The Darien Letters (8/6/10): March to Meteti

I apologize about the informal nature of the following post. In the interest of time, I copied and pasted much of a chat conversation with a friend, editing some personal details, and taking out irrelevant parts.  

The short version is that after leaving Panama City a few days back, I walked to the border of the Darien province, where I was stopped by the national police. After telling them my story, they wanted to let me continue, but it is prohibited to continue past Yavisa, as it is a war zone. They spoke with the commander of the southern forces, who said I had to return to Panama City to get permission from CORAZAL, the border security branch of the national police (Panama does not technically have an army, per se, but has a combined police and military).

I am going to meet with the head of COROZAL in the morning, hoping, praying that they will let me continue on foot through the Darien.

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i walked for 4 days from Panama City. the first day was a little difficult, but I covered a great distance. I started late. at 5 pm. but walked well over 50k. till 3 in the morning. about 2 hours of that was in the rain. i was soaked when I arrived in the town that I was heading towards…so a hotel helped me with a room for the night. the next day the local town was celebrating san cristobal

Annoymous Friend: No kidding!

me: wonderful catholic songs, fireworks, everything

Annoymous Friend: What a coincidence!

me: yes! so i continued from there…the weather has been great.sometimes though it is very hot…and sometimes it rains

6:17 PM Annoymous Friend: Wait a minute: you walked 50k in 10 hours?!?

me: but often there are clouds which obscure the sun.

yes

Annoymous Friend: My goodness….

me: that is actually a normal pace

Annoymous Friend: normal… right

me: lol…but i was actually walking faster than this

6:18 PM Annoymous Friend: How hot is it? And how humid?

me: because I waited for an hour at the police station for the rains to stop at one point

i dont know, i am so used to the temperature at this point, air conditioning bothers me

Annoymous Friend: What’s the name of the town? And where are you now? (I hadn’t ask )

asked*

me: the name of the first town where I stopped was Chepo

6:19 PM i will tell you where i am in a moment…first the story

Annoymous Friend: ok

me: so…I left Chepo

at around 11 the next day…i walked and walked and walked and walked

6:21 PM to a town called cañitas where I slept at the police station. The next morning, I walked and walked and walked, but the environment started to change rapidly. i passed maybe one of the most beautiful lakes i have ever seen

Annoymous Friend: I’m trying to follow this on the map

me: called lago bayano

6:23 PM Annoymous Friend: I found it, yes

me: as I was approaching the lake…the fincas stopped

finca is a farm

where they have cleared the rainforest

6:24 PM so the fincas became forests, jungles, deep, dark, and vast

full of strange creatures that I have never even imagined before

and howler monkeys that dont howl, but roar

i hadnt seen monkeys like this before

Annoymous Friend: My goodness!

6:25 PM me: but they are intense

and there were many many many

everywhere

Annoymous Friend: I hope they were not aggrssive

me: and spiders so big that you wondered if it was actually a spider

and snakes of all colors and sizes

Annoymous Friend: oh god, please don’t mention those…

me: and birds, with sounds like you have never heard

and i came to a bridge

6:26 PM where the pAnnoymous FriendmericAnnoymous Friend crosses the lake

and i found there a kuna village

Annoymous Friend: Yes, I see that on the map

what does kuna mean?

me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuna_(people)

Annoymous Friend: Oh! I see

me: there was no restaurant at the Kuna village and I had to buy food from the small snack store

i bought tuna and a piece of bread

from a woman wearing clothes that are quite literally 3d

in their patterns and colors

and also given my state

6:31 PM she was wearing a nose ring and was speaking a language unintelligible

to me

the kuna live together, in very close proximity

Annoymous Friend:

This is fascinating!

me: in fact, it is common for them to have a common house, where everyone, but especially the children sleep in hammocks

6:32 PM and the houses are mostly raised on stilts, as their culture is acclimated to the rainforests

and living on the rivers

and lakes

and the sea

they have long dugout canoes

the children seemed extremely happy, playing all over the place

6:33 PM peeing where they liked

so, i continued to walk and walk and walk

Annoymous Friend:

me: just on the other side of the bridge, i met this guy, named Irwin

who pulled over to offer me a ride

he was driving a new pickup truck

6:34 PM and in the back he had many workers

i told him my story and why, though thankful, I couldnt accept

asking what I did for money and food

Annoymous Friend:

6:35 PM me: he offered me a place to sleep and eat when i made it to cañasas (i think is what it is called)

so, i walked from the bridge into the late afternoon and sunset

with the colors of the sun, reds, orange, purple cast against a super dark sky

rainbows

6:36 PM and lightning so bright booming close by, stretching across the sky

as it got dark, I wondered how long it would be until the next town

i walked for a very very long time

6:37 PM on a road that was very very straight

just cut, right through the rainforest in a straight line

Annoymous Friend: yes, I see it on GoogleMaps

me: as night fell, big insects started coming out from the forest

locusts and grasshoppers so big, as long as my hand w/fingers

6:38 PM again, snakes crossing the road

i saw a sloth that didnt quite make it

i guess it was too slow

Annoymous Friend: My goodness…

This sounds like a film

Let me see what a sloth is

6:39 PM me: so…i walked and walked and walked, actually climbed and climbed and climbed

up a slight grade

Annoymous Friend: Ah! We call this animal “preguiça”, whcih means laziness

me: until the forests stopped and fincas began again…

you can see this on the satellite view in google maps

6:40 PM Annoymous Friend: yes, I am seeing this

me: walking a little further, past the curve

i stopped at a small store (tienda)

where they fed me chips, bread, and cinnamon milk

heated and delightful

i asked them if i could use my hammock

but they said they didnt own the store

6:41 PM and an older man, actually originally an immigrant from colombia (as many are in pAnnoymous Friendma) walked with me for about 1k to his home

which was little more than a roof

and some wooden walls that enclosed a kitchen

Annoymous Friend:

6:42 PM me: i woke up in the morning to the sound of his radio, a talk show, that was using an automated laughing sound, used incessantly

i had to pee also, so I got up

6:43 PM cows were been corralled right next to where i was sleeping. My first image was of a cow being tied to the bars of a truck. After I got up and packed, I continued on to torti

that day is kind of a blur

6:44 PM i am sure i can remember parts

there are many farms there

Annoymous Friend: How so?

me: and i could see the forest off in the distance

Annoymous Friend: Why is it a blur?

me: i stopped and talked with many people

and collected a few prayers as well

i am not sure, it just isnt as vivid as the other days

6:45 PM Annoymous Friend: ok

me: the road was just so straight

seemed endless

Annoymous Friend: Yes, it’s pretty impressive on the map

me: there are a few hills to break it up

but it becomes monotonous

6:46 PM so, I stopped in torti, where I slept, again, next to the police station

i started to smell ripe by this point

Annoymous Friend:

me: I hadn’t showered or bathed since chepo

i could have, in the rivers, but for some reason, i just pushed on

6:47 PM so the next day i arrived easily, with time to spare in cañAnnoymous Friends (sp?)

close to the border with the darien

and i stopped to search for my new friend Irwin

6:48 PM Annoymous Friend: right!

me: turns out he lived way off of the main highway

on a road that eventually ends in the carribean

so i hitched a ride

out to his finca

he is a little younger than me

and spent 2 years, playing soccer in guadalajara, mexico

6:49 PM so he has been around a bit

and now organizes this group of laborers, mostly his friends, to do odd farm jobs

Annoymous Friend: Where is he from, originally?

me: spraying herbacides, pesticides, using a matchette to cut grass and clear fields

from this pueblo

this town

6:50 PM i thought, erroneously, that because he had a new truck, that his house would be of some substance

lol

and stature

but it was not

it was a cut above the rest in the area

but he really just used it as a place to cook meals for his workers, so it was trashed

6:51 PM he fed me, with his workers

rice, beans, and dry meat

and offered me a shower

only it wasnt a shower

it was a muddy pond

lol

Annoymous Friend:

Well, you know that people pay a lot for that in what they name “spas” So I guess you were just lucky

me: where I bathed, cleaned my clothes, and dried nude in the grass, watching the thunder clouds billow and form

6:52 PM haha

right

and minnows nibbling at my legs and toes

when i first felt one, i freaked out

haha

he said he was coming back, but took too long and I wanted to continue, before the rains

6:53 PM i could have slept at his place, but i decided to keep walking towards agua fria no.1 and 2

the names of other “towns”

really, just more dense clusters of houses along the pAnnoymous FriendmericAnnoymous Friend

Annoymous Friend: yes

6:54 PM And then?

me: and then the rains came

Annoymous Friend:

me: so i stopped at a tienda/bar

to wait for the rain, I sang some hymns

read my bible

practiced spanish

and continued on after the rains stopped

they usually only last for 1-2 hours

but i have to wait a little longer for the roads to dry so my feet dont absorb the water

6:55 PM and get blisters

and i was already wet from the rains that had fallen

on my clean clothes

ok…so then, i continued, not much further, to agua fria no.1

and then, I passed into the Darien Provience

i need my camera Annoymous Friend!

lol

6:56 PM Annoymous Friend: You can’t describe it all, right?

me: anyway, soon thereafter, there was a police checkpoint

exactly

like the sign

i wanted to take a picture

it was in such sharp contrast to everything that you hear about this place

Annoymous Friend: Why don’t you have it with you? It’s a shame you’re not documenting your journey

me: boasting of kind people, hardworking

6:57 PM with hibiscus flowers

i lost it in washington, when i went to see my kids

Annoymous Friend: hm…

me: i know, it is a shame

i hope i can capture it in writing

when i arrived at the police checkpoint (this was police checkpoint no.3, i think)

6:58 PM i didnt think there would be a problem, since all of the others had let me continue

even border patrols, looking for illegal immigrants, mostly from colombia

Annoymous Friend: but they stopped you this time

6:59 PM me: had let me continue, because the project here is considered a “manda”

i think i told you about this before

i usually have greater leeway than most

Annoymous Friend: yes, you did

me: others

so…i was very open with them

telling them where i was going, what i was planning on doing

and they said, no no, you cannot pass Yavisa

it is prohibited

7:00 PM and then they got on the phone with the commander of the southern forces

Annoymous Friend: oh dear…

me: they were speaking with him, off and on, for about 30 minutes, after learning about my project in greater detail…i think trying to advocate letting me pass

7:01 PM but, in the end, he said I had to return to Panama City to speak with the head of Border security

they put me on a bus…which was actually a panama city bus (a local bus, not usually for distance travel)

7:02 PM Annoymous Friend: oh, my goodness… Is that where you are now?

me: and there were only 3 others on it

2 drivers taking turns

and a sergeant in the military

the drivers drove mad crazy, and I counted drinking at least 6 beers each

and that was after i arrived

7:03 PM the first beer that I saw them finish was actually from another pack

Annoymous Friend: oh dear…

me: the irony of not letting me pass because of danger and then sending me on a bus with drunk drivers was not lost

Annoymous Friend: haha

me: so, yes, i am now in panama city, again, to speak with the chief tomorrow

at 8 am

Annoymous Friend: I like you r sense of irony

7:04 PM My goodness!

me: life is ironic and i love it!

so…my options now…

1) talk to the chief, and he lets me continue…

Annoymous Friend: I was just checking your last message, It dates from 9 days ago. All this happened in just thi short while?

me: i confirmed the existence of a trail from Yavisa to Paya, very close to the colombian border

7:05 PM I am confident that I can reach the border in less than one day

yes

lol

i cannot do it without permission, because i need my passport stamp

stamped

7:06 PM but I am very confident now that I can make the crossing

Annoymous Friend: Right

me: i just have to convince the chief

Annoymous Friend: Oh, I’m sure you will do it!

me: i think now, the timing is good…colombia is changing governments/presidents i think on monday

Annoymous Friend: Both things actually: convince the chief and crossing yet another border

7:07 PM me: and FARC has released a statement wanting to come to a “political agreement”

Annoymous Friend: That’s true

me: which the colombian government has said it will not even consider talks until all hostages have been released as a precondition

they have released thousands over the past few years

that is the trend

7:08 PM and i am betting on their good behavior with the new president Santos

who is even more of a hard liner than Uribe

Annoymous Friend: well, of course they can’t shrug off their toughness. If they start going public making concessions, they’re doomed. Both parts need to bluff to the press

me: Santos used to be the defense minister

right

but they are really dwindling

it is almost at the point of no return

they have to make consessions

7:09 PM and colombia knows they have the upper hand

actually, there is not much for the colombian governement to gain by coming to the table at this point

at least not to make any real consessions

one of the pieces of the puzzle at this point seems to be Venezuela

7:10 PM and the actions/rhetoric of hugo chavez

Annoymous Friend: Well, it does sound like a historical moment.

me: FARC likes to hide in the forests of venezuela and pAnnoymous Friendma to escape both the colombian governement and the paramilitaries

especially the AUC

7:11 PM in northern colombia

which has pushed them into pAnnoymous Friendma

often the auc raids pAnnoymous Friendma and destroys villages looking for FARC who are often harbored by villagers

AUC is considered a terrorist org by the European Union and the US

7:12 PM but is tacitly supported by the colombian governement, and by extension, the united states

Annoymous Friend: well, paramilitary is never a good thing

me: right

and it seems like they are more, or ever becoming more, interested in controlling the cocaine trade

Annoymous Friend: What happens when you cross? The Darien doesn«t seem t continue. It’ a natural border

me: which funds 70% of their operations outright

7:13 PM Annoymous Friend: that goes without saying

me: the rest come from anonymous donors

and the darien is an important smuggling route

on the long road north…

Anyway, I cannot just cut through the forest, without their permission, bypassing the checkpoints, because eventually, I will need an exit stamp for my passport. So, I have to get permission from the chief. A second option would be to continue walking from the border of the Darien province on to Meteti. From Meteti, there is a dirt road that goes to the far south east frontier/border with Colombia, to a town called Puerto Obaldia, where I can get an exit stamp, and possibly cross through the forest into Colombia on foot. This option, though legal, would actually be far more difficult, because after Puerto Obaldia, I would eventually arrive at a town called CapurgAnnoymous Friend, but from there there are really no roads, no trails, I would have to axe my way through the jungle until I reach the Apuro River (Rio Apuro), where I would encounter endless miles of swamp. Short, it would be so much easier if they let me pass unhindered through Yavisa….