine (Post 131213)
Any adventure where you're posting reports on the internet starts looking much less adventurous. What happened to traveling and being cut off from everything you know? You remember, when people used poste restante and you hoped you might get something in the mail three months from now??? No, I'm not showing my age as that was only 15 years ago...

Lorraine

I remember when there was no Internet.
The Pony Express riders had some strong horses.
It must have taken a while for Chris to learn that the King was pissed off.
Elephant turd tracks left in Spain were difficult to follow from what's now known as Syria.

Is it the publicitiy that bothers you?

lorraine 28 Mar 2007 03:35

hypocritical...
 
I shouldn't be too put off by the publicity aspect, since as an author myself, it seems necessary in order to survive. And don't get me wrong, I think what these guys are doing is great and I wish I was out there with them, crazy as that is. :-) But perhaps the real adventurers are the people doing the smuggling as they're out there ALL THE TIME.

Also, I think there's something that happens in your soul when you are cut off from your past/prior life. There's a growth that happens. For Aborigines, it's called walkabout. Other cultures have similar rites of passage. I see too many people tied to email and their blogs as they travel. Yes, that's their business and not mine, I agree...

Perhaps this is the first stages of aging, of mourning for the 'good ole days'. ;-)

Lorraine

Sjoerd Bakker 28 Mar 2007 04:06

Darien attempt
 
The English summary is not a very good one once you have read the original daily reports in Dutch.Poor quality translation is leaving a lot of detail out and confusing the English reader. Check out the more detailed Dutch versions by clicking on ¨nieuws¨ .-)
As about the ¨freigthter¨ --- from the Dutch version it seems clear that they put the bikes on a small wobbbly freight launch and then the boys had to travel on a dual - motor passenger launch , which in Dutch (!) they call a ¨speedboat¨ . , They crosssed some waterbody to get to a place called Capurgana , in Colombia yet ,at the edge of Katio National Park, 10km from the Panama border. Then they want to see about reaching the border and IF they can get across that then they intend to go into the jungle.
Hmmmmm..... a lot of ifs in there. Maybe they could have made a trial run by travelling from Maastricht to Harlingen on their bikes but NOT via any existing roads, bicycle paths, railway lines or existing bridges ..

As to the history behind the proposed Darien gap Highway , it is my understanding that when the Pan American Highway scheme was first thought up back when , in the ´40s or ´50s ? , the USA spoke to support construction and provided much, if not all of the funding through the poor CA countries. Hence all the nice steel truss bridges by the Chicago Bridge Company , or something like that. It also made transport of the military through there easier in the event of some shooting and coups needing US aid . Such civil wars resulted in the bombbing and destruction of most of those bridges in El Salvador, NIcaragua, a pity. . When it came to the Darien Gap section the US held back funding and construction because the cost was going to be too much as compared to the benefit , and it was considered prudent to leave it unbuilt to provide a natural buffer to prevent the northward spread of hoof and mouth disease, a big threat to the beef industry in CA,Mexico and USA. Not said but just as important it was also a good barrier to keep uncontrolled migration of people north in check before the days of mass air travel.
In recent years Panama has done ¨ environmental studies¨ and committed to completion of the last section of the highway on its own. Opposition to this is now , as I read things, provided mostly by environmental groups and human rights groups who wish to protect the last remaining areas of ¨unspoiled ¨ jungle and natural areas of the region and to protect the number of native tribes living as of old . Both these views do have merrit. Construction of the highway would mean opening up the formerly isolated countryside to the hordes of misinformed pioneers and settlers rushing out from the semi-urban slums wielding machetes, axes , chainsaws , gasoline and matches to set up their own little stake in the jungles and fulfill their ¨devine duty ¨ to overpopulate the land.The forests would soon be reduced to smouldering ruins covered in plastic garbage and streams running putrid with agua negra.

Lone Rider 28 Mar 2007 14:59

Update: darrien gap phone call

From maps I have, it looks as if they plan to travel W and SW from the Carib coast, and meet the road that runs south to Yaviza. They are now well north of Yaviza. It will be interesting to watch.

There may be more than one definition of "through the Darien Gap".

kbikey 28 Mar 2007 19:05

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.

tommym 29 Mar 2007 23:42

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

Lone Rider 30 Mar 2007 00:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommym (Post 131458)
.............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.
........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.
..........

Great stuff, man, really! :thumbup

Sjoerd Bakker 2 Apr 2007 03:41

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.

Paul Thoreson 8 Apr 2007 16:43

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.


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