Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Darién 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
Darién 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. Every-
thing that's bad for you is in there.
Katie, Brooke, Dillon, Rachael and our other cameraman will be
ferried, with the Winnebagos, up the Panama Canal and into Colom-
bia. We'll rendezvous at a town called Turbo, on the coast.
sePtember 23
I don't mind telling you that, one day away from the Darién Gap, I'm
feeling very nervous. I have run through the Arctic Circle and nine
countries to get here, but, for all that, what the Darién has in store for
me is a mystery. I've heard about the bandits, the guerrillas with guns,
the kidnappers, the snakes and spiders and panthers and jaguars and
whatever else, but I still don't know quite what to expect. I expected
to have one guard, or maybe no guard at all, but to my enormous
surprise and relief, I have a guard of 17 armed soldiers in camouflage
gear. At first light, I'll be getting into a boat and, with my guards and
cameraman, I'll be entering the jungle, one of the most dangerous
places on earth. I am really concerned about this section. In my mind,
I have divided the run into six parts: the North Pole, Canada and North
America, Central America, the Darién, South America and the South
Pole. The Darién gets its own stage simply because it is so dangerous.
sePtember 24
I am finally face to face with my nemesis, the Darién. Earlier today,
I stood on the bank of the river leading into the Darién doing a final
check of my bag before stepping into the canoe that would take me
into the jungle. I ran 10 kilometres to that point this morning, which
gave me a lot of time to imagine scenarios that I may encounter. At
about the 7-kilometre mark today, on a rubble-strewn track to the
river, I fell over again. I suffered just a few cuts and bruises, but it was