Why The Pan American Highway Was Never Completed
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ส.ค. 2024
- The Darién Gap is a stretch of jungle that is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world, that to this day, has prevented a road from being built that connects North and South America.
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Faultline is produced by:
Executive Producer/Story Editor/Host: Andy Burgess
Story/Research: Jamie Elms
Editors: Vivek Manoharan & Andy Burgess
Motion Graphics: Andy Burgess
Additional Footage from Storyblocks & Archive.org
Archive Maps from David Rumsey
Music from Musicbed // fm.pxf.io/c/2423499/1347628/1...
Sources 🔗 bit.ly/40gdrzk
Time Stamps:
0:00 - Why you can't drive across this border
1:13 - The Geography of the Darién Gap
1:52 - Traveling through the region
3:13 - The development of the Pan American Highway
4:36 - Roadtrip!
5:18 - The construction of the Pan American Highway
6:38 - Why the Pan American Highway failed
8:02 - Why the Darién Gap is so dangerous
9:02 - Why Migrants travel through the gap
9:38 - Will there be a safer route between North and South America
#DariénGap #geography #panamericanhighway
Thanks for watching everyone, lets us know in the comments what other interesting border regions you think we should dive into next time 🗺👇
Could I get video regarding the current unrest in Iran along with its history
This was a great episode on an interesting border. Another great idea for an episode can be the Himalayan mountains and the various borders in or near those mountains such as india, Pakistan, China, Nepal and Bhutan. China - North Korea and or North Korea - South Korea would also be an interesting video.
Gaza strip
1978: the Jeep Expedition of the Americas saw 6 Jeeps successfully traverse the Darien Gap over a period of 31 days.
Corps is pronounced core btw
An important detail: Most Panamanians oppose the opening of Darien not just because of environmental reasons, but security reasons. Darien has protected Panama from Colombia since its independence (from Colombia). Panama has no armed forces, no bellicose neighbors. Geography helps keep it that way.
Many colombian people are already in Panama.
@@vipeton.8927 I think it’s more so military they are speaking of. A military force won’t be traveling through the gap
@@JiMMyRoxks why do they need to fight? I was in Panama and spoke to people. They have pretty good relationships.
As a Panamanian, can confirm.
@@camillecardoze5501 in my opinion Panama is amazing country with enviable location. Singapore of the Central America.
Having been stationed in Panama in the 80's we were told the Darien was off limits due to diseases such as dengue, disappearences, drug lords and suspected cannabilism.
Fort Sherman?
@@hoppes9658
I was stationed at Howard but through cooperation between services did some work at Sherman.
I was ok with it till you got to the cannibalism part. It brings that whole 'Let's eat Grandma' comma lesson into focus.
All i know is this is why we were told to not go into the Darien province, it was off limits!
sounds fun
I have a Colombian friend (from Medellin) who told me how when Spanish conquistadors founded towns and villages in the Gap back in the 16th and 17th century and then leave on their quest, the towns would be literary gone by the time they went back a few years down the road, not ruins, not a trace of where the town was founded, the jungle would just eat the town whole due to how thick it is.
The story of Teddy Roosevelt's excursion into the S. American jungle is epic. Dude barely survived and was never the same.
Yeah, theres a river in brazil named after him, Roosevelt River
He wasn't young at the time- but wanted to prove he was still a tough guy.
He lost 1/3 of his body weight and had to have surgery on a riverbank. Almost took him and his son Kermit out.
I know a person from Venezuela who survived passing through the Darien Gap. The histories that he told us are really unbelievable, almost like material for writing a book.
Maybe its you who should write it
@@nolesy34 right id read that
🚫😕 In other words, neo-liberals and leftists like Joe Biden & Justin Trudeau are encouraging and rewarding millions of people from S. America and Central America to risk their lives(and/or their children's lives) to travel through these dangerous places in order to illegally immigrate into US and Canada. The democrats and "liberals" view these illegal immigrants as poorly educated, gullible, and easily manipulated into voting for leftist political parties(which is why they keep trying to legalize non-citizen voting)!
Biden and his allies at the UN, WEF, and Open Society Foundation want as many as *100* *million* illegal immigrants to come to America, and help to give them a complete monopoly on power. That, of course, greatly dilutes the voting power of actual US citizens. Then these politicians will have the power to achieve their current goals of stripping citizens of their most important constitutional rights.
My GF did too, her story is crazy
... almost ...
It's incredible how such a beautiful place can be so dangerous
That it’s so true but my issue is when I talk about my travels to Latin I always get told told by people it’s the American tourists that make me feel safe lmfao sorry but my travels are to areas most Americans don’t go to and tbh I love those places.
Dude the stories are crazy, so I'm Colombian and I've always known about the El Tapon del Darien, I asked a venezuelan who told me stories, she said you see dead people on the trail just laying
@@brianmitchell8422 it’s not safe. That’s why people physically cross that border to come up to america
welcome to the tropics.
I know right.
The Darién Gap feels like a place where dinosaurs could have survived until today without being discovered by humans, like in these lost world stories.
Years ago, a man from Southern Cal had tried to travel from his home to the Southern tip of South America. He was doing okay until he reached Colombia. After leaving Medellin, Colombia he felt like he was in danger. He ended up being kidnapped for ransom. He was held for a few months. He was able to be released but that was due to him faking health issues. The US authorities got him, and he was checked out for any health issues. He decided to buy another motorcycle to finish his trip to the southern tip of South America. Later on, he did tours of Europe and further east with his motorcycle.
Happy to hear the guy did not gave up his dreams even after such a traumatic experience. Great for him
@@elpretender1357 This happened during the late 90s. He was retired and living alone and impulsively decided to do the trip. I read the article about him in a motorcycle magazine.
@@Rhaspun Not many realize but as many horror stories from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean exist, they're quite tame places in comparison to Colombia and Venezuela, their people is nice but their beligerant groups, their belicose nature and constant internal conflicts, (e.g. guerrillas, gangs, cartels, dictatorship governments) make them difficult; Colombia is quite poor (that's why everything's so cheap) and Venezuela is suffering the worst inflation in modern history, also you got to remember what happened not so long ago in Colombia, when then world's biggest drug lord raided the capital and his henchmen literally drove a tank, like a literal war tank into the congress house and blow their doors open, yeah, Colombia and Venezuela have a wild recent history…
His story was told on an episode of "locked up abroad." Incredible journey for sure
@@FreddieHg37 Colombia is much safer than Mexico currently.
Panamanian over here, great video bro, on spot. Indeed our border with Colombia is complicated. One of my friends is a psychologist working on the gap and treats migrants who just came out of the jungle…the stories she has told me are unbelievable.
they clearly haven't been to Croydon, London . Oh man I have some stories...🔪🔪🔪🔪
@言行一致 No entiendo a que viene tu comentario amigo jajaja, descubriste el agua tibia o que?
@言行一致 La infraestructura Panameña no es perfecta pero es de las mejores desarrolladas del continente
@@in5minutes556 Thugs and Dubsteppers. 😆
@@DJAUDIO1 South London is just ☠️, as my friend used to say: “you know what separates man from ape? The Thames river”
I learned about the Darien Gap in elementary school in the 1970's and how bad the area was for building a proposed new highway at the time. Looking at the wild swampy terrain and poor land stability more suited for the Jurassic era, I could see why little has changed since then.
Why didn't they build a highway like the one on the coast of Reunion ?
This highway : th-cam.com/video/BozoKyzLCdc/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=TheGrandTour
I'm pretty sure there is no problem to build a road there. The real problems is that such road is going to multiply problems for northern countries by 10
I'm calling it BS. Environmental reasons were NOT a concern in 1971.
@@MrLTiger ??? Yea they were ??? Talk to your grandparents
@@MrLTiger when do you think hippies were around?
I attended the US Army Jungle School at Fort Sherman, Panama back in the early 1980's. I had a chance then to see the Gap before returning to the US. It is a wild and untamed area for sure. I would call it the wild, wild west of western hemisphere jungles. Only the native Indians, some outlaws and maybe the biological and botanical research people would fit in there. Not a place anyone would "want" to be in.
What branch was that in? And Is there still a US base in Panama?
@@taurusmt5 It was an Army school and it was at an US Army base, Fort Sherman. All the US bases, army, navy, air force are gone now. I think it was part of an agreement with Panama.
There has been big deforestation in Darién. Still not enough to make it less dangerous. Population is growing and some are Colombian drug cartels or locals working for them. Still the Panamanian Border force makes a good job with what they have.
It changed, if you wanna seee an interesting clip. Bald and Bankrupt crosses it while recording it.
I first heard of the Darian gap when I read a book by Ian Hibell where he related his experience of crossing it by bicycle. I did a lot of cycle tours in my time, but his book convinced me that would not be one of them!
I just heard a podcast episode from NY Times “The Daily” and one of their reporters crossed the the Darien gap with migrants. She described it as brutal with so many hills, ups and downs, flooded marshes or muddy lands, insects, etc. they saw a body along the way and one individual was separated from her child for days because the mother got severe blisters and infections in her foot.
There is an excellent PBS documentary on what migrants face in the Darién gap. Be warned, It’s quite traumatic though.
@@a1white Is it PBS news Hour? Or is thereone for Frontline?
Sounds like an awesome hike😉 Maybe a little trickier than Superior, depending on the season!
@@BoBandits I saw a few videos in the last week. Its over a week hike, it’s tiring, it’s wet, it’s hilly, it’s crossing over streams, it’s so many bugs, it’s getting sick, it’s getting blisters and infections, etc. I can see how people die - so far from medical help so any injury or infection can be death.
Terrorists, rapists, drug and human traffickers go through here... anything that happens to "migrants" here is well deserved.
It's their problem. F' 'em
Sold my wonderful 1966 Volvo 122S to a cute in love couple determined to drive from San Francisco, California to her parents in Argentina. They had met at a rave. I still wonder sometimes how it all turned out for them. It was definitely a car for cute drum playing hippie raving lovers. I did not object about the Darian Gap, tho. I thought, Well, they will find out. Or break down along the way. That car was a dream but it also liked to eat my paychecks. I told them to send pix from South America but never heard from them. This,was in about, oh, 1999. Amazing how the Darian Gap is still impassable!
Miss that car! In spite of all.
I live in patagonia and in 2017 a couple from the us rented an apartment from my family. They had drove all the way here from Oregon with their 90s truck. I didn't ask at the time but now I'm curious on how they got around this gap
I miss my old volvo as well
LOL back then if you didn't tell him they probably could have just died
Did you enjoy lovers of your own in that car?
@@lucianoradice5257 As far older Colombian and Panamanian people explained to me, how they traveled by car to Colombia and back, was via ferry service. I know a family who is very proud, that their little VW Beetle made that trip many times.
When I was stationed in Panama, I spent a week in village in the middle of the jungle along a small river in the Darien region in 1993/1994. My team was there to help with security & communications for an Army engineer unit that was building communal latrines among other improvements for the village. As there were no roads into the area, we were transported via a CH-47 Chinook helicopter
This video is quite an eye-opener! I understood that a superhighway had not been built (yet), but I assumed there were at least secondary roads and rail lines joining North and South America. Never realised there was such an inaccessible place in the middle!
Not “yet”, not ever, Panama owns that land, and opposing any highway construction on it is one of the few things we all unite under. I can guarantee if any politician and foreign force tries to do it, the whole country would go into a shutdown level riot (which has already happened before, including last November)
A little bittersweet, as this was my last video with y'all as I'm focusing on my producer work here in Germany now, but super love how this one came out!
I hope you come back one day! This was a great video. I never knew about about the Darien Gap until now. I was always told there WAS a highway through this region. Let's not also forget the political climate in America would never get a road through the gap built these days. Isolationists and anti-immigration activists see it as a stop gap to keep migrants out of America. Never mind that people are dying through it who might one day have become a productive American citizen...
Extremely high quality content. Woulda been nice to have found geography this interesting in high school lol
Como Panameño me preocupa la obsesión que tienen los extranjeros con el tapón del Darién últimamente , la selva esta perfecta como esta y asi debe quedarse.
There's nothing wrong with making educational videos like this one. There's no such obsession, no one's touching your precious jungle
@@souligh Do your research here on youtube and you will see the big media and international organization obsession with the Darien gap.
@@ajavier7634 precisely because I've done my research is that I know that what you're saying is a load of bullshit
Creo que si permiten abrir la brecha, podría beneficiar a Panamá (además del canal), como un hub del comercio internacional, en idea que se pueda transportar mercancias por tierra, aire y mar entre ambos continentes, ayudaría a que América del sur tenga un tratado comercial con América del norte y se integre toda la región, tal como lo es la Unión Europea, siendo Panamá la capital del comercio.
@@EblemTorres la verdad, no veo como eso beneficiaria a Panamá, en toda nuestra historia no hemos necesitado abrir ma selva, no veo porque hacerlo ahora.
In 1698-1700, there was an attempt to establish a Scottish colony on the coast of Panama, at a place now called Puerto Escóces. The plan was called the Darién Scheme. It was such a disaster that most of the settlers died and monetary losses bankrupted the government of Scotland, to the point that they did away with the Scottish Parliament in turn for Westminster covering some of the debts.
Yeah sure
I wondered if this unhappy episode in Scottish History would be spoken of here. The entire history of our country was changed by the government of the time (1690s) underestimating the difficulty of conquering the Darien Gap. Nonetheless, elements of the story have a positive ring to them. Scottish people are able to take pride from the fact that this was not a colonialist adventure as other European countries knew. The Scottish Settlers made a good bargain with the natives that they would provide them with heavy artillery to help them to fight the Spanish, and the natives would give them just enough land to construct their system of roads to allow good to be shipped across the Gap. It ended badly for the Scots for all the reasons explained here in this video. The heat alone killed hundreds. Mosquitos killed many more. Bad times! And out sad and twisted relationship with England is the legacy we are left with to this day. Our political elite accepted English financial help to cover their losses. 😢
Screw a highway, make it a rail connection, elevate and attempt to do as little damage as possible. The rail connection would offer power and connection of locals to that area while not being cars which had a swath of issues. Make sure to build passes under or over for wildlife.
Unfortunately the train line would not have much to connect to at any side of the Gap. Unless you plan on building an isolated line to cross the gap
No. Make a highway AND a railway. Damage to the jungle is simply a red herring.
@@ericpowell4350 Environmental issues are always a red herring. Pave everywhere, drill everywhere and deforest everywhere. Let's see where that gets us.
@@Larrymh07 he's joking lol
Fortunately, the rail nuts aren't going to get their way, either.
Just leave it a "natural" wilderness.
Great video! About that “only off road cars”: the first car expedition to ever cross the gap (officially) consisted of three fully stock 1960 Chevy Corvairs send by GM in 1961. They did it in 107 days, also one of chevys was left there and propably stands to this day in Colombia
There is a YT video on this and the rotted mossy gutted remains of the Corvair that didn't quite make it is still there.
Hard to imagine corvairs would have made this trip, as their suspension was pretty simple. Great engine otherwise.
@@amramjose light vehicles stand a better chance in mud as long as the engine had some HP. I could not imagine a Corvair for off roading until I saw the old film of them trying it.
Wikipedia says the first card through the gap were model t fords. Sounds a bit unlikely no?
I was hoping someone would bring this up ! & yes it was a total of six Chevrolet vehicles that made it across the Darien Gap in 1961, 3 were Corvairs & 3 were Chevrolet trucks fitted with Napco aftermarket 4 wheel drive that carried parts , & supplies for the Corvairs ! & one Corvair was so beat up that it was left behind , & is still there ! & this is factual , I lived in Panama in the mid 60's in Colon , & I also own 3 Corvairs , & use to own a 60 Corvair at one time , & I still own 3 Corvairs 64,65, & a 67 . & You Tube does have a video of this feat ! I believe it's called Crossing the Darien !
My mind has been changed by this video. The fact that Panama wants it as a security buffer is an excellent reason to keep the gap. Also, if I ever want to disappear...I know where to go.
well... I learned something. I had always assumed there was a road there.... very good video.
Darien still stands for a dark days in Scottish folk memory.
Doesn’t it just! I’d still have preferred the mosquitos to this obscene and unnatural union.
Chevy engineers managed to cross the gap with skip plate and tow hook equiped Corvairs.
& that was done in 1961 !
Ferry was the optimal choice, but when services like ferries, toll roads, electricity, water, and phone go private, it's usually because the state couldn't do a good job. My experience from living in latin america.
it went private and it also failed.
These types of ferry operations can only survive with public subsidies. Seriously, wouldn't it be easier to just get from Panama to South America and then rent a car? If you need to ask, you can't afford it.
TY so much for this, I never knew the road was incomplete.
A deep level train tunnel is now feasible technology.
I like that, for once, the indigenous people are being 'left alone' to live their lives in the jungle - although I'm sure they come into contact with some bad people passing through the area. I hope it stays as wild as it is today. It's just nice to know there is a jungle in the Americas that is mostly wild and relatively untouched.
Drug lord troops often get into fights with the natives. The troops want food and women. The natives want them to go, and kill a few to show they mean it. Add a few stupid, white, often female, backpackers into the mix and the place is anarchy on wheels. The army is sent in to find the whites, the drug lords take offense and start shooting only to be shot by the better armed army helicopters and the natives run and hide. Pure chaos.
Agreed
It's not an issue of whether we can build across the Gap, but rather are we willing to make the effort... Many years ago, we built a 24 mile long bridge / causeway across Lake Pontchartrain (near New Orleans) and I doubt that the Darien Gap would be any more difficult than building across that shallow lake / swamp... If we can build a bridge that long completely over water and it survives hurricanes, we could build one over / through jungle that has occasional streams from water runoff...
You can be sure the USA & Canada would not welcome a road across the gap, lots of very poor people in South America.
You are talking about a bridge. That's what I'm thinking. A road through the Darien Gap would have to be either a bridge or a tunnel.
As somebody who is from New Orleans i can agree with this
@@donk1822 but Trump will build a wall 😄
I've been on the train that crosses the lake. As it went along, the train wobbled back and forth- a bit- I was expecting it to fall in.
This was so interesting. We never learned about the Darian gap in school. I always looked at the map and figured "yeah, the land-masses are connected, surely you could drive from south america to north america." But nope.
i hope the gap stays. its good that some places are untouched.
i appreciate that true wilderness still exists
In 1961,GM took three Chevy corvairs (and a crew) thru the Darien gap for a promotional video. Took about 4 months. Can find the video here on YT
That's one heck of a rally.
Another commentor mentioned the "Corvair" expedition, but I can't figure out why they would use
Corvairs, being low to the ground, underpowered & not four wheel drive! Maybe that was their reason,
to promote that vehicle!p.s. My father spent 30 mos. in Panama in the 40's & I been there three times!
@@rongendron8705 It was always just an attempt to prove they're durable and reliable.
What's nuts, none of the Suburbans made it through the Darien Gap, just two of the Corvairs.
Never knew anything about the Gap until now. Thx for posting!
I remember watching The Long Way & was excited to see what they’d do with the Darien Gap issue but they seemed to want to have as little on it as possible. And when they got there the travel doc kind of fell apart. They basically just gave up on the whole riding electric bikes on other side of it & got a bus to skip the rest of Central America. Still somewhat interesting but like The Long Way Down a bit of a mixed bag with neither recapturing the raw & captivating travel doc nature of The Long Way Round. Anyways always interesting to see something on it-great vid!
I'm with you, the whole bus ride was a bit of a let-down, but maybe if there's a next one! 🏍️💨
There was another expedition from Alaska to Argentina done by a bunch of retired US military all riding ADV bikes, and holy hell were they basically dragging their bikes through the gap. Most of them did manage to finish riding their bikes all the way down to Argentina though
probably, the best way to complete the highway is to build a road from Apartrado along the Brazo Leon Rio Atrato bay, cross the Atrato, proceed to Acandi and then cross the border into panama along the north/east coast. From there you could cut into the hardland of panama through the not so tall mountains. Crucially this would favour logistics as it would be serviceable from 3 directions. La Trinidad, Panama Hwy. 1, and Acandi/Caribean sea. It would be 70km longer than a straight line from Chicorodo to Yaviza but this route has circumvents implications outlined in this video for the most part.
Alternatively: Don't build any road anywhere near there. Just don't. It's not necessary. Shipping freight by water is FAR less costly.
Leave it be.
Or just leave it alone
How about maintain the use of the current modes of transportation and leave that area untouched!!?!?!?
@@andredeketeleastutecomplex no
The infrastructure being an impossible project is never the reason why something isn't built.
Yea that road could happen lol
@@kevineckelkamp no it couldn’t
@@user-mh8lu Why not? Just build it on the shoreline.
@@trempton4106 how do u plan building a 60km long road on a shoreline
I could easily build a road through there. It’s not even close to difficult. The problem is who’s going to pay for it? It’s not like you can just build a road on someone else’s land and charge tolls, well not without an army and most likely a war.
There is a small peninsula in southern Thailand, on the Andaman side, a bit south of Phuket. It's called Ko Railey (Ko is the Thai word for "beach"). It's lovely and scenic but completely cut off from roads and vehicles - which is part of its appeal. I was hiking there and found a troop of monkeys in a large tree. Also saw 2 monitor lizards and a small black bird doing a mating dance for a potential mate. All those sorts of things disappear when roads are cut.
Exactly
@@mcculleyjenkins2118 I meant to write 'haht Railey' or haat. .... which means Railey Beach. There are actually 3 beaches there, each facing a different direction, and each a few minutes walk from one another. But yea, it's a peninsula, not an island.
Not true. Your summation is flawed and not based on fact but rather emotion.
Had mail from a traveler who rented a scooter to tour Thailand.
Rolling from Vietnam to start. Mail said anyone hurt in SE Asia
and after flying home will tell how dangerous scooter travel is..
#u(% roads we need more lizards
Just build a road off shore like Florida's long bridge to the keys.
Less damage to the mainland hopefully as well.
Good idea.
The problem would be the length. The over seas highway to key west is 7 miles long at its longest bridge while the shortest distance over the sea connecting the 2 countries in nearly 10x longer. But to be honest as a Colombian it would be super useful for us if we could finish that last bit of the highway but at this point most of us have given up on the hope that it will ever happen.
It was done with Jeep/Landrovers Convoys before
Ah yes , the Bushmaster. I think Michael Douglas said it best in Romancing the Stone when he killed one and quoted “ Goddam Bushmaster “. Then I believe he tossed a few kilos of pot he found on the wreckage of the plane him and the woman were staying onto the camp fire and quoted again “ That’s what I call a camp fire “.
Great movie, also great research on this geographical area. Nice work
I'm not sure that was pot he threw on those fires...
Good scene.
Love that movie.
This was fascinating. Great video. I'm a believer and proponent in doing what it takes to bring the highway through though.
Wow, this is an incredibly well produced and informative video. Crazy I found this on TH-cam.
Me 2! Just something about this area really sparks my interests, and want to learn more about it.
A great example of what it's like to traverse the Gap is in last season's Itchy Boots. For those that don't know it's a travelog created by a Dutch female solo motorcyclist. She completed a journey from the very bottom of South America, Then Covid interrupted and she resumed the trip last year finally ending up in Northern Alaska. By far the hairiest part of the series is her getting around the Gap by small boat, motorcycle and all.
Glad you have mentioned Itchy Boots .Currently she is in the country of Angola found in the Southern part of Africa.She is a dare devil.
I cared for some migrants from Haiti at a clinic in Rio Bravo, Mexico. Many of the Haitians first go to Brazil and then eventually make the perilous journey up through the Gap to Mexico. Several had died on the journey and all had endured great hardship.
I can only imagine. Then they finally get to the US only to be seen as an animal because they have the wrong skin color and sent back to Mexico or Haiti - idk if they're given a choice which one.
We crossed through the Darien Gap in January 2018 from Panama to Colombia. My thumbnail photo was taken as I was walking through the Atrato Swamp on the Colombian side.
Crossing from Panama to Colombia, did you have to get your passport stamped before crossing, and how deep was the Atrato swamp/river?
I'm doing this for my personal research and I'm planning on going to visit Colombia next year, so I'm learning how to speak Spanish currently.
@@centauria9122 When we hit the Atrato River and Cacaricas, we found the Colombian military to declare ourselves. I don't think they did anything with our passports. We had paperwork to prove who we were and what we were doing. After we went to Turbo. A day or so later we went and got our passports stamped there. It was a government office near a naval or Coast Guard base, I believe. I think they also made us go to Monteria. I just remember going to all these different places to get stamped. It was a big run around and hassle. I don't exactly remember all the details. It's been over 6 years.
For the most part you have to do everything by boat. There was one part where it was about knee high. We had to walk and push the boat because it was very narrow and too windy for the boat. This was while we were still in the jungle. After it opens up and gets deeper.
I trekked through as well, and never felt unsafe once.
Dude...
@@centauria9122 recomendation from someone with family there :
-medellin south its quite safe, the North (Bello, castilla) are literal bronxs, dont go there
-Medellín can be extremely cold in some months, the only reason it doesn't snow its because its in the ecuatorial belt, yet it can even snow in the outskirts
- the entire central region haves insane mountains, a motorcicle goes a long way.
- bogota haves nothing on it, both culturally and things to do, Antioquia, medellin and Pasto have far far more interesting stuff.
- do not mention Coke, most of them are sick of something that estereotype
- the external regions (but nariño) are dangerous even for locales, turbo (and the entire North coast) its a hot bed of the worse the country haves to offer, I cant stress that enough, not just for random thugs but from mexican carteles sending people over, gang wars related to drugs, corruption, its a mess.
They could build a coastal highway bridge like the one in Reunion Island. That way it can bypass the jungle.
That makes too much sense
the jungle has never been the real reason. in spanish isn't called the darien gap but the darien plug. guess why
@@ernstschmidt4725 I haven't looked it up in the map but I'm guessing the coast is basically mountainous and jungle is the only flat land (and why it's swampy in some parts).
@@nunyabiznes33 yeah the terrain is rough, but there have been roads built in rougher places.
the thing is that swamp keeps unwanted things where USA thinks they belong.
@@ernstschmidt4725 Exactly. Too EASY access by road or bridge causes whole new problems on massive scales for Central and North America.
I am 100 percent for leaving the area alone.
Interesting! I wonder. If we can't build a road through the gap, why not around it? Build the highway along the East Coast of Panama. Take the road East from Torti, Panama to the coast and down the coast through Acandi to the mouth of the Brazo Leon Rio Atrado where a 10 mile sea bridge could be built at Boca Del Atrado to connect with Turbo, Columbia. The road would basically hug the coast kind if like the Pacific Coast Highway in California.
We already have these things called "boats."
@@SeattlePioneer true. But this video is talking about road infrastructure. The video pointed out that ferries didn't work. My comment was a what if there was the desire to finish the road link.
@@xlxl9440 After reading these comments, I'm supporting government subsidies to allow Elon Musk to allow free rocket ship service to those interested in making this passage ---drug smugglers and migrants shouldn't be disadvantaged in their desire to "travel."
Just because we can doesn't mean we should. Ease of travel in either direction has many unintended consequences that could far outweigh the benefits. I would speculate that those smarter than us have already determined those perils, thus no link.
@@kingboagart899 The obvious reason for no connection is that it keeps Colombia from attacking Panama
Great video, love this type of stuff, subscribed.
Well presented. I've traveled sections of this pathway, different times of my life. Always an adventure.
You mean the gap itself? That's cool. Would be interested in doing it myself.
You didn't explain why there's no coastal road in Atlantic or Pacific side of the gap.
Great video. Just a tiny thing, corps is pronounced 'core' so it'd be pronounced like 'core of engineers'
I’m obsessed with this area just because of its notoriety. Great video thx 🙏
Great channel. Very happy to have found it.
Someday, somehow, there's GOT to be a way to connect the two parts together with those concerns in mind.
Even worse than foot-and-mouth disease are screwworms. 😳
Nice video, very informative and really well produced!
QUIT THE SELFIE.
a perfect face
for radio
Thanks very much this. I especially liked you drew attention to the migrant crisis the area, while maintaining a wide view on history.
Just a couple of suggestions for pronunciation. "Ceiba" is pronounced "say-buh" and "corps" is pronounced like "core". Cheers!
They could look into a causeway. It would be simple enough to build something similar to the highway through the Florida Keys. They would avoid most of the environmental and preservation concerns by going over the sea.
Simple? Lol no.
The ocean is also part of the environment.
@@johnmartin7111 The causeway will be towed outside the environment
The distance is significantly longer than the bridges in the keys.
Very engaging video. I enjoyed every minute. I’ve never heard of this gap.
I find it quite nice to know that there are still some things we have not conquered. Still some frontiers that have not been crossed, as it were.
Oh they have been. Lots of immigrants cross the colombia panama border every year putting their lifes at risk
I have been in the Darien. Its full of smugglers and traffickers. But when I was there in the 90’s there were dirt roads that could be accessed from the main highway.
There is another reason that isn't mentioned very often. Colombia considers Panama to be part of Colombia. As long as the gap exists, it is impossible for Colombia to invade Panama. (air or sea invasions being very difficult even against inferior foes). The gap is the finest defensive structure that exists or can exist and it costs nothing to maintain.
Couldn't you just blow any bridge in the event of a war? Plus you'd know exactly where they had to be to get into the country so you could easily pick them off with artillery as they only have one way through
@@someguy1559 It is not horribly difficult to force a river crossing and reconstruct a bridge. That might take a competent army a few days on a small river. Forcing a crossing of 65 miles on rough terrain is on the other hand would probably take years, giving Panama lots of time to carry out a guerrilla war against the people constructing the crossing.
Wtf are you talking about, Colombia recognized Panama in 1924, we have solid diplomatic and economic relations, Colombia has no intentions whatsoever of retaking Panama
I am Colombian and no, absolutely nobody thinks Panama is a part of Colombia, you might find a couple people salty about the US interference if you're talking history, but no one, and even less anybody with power thinks Panamá should be ours again.
No, Colombia has no claims to Panama since the 1950s. Panama simply does not wish to open up its land and territory to even more migration
My great uncle Lawrence Nelson was a civil engineer who spent years after World War 1 on the construction of the Pan American Highway. He sent back crates of souvenirs, rugs, weavings, pottery and every sort of hand made oddity. We played with these wonderful things as kids. In 1957 gramps moved to Florida and sold the house to the church next door. All the furnishings were included and Uncle Lawrences treasures were in the attic.
The "church" most likely sold all his artifacts, to buy more land, and "pay" themselves, so that they can take advantage of more poor souls...
Disgusting...
I'm seeing all kinds of stories about the Pan-American highway I didn't know! My father was the book keeper for the highway in 1942 to 1944! He never spoke about it much. It was just another war time job! It bogals my mind about reading the stories about it now
Just found this channel and am binging all them
I truly hope that this never happens primarily because there is no way that it will remain wild.
Sure it could. Elevated highway way up on thick cement polies the whole way. No exit's. A breakdown turnout every 20 Miles. Big signs saying WAIT HERE FOR HELP. No way up or down. Only the snakes could get up to the road.
One way they could circumvent the Darién Gap is by building a bridge or tunnel across from Cambutal in Panama, to Nuquí in Colombia, and then building another highway from there to Quibdo, which Colombian highway 60 goes through. Problem solved.
not that easy, its called the darien plug for a reason
Dude I love the overhead projector! Its an under appreciated tool.
Great channel mate. I’m sure you’ll gain a lot of subscribers fast.
If you think about it, and many have, if they were successful imagine how much jungle and swampland would be destroyed today. Between expansion and maintenance, constant foot and car traffick, wrecks and erosion, then more foot paths, side roads, erecting villages along the way, creating side roads, train tracks then trains etc typical routes that humans like to exploit. Criminal gangs would be the only ones who would benefit the most if this was successful.
Great video, very informative. A pontoon bridge in the ocean could bypass the gap.
I drove through part of this "highway" inside Costa Rica; said highway had so many potholes it was akin to driving on the moon. I cannot believe we did not drop an axle, and it took over 3 hrs to go cover what should have been a 45 minute drive. Coming back was just as bad.
Satisfied my curiosity. Thank you.
nice video, i'm coincidentally travelling Colombia now, but have heard from other travellers that there is a "luxury" sailing route of almost a week to get between Panama and Colombia
Yes it cost like one thousand dollars with a Car.
You forgot to mention the real reason why the gap exists. There was a train that actually ran through it, but when the United States decided it needed to make the Panama Canal, in sponsored an independence movement and carved off Panama. The Colombians were pissed and cut off all connections. The area has remained a buffer between the 2 since, like a dmz, but paramilitaries and drug gangs instead of mine fields. It could be built, but the politics are a major issue still. The other points you brought up are very relevant too, but you completely breezed over the political issues between the 2 countries, which is the main reason the gap exists.
Source?
@@aidenteszke9000 Read a book.
@Aiden Teszke It’s true, I learned about it in my US-Latin American relations class in college. Look up the Panama Crisis of 1885.
@@ReptilianLepton I understand the history, but how am I meant to find a book about some non existent railway?!
you have to provide the source that there really was a railway there
Great video, very informative.
Happy Tours Africa is following you from UGANDA. Enjoy the adventures
i just had a high thought and realized that north america and south america are connected now im here
This concerns me. I'm following this couple from Belgium who's trying to drive the pan American highway.
Epic video! I remember you, Andy, from somewhere many years ago - can't remember where though - were you famous on Snapchat or something? Anyway, keep up the great work, videos like this are amazing.
Wow! SUPER INTERESTING VIDEO! THANK YOU!
Idea for an alternative route: From Santa Fé del Darien, Around the Coast of Guna Yala, Then The Border in Cabo Tiburón, Goes Down to Santa María La Antigua Del Darién and then a bridge connection with Turbo or a road link-up with Lomas Aisladas, and then, it finally done. But It's so expensive, dangerous and anti-environmentally conscious, so let things like that.
And one ignorant boob who insists on walking through with his donkey cart could close your tunnel for days.
Then why commenting? Spare your fingertips next time.
So you’re saying it can be done but nobody will because reasons. There’s a few good reasons like the environment and indigenous cultures, but the other security based reasons make the place sound like a good training ground for the marines. Geopolitics though I guess. Honestly if we had one or two more Teddy Roosevelts since his time, the road would’ve been built by now
Yay colonialism.
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 more like foreign aid but nice try
The amount of times you say chile when talking about argentina is quite funny
Great rundown
Maybe dig a tunnel underneath it. They built the Chunnel under the ocean to connect the UK and France, one that connects Panama with Columbia might be a good solution. The jungle up top isn't disturbed. Using modern boring equipment that Elon Musk has developed might just do the trick.
Thank you for explaining why NOTHING should be done.
@@SeattlePioneer I think a tunnel would be a great idea.
@@alittlebitgone Provide a detailed explanation why a tunnel is impossible.
@@mattcolver1 You watch too much Elon, you are impressed by grandiose pictures and words. That's why. Elon tries to reinvent the subway, but worse, smaller, more expensive, and with more points of failure.
The road stops looking like a road and stops being paved. You're driving over like dirt trails that are not even, often not wide enough for a car in your kind of driving to have on the bush, and it can blow out easily with rain and be basically a mud trap fruit stretches of time, but it's not physically IMPOSSIBLE. And I only know that, because my cousin and his wife, I assume he still married to her but I don't know, for their honeymoon they drove to South America. And they talk about how that stint of it was crazy. But I mean it's like similar do when you grow up on Farmland around wooded areas with rivers and stuff. Sometimes you're just riding through the trees to get where you need to go or if you want to go fishing or something. You don't do all that walking. You drive on your land, and you just keep an eye on conditions and terrain and full well plan on having to potentially try your vehicle out of several crazy situations, maybe even having to roll it back onto its wheels from tilting to its side, or even hiking to the next place you can find someone to help you tow it out or something even if it's by a massive people with a rope. But you can get there in the same vehicle that you started with by means of using it as your primary Transportation like they're not putting it on a boat or a plane or anything at any point.
Really cool channel. Great video
The Yukon: "I'm here too"
British Columbia: "naw I'm all of Canada fam"
Well chances are they will one day likely just either build a bridge around the gap or they will build underground tunnels instead.
Great vid, but the in-your-face subtitles are a bit distracting.
Very cool! I had absolutely no idea. The narrator made a few pretty silly mistakes but we'll forgive you bc of how interesting the vid was.
I've never heard of it before. I'd love to go there some day
I love driving. It's a dream of mine to drive the entire north to south Pan American Highway. There have to be someway I can get a car through that. I bet there's some logging trail where I just paid the right people or bribe or whatever.
Id love. To take my diesel landcruiser down there too befpre travel is banned exxcept for the extrême rich.
Musk's boring company is trash. Won't do the trick for a multitude of reasons, namely, size of the tunnels.
@@alittlebitgone I want to drive straight through it. I drive the greatest car in the world. A Panther body. I bet it will make it. That's cartel country, of course I can get a car through that. They probably have paved roads and a McDonald's.
(00 Grand Marquis)
I'm sure the US could build this if we really wanted to but I understand why NA doesn't want it since it would probably lead to higher refugee flows from SA.
If I'm a SA refugee I'm heading for Guyana
@@rook1196 Yet, people from Guyana are heading towards NA
Fascinating. I live yards away from a section of the Pan American Freeway in the states.
Wonderful job.