Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - Crossing the Darien Gap (Pacific Side)

It is an older post but I thought it might be useful to some folks!

For more information and more pictures you can check out my website Motorcycling the World | Adventure Motorcycling it might be of use for moto travelers taking a journey southbound!

Enjoy!

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This is how to cross the Darien Gap, well this is how I crossed the Darien Gap!

Well I made it! It all came together last minute and before I knew it I was on a cargo boat to Colombia. I over heard a guy (Zach) talking to reception at Luna´s Castle, a hostel in Casco Viejo, a part of Panama City. He was asking about boats and was wondering if they had any information. It was the same answer everywhere, no boats were going anywhere because of holidays and the sea was bad. I chimed in and said I had been to Colon, which was a dead end as well. The day before I had taken the train into Colon because I was nervous about riding the motorcycle there, getting lost, and potentially getting mugged. Colon is not a nice place and I wouldn’t recommend going there unless you absolutely have to. ("UPDATE" I have heard it is getting safer for tourists, apperantly anyone who messes with tourist gets 5 years in prison mandatory.) The train ride was nice, it goes from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast in an hour. Not to many people can say they have gone from one coast to the next in one day. After exploring my options in Colon, and checking out pier 5 where all the ¨cargo boats¨ not cargo ¨ships¨ come in, I was told there were no boats for a month because of holiday. Although I got some information after I left about how to find out more information on cargo boats running on the Atlantic side. If anyone is interested in taking this route you can contact Germain Perez, a Kuna Indian who sells tours to the San Blas Islands. His phone number is 6734-3454. Also if you are interested in this Route via Colon to Turbo check out this website, it has a lot of detail From USA to Venezuela , solo motorcycle trip. The guy who runs the website is Claude and he is very helpful. If you are looking to sail around the Darien Gap check these websites out Sailing from Panama to Colombia with Hostel Mamallena, Backpacker Hostel Wunderbar - Home. They have information on their sites about all the captains sailing in the area.This thread has also been helpful for some Shipping a Motorcycle from Panama to Colombia.

Anyway, back to crossing the Darien Gap on the Pacific Side. After I met Zach and chatted with him about boat options, he said he was going to the pier about 500 feet from the hostel to check on a boat that was apparently full. I said I would check it out with him. Once we got down there they said it was full, so we asked if we could talk to the captain. We got the name of Marco who over saw all the boat operations there. We waited around on a bench and struck up a conversation with a guy next to us who just so happened to be the brother of the captain of the boat we wanted to take. The boats name is La Victoria, it is a small boat with not to much room but it gets you where you want to go and we were told it was the only boat that ran this route, I don’t know how true that is. Marco´s brother negotiated a price of $110 for the motorcycle and $20 per passenger and then called Marco. We could have gotten the price lower if the boat had not been full. Marco said it was full, but his brother said we wanted on the boat, so he agreed. We were on!

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Once we got our passage the rest of the day was filled with buying food, and getting ready for the long trip. We loaded the bike on the boat, which was very stressful for me. They tied a huge iron cable around the middle of the bike and were going to swing the bike into the boat. I protested loudly because it would have dropped 8 ft or so hit the boat and potentially fallen into the sea. The tide was low so the boat was about 8 ft. lower then the dock. I was screaming at the guy pulling my bike with the lift to stop, and eventually he did. We devised a new plan where 5 guys in the boat held out a plank and another rope was tide to the rear of the bike. With this system the bike could slowly work its way under the lift they were using so it didn’t swing and damage anything. I was pleased with the method and the bike landed in the boat safely.

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After the bike was in the boat we had some time to kill so I cooked hard boiled eggs and plantains for the trip. It was a good idea to shop and cook for ourselves because otherwise we would have gone pretty hungry. Once on the boat we had a long hot and cramped ride to Jaque, Panama where we would have a lay over for a day. On the boat ride we got to see dozens of dolphins, a whale blowing water at us, tuna jumping out of the water so high you could almost grab them, and my favorite, manta rays jumping out of the water trying to fly like sea birds. It was awesome to see this things jumping rippling it's wings and a small tale and then slap back down on top of the water.

Once we arrived to Jaque, Panama the sea was crazy and the waves were bouncing the boat all around. There was no way I was letting the bike off the boat into a little lancha boat. A lancha is a small boat with a small out board motor. So the captain agreed to keep it on the boat until the following day. We met some captains once we got off the lancha, and the lancha ride costs about $3 from the boat to the main land. After talking to a few captains we went to a hotel and crashed pretty hard since our beds on the boat were not so comfortable.

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The next morning we woke up and went to immigration. The day before we had to check in with the police and they kept our passports for some reason, not really sure why but they said we could pick them up at immigration in the morning. So at immigration we had to tell them what boat we were going on before we could get our stamps and passports. When we went to solidify things with the captains we learned one captain went and got my bike from the boat already. I was pissed, so we waited until he showed up and I gave it to him in the broken Spanish I know. So he said we couldn’t ride with him. His name was Camaron, shrimp in Spanish. We said ok we didn’t want to ride with him anyway. We went to talk to a different Captain and he said we could go with him for $100 for the bike and $30 per passenger. These boat are small boats with a small out board motor. This is where the bike got beats up pretty bad. A lot of scratches, and minor damage. If anyone is looking to do this trip don’t expect to have a nice shinny bike after and if you are on a time schedule don’t take this route because it could take up to 10 days maybe longer depending on the boat schedules. So we loaded the bike into the boat and headed out to Jurado, Colombia. It was a short ride only a hour and a half, but a little nerve racking. The sea was wild and we had to get over the breakwater with huge swells coming into the boat. I was scared for my motorcycle most of the trip. Once on the open sea some of the waves were about 10 feet high and you couldn’t see the horizon anymore. The boat was catching air, rocking up and down. It was a true test of keeping myself under control. On a good note the coast line was beautiful, with fresh water waterfalls landing right into the ocean, water caves, fish jumping out of the water, deserted palm tree beaches, it was spectacular. I was relived to make it to Jurado, Colombia. We had to cross into another breakwater area with huge crashing waves bouncing the boat all over the place. I have to hand it to the guys who handle these boats, they know how to get them through anything. We got the bike off the boat but not before braking my tool case on the bottom of my bike and a reflector on the front fork. Once we got onto the Island of Jurado, we checked into the police station and we told we could camp on the beach behind the station. We made friends with the police which eased our stay. We ended up staying and waiting for the boat for 7 days. There isn’t much to do in Jurado, so we tried to entertain ourselves with chatting with the police, exploring the island, hunting down coconuts, and just going crazy.

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Finally the boat arrived it is called Correo Del Mar (runner of the sea) and we were on our way to Buenaventura, Colombia. The ride cost about $45 for the bike and $60 for passengers. It was a long 28 hour ride, but it felt great when we saw Buenaventura in site. Once we arrived into port it was late so the captain let us stay the night on the boat even though it is prohibited by the coast guard. We got the bike off the boat with a lift the next morning I made my way to get stamped and get my import papers. I got my stamp but the Transit Department was closed, so I went to see if I could get a note from the police saying I was ok to ride to Cali. I didn’t get the note but I got to meet the Chief of Police. He took me everywhere imaginable to get my papers on a Saturday. It didn’t happen and I couldn’t find any place to get insurance. They told me I would be fine to get to Cali. One of them called his friends that work the route between Buenaventure and Cali and told him I was on my way to Cali and not to give me any problems. He described what I looked like and the bikes make up. I don't know how well it worked but I didn’t have any problems getting here. I am now at Casa Blanca Hostel, it is a motorcycle hostel. I am happy to take a break.