There are those among us who have journeyed to some of planet
Earth's wildest, most untamed areas and survived to tell the tale.
Martin Mitchinson of Powell River is one of them, and his new book
'The Darien Gap: Travels in the Rainforest of Panama' could be the
summer's best read.
Travelling by foot and dugout canoe, Martin crossed the continental
divide from the Caribbean side of Panama to Pacific tidal waters,
along the physically challenging and historic route used by Spanish
explorer Balboa.
The 50-km wide, 160-km long Darien Gap is a missing link in what
would otherwise be uninterrupted highway from Alaska to Tierra del
Fuego.
Few would even consider traveling through this swath of undeveloped
swampland and forest separating Panama and Colombia, but although
Central American guidebooks warned against going there, Martin
persevered.
Martin speaks fondly of the Darien people who fed, sheltered,
guided and befriended him during his rainforest adventures, but the
book details a labyrinth of hellish primitive situations better
read than endured.
Lured by its exotic geography and eccentric history, Martin spent
18 months overcoming challenges in this strange and extraordinary
landmass - a stubborn barrier between the American continents. He
endured life-threatening and spine-chilling physical and political
challenges and emerged as one of few travelers to survive this
primitive, roadless disease-infested terrain.
Challenges and perils were numerous and daunting. At times, he
survived on small fish and rice for weeks while burnt corn kernels
sufficed as 'coffee beans'. Red-headed sardines nipped at his skin
when he swam, and a swarm of stinging Africanized bees invaded his
termite-weakened beach hut.
No three-day "gringo sprint across the land," the lengthy adventure
gave Martin a good sense of the land and its people, as well as
time to fully explore and experience what he terms "a bountiful
land, providing (the natives) more than they need."
On one occasion, traveling at night in a dugout canoe with a basket
of food, a machete and a mosquito net for sleeping, Martin swamped
his boat but struggled to shore, where he set up a makeshift camp
to dry out. Asked about this experience, Martin says: "When a
difficult physical disaster happens, people just dig in and solve
it." He felt clarity, he says, in knowing what to do, but sans the
panic and screaming employed on the big screen.
Still culturally simple, the Darien people chose village life only
recently (1950s and 1960s) but, Martin says "it's not a natural
thing for them to live so close together." They share the same
struggles faced by indigenous groups the world over, including
exploitation by outsiders. Indeed, some parallels exist with West
Coast First Nation cultures.
In compelling prose, he writes of "the morning half-light in the
mangroves," and the lush evening green of Colombian mountains.
Towards the end, Martin felt the experience "was complete enough"
while musing that possibly, the worst facet of this strange land
was "fear of your own shadow."