The Panamerican Highway in the Atacama Desert, Peru
30 thousand kilometers, 14 countries and a 106 kilometer “split” described as “the most dangerous place I have ever seen”. A Canadian woman has just become the fastest to cross the huge highway on her bike.
The Pan-American Highway has long been described as the longest “motorway” in the world.
A vast road axis with around 30 thousand kilometers connects 14 countriescrossing the Americas from the Alascanot far north, até Tierra del Fuego (Argentina/Chile) in southern South America.
However, the long route is interrupted by a segment considered highly dangerous and impossible for most people and vehicles. But here we go.
Despite the name, it is not a single continuous route. The Pan-Americana is, in practice, a network of roads built in stages, throughout the beginning of the 20th century, which, together, form a corridor continental.
Even so, the size and ambition of the route made the road an icon of automobile culture, alongside mythical roads such as .
But if you’re thinking of venturing onto the asphalt of the Pan-American Championship, get ready. Arctic winds in the north, scorching deserts further south, sudden changes in altitude are the minor problems.
Crack of more than 100 km
The best-known obstacle is the giant Darien Region ou Fenda de Darién, a lacuna close to 106 kilometers between Panama and Colombia.
On this “fault” there are no bridges, no asphalt, nothing but dense and challenging rainforest. Crossing this point by car is considered impossible: the terrain is dominated by dense jungle, swamps, rivers and wetlands — not to mention the black palm (Astrocaryum standleyanum), a native palm tree that has thorns of around 20 centimeters that can cause severe infections.
The walkway exists, but is described as highly dangerous, both due to natural conditions and reports of gang and armed group activity.
In the 1980s, an expedition (it would have been the fourth to attempt it) set out for the well-known crevasse with one objective: to make the journey in a vehicle. Loren and Patty Upton were the first to achieve it, after 741 dias travel, with a Jeep CJ-5, according to .
Currently, many people risk crossing the rift on foot. Others do it by bicycle. It was the case of Ashleigh Myles: left Alaska and went to Argentina.
However, Myles didn’t cross the famous rift: he packed up his bike and flew from Panama City to Cartagena to get around the interruption, he explains in his blog post. — and the “clock” continues to tick during the crossing.
