Walking the Pan-American Highway
Tuesday, November 27, 2007Every few months or so, I see a few interesting folks walking the Pan-American Highway.
For those who don't know, according to Wikipedia:
"The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads nearly 48,000 kilometres (29,800 miles) in total length. Except for an 87 kilometre (54 mi) rainforest gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to The Guinness Book of World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's longest "motorable road".
The Pan-American Highway system is mostly complete and extends from Fairbanks, Alaska in North America to the lower reaches of South America. Several highway termini are claimed to exist, including the cities of Puerto Montt and Quellón in Chile and Ushuaia in Argentina. No comprehensive route is officially defined in Canada and the United States, though several highways there are called "Pan-American".
The Pan-American Highway passes through many diverse climates and ecological types, from dense jungles to cold mountain passes. Since the highway passes through many countries, it is far from uniform. Some stretches of the highway are passable only during the dry season, and in many regions driving is occasionally hazardous.
Famous sections of the Pan-American Highway include the Alaska Highway and the Inter-American Highway (the section between the United States and the Panama Canal). Both of these sections were built during World War II as a means of supply of remote areas without danger of attack by U-boats."
I'm on this highway at least daily and every so often I see a few interesting folks, non-Panamanian, usually American, sometimes Australian or European. They're biking the highway in pairs with bicycles loaded down with their gear, traveling on motorcycles and oftentimes just walking.
I think the most interesting one I saw was late 20-something guy walking along with a donkey packed down with his gear. The first day I saw him he was in between Penonome and Anton. The next day I saw him nearing Rio Hato traveling in the direction of Panama City. Ok, I thought, I just have to stop and ask.
I pulled off the road onto the shoulder and stopped about 25 yards in front of him. "Hi!" I shouted. He replied.
"I just have to ask," I said. "In 2 minutes, what's your story".
Well he proceeds to tell me that he's been walking from the state of Washington for about 1 1/2 years. He picked up the donkey in Mexico to help him carry his stuff and he was going to keep walking to Panama City.
I told him we lived just a few miles off the highway. He was welcome to bring his donkey, rest a night, clean up, eat, etc.
His response, "Well I'm in kind of a hurry." He couldn't say it with a straight face and I cracked up. "Oh really?", I asked.
He went on to explain that he needed to get to Panama City within 8 days so he could fly to the Middle East for a friend's wedding. He was hoping a farmer would take his donkey for a month or so and then he would be back to continue on his trip. I gave him a granola bar and wished him luck. Now that's a free spirit.