Doing The Migrant 'Math'

 I sat and watched a podcast (Loomer in Panama).  So she sized up the deal....migrants making their way from the jungles of Venezuela up to civilization in Panama.

You rest for three or four days, then the bus pulls up.

You, the migrant, pay $60.  This gets you from the jungle clearing (eastern side of Panama) up through the capital, and all the way to the Costa Rican border.....1,100 kms or 11 hours.

Bus....max of 60 passengers....driver gets you there and dumps you for the next bus.

$3,600 for the run.  But here, I sat and analyzed this.  Once you figure fuel, and bus  cost....then you have an empty bus requiring you to drive 11 hours back to the village to pick up the next group....there's zero profit.

So I'm not buying into the story....as is.

There has to be a fee given to the bus company/driver....probably in the range of $2,000 to $3,000 to even out the whole cost.  So I'm wondering....who else in the game and  paying the extra fee to make this all work for just $60.

As for Costa Rica....border to border?  513 km....roughly 8 hours of driving.

That Nicaragua drive....around 320 km, and four hours.

Bus-to-bus-to-bus, the whole route?  I'd take a guess that with a 4-hour layover at each border....you'd need three days to reach the border region of Texas, from Panama and in the neighborhood of $500 for bus action and food.

Walking?  Eighty days....from the jungle to the Texas border.  I can guarantee you....you'd lose about 40 pounds of weight.