[coyotespike]

Back in 2011, I rode from Alaska to Argentina over the course of six months - Prudhoe Bay to Ushuaia. In fact I jumped in both the Arctic and Antarctic oceans!

We followed the Pan-Am most of the way. When we got to Panama, first we rode down south into the territory of the semi-autonomous Indians, the Guna Yala in the San Blas Islands. They charge a small toll to get in their territory.

Then we put our motorcycles onto dugout canoes and ferried onto a tiny island. You could walk clear across in about 5 minutes. They live on an archipelago of islands, and the women dressed traditionally, with piles of bracelets on their limbs. They had a sort of museum there with their own Flood myth, interestingly.

After a couple days our hope of a boat stopping by seemed unlikely, so we ferried back to land, rode back to Panama, and found a hostel run by a couple of Germans.

They contacted a British couple sailing around the world, who were happy to hoist our motorcycles on either side of their mast and take us to Colombia along with a few other couples also traveling, with a few stops at gorgeous Caribbean islands for snorkeling.

And that's how we crossed the Darien Gap!