I remember the good old days where I would use Apple Maps on my family's first generation iPad to search for directions to Beijing, select "Walk", and watch this glorious contraption instruct me to canoe across the Pacific ocean
@•• That is not true. You can have a 10 foot (3 meter) long bridge connecting two continents and it will still be considered an intercontinental bridge. The "epic" factor has more to do with the significance of connecting two continents.
Thanks for the video from Panama! Back in 1996 I was part of a volunteer/US military group that flew Christmas donations to a remote village in the Darien. The Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter traversed "the rugged landscape" by flying up over ridges and back down into the many valleys. Lots of nausea as we searched for the village. We stopped at an airfield for directions and dismounted for a bathroom break. We were rushed back into the helicopter as police notified us the FARC had been spotted in the area, and yes they love hostages for ransom money. We did deliver the gifts without any gunfire. I have since met Columbians that walked to Panama. It is not an easy feat to say the least.
it's colombians* and even tho a peace treaty has been signed withe the FARC guerrilla there are other insurgent groups that are currently operating around this zone, it is very dangerous.
just watched this, it's fucking amazing! Not only did they make it across that inhospitable gap of highway, but they did THE ENTIRE PANAMERICAN HIGHWAY, OVER 17,000kms ON THEIR ODOMETERS! The perseverance and strength of that group is beyond inspiring!
Random fact: Most birds are completely immune to spice such as that in peppers. They also don’t digest pepper seeds, making spice the perfect strategy to spread their seeds.
I know a lot of people talk about this but I see you on almost every educational type videos similar to RLL's ones like what if and on kento bento I think
I’ve learned so much from your videos over the past couple of months. Right when I get down with 1 I’m on to the next & even looking deeper into the topic on my own. Thank you for your amazing content 😄
Here in Panamá there's currently a joke that says "Darien doesn't exist" due to the fact that it is so isolated and wild down there that almost no Panamanian has ever been there and that we've almost met nobody from Darien hahahaha.
If Venezuela, the Guyanas and Brazil all share a very similar.. if not worse jungle ... WHY HASN'T THERE BEEN A MORE SERIOUS APPROACH TO FINISH THE PANAMERICANA WITH ALL THE NEW TECHNOLOGY AND ROAD CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES?
@Richard Hopkins I'm not trying to be rude but I think he/she said that this "Darien Gap" story is like Bermuda Triangle on land. Hopefully you understand :)
@Hyperskreem 82 I've been to Panama several times. And I can assure you that massive cities and "tons" of mansions don't make a country rich... A country is truly rich and developed when there is a good Gini Index. I'm from Colombia, and I consider Colombia and Panama both poor countries. Nonetheless, I think Panama is more developed than Colombia.
@@JaylemagnifiqueGame ... It Would Be Way Longer Than That... We Have To Find A Way To End The Conflicts (Decriminalization Is For The Mexican Drug War... For Colombia... Well, What Do Think?)... Before We Try To Help Their Economies! (If Colombia Can Regain It’s Peace... Then They Should Allow Us To Do The Underground Tunnel... Without Using Their FARC Guerrillas!)
Jane here. Your videos are so enlightening! Sometimes places just don't need to be conquered. Period. No worker should have to die just to make a road. I'm shocked by the numbers who died making the Panama Canal.
They only traveled a distance of about one tank's worth of fuel and probably had a few extra canisters as cargo. Plus they only got a couple hundred meters per say, so they didn't use a lot at once. They probably spent a lot of time creating a path with the truck turned off.
While it’s an excellent point that they didn’t actually travel much distance, severe off reading like that is extremely fuel inefficient. Time idling and wheel spinning in the thick mud would add up to quite a lot of fuel. Surely they would be conscious of that and try to mitigate waste, but I’m still curious if they took all the fuel with them or if they were resupplied at any point.
@@OtakuUnitedStudio Issue with that is fuel will only last about 6 months in a sealed container, and that reduces to about three months in higher temperatures which I'm sure would be the case in a rainforest!
Use to be a car trip from the USA and Europe that when directions were requested on google earth, the results would take you to a dock in NYC, then tell you to exit your car and swim 2,000 miles to Europe.
If it were possible imagine a train journey from the Arctic Circle to the tip of South America. You start your journey seeing polar bears and end it seeing penguins.
@@cursedelmo1697 Because A) North Korea is not swampy, and B) If not for China, North Korea would have been completely conquered back in 1951. America was basically mopping the floor with the NK Army, and was within SIGHT of the Chinese Manchurian border, when all of a sudden half a million Chinese soldiers swarmed across the border, and pushed America back, by sheer numbers. By the time the U.S. recovered from the magnitude of that surprise attack, the war descended into a complete stalemate, for two years, until the armistice was signed. So really, it was China that won the Korean War... not North Korea.
*I love how one highway project would be be an unmitigated environmental disaster, but somehow revolutionaries, kidnappers, murderers, and drug cartels are totally fine for the environment.*
1) They aren't building intercontinental roads. 2) They aren't building anything actually, since they want to remain hidden. 3) They are generally biodegradable.
You're confused how hundreds, maybe thousands, of gas guzzling vehicles driving through the jungle each day may be worse for the environment than groups of people living there?
As being born in Panama, Panama really cares about its rainforest and environment. (Besides the capital) and of course they won’t have enough money to do it on a long, and difficult rainforest. I’m pretty sure they don’t also want to lose a lot of people just from working there.
I think what he meant by pristine and untouched was that it’s completely undeveloped with no roads or infrastructure. The criminals and natives that live there are few and haven’t don’t much to change the physical landscape.
The militant groups in Colombia thrive on "underdeveloped" areas where the military and police forces have trouble enforcing the law because of a lack of infrastructure. And having traveled to Colombia dozens of times, I can assure you these groups are no joke and don't mess around. This problem is being steadily resolved throughout the country though, but this border area is probably the most remote location of the entire country.
Actually, the Olmecs which are the precursor of the Aztec culture came from south america. And there was also trade between north and south america, that's how the Aztecs brought over cacao from south america.
No, you watched the video? Is possible and simple to cross to Colombia to Panamá, (today is more complicated because of FARC but it didn't existed back in the day). Its impossible to cross with a car
Person living in Panama here. The reason we haven’t added routes is because of the militia and we want to preserve the natives communities as well the environment. Opening a route will make it easier for drug cartels in Colombia to come as well
3 Corvairs and an '88 GMC pickup have driven the Darien gap. One of the Corvairs did run out of gas on the home stretch and was abandoned, but it did make it through the difficult stuff.
@@johnsach4156 05:34 “A highway did technically go into construction once in 1971 and then again in 1992. But it was killed both times by damning environmental damage reports.”
@@ha-zg3gp It was still the biggest reason. They were ready to look past all the other reasons that make this endeavor almost impossible and what ultimately stood in their way was the public opinion, not the unforgiving circumstances that they were ready to take head on.
Did you guys not get the joke here? It was bad enough that even in the messed up years where they would sacrifice anyone to get things done, they had to cancel it
Ya know, I’ve always thought about if you could drive through this tiny spot. Glad this video popped on my timeline!! LIFELORE keep doing ya thangg🤘🏽🤘🏽
All my thoughts while he was showing how long it took them to drive through the Jungle. Oh it took them 74 hours? Wow Oh it took 741 hours? Omg Oh it took 741 days. 😳
Literally nobody in RU-vid explains better than you. There is not a single video in this chanel that I do not understand. And before opening it I am like fck I don't want to watch 10 minutes but after every video I feel smarter. Big like. What a voice and what a nice choice of sentence structure. Easily one of the best RU-vid channels. 👍
In 1971/72 a group of Brits drove through the Gap with two Range Rovers and as a scout vehicle a Land-Rover 88" Series IIa. It took them three months to complete El tampon. The whole trip from Alaska to the south tip of Chile was covered in approx. seven Month in total.
2 Brazilian guys did it in model Ts in the early 1920s. A groups of Jeeps also did the first all land crossing of the gap in the 80s. Made respect to anyone that tries it.
a group did just that in the 70s, they drove Jeeps from the tip of South America to the tip of Alaska while traversing through the gap “expedition de las americas” the shot documentary is on RU-vid
Matvei Soykin -insert ‘ackchyually…’ meme temple here ^ *sighs heavily* FINE!! “…the NORTHERN most point of Canada all the way SOUTH to the SOUTHERN most point of South America…” HAPPY?!?
I’m did that! I’m from Argentina and I travel by road to Alaska back and for. To cross the Darien gap need to pay a container for the truck and is really expensive. But the road trip was really amazing.
Video idea: I saw something on tv many years back about a man hoping to build a tunnel under the Bering Strait, connecting Alaska to Russia. With that, it would be theoretically possible to drive, or take a train from New York to London, New Delhi, or South Africa. That would make an interesting topic for one of your videos.
@@jannikheidemann3805 Most of them are a joke to me, as somebody who comes from the neighborhood for real. Yea. I see right through alot of them. Although that's neither here nor there. Lol
The video fails to explain that the main reason for not even wanting to talk about this highway is the MASSIVE opposition of the panamanian population who know that it would facilitate the movement of crime from the Darien gap to Panama. Just picture the troubles US has in their border with Mexico.
The environmental impact excuse (never mind the weather) was just as valid when they built the road and pipeline to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, which when first opened was a PRIVATE road used only for oil field access. It was only in recent years that it became open to all traffic. Same with the Panama Canal - that was territory actually under US control since the US had a vested interest in getting the canal constructed so that maritime traffic could move between the US east and west coast. It had ZERO to do with any environmental hurdles or the number of people dying during it's construction. So the real reason why you don't see a road through the Darien gap is simply because the USA is saying "No, we have no interest there", and not because it isn't an engineering or construction problem. Pretty sure as well that as soon as the US DOES have a reason groups like FARC would disappear overnight. BTW: Crossing the Bering Strait by road could be done too, it's just that the US and Russia really don't want to be THAT warm and fuzzy with each other LOL
You are right, just have to take a look at China's mega highways in the middle of nowwhere in the mountains. A highway bridge (not clear about the name) would be less impacting on nature, as the road is very high from ground.
@@klincecum Really? Do you do cross continent container shipping? They don't go by boat from Seattle to Miami or LA to New York, or Halifax to Vancouver... they go by rail.
I assume no one would mind.. well, except for the people who the land belong to .... much like if someone said, "hey, mind if we take one part of your country so we can build a road on?" or "mind if we take a part of your land to build a canal on?"
Tunnel under the Darien Gap. Using "The Boring Company's" Las Vegas estimates, $24.3 million per mile, for a high speed tunnel rated for 155 MPH. For a total cost estimate of about 1.5 billion. Now double that estimate just to be safe with your budget. With a toll price of $5.00 per ton the bi-directional tunnel could easily generate $100,000+ per day. Which is about $20.00 for a full size sedan. Much cheaper and faster then a ferry. That would make the tunnel completely paid for in 10 years.
real-life lore: All of Europe is connected by land. Britain, Ireland, Iceland and all other islands in Europe: : ( I edited this based on the comments : )
I imagine quite a bit of it was going 75% of the way then "oh crap, this is a total dead end off a cliff, there are absolutely no ways through this way". Then, having to backtrack and try again through an easier road. Rinse/repeat. It would probably be easier these days, because instead of relying on crappy Google Maps imagery which wouldn't really help you know if a direction is passable, you could launch a drone every once in a while to take some imagery, then have a best path to go. Retrieve the drone and rinse/repeat.
It’s a hotspot for human trafficking too. Just a few days ago about 15.000 immigrants from Africa, South America and the Caribbean were stuck there, trying to make their way to the US, which is of course a very dangerous run.
I bet you that when China see this video they will basically contact Panama government and wants to sponser a highway across the Darian Gap as part of their belt and road initiative.
I'm Panamanian and you aren't exactly wrong. Our previous president (in office from 2014-19) was in bed with China. They wanted to build a high speed railway between Panama City, the capital and David, our second largest city located in the Western part of the country (it's close to the Costa Rica border) and bring in lots of Chinese labor to build it. This would mean that Panama and its corrupt government won't be able to pay back the debt so Panama would basically be owned by China. Now because of COVID-19 all those plans are sure as shit abandoned. Thank God we didn't get owned by those bastards.
So what was the purpose of building the North and South highways up until the Darien Gap if it's impossible to do any construction works? Because there is no way engineers found out about the gap only after the construction started. There definitely must be some subjective reason like blackmailing for the construction not to continue.
Clark Clifford dangerous in what terms? I’m sorry? If ur talking about robbery or assaults and kidnapping or violations or something like that well obviously, you’re comparing an actual town, city or district with a freaking jungle. If ur looking for some dangerous place in Colombia to compare to Camden NJ u have Ciudad Bolívar or Soacha both in Bogotá, or AguaBlanca in Cali but not a Jungle. Like there’s few cases of assaults and robbery and stuff because NO ONE ENTERS THERE maybe?!? Duh. A normal city has more assaults than this place, this is a jungle so no one enters there smh
A correction there were two other groups that made the trip over the Gap in vehicles. The first in the 60's was driven by the British Army using land rovers and US built military Trucks. The Second was six specially equipped Jeep vehicles sponsored by America Motors in the late 70's. The second carried "ladders" and "pontoons" that were used to drive over deep "ditches" and streams and rivers. They drove from Punta Arenas in Argentina through the Darien to Point Barrow Alaska in a little over a year and a half. Two areas slowed them down. The Darien and the section in Alaska.
It would be hyper expensive and very dangerous too. It would also probably hurt some wildlife as well because they will have to create vents or smth similar to take out all the gas from the vehicles and to keep the tunnel airy (I think that's the word). Also a while bunch of resources will be needed, places to park the trucks when digging, a lot of dirt/sand to dispose... In short, it would be hell
I rode my 10 speed bike thru the gap from Panama to Columbia in 1978. I never got kidnapped. I got a flat tire and the natives made me a new one from their rubber trees. I never even got bit by a single mosquito.
I feel like the best long term solution is something that’s been in front of me forever, just a short drive on ferry from Panama to Columbia. I grew up on Long Island and went to Connecticut to see my dad’s family by getting onto a big af boat that people drive their cars onto, slightly faster than driving
1:28 French Guyana isn't a sovereign nation, it's part (overseas department) of France and thus the EU (even shown on the Euro banknotes). You could say that France is one of the sovereign nations present on the South-American continent.
Missing the prime reason …it acts as a security barrier for Panama from potential aggressors to the country hence its strategic importance to Panama . A road through would undermine this point and is therefore off the table (think Russia v Ukraine )
Looking at the map, it looks like it would be easier to hug the coast. There are plenty of small communities that dot the coast on both sides of the border. I'm sure that, like with many communities in Alaska, there is a reason they don't want to be connected by road but that would be an easier and less obtrusive way of connecting the two countries and it would be a hell of a highway to drive.
@@AndenMowe-hh5qk yeah looking at the map, it looks like the shortest you could make a bridge is only 10km long. Which is nothing compatible to some bridges that have been built in the last few decades
This is wrong. The first Vehicle crossing was years before: "The first vehicular crossing of the Gap was made by three Brazilians in two Ford Model Ts. They left Rio de Janeiro in 1928 and arrived in the United States in 1938." It's right there on Wikipedia dude.
@@0subsWith0vidsChallenge when you have millions of subscribers you have a responsibility to thorughly fact check a ten minute video. It's not that difficult.
I cannot believe that YOU guys would make the "ColUmbia" mistake. Edit: To those that started a war on the comments. It's not about pronunciation. It's in the map on 1:27 spelling. no one cares of how you pronounce it, since it depends on what you speak and your accent.
David martinez torres Nope, even in English the country is spelled as Colombia. That’s the official name in both English and Spanish. Nobody is asking French speakers to stop calling it “La Colombie” because that’s the actual name of the country in French. Writing “ColUmbia” when meaning the S.A country is as wrong in English as calling the European country “Jermany”.
When he started to mention completing the highway around the gap I immediately thought the same thing about building a bridge, but yeah that would be one of the most expensive construction projects ever, but ferrying would also be rough because of the amount of ferries they would possibly need, and they’re risking any type of resistance groups or gangs from harming the travelers
@@tomascayul5728 How would a underground tunnel damage the environment? Are you worried about the dirt? Aslong as you go deep enough to avoid most of tree roots your fine
The ocean tends to be where most of the life is located. 90% of ocean life alone is near the coast. Having oil, gas and pollution along virgin coast would do a lot. Not only that, but tourists would swarm the beaches where turtles lay their eggs and so much more.
@@prathameshp3013 panamenian here, Not really. We have had many colombian cartels and criminal groups try to cross by sea to panama. A few months ago a guy was shot in a road next to my aparment by a hitman due to theese colombian cartels. If we allow free acess the violence problem in this country will get worse Edit: oh, not to mention the animal diseases and the cost of building a 100km road across the ocean
Perhaps instead of trying to build a road connection over land through the jungle in the Darian gap, they can build a tunnel underneath it. The Gotthard Base Tunnel is the world's longest tunnel at about 57km long, so it's not infeasible to double that length. Going underneath the Darian would eliminate any problems of disrupting the ecosystem there.
