Author Archives: Wiley

And the Earth Shook: My 3 Week Motorcycle Adventure in Ecuador

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Earthquakes, Andes, Volcanoes, and more…..

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Looking for a lot more of this, somewhere in the Andes between Mindo and Otavalo

So, after spending 2 years driving around Latin America while living out of my Van, I returned to the workforce to be reminded it sucks.  I needed desperate relief, so last year I took a 3 week vacation to Thailand (A Tale of Highs and Low-Sides: My 3 Week Motorcycle Adventure in Northern Thailand), but I felt Thailand was just too easy.  This year there is no wussing out, it’s back to Latin America, Ecuador to be exact.

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A Tale of Highs and Low(sides): My 3 Week Motorcycle Adventure in Northern Thailand

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Mae Aw

Mae Aw

Ok, so this isn’t overland in a van, but it is overland travel I just ditched two of the wheels, but for some reason I still get traffic on this website so may as well keep spreading the travel bug. I turned off the notifications since it’s not the van, but if you’re lucky enough to have found this page get ready for more of my awesomeness, and check out my 3 week motorcycle adventure in northern Thailand.

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F This Sh!t, Im Going Home

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At least I had some shade

At least I had some shade

To hell with those other guys, praise Sir Issac Newton, gravity is great! After what felt like 40 days in the desert, I was finally able to get the wheel off the van, find some brake fluid, clamp off the bad caliper, and gravity bleed the brakes, yes that little bit took 5 days. Everything is slow down here, and there was lots of running around, not to mention I couldnt get the other wheels off to even check the other brakes for their condition even though I used 1.5 cans of PB Blaster on them and had a breaker bar. A special thanks to the guy who rotated my tires for me really getting those lugs on good and tight…I really appreciate it! Continue reading →

The Death of Joselito

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Surfs up!

Surfs up!

Ooook, it’s been awhile, you probably think I am in Ecuador or Peru by now. In the past two months I have managed to drive 5 kilometers or so from Tayrona National Park, or roughly 4-5 hours from my Colombian starting point of Cartagena. The Swiss couple from the crew had mentioned they were going to head north and check out a surf camp last I had talked to them. The Australian confirmed this when I bumped into him in Tagonga. Well I didn’t see the surf camp they were at, so back tracked and stopped at a different one I had seen just outside Tayrona, turns out there basically next to each other..

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Colombia, where are the kidnappings, bombs, and murders??

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Colombia

Colombia

People thought I was nuts when I said I was going to drive through Mexico, and fucking crazy for going to Colombia. Yes its true, back in the day, from the 90’s and early 2000’s, there was a pretty significant safety problem in Colombia. And yes it is true that there still are areas where safety is a problem. Take Cali for example, it is a relatively safe, fun city, yet just last year in 2011 there were bombings and kidnappings, and recent a bombing in Bogota of May 2012. Continue reading →

Batten Down the Hatches, Im Turning 25!

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The Independence

A quarter century on this planet, what better way to celebrate turning 25 than relaxing on the beautiful islands of San Blas while sailing from Panama to Colombia. Thats right, sailing…cause only bitches fly. I had previously considered sailing from Panama to Colombia but also read horror stories of delayed boats, terrible weather, and problems getting to Cartagena once actually in Colombia. This would really F’ up the scheduling with shipping the van across the gap as I had to be in Colombia by Tuesday to start the process, so initially I wrote this plan off. Continue reading →

Turns out it’s harder to kick someone in the face than I thought

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Nicaragua: Leon and Grenada; and Panama: Playa Teta and Panama City

As mentioned it was a mad dash through Central America, one which turned out to be even quicker due to a last minute plane ticket home, to see the family one more time before jumping the gap.  To the surfers, I apologize for the lack of surf content.  For one thing, when there were waves, I was in the water rather than taking pics of them, I am sure you can understand.  Second, as you can guess, there are no secret spots left in this modern world.  I hope to get pics of beautiful beaches with waves, but wont be saying where they are aside from which country, you can find that info all over the internet.  There have been countless beaches that were empty, but just as many ruined by one or more resort complexes or giant gringo homes.   Continue reading →

Breakin Attempt No. 1; AKA Welcome to Honduras

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Honduras: Coban Ruins, El Ceiba, Roatan

Well, the 1st 24 hours in Honduras were relatively pleasant, especially considering the reputation Honduras has, but naturally that would all change soon enough.  Land of the corrupt cops, many overlanders fear Honduras, and the only reason they enter it is the fact that it is impossible to drive to the rest of Central America (Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama) without crossing through it.  Most trip reports I read consist of people crossing at the infamous El Amitillo border crossing, and making a mad dash to freedom.  Now each persons experience is almost always different no matter what border they choose, but this crossing consistently brings about horror stories of corruption and hassles, sometimes paying fees as high as 200-400USD, nowhere near what you should be paying to cross the Honduran border.   Continue reading →