Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
darién gaP
sePtember 24
My first day in the Darién is over. My guide is Luis Puleio, and it is evi-
dent that he is very comfortable here. Juan the cameraman and I are
also being accompanied by 17 members of the Panamanian military
armed with machineguns, pistols and knives. They are under orders
to stay with us in the Darién to protect us from the notorious Marxist
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC—anti-government
guerrillas who have been responsible for the murders and kidnap-
pings in this area.
The soldiers have usurped the role of the crew hired by a local
man called Marco—who has organised this part of the run—and who
were originally going to take me through the Darién. At first, there
looked like being a nasty clash of interests, so I called Marco on his cell
phone and told him we had a stand-off between his men and the army.
He said that the army called the shots and that I should do exactly as
they said. 'We have got to live with them long after you've moved on,'
he explained.
Marco has warned me that we are going in during the wet season,
and that this holds added dangers. Such is the force of the daily rain
that in just 20 minutes a trickle of a stream can become a 2-metre-deep
raging white-water torrent, carrying along with it uprooted trees and
boulders. Many people have drowned after being caught unawares;
others have spent days perched high in the branches of trees as the
river coursed below. We crossed three rivers today, and I had mud up
to my knees every step I took.
One guard, Sergeant Villa, a skilful sniper with a high-powered
rifle, literally has not left my side all day, not even when nature called.
The guards look terrifying, but they are the nicest guys. Doing the
Darién without them would be a lot more life-threatening and arduous.
