Darien Gap

The Darien Gap is a remote, roadless swath of jungle on the border of Panama & Colombia. Known as a smuggling corridor between the two, it’s rarely seen by outsiders.

After traveling through the Darien Gap by piragua canoe to visit a remote jungle village, I was forced to leave when security forces kicked me out.

Fishing is a major source of food and income for the indigenous people of Panama’s Darien provence. We joined them in an attempt to catch our dinner.

Pain suddenly shot through my arm, awakening me in the middle of the night. That was soon followed by no feeling at all. Poison had rendered it completely useless.

“Vamos!” snaps the heavily armed man dressed in military fatigues. We reluctantly follow him and his AK-47 off our tacky disco school bus and stumble into the early morning light.