Darien Gap -All the options and advice from experienced motorcycle overlanders how to cross.
We chat to Jim Martin from Adventure rider Radio how to go about shipping motorcycles from Panama to Colombia or the other way around.
There is not really an option to cross the “gap” as it it only jungle and there are no roads. The best is either by sail boat, fly or container shipping.
In this podcast Jim speak to a few experienced motorcycle adventure travellers, the options, cost, information how to go about getting across this piece of jungle.
Personally we shared a container with two other car overlanders and the cost was minimal even considering we had to fly to Colombia from Panama. The process was not as complicated, just loads of paperwork.
You can listen to the interview here or to the pdcast on ARR website, ansd there are much more text:
“A popular adventure for motorcyclists is the PanAmerican route, from Alaska to Argentina, and to get from Panama to Colombia, you have to go through, which isn’t necessarily a good idea, or around the Darien Gap.
On this episode we have four different stories about crossing the Gap, and some options to choose from with some great tips about how to go about getting your motorcycle around one of the most dangerous jungles in the world.”
“For centuries, the Darien Gap has been a destination and challenge for many explorers and adventurers, and the exploration of it has usually been met with disaster. However, there have been many successful attempts at crossing through the Darien Gap, by the two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles, rocons, motorcycles, bicycles and by foot.
There have been several notable ‘first of its kind’ crossings. The first successful crossing in a vehicle was in 1960 in a Land Rover and Jeep.
An arduous journey moving an average of only 200 metres or about 650 feet in an hour. It took them nearly 5 months to cross the Gap, as they made their way through the jungle clearing the bush by hand, crossing streams and rivers, making bridges as they went.
The first crossing in a two-wheel-drive vehicle was in 1961, by a team using three Chevrolet Corvairs, which took 109 days. They completed the expedition having abandoned one of the cars. Between 1971 and 1973, the first fully overland crossing was by Ian Hibell by bicycle. In 1975, Robert L. Webb made the first motorcycle crossing.”
Source AdventureRiderRadio