The Darién Gap
en.wikipedia.org
The Darién Gap
1–10 of 93 posts
Re: The Darién Gap
#2I've always thought that "too expensive and detrimental to the environment" was a bit 'too simple, sometimes naive' for an explanation.
Panama was split from Colombia thanks to the US right before the Panama Canal was built. So an obvious line of thought is that the Gap has a defensive purpose to keep both sides well apart. It also helps reduce the flow of people.
Re: The Darién Gap
#3I’ve always been fascinated by the Darien gap.
There’s a TV show here in the Uk called “race across the world” and in last season they had to cross the gap. Was really hoping for racing jeeps and armed militia but sadly (and sensibly) they took a boat.
Re: The Darién Gap
#4This guy claims to have ridden his bike from Alaska to Argentina and doesn't even mention crossing the gap. https://explorersweb.com/teen-cycles-alaska-argentina/
I thought the story was problematic the moment I heard it. I met someone who crossed the gap while migrating to the United States from Africa. When I asked what they thought about someone riding a bicycle through it, they shook their head. They said even carrying a bike would be problematic because there are parts which require you to climb.
Re: The Darién Gap
#5In the 1690's the Scottish invested an enormous sum of money and human capital to settle this region. The goal was to build and profit from an overland route to ferry cargo from the Pacific to the Atlantic, similar to the Panama Canal today.
Due to disease, less-than-accommodating natives, and geopolitical climate, the scheme failed miserably. Many argue the crippling financial effect on Scotland was a key factor in the 1707 Acts of Union which merged Scotland and England.
Re: The Darién Gap
#6It feels like an admission of failure on the part of civil engineering culture.
Re: The Darién Gap
#7In the 1690's the Scottish invested an enormous sum of money and human capital to settle this region. The goal was to build and profit from an overland route to ferry cargo from the Pacific to the Atlantic, similar to the Panama Canal today. Due to disease, less-than-accommodating natives, and geopolitical climate, the scheme failed miserably. Many argue the crippling financial effect on Scotland was a key factor in…
There was more to the Scottish colony in Darien failing than just that, the English state had a hand in it, and an incentive to ensure it failed.
As to the post failure financial effect, that was mainly on a bunch of rich folks. Scotland per-se was not in any financial distress after the failure of the scheme, as it was private individuals, not the state which had invested.
Have a read of this piece, which covers a lot of the history around the failure of the Darien Scheme.
https://wingsoverscotland.com/weekend-essay-skintland-britna...
Re: The Darién Gap
#8I’ve always been fascinated by the Darien gap. There’s a TV show here in the Uk called “race across the world” and in last season they had to cross the gap. Was really hoping for racing jeeps and armed militia but sadly (and sensibly) they took a boat.
May I recommend “long way up” as well (although they also took a boat). They travel from Ushuaia to Canada, and talked about the Darién Gap, I don’t recall how in depth.
Re: The Darién Gap
#9I’ve always been fascinated by the Darien gap. There’s a TV show here in the Uk called “race across the world” and in last season they had to cross the gap. Was really hoping for racing jeeps and armed militia but sadly (and sensibly) they took a boat.
I drove the entire Pan-American Highway (shipped around the Darien). Getting to see the Panama Canal and the whole region was just one of hundreds of highlights.
It's commonly done now, and you can totally do it yourself in any vehicle.
Re: The Darién Gap
#10I've always thought that " too expensive and detrimental to the environment " was a bit 'too simple, sometimes naive' for an explanation. Panama was split from Colombia thanks to the US right before the Panama Canal was built. So an obvious line of thought is that the Gap has a defensive purpose to keep both sides well apart. It also helps reduce the flow of people.
Seems like recently that hasn’t been the case as the economic situation in South America continues to worsen more people are crossing on foot.
Strange to be downvoted for pointing out the stats on the linked wiki article.