21–30 of 93 posts
He'd made it all the way to the border according to his maps but was stopped by armed military/paramilitary troops and sent back to Panama by river in a dinghy full of (or made to appear to be full of) bananas.
In the end he had to fly that leg. It's also common to sail it, Panama city to Cartagena, but the other direction makes for a smoother trip.
In 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 l…
Some argue we are still feeling the effects of this today. It certainly didn’t help with social attitudes towards being miserly with money (which we very much are).
Random related anecdote. I met a guy in Colombia who was cycling from Canada to Patagonia. He'd made it all the way to the border according to his maps but was stopped by armed military/paramilitary troops and sent back to Panama by river in a dinghy full of (or made to appear to be full of) bananas. In the end he had to fly that leg. It's also common to sail it, Panama city to Cartagena, but the other direction make…
Even back in 2008 when I did it, I met a few backpackers that had crossed the Darien on foot. You take a bus and then hitchhike as far south as you possibly can. Talk to locals, figure something out. Someone will know of a crappy boat or canoe or something to take you a few hours through the swap and then you're on land again. Hitchhike, bus, whatever until you pop out somewhere in Colombia.
Random related anecdote. I met a guy in Colombia who was cycling from Canada to Patagonia. He'd made it all the way to the border according to his maps but was stopped by armed military/paramilitary troops and sent back to Panama by river in a dinghy full of (or made to appear to be full of) bananas. In the end he had to fly that leg. It's also common to sail it, Panama city to Cartagena, but the other direction make…
I drove the length of the Pan-American, and shipped my Jeep around in a shipping container. Even back in 2008 when I did it, I met a few backpackers that had crossed the Darien on foot. You take a bus and then hitchhike as far south as you possibly can. Talk to locals, figure something out. Someone will know of a crappy boat or canoe or something to take you a few hours through the swap and then you're on land again.…
Many secrets about that place: Legends abound of a lost city of gold, sometimes called "El Dorado," in South America. While many associate this legend with places further south, some tales and searches for this city have placed it within the Darien Gap. Over the centuries, various explorers and adventurers have ventured into the Darien Gap, drawn by the allure of this hidden treasure. Yet, the dense jungle and the fo…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 l…
I enjoyed this book about it: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18271029-the-darien-disa... . It was written in the late 60s, but it looks like it's been republished more than a few times since then: https://www.alibris.com/booksearch?mtype=B&keyword=%93Darien...
When I was in Bogotá last year, I met a Venezuelan man selling art painted on Bolivares. Inflation is so bad in Venezuela that Bolivares are practically worthless as currency. (There's also a beautiful irony that painting a picture of Che Guevara on a Bolivar makes it more valuable.) Many of his pieces were portraits of people who crossed the Darién fleeing Venezuela. He seemed to have a story for all of them. Most of them were working-class folks, engineers, teachers, lawyers. He himself was a former oil engineer who left Venezuela because of the economic collapse. These stories made me really appreciate everything I take for granted.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 l…
I’m not sure it was mainly rich folks who suffered. Many small scale investors also lost money. So severe were the losses that something like 25% of private wealth in Scotland was destroyed. Some argue we are still feeling the effects of this today. It certainly didn’t help with social attitudes towards being miserly with money (which we very much are).
>Some argue we are still feeling the effects of this today. Of course you are. Think of it this way. The reason they poured everything into it and kept pouring more into it wasn't just to increase personal wealth of investors. It was a unique opportunity to poll vault towards becoming a major European empire. While they knew it was a massive endeavor, the rewards would be incalculable. For them to control the most important manmade waterway to global trade 3 times as long as the US has would be a success story that we'd be reminded about in every grade school class but Golf and Gaelic.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m not sure it was mainly rich folks who suffered. Many small scale investors also lost money. So severe were the losses that something like 25% of private wealth in Scotland was destroyed. Some argue we are still feeling the effects of this today. It certainly didn’t help with social attitudes towards being miserly with money (which we very much are).
>I’m not sure it was mainly rich folks who suffered. I've read it was 1/3rd of their annual GDP. >Some argue we are still feeling the effects of this today. Of course you are. Think of it this way. The reason they poured everything into it and kept pouring more into it wasn't just to increase personal wealth of investors. It was a unique opportunity to poll vault towards becoming a major European empire. While they k…