When you set out to travel you have no idea the impact it will have on your life, how the places you see, and people you meet will forever change you. When I was living in Colombia, I intentionally did not discuss one of the most influential people I met while there, as he was a bit of a novelty to some. Continue reading
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
Barichara
Just in case you guys were worried I have had it too easy living the good life, have no fear….I am currently broke down in a desert and havent made any progress in 3 days. Turns out God is real, and that bastard doesn’t have a very good sense of humor.
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..
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
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
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
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
Guatemala: Flores, Tikal, Antigua
Slideshows, Facebook “Like” links, and the email notification has been fixed, welcome to the 21st century! I have added 450 pics of Mexio HERE, its a mix of new and old, just give the slideshow a second to load if you want to check them out.
Yes, you may have noticed a huge gap in posts between the Cancun area and Guatemala. I was considering paying for one more week where I was to enjoy the beach life, I had also been talked into getting my open water certification on Cozumel, and SCUBA diving my way down the Yucatan coast. It didn’t make sense to save a couple bucks waiting for Honduras diving with the amount I would miss in Mexico and Belize, so I was looking forward to it. Continue reading
Mexico: Campeche, Uxmal, Merida, and Cancun
Welcome to the Yucatan, a part of Mexico I had every intention of skipping. For me the problem is Cancun, I hate Cancun, everything about it, and I have never even been there. Another drawback is the heat, its hot here, so hot that on the very first day in the Yucatan the heat melted every single piece of velcro I had on my windows, leaving my windows a sticky, curtain-less mess. Well, if you can handle the heat, and avoid Cancun, it turns out the Yucatan actually has a lot to offer. Continue reading