I decided to take up blogging as a way to communicate with friends when I am traveling. I was explaining the concept of blogging to my old friend Willis the other day and I told him that I was looking for an appropriate name for the blog and he was the one to suggest Darien Gap. “You have just finished working and you are making a transition to a new way of life, you like to travel and the Darien Gap is a perfect metaphor for your situation”. Willis went on to explain that the Darien Gap is a large swath of undeveloped swampland and forest separating the country of Panama and the continent of South America. It measures just over 160 km long and 50 km wide. There is no existing road connection through the “Gap” connecting North America with South America. To get from one america to the other you have to deal with the “Gap”.
So for me the Darien Gap represents the obstacles that a person confronts when attempting to get from one place to another. In a lifetime this might be getting a university degree, changing careers, realizing lifelong dreams etc. The “gap” will be the effort and the time that is required to make and realize changes. In my case this will be moving from working life to engaging in retirement. Easy you say, well easier for some than for others but after working for 40 years or so the adjustment won’t be seamless for anyone. I have been retired for a year and I am probably 80 km in to the “gap” with another 80 to go.
This winter I am planning to spend several weeks in Mexico and then a month or more in Columbia so I will be on both sides of the Darien Gap and what I learn or experience I will place on my blog if you care to come along for the ride.
As Willis has often reminded me “ any road will get you there if you don’t know where you are going”.
darien ya to go there.
Or as Yogi Berra said “when you come to a fork in the road, take it”
Congrats on the blog brother – was wondering how i was going to fill in my time at work..
Back to reality – “A ressession is when your neighbour loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job”.
Anonymous
Of all the thousands of replys going your way you probably noticed I missed sending one. Not nice. Minus 44 here today…was colder here Wednesday than either the North or South pole. Go figger! Cheers. As always…forever….James
Just stumbled on your blog. fun! Have you met the books of Jim Conrad (naturalist)? I like best his Maya Road…has made the Yucatan alive for me. We were at Majahual just after Dean and then again in Nov. Love the Ado bus between Playa and Majahual…we scoot quickly up north to El Placer from there.
Taught Spanish 30 yrs. attended 1 yr at U of Madrid, then in Mexico I fell into the “coger” trap also. Your flamingo photo…great..Have you bicycled at Coba to see ruins there? Kohunlich is definitely a winner also. So are the fish at the old market in Chetumal. Sara
A city guy is driving down a country road a little lost. He stops and asks a farmer, “Does this road go anywhere?”
The farmer thinks about this for a bit, scratches his head, and says, “This road goes everywhere.”