Nadja Drost:
Many migrants spend a week or even two on this trail before they reach a village and safety.
But these journeys started long before. Migrants from Asia, the Middle East and Africa flew into Ecuador or Brazil, where visa requirements are somewhat lax. Haitians also use this route as a springboard north. But to get from Colombia to Panama, they have to cross the Darien Gap by foot.
It's the only missing 66-mile break in the Pan-American Highway from the tip of Argentina up to Alaska. Migrants go first to the end of the road in Colombia, the port town of Necocli, to head west along the Caribbean. The passenger manifest was global.
Most had little idea of what lay ahead. They dock in Capurgana, a tourist town, now a trailhead for migrants headed into the Darien.
We set out to join up with the migrant trail, and reached a makeshift camp where smugglers wait for migrants. At dusk, a group of Cameroonians and Pakistanis arrived. They were exhausted, and relieved to find the last spot on the trail where they can get hot food.
Morning broke with torrential rain. The Darien is one of the wettest places on the planet. The environment could hardly be more different from the high mountains of Pakistan this group of friends call home.
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