The Darién Gap...part two

Day 3 - Deeper into the Darién Gap

We had just spent our second night in Panama staying at the fantastic Canopy Camp in Darién province in the southeast of the country. The Darién Gap itself has a bit of a reputation. Described as lawless and dangerous it is an area used by both drug and human traffickers taking 'goods' into the US from Colombia and further south and is regularly patrolled and monitored by the Panamanian military. Kidnapping is a lucrative business on the Colombian side and despite our exciting quest, I can't help but feel a little trepidation. We are in excellent hands though and safety was never an issue. Everyone is so friendly and helpful. We passed through several military checkpoints on our journey from Panama City and it's taken us a day to reach this point but our journey is by no means over. After a 04:30 breakfast the van was loaded with equipment and we set off on a 45 minute drive to Yaviza at the very end of the Pan-American Highway. You can go no further and it's strange to see the road just end and cafes, bars and restaurants take up the space in front of you.

We transferred the equipment to a waiting boat and it's then an hour-long journey along the Rio Tuira before we arrive at a small riverside dock at Pinogana. Along the route we pick up White Ibis, Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Cocoi Heron, Black Vuture, Greater Ani and both Black and Crested Oropendola.

Loading the boat at Yaviza just as day breaks.

The Rio Turia is a lifeline for those living in more
remote areas of the Darién.

Mike, filming part of the journey.

Nigel and Carlos enjoying
the cooling breeze of the boat journey.

Once at Pinogana we again unload and put all the bags and equipment into two waiting 4 x 4 trucks. It's another 50 minutes of bumpy dirt roads before we reach Pijibasal, a remote native village deep in the jungle.

Administrative Building at El Real de Santa Maria.

A river to cross - 4x4 a good choice!

The dirt track to Pijibasal.

Our home for the next couple of days in Pijibasal.

It's still early and with no time to waste we dump our bags and get a lift back up to the trail head.

Getting prepared to walk - we are all excited to be here.

We all don our wellies (something I will come to regret!) - there are potentially deadly snakes, a river crossing and muddy trails to come and they will afford some protection. That said, it's 33º C, 60% humidity and definitely NOT welly weather. We are leaking from every pore, our clothes are soaking wet with sweat and we haven't even begun the hike. Anyone who thinks making wildlife documentaries is a doddle should think again, there's a ton of gear to carry and this is bloody hard work!

We are soon ready though and set off on the 1 hour 20 minute hike along jungle trails to see our target bird. This is the main purpose of our trip - to film the rare and elusive Harpy Eagle.