Expedición de America Central

Some Concluding Thoughts

2009-04-01T09:01:00.002-07:00

Well the expedition is officially over. I"m typing this on a Denver-bound Delta Airlines flight and it's really starting to sink in. The trip definitely changed when we crossed the Panamanian border - it was no longer about rough roads, interesting towns and new experiences. Deadlines, customs and shipping occupied our minds. Five of us handled the vehicles and the other four flew out on Sunday.

That's not to say Panama wasn't extremely enjoyable - in fact, it was one of my favorite countries. It's a fantastic mix of urban areas and wilderness and the surface was barely scratched. I'm already itching to go back. I'd really like to explore the northern coastline as it's controlled by indigenous inhabitants - you even have to follow their laws when you visit. I mentioned Yaviza in my last post and I can't wait to explore Darien province once things calm down. Outside of Yaviza, foreigners aren't very safe - we were prohibited from setting foot outside of Yaviza's borders. The area is rife with FARC guerillas as they are pushed out of Columbia, although there are a substantial number of lodges and resorts in the area. Most of these aren't accessible by road. I was told the fishing in the area is phenomenal, which really piqued my interest.

One of the less exciting aspects of my visit to Panama was the exportation process. I detailed the process we had to go through to get our paperwork stamped by the police and yesterday we completed the final step. In order to reach the port on time we had to depart Panama City at 7 AM and drive two hours to the port city of Colon. To paint a better picture, Panama City is on the Pacific and Colon is on the Atlantic. They are joined by the Panama Canal (more on that later). Colon actually wasn't a difficult experience - it was just extremely slow. We made a myriad of stops: the exportation office to get our passports stamped, then to our shipping agent to get our bill of laden stamped, then pay a fee to get more stamps, and finally dropping off our vehicles. The drug dogs were actually pretty cool to watch. The first dog was on the smallish side and clearly wasn't paying attention - we soon picked up on the fact that he was just a rookie and probably not even a year old. Soon the officer brought in the real deal - this was a physically impressive and well trained dog. The relief I felt when told I could leave the key in the door and leave was incredible. I felt like I was standing 2 inches taller. We had hired a van and a driver for the trip back which allowed everyone to catch some shuteye.

Scott left with Peter (Peter was our Panamana City guide and a contact of Scott's, not to mention an awesome guy and extremely helpful). Scott was heading to a local bead & breakfast as he was staying in Panama until the vehicles arrived in Galveston. The rest of the day was uneventful as my Dad and I packed our bags and prepped for an early morning.

In a fitting conclusion to the trip, traveling today has been extremely enjoyable but lengthy. That's a (tounge in cheeck) way to summarize Central America. It's a beautiful region filled with natural beauty, awesome people, and incredible experiences. When I was presented with the opportunity to join this expedition, I really didn't know much about CA and considered had considered the region (wrongly) backwards and dangerous. While my perception wasn't totally off the mark, these are of the most compelling regions to go! Backwards may have been a little harsh. Most of the countries in Central America have stable governments and are starting to demonstrate some real prosperity. But it takes time to break out of traditional attitudes and create something that most Americans consider worth visiting. All over we found government officials to be courteous, friendly, and helpful (with the exception of a short, round woman at the Panamanian border). Things just take a lot of time. It's like going to the DMV 15 years ago. Paperwork is all done manually and by hand - they just need to automate a few things.

Central America is definitely at a crossroads. Countries are small enough that building a reliable road network can really alter things for the better. This will alter the flavor and character of CA. The whole region will benefit from tourism and modern infrastructure, but a little of the uniqueness will be lost. For the record, we never felt unsafe at any point - except maybe visiting Yaviza.

Now it's back to reality (sort of). I'll be attempting to restart my life in Denver until it's time to pick up the trucks (sometime between April 8th-10th). Then I'll be driving the Jeep back to Denver for some repair. April ends with me driving to Prescott, AZ for the first Overland Expo. This is going to be cool - an entire expo devoted vehicle-based travel and overlanding (those are both really cool sounding terms for what we did). There's even a chance I may be a published photographer and I think I'll be doing some photo work during the expo (as well as admiring some of the insane trucks that will be around).

I don't regret a minute of the last two months (I left Denver on January 29th). At the time my biggest concern was that I would miss ski season. Times have changed. My biggest worry now is trying to find a way to the remote, wild, and dirty corners of the globe before they're all gone.

And that's that. You have the (admittedly rough) story. Yeah, I didn't post as many updates when I was in Costa Rica and Panama. Yeah, I haven't posted any photos since Nicaragua. But I think I've done an alright job and I hope everyone enjoyed reading it.

Chuck

P.S. This isn't the end by any means - one of the positive things about returning to the states is a stable and fast internet connection. This means high-resolution images covering my entire expedition. Also, a lot of what I've posted has been a simple detailing of the days events. I intend to do a little more reflecting on the various aspects, countries, and events I've experienced and I hope to detail a different aspect in the coming weeks.

P.P.S. Being back in the US is overrated - I found myself eating at a TGI Fridays at the Atlanta airport and came to the conclusion that rice and beans are preferable to Bacon Cheddar BBQ Sliders. Honestly, I think I could have stayed on the road indefinitely. It's not like I have a job or anything.

Canal Zone

2009-04-01T09:01:00.001-07:00

Ok, I've been promising to write more about the Panama Canal for a few days. My opinion: it's one of the most incredible structures ever built. It's really so big it's not impressive. There's no sense of scale until a Panamax (this is the technical term for commercial vessels that are built to the maximum dimensions allowed in the canal) vessel passes through. At that point, it becomes awe inspiring. The sheer scale of the locks is really hard to visualize. These ships can hold 5000 containers. In simple terms, a container is what you see on the back of a semi-truck. These containers are loaded at a port, put on a ship, and then dropped onto a truck.

Ok, I'm going to do my best to describe what the Panama Canal is and what it accomplishes at the same time. Panama is special because the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are separated by only 40 or so miles. If a ship didn't have to sail all the way around South America, this could save a lot of money. This is why it was built (the Suez canal allows ships to bypass Africa and was basically the inspiration for the Panama Canal).

When a ship wants to go through the Panama Canal, it sails to one of the two ports (Colon and Panama CIty). It then drives into a lock, which are present at both entrances. The lock door shuts and the water level inside is raised.This elevates the ship. For simplicity sake, we will pretend that one lock is sufficient. The ship now sails into Lake Gatun. Once Lake Gatun is crossed, a ship enters another lock and the elevation is decreased, allowing it to sail into the opposite ocean. I hope that made sense.

The construction of the canal was a pretty brutal process. The French were the first to attempt it and it was a bloodbath. Eventually, the Americans picked up the pieces and completed it. There's a really good book I'm reading right now called the The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough. It's a really engrossing book and I knocked off about a quarter off it yesterday. I highly recommend it.

Panama and Vehicle Exportation

2009-03-28T16:29:00.000-07:00

Panama

The days are flying by as the expedition comes to a close. On Tuesday I'll be boarding a flight in Panama City and landing in Denver 11 hours later. When I think of Panama, not much comes to mind. This just demonstrates my ignorance - Panama has offered one of the most diverse and interesting experiences of the trip.

Boquete is a small mountain town north of David near Panama's coffee-producing region. The weather was much cooler then anything we've experienced lately (it reminded me of summertime in the Rockies) and apparently many Americans vacation there. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to see much but I can definitely recommend it as a destination.

Our next night was spent in Playa las Lajas at a small hotel on the beach. Sadly, it was our last night on the ocean. The hotel we stayed at had clearly undergone recent renovation and the whole group was all disappointed to leave after one night. The beach was nearly empty and the ocean was the warmest of the entire trip. One or two more degrees and it would have been bathwater. Dinner was particularly enjoyable - we were told to seek out the local German restaurant. A restaurant serving German cuisine seemed out of place in such a small town and we all had a good chuckle when we realized the restaurant was run by Germans and had no German food. Everything was excellent and it was one of the best meals of the trip.

Our next destination was a small town about 100 kilometers outside of Panama City. The local RV Park was run by some American expats and had some very nice facilities (for an RV park). They had a pool, sports bar with satellite, and wireless internet. Unfortunately, we couldn't turn the lights on. The park was technically closed on Tuesdays and if we turned on the lights, his local customers would demand to be let in.

On Wednesday we finally tackled Panama City. The traffic wasn't quite as bad as we feared and after meeting our local contact/guide, Peter, we headed to our hotel. Peter's girlfriend Laura took all of the girls out to the mall while we headed to meet with our shipping agent. Our shipping agent Evelyn is a very short, very round, and very heavy woman. We got all our documents in order and she instructed what forms to fill out, where the trucks had to be, etc. This was the first time we had the entire process laid out in front of us and it was quite a surprise.

Here's a step-by-step list of what the exportation process entails:
1. Meet with Evelyn - very easy. We were told to get the vehicles inspected at the police station, which is in a very dangerous neighborhood.
2. Police Inspection - it turns out the exact process isn't as simple as simply getting your vehicle inspected. When you show up, the police will tell you to come back tomorrow. When you show up at 11:00 AM the next day, you will spend the entire day waiting for this process to be completed. We didn't finish the process until 5:30 PM. James went to go get some ice cream and was told by a police officer to stay in his car and lock the doors.
3. Complete the customs process and drop the truck off at the port - it turns out that the customs office/port is two hours north of Panama City. This means on March 30, we have to get up at the crack of dawn and hit the road so we make it back at a decent enough time to pack our bags before we leave.

It's quite a painful process.

Panama City itself is quite interesting. It's quite compact and is filled with high-rise residential towers and office buildings. We saw at least a dozen tall buildings under construction. One very cool thing is the conversion of military bases into residential areas. When the canal was turned over to Panama, they also received all the US military bases. These have become suburbs for Panama City's wealthy residents. In two or three years it will be quite a city. Unfortunately, the traffic is horrendous. Many intersections have no stoplights or signage and rush hour traffic is brutal.

The Canal is beautiful. I'm going to leave this to your imagination until I make it to the Visitors Center and am able to get some more information. My parents and I went out for dinner at a restaurant located on the Panama Canal. All evening long we were able to watch the ships travel by. It really is an enormous engineering feat. I'll try to give you some more info after I complete my museum visit.

2009-03-24T18:37:00.000-07:00

Our stay at Rafiki Lodge has been very enjoyable.

Our first activity was completing a nature hike with Lautjie. After a hearty breakfast of pancakes, the we loaded up into a truck and drove up into the hills to the trailhead. The entrance to the trail has been carefully camouflaged in order to hide it from individuals who may have intentions other then enjoying undisturbed nature. It was extremely hot and humid during our walk but we saw some very interesting wildlife. The most visually striking creature was a poison arrow frog. The indigenous people used to capture these frogs and then torture them because they release a neurotoxin when distressed. Arrowheads would then be dipped into this poisonous fluid and then used for hunting. They have a black and fluorescent green color scheme which is very visually distinctive.

However the most interesting creature encountered was the leaf-cutter ant. They get their name from the fact that they cut leaves and then take the pieces back to their colonies. One of the very cool things about them is that there are many specialized ants all contributing different abilities. There are trail-clearing ants which patrol up and down the trail they have cut, eliminating obstacles and watching for predators. These guys are big. Then you have the smaller guys that actually do the cutting and carrying of the leaf fragments. There is even a very small ant that rides on top of the leaf fragments to watch for flies.

Rafting was also very enjoyable. It was pretty mellow overall and I think I spent more time out of the boat then in it.

Last night was spent on Playa Las Lajas, where we found a gem of a hotel right on the beach. Sadly, the bar and restaurant are closed on Mondays but we had a wonderful meal at a restaurant run by some very nice German folks. They had just opened and I was the first to order a cocktail called the "Russian Quaalude". Dinner was a very well prepared chorizo. The Germans really know how to cook up some sausage.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day as we get our trucks inspected and attempt to brave the Panama City traffic.

2009-03-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

We made it to Panama. The border crossing was dicey, we had to pay some woman $50.00 in order to import my vehicle. Luckily it all worked out. We spent the night in Boquete and our time in Panama is going to be quite busy as we attempt to make it to the Darien Gap and ship our vehicles home. It looks like I'll be returning to the states on 3/31.

Chuck

2009-03-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

Well, the rest of our night at Lake Arenal was quite relaxing. We didn’t encounter any bags containing bodies. In fact, we experienced zero criminal activity that night. Life went on after our brief but interesting encounter with the police and we grilled steaks for dinner. After our evening meal, Scott put together a slide-show so Anne could get caught up on all our adventures and the group contributed a running narrative. It was the first time most of us had seen his photos so this was actually quite interesting. If he uses 1/32 of his photos, all of the Overland Journal subscribers will be in for a real treat (shameless plug: there’s a remote chance I may end up with a photo published so do myself and Scott a favor and subscribe).

One event of note: I was just about to drift off to sleep when a truck drove through our campsite. This scared the hell out of me until I realized it was probably the police patrolling the area. I was too frightened to actually verify that fact, but it’s a lot more comforting then the thought of someone casually driving through our campsite to drop off a body stuffed into a bag.

Our morning was leisurely and we took the opportunity to drive into the nearby town of Neuvo Arenal for breakfast. Interestingly enough, NA is home to a German bakery. We had stopped by the night before as it was closing and couldn’t get served. The allure of breakfast, internet, and delicious German sausages seduced our group and it was there we dined. The Gringo Breakfast (two scrambled eggs, one sausage, three slices of toast, and orange juice) proved to be a wise choice on my part.

After breakfast, we hit the road. We didn’t get far until we ran into a group of about thirty coatis. These are small mammals related to the raccoon. They were quite friendly and used to humans, almost to the point where it could be mistaken for aggression. One kept walking towards James and just didn’t stop. It was quite a scene. A coati basically looks like a racoon with a long, skinny tail and white vertical stripes along the body.

Most of the drive was fairly ordinary (basically the same jaw-dropping scenery we see everyday) except for a brief excursion through a super narrow residential area where we came close to clipping some 18-wheelers.

Camp for the night was the Best Western Jaco. Jaco is a pretty awful town which I would not recommend. The beaches were crowded, the town was smelly, and it drove home the point that Costa Rica should be seen from a rented beachside house in the middle of nowhere.

Now we’re at Rafiki Lodge. I’ve only been here 8 hours, but it’s pretty awesome. The food has been phenomenal and we haven’t experienced any of the activities but I will stand by my review because it succeeds where every other place we’ve stayed has failed: the waterslide factor.

Rafiki Lodge features an extremely fast concrete waterslide which would never be approved anywhere in the US. This is why it’s so much fun. I must have ridden it ten times this afternoon.
Tomorrow we’re going on a natural history hike. I’m sure I will have some interesting jungle facts for all you guys.

Also, I’ve heard some of you are trying to comment on my entries. It’s pretty hard for me to view these at the moment due to the horrible internet connections I’ve been using. Keep commenting and I’ll check them out and respond to them as soon as possible.

Chuck

The Rich Coast

2009-03-17T20:50:00.000-07:00

Life is good in Costa Rica. We’ve spent the last two days on the beach near Playa Tamarindo soaking up the waves and the sun. Our border crossing was smooth, but lengthy. Unfortunately it was the last step in the process which took the longest. We ended up getting in line behind a group of Nicaraguans with incomplete papers but once they got their act together, things went swimmingly.

Costa Rica has a heavy American presence. One doesn’t just see lots of white folks wandering around - you find American brands, stores, and eateries. This is quite a contrast with the countries we’ve travelled in previously. Not even Mexico has such a heavy American presence. I enjoyed a wonderful BBQ Bacon Tendercrisp sandwich at the local Burger King location in Liberia.

After picking my mom up, we grocery shopped and hit the road. Playa Tamarindo is less then 2 hours from Liberia so it’s a fairly busy place. Lots of surfers and other assorted tourists on the beach. Interestingly enough, when we pulled up on Sunday it was absolutely swamped. After some preliminary recon work, we found some public beach access where we could set up camp. The only caveat was that we had to avoid a sea turtle nesting site.

Monday was spent simply, with lots of time spent swimming and relaxing. I did some reading, went for a walk, and swam. The surf camp next door prepared us a tasty lunch and we met some American ex-pats who filled us in on life in Costa Rica. One very cool thing about our campsite was the amount of hermit-crabs crawling around. Each evening around high tide all of the crabs would begin to come out of their burrows and hunt for food. If you waited until after dark, you could find some really big ones running around. Dinner was a simple affair. We grilled some chicken sausages and enjoyed the relaxed pace of life.

The great thing about these small Central American nations is that even on our travel days, we still have time to stop and enjoy the day. Today was Scott’s day and per his request, we stopped and completed a canopy tour (these things are great and I’m pretty sure everyone would have wanted to do it anyway). A canopy tour is simple: you scale a large tree and travel through the forest canopy on zip lines. This one had 11 different platforms and featured one line where you could traverse upside down. We saw some wildlife as well - a massive iguana and some howler monkeys relaxing in the shade.

At lunch we discussed how we should (tentatively) spend the rest of our time in Costa Rica. John and Tammy felt strongly about traveling down the Pacific coast so they are doing exactly that. The rest of our crew decided to travel to Lake Arenal.

The drive was beautiful. It’s very reminiscent of Lake Geneva. There are lots of very interesting small coffee shops. We stopped at a very nice establishment called the Macadamia Farm. After enjoying the leisurely drive to our beautiful campsite on the lake, we had one of the most interesting events of the trip occur.

The group was enjoying cocktails when a dented old truck passes us. Soon a police truck passes us and turns on it’s lights. We speculate for about 20 minutes until the two trucks leave. The police truck stops to talk to us and asks how long we’ve been here, how many people have been here and what kind of cars they were driving. Soon Scott and James receive this message “If you see someone dumping a bag containing a body in the lake, let us know. There has been a homicide. But this is a very safe area to camp. Tranquil.”

Interesting, eh?

2009-03-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a relaxing couple of days on the road so far. We spent the entirety of Friday hanging out on the beach and essentially doing nothing. I spent my day reading, drinking beer and swimming. What else do you need? I did manage to work out some of the kinks in my Jeep with Scott's help (actually he worked out most of the kinks with barely any of my help). The drag link is now straightened so I can turn left again and we tightened some screws on the rooftop tent. It turns out the fiberglass wasn't shaped right on the topper and some of the temporary fixes made at the shop are starting to fail. I'll be alright for the rest of the trip but the Jeep needs to hit the shop for some serious maintenance when I hit the states.

Unfortunately, my stomach hasn't been cooperating with me very well lately. It started late Thursday night and peaked Friday evening. Good thing we're packing antibiotics. I started a Cipro regimen and thinks have been clearing up nicely. I must have eaten some questionable meat along the way.

Yesterday we arrived in the town of San Jorge. It's a small village mostly known for providing a ferry to Ometepe. Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. It's an intimidating site, as it rises directly from a very flat area. We didn't get hear early enough to make to take the ferry over to the island but we did get to view it.

Today my mother makes her return to our journey. We're crossing the border into Costa Rica and picking her up in Liberia. Hopefully all goes smoothly.

Chuck

Bats in the belfry

2009-03-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I’ve finally had a chance to experience what Nicaragua is known for: the beach. The next 36 hours or so are being spent on the Pacific side of the Nicaraguan coast and I can see what all the fuss is about.

Last night we camped at the edge of the Masaya volcano. Normally, this isn’t possible but we had read about it happening on certain occasions. They didn’t want to let us camp there, but Scott’s credentials and our encounter with the Minister of Ecology helped us secure spots for the night.

The highlight of the night was our descent into a cave home to 20,000 bats. We spent about an hour and a half doing a pretty nasty overland trail near the volcano. The track we took had previously been open to tourists, but seismic activity had caused the track to shift and it showed. I think I shook a filling loose. No one was going to get a truck stuck like in the jungle, but there was a serious chance of damaging a vehicle.

Soon after our trail adventure, we put on hard-hats and descended into a hot, humid cave home to a multitude of bats. If everyone turned out their lights, you could feel them flapping around you. The fact that none of us was hit by a bat is a testament to their echolocation skills. The floor was also covered in bat guano so one had to tread lightly. The cave was easily one of the best experiences on the trip. Absolutely astounding.

The rest of our evening was interesting if not quite as exciting. We descended into a lava tube and viewed areas which were used for ceremonial purposes by indigenous peoples. The evening’s activities concluded with the group scaling the rim of the volcano and peering down into the clouds of toxic gas, hoping to catch a glimpse of red-hot magma below us. The winds were in our favor and we were able to see a fait red glow at the bottom of the volcano. The fact that we were even able to see it is amazing considering we were 260 meters from the bottom.

Today was spent driving to our current location of Las Salinas, a quiet beachside town home to a number of surfing camps. Our trucks have taken a heavy beating and decided collectively that today was the day to break down. Luckily we’ve been able to resolve almost everything and I think tomorrow will be spent relaxing and unwinding.

Chuck

Leon Pt. 2

2009-03-10T23:13:00.000-07:00

Today was a busy day in Leon. I managed to knock out about three museums today. The first was the local art museum, which mainly consisted of Central American artists. It also featured several sketches from more well-known artists like Picasso, Miro, and Chagall. Considering it cost less then two dollars to enter, it was definitely worth it.

The second and perhaps most interesting museum was the FSLN Revolution museum. This is a museum dedicated to telling the story of the FSLN (Sandinista Revolution). It's about as close to raw history as one gets - the exhibits consist of xerox'd newspaper articles arranged on the wall and our tour was conducted by an former Sandinista fighter.

The third museum was an entomological museum run by a Belgian man. It was small and personal, with the exhibits consisting mostly of insects that he wasn't cleaning or cataloging. Very cool.

My Dad and I grabbed a couple of beers at the near-by Cedar House, which is run by a Canadian. It felt good to watch some of the World Baseball Classic while drinking some brew.

That's it for the day. Tomorrow we head for Masaya.

Guatemala Pt. 3

2009-03-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the third and final installment of the Guatemala trilogy.

This is what we woke up to at our second campsite. We camped at Holmul, an unexcavated Mayan city. These cities are a dime a dozen and unfortunately the Guatemalan government doesn't have the funds to dig these up. Mexico has realized the tourism potential of these cities. Holmul was full of mounds like one pictured below, which are actually buried Mayan structures.

The Jeep. This is what I usually sleep in. The roof tent is unfolded in this shot.

My father found it particularly amusing to have me stand next to this Help Wanted sign, which was found in the middle of the jungle, miles away from anywhere.

Boats cruising on Lake Peten.
A shot of Isla Flores.

This concludes Guatemala.

Guatemala Pt. 2

2009-03-10T21:36:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the second installment of my Guatemalan adventure.

This is the best preserved Mayan steamroom ever found. Yes, the Mayans enjoyed a good steam. Not pictured is the cute Spanish architecture student who was sketching each individual brick. Apparently girls are really into Mayan architecture.

Some cool foundations with a large temple in the background.

A very cool temple. You can see areas where it's been fully reconstructed compared to areas where other phases of construction have been exposed.

This is what our trail looked like. Vegetation was closing in on all sides.

The view out of the passenger window.

Guatemala Pt. 1

2009-03-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

The next couple of posts will highlight our trip into the Guatemalan jungle. This was the real deal.

Below is our first campsite. We didn't get here until 10:30 PM. Obviously, this was taken the morning after. Not pictured are the staff buildings located nearby - this is the site of ongoing Mayan excavations.

I don't think this photo needs an explanation.

This was a phenomenal temple located in the city of Nakum. The modern excavation and renovation techniques really shine in the next couple of photos.

The lower levels of a temple:
A partially reconstructed wall:

2009-03-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

Here's another photo update. This post should provide a visual dictionary to our time in Belize.

This is one of the best photos that I've taken on this trip. This was taken on our way to 5 Blues Lake after we made a wrong turn.

Our camp the next morning.

5 Blues Lake. Taken during an early morning hike.

An absolutely mint Defender. This truck was so gorgeous. After visiting 5 Blues, we stopped at a facility operated by a Land Rover enthusiast who only dealt with Defenders. He had an astounding collection.

He even had a couple of Camel Trophy vehicles. These were beauties.

Stay tuned for the next episode!

Exit Mexico

2009-03-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

After a lot of promises on my part and even more waiting on your part, I'm finally uploading some photos to satisfy your visual cravings. This first post is made up of images from our last stop in Mexico, a resort called Costa de Cocos.

Scott's Jeep enjoys the Yucatan sun:

Nice scenery, eh?

Dave's LT cools off in the shade:

My father contemplating the next step in our journey:

Group shot - notice that I'm not exactly among my peers.

Thus ends Mexico.

Catching up

2009-03-09T22:57:00.000-07:00

I hope this isn’t too confusing, but I’m going to go back and talk more about Honduras even though I’m currently in Nicaragua.

We crossed the border and entered Copan Ruinas on March 5th. The narrow streets of the city center proved to be a formidable challenge for the LT so Dad waited near the entrance while James, Scott and I attempted to find a suitable establishment. We did find an enterprising young man who tried to help us find a camp site, but the one he showed us was a public campground which did leave a lot to be desired. Luckily, we passed a hotel on the way which offered secure parking and proved to be a nice joint. After getting settled, we headed into town for a few hours.

One of the highlights of Copan Ruinas was a restaurant called Lola’s. It straddled the fine line between having some native authenticity and catering strictly to tourists. When you enter, it does sort of resemble a chain restaurant - goofy stuff on the walls, lots of license plates from the USA - but once you realize you are actually eating in Honduras, that feeling quickly disappears. Don’t take my word at this, but Mexico was the last country we visited with a strong culinary that seemed to have a strong culinary tradition. In hindsight, I kind of viewed these countries as sort of being similar - when in fact they all have their own cultural distinctions. It only makes sense that they wouldn’t have a lot of the same cuisine. A lot of Central America seems to revolve around beans and rice - which is absolutely delicious by the way.

Since we had eaten in quite some time, Lola’s ended up being an extended lunch/dinner combination meal. The crew wandered around for an hour or two and then headed back to the hotel. John had purchased some very good rum in Guatemala which we enjoyed before bed.

After a solid night of rest, we explored the Mayan ruins of Copan. We hired an English speaking guide named Saul. He proved to be an excellent guide and it was a very enjoyable way to see the ruins. We needed a little variety after seeing so many.

After spending the morning at Copan, we loaded up the trucks and attempted to find the first microbrew established in Honduras. That didn’t work. We ended up camping next door after the microbrew/b&b was full. The next day, we crossed the border into NIcaragua.

Today (3-9-09) we drove from the town of Esteli to Leon. Our campsite last night turned out to be a private country-club. A fellow overlander had recommended the site and when we pulled in, it was being used for a private party. After negotiating with the guard and spending a couple hours in town, we managed to worm our way in and actually set up camp on the tennis courts. Our vehicles attract attention everywhere we go, and this was no exception. Several of us spent an hour talking with the Minister of Ecology for the country of Nicaragua, who happened to be attending the party.

Today we drove the second biggest city in Nicaragua - Leon. I’ve never encountered roads like this before. They were practically off-road trails. I’m talking about potholes so big they could swallow my Jeep whole. Luckily, the potholes didn’t last the entire drive and we made it to Leon by 1. The group spent the day lounging and taking care of business.

We have all of tomorrow in Leon and then it’s off to Masaya.

Chuck

2009-03-08T21:06:00.000-07:00

Out of all the countries I've visited on this trip, Honduras has surprised me the most. First of all, the drivers are absolutely insane. I've never been passed at such high speed around blind corners before...and the vehicles passing me are semi-trucks. It was quite the thrilling experience and one I hope to avoid repeating.

Honduras wasn't extremely exciting, but it was extremely pleasant. Our one adventure came when we tried to find the first microbrewery ever opened in Honduras and we ended up driving on poorly-lit (but well paved) Honduran roads at night while it rained.

The ruins of Copan were very cool. The carvings were by far the best preserved of any of the Mayan sites we've seen so far. I'll try and do a whole entry concerning Copan in the near future.

I'll go more in-depth about Honduras soon. I'm beat. By the way, I'm writing this from Nicaragua and it's just about time to get some major beach action in.

Chuck

Hustlin' in Honduras

2009-03-05T17:54:00.000-08:00

Another day, another country - or so it can seem. Today we left Guatemala and entered Honduras. The border crossing was one of the smoothest. This contrasts with what I heard last night from a fellow Cedar Rapidian(!) who mentioned that he was robbed by border guards 5 or so years ago. He did mention he was by himself and that he crossed over at a remote northern border crossing. Our advantage is in numbers - if one of us is held up, we all stop.

Honduras seems cool so far. We're staying in the town of Copan Ruinas. This means Copan Ruins, which is interesting because the actual ruins of Copan are about a 1 kilometer away. This appears to be a nice way to force you to wander through the city instead of heading directly to the ruins. The town is actually pretty nice - it's a solid mix of Hondurans and foreign tourists.

We're heading to Copan tomorrow around 8 and staying until lunch until we hit the road again. Due to the driving distance and the supposed difficulty of bringing vehicles into El Salvador, we're going to abandon that plan and spend extra time in Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. While we won't get to "touch 'em all" (visit every country) we will get to spend more time on the beach.

Chuck

Blog goofiness

2009-03-04T16:57:00.001-08:00

For some reason, my post "Last Day in Guatemala" was posted before "Jungle Fever Part 2". It should be the other way around. Odd.

Jungle Fever Pt. 2

2009-03-04T16:31:00.001-08:00

The next morning we had the opportunity to explore the Mayan City of Nakum. This city is still being actively excavated and renovated. The buildings are beautiful - they look much more authentic then what we had seen before. Many of the reconstructions we have seen were done in the ‘60s and ‘70s and use modern cement and building techniques, which takes away from their overall look. Scientists have been able to reconstruct the recipe of Mayan cement and this is being used to restore Nakum.

The archeologists have done a fantastic job excavating the structures as well - the site looks much more natural then many of the others we’ve seen. There’s still plenty more to find - there are dozens of mounds which are actually buried Mayan buildings littering the site. We encountered a very nice Spanish team of architects and chatted with them for a few minutes.

Then it was time to load up the trucks and head into the jungle for some overlanding. I had a fantastic time plowing through muddy trails and scraping through narrow spots. The other Jeep got stuck and we did get to break out our winching gear for a quick rescue session.

The turn-off onto the trail was totally overgrown. We actually drove right past the entrance because it was so overgrown. In hindsight, we should have known that this would be the exception rather then the norm.

As soon as we hit the trail, we knew things were going to get a little interesting. The pace was slow as vegetation had to be hacked away and trees were blocking the road regularly. I initially sat in the truck with my Dad and really had no idea what was going on up ahead. After an hour or two I decided to go offer some help to Scott, James, and Cyril who were attempting to clear the vegetation from our path.

It was hot, sweaty, hard work. I was mostly support at first - Scott and James would swing machetes and clear minor vegetation while Cyril would carry the chainsaw in case we came to any fallen trees. We went on like this for hours. I was able to shoot some footage for Scott as he guided a Jeep through a tight spot. I even got the chance to swing a machete for a while. These things take some experience before one becomes proficient at swinging it. I soon discovered that the key to using a machete effectively was efficiency - swing only at what’s important or you will quickly tire out your arm.

This continued until about 9:00 PM. I became a flashlight caddy for one of our expedition members as he hiked ahead to clear minor vegetation. It’s quite an experience to have only a dying Maglite and a headlamp for illumination in the pitch-black jungle. Night time in the jungle is also incredibly noisy - you have insects, birds, and nocturnal mammals all becoming active. I have to admit I was a little nervous at first but quickly became used to it.

We were ravenous by the time we reached camp. Cyril came to the rescue - he had brought his gaucho (basically an Argentinean cowboy) grill and ten pounds of Argentinean meat. We feasted.

I should discuss our campsite. We camped in what was the main plaza of the Mayan town of Holmul. The thing was, our campsite was almost completely unexcavated. There were two enormous mounds which were actually temples to either side of us.

When morning hit, the group spent some time poking around the ruins before we hit the trail. It was supposed to be 5 hours until we were back to our starting point, but it turned out to be more like 10 hours. We didn’t emerge from the jungle until 4 or 5 at night. By the time we reached Flores it was 7:30 PM.

There’s nothing like eating at a Guatemalan PIzza Hut after driving through the jungle all day. I nearly ate an entire large thin crust Pepperoni pizza myself. It was much too late to try to find a campsite so we decided a hotel was our best option.

Thus ended our jungle adventure.

Last day in Guatemala

2009-03-04T16:29:00.000-08:00

It's been a relaxing couple of days. Yesterday, we were supposed to drive to the town of Antigua but after spending all morning power-washing our vehicles, it was decided we didn't need to have another 8 hour driving day. I certainly wasn't in a mood to drive after spending 3.5 hours watching our vehicles at the car wash. This wasn't an ordinary car wash though, it specialized in cleaning vehicles that have spent time in the jungle. Manuel (the owner) and his crew spent over an hour on each vehicle - I've never seen a cleaner Jeep.

Serendipity is an interesting thing. I was getting ready to head back to our hotel and pack up when we met a Belizean man named Neal at the car wash. He turned out to own a lodge that has been frequented by overlanders in the past. With our day rapidly being eaten up by errands, the executive decision was made to call it a day and spend another night in Flores - and we would stay at Neal's lodge.

Well, we made the right choice. The lodge was awesome. The coolest feature is a restaurant with a deck that overlooks Lake Peten and has an absolutely stunning view. He let us drive our vehicles onto his property and guests can stay in some nice bungalows he has built. The name is escaping me, but I'll post when I recall it.

Tonight we're staying at a placed called Bruno's near the Honduran border. The drive today was simple and only took a couple of hours which was very nice. Tomorrow we're camping near the Mayan city of Copan. Big photo updates coming soon!

Charlie

Jungle Fever

2009-03-03T18:19:00.000-08:00

Part 1.

After a solid night of sleep after our jungle adventure, I think I’m rested enough to describe our trip.

We left Belize on Saturday and crossed into Guatemala. Border crossings are all similar and involve two things: lines and paperwork. This was no exception. We actually have to import and export our vehicles upon entering/exiting so this can take a couple of hours. My dad installed a printer in his truck and it’s really been helpful (photocopies, scanning, etc).

The main “highway” from our border crossing to the town of Flores was a dusty, potholed road that nearly shook my fillings out. Massive craters littered the road and it was almost like driving through a slalom course with all the swerving one had to do. After hitting Flores we enjoyed some Guatemalan chinese food and waited for our guide, Cyril to show up.

Cyril is a Frenchman residing in Guatemala who happens to have corresponded with Scott and agreed to be to lead the expedition. He also has a beautiful mint Range Rover. Europeans travel in style.

After finally getting everything together and soon after leaving we hit the jungle. This road was real deal - it was muddy, narrow, and enclosed by vegetation. Apparently once the dry season hits, they grade the road and 18-wheelers barrel through to do logging. I wouldn’t want to run into one of those on the road.

We didn’t make it into camp until nearly 10:30 that night. Progress was a bit slow and driving through the dark in the jungle is quite the experience. Cyril has been leaving here in Central America for quite some time so he has learned to drive like a local - extremely fast. This even extends to trail driving. Unfortunately for him, we couldn’t quite keep up.

By the time we hit camp, we were all exhausted. Dinner was a few beers and some peanut butter on crackers. I had a good time picking Cyril’s brain about various facts about the jungle. Right after he described the difference between cattle mutilated by a puma and cattle mutilated by a jaguar we started hearing a horrific noise off in the distance. We didn’t find this out until morning, but the cause of the ruckus was howler monkeys. These things are louder then you can imagine. I just found out that they are the loudest animal on land.

The next day is when we started encountering real action. The morning was a lot of fun and I got to hit some serious mud in my truck. After lunch, everything changed.The trail we hit had been abandoned for a year.

2009-03-02T21:48:00.000-08:00

After three long days we’re finally out of the jungle. It was an incredible experience but an extremely tiring one. We spent spent yesterday hacking our way through an overgrown path that hadn’t been touched in over a year. This was honest-to-god bushwacking - we used two machetes and a chainsaw. It took us all day, but we finally got to our camp at about 9:30 last night. Today wasn’t as physically exhausting but it was long so I’m going to keep this entry short and I’ll detail the full experience tomorrow.

Calakmul photos

2009-02-27T22:27:00.000-08:00

Here are a few photos from the Mayan city of Calakmul we visited.

Today was a light day - a short drive from the jungle to our current campsite. We did have a chance to look at some pretty awesome Land Rover Defenders. It's a shame you can't get one in the US. Tomorrow we cross into Guatemala for some intense jungle action.

Welcome to the Jungle

2009-02-26T19:20:00.001-08:00

OK, my prior statement that “we are now camping in the jungle” was a lie. I didn’t mean to lie on purpose, it was mostly due to my own ignorance. We’re spending the night at 5 Blues National Park - in the real jungle. This quote I just overheard in a conversation right now between my father and James really communicates our surroundings: “We are so thoroughly in the jungle right now, it’s sickening.”

I posted earlier today from a coffee shop in Balmopan. Immediately after I finished writing that post, we hit the road. There really isn’t any particular place where one notices the transition from town to jungle. It just happens. Less then 15 minutes after finishing my iced coffee, the road was surrounded on both sides by thick jungle.

We finally got a taste of some real overlanding again. The road to our campsite was about 4.5 miles long and it was rocky, muddy, and had a lot of water sitting on it. Scott got some great footage of yours truly speeding through a mud puddle. We took what we later found out was a wrong turn and ended up at a river near an agricultural compound (basically an orange grove with a couple of small buildings).

I’m not really an aquarium type of guy but James was super thrilled at what we found in the river. James (and his spouse Stacey) has been in Central American many, many times on mission trips but this river was the first time he had seen freshwater tropical cichlids and fancy-tailed guppies in their natural habitat. The fish were beautiful and the enthusiasm was contagious. My description won’t do this image justice, but the river was right next to an exposed rock face covered in jungle vines. Disgustingly cool.

The road to our campsite was through a pretty thick jungle canopy. We’re down the path from a lake which we plan to explore in the morning. As I’m writing this, I’m hearing sounds that I can’t even identify. At least my tent is elevated.

Chuck

You better Belize it

2009-02-26T13:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we left Mexico and entered Belize. The border crossing was cake and everything went smoothly. Belize is tiny, we drove about halfway through the country in just a couple of hours. It's nice to be speaking English again - Belize was under British control until 1983.

We stayed just outside Belize City last night at a resort called the Black Orchid. The original plan was to just pick a Best Western and crash there, as (sadly) my mother left our group this morning for colder climes. Things didn't quite work out that way and we were forced to stay at the number #1 rated resort on tripadvisor. Bummer.

As I mentioned above, Belize is tiny. That meant our drive today is short. We spent the morning at the Belize Zoo, which features rare animals found in the jungles of Belize. It was much cooler then we all expected. After that, we headed to Balmopan to stock up on groceries. We did manage to encounter an awesome coffee shop which is where I'm writing this from. Sometime sooner or later I need to grab all of the locations we've visited and post them.

Tonight we're staying near a hummingbird preserve which is supposed to be cool. Tomorrow, we have a chance to do some work on our trucks and tool around in some LR Defenders. The opportunity to get under our trucks is quite welcome, as we are heading into the Guatemalan jungle in the next couple of days. If something goes wrong in the jungle, it's going to throw a serious wrench in our trip.

That's all I have to report, I'll do my best to post the pictures from Calakmul soon. Enjoy a cold drink for me - I'll be sweltering in the humid jungle soon enough.

Charlie

Teotihuacan photos

2009-02-26T07:12:00.000-08:00

Here are the Teotihuacan photos I promised - they're from a week or so ago during our time in Mexico City. Enjoy!

Pyramid of the Sun. We climbed this bad boy.

Some of the structures nearby. These look like the foundations to temple or residential buildings.

Me at the top. You can see the pyramid of the Moon in the background.

A better view of the Pyramid of the Moon, as well as the plazas and temples surrounding it.

Stay tuned for more updates!

R&R day

2009-02-24T19:31:00.000-08:00

I’m currently writing this beach-side in Mexico with my feet in the Atlantic ocean. Life sure is hard right now.

Calakmul was an incredible site yesterday morning. Scott and I got up early and hiked into the site before it was open. We tried to do as much of the large route as possible - we didn’t complete it but we saw a lot of really cool new stuff. The first route we did really only took us to the money spots and so this was a cool opportunity to visit some of the residential areas. The rooms were actually decently spacious, with an elevated stone platform to sleep on. Life was probably still pretty rough for the rank-and-file Mayans.

Our drive was fairly easy yesterday. The worst part was a 60 kilometer drive on a two lane, narrow road from Calakmul to the main highway. We’re staying at Costa de Cocos which is near the town of Xcalak. The plan here is simple: relax. Our trip has been rockin’ so far, but it’s nice to have other people take care of everything for you.

We also met up with the last members of our crew - John and Tam. They’ve been in the Mexico/Guatemala region for the last six weeks. This now brings us up to 5 vehicles and 9 people.

Well, I’ve got to run. For some reason I’m exhausted even though I didn’t actually do anything all day. Tomorrow we cross our 2nd border and head to Belize. We will be staying the night in Belize City.

Camping in the jungle

2009-02-22T19:00:00.000-08:00

I’m sure you guys are tired of reading this, but we had another great day. We didn’t have to hit the road until 9 AM so we slept in a bit. I had a real breakfast (eggs, sausage, and toast) and life was good.

Our drive was relatively short. We weren’t totally sure about the amount of time it would take because the road was only improved last year. It took us about 3 hours to get to the turn off and then about another hour and a half to get to the parking lot where I’m typing this from.

Calakmul is where the fun started. We arrived during the daylight so we had a couple hours to hike and explore the village. The pamphlet I picked up says it has over 140 monuments and is one of the largest Mayan cities ever uncovered - even larger then Tikal, which is probably the most famous.

Another interesting thing about Calakmul is the fact that it sits in a protected biosphere which is home to one of the largest wild cat (jaguars and lynx) populations in North America. We actually heard a small cat off in the distance during the typing of this post.

I’m not even going to try and begin to describe what we saw - I’ll let the photos do the communication. Unfortunately, the bandwidth on our satellite modem is so expensive I can’t upload them right now. Some of us are planning on doing a sunrise hike so I should have spectacular photos from that.

Stay tuned for a pyramid themed update - it will cover the stuff we saw outside of Mexico City and Talakmul.

Chuck

Son of a beach

2009-02-22T18:57:00.000-08:00

It took a few days, but I’m finally writing this from the beach again. The last 24 hours have been a struggle to reach this point and it feels good to be back near the ocean. My last entry was posted from our campsite just north of Mexico City and we’ve hammered out a substantial amount of distance since then.

The group had a phenomenal Friday morning. Our deal with the Mexico City police on Thursday left a sour taste in mouth, so it was quite refreshing to deal with the RV park owner. She was a very nice lady who offered us no end of navigational advice. We were set on seeing the pyramids at Tahicuouan. It turned out that we were not more then a few minutes car ride from there. We piled into her pick-up (she was kind enough to drive us!) and soon arrived at the pyramid site.

None of us quite knew what to expect and we were all surprised at the size of the pyramid - which is said to be the largest pyramid outside of Egypt. As if this wasn’t impressive enough, they had reconstructed the entire religious center of the city which was centered around the Temple of the Sun. It was abandoned about 700 AD and was treated as a sacred site by the Toltecs and Aztecs who followed later.

By the time we finally hit the road after our enjoyable morning, it was about 11 AM. Our drive was quite pleasant until we hit an impenetrable traffic snarl. After three or so hours, the fog set in. After we left the fog, the rain set in. We lost about half a days worth of travel and didn’t make it to a hotel until 7 or 8 PM.

We found a beautiful hotel right off the highway. Each room was quite sizable and had a private garage stall. Another unique feature was a dumbwaiter that allowed the occupant to receive food without opening the door. Once we saw that the hotel offered rooms in 4-hour blocks, we began to understand why they offered so much privacy and discretion....

Which brings us to today. Today was our longest single driving today, in which we covered 400+ miles over 10 hours. Luckily, the roads were good and we managed to cover all of the planned distance. Tonight our campsite borders a lagoon on the Gulf of Mexico.

We got some travel advice from the owner of our campsite and we’re altering our route. Today was an intense travel day so we’re abandoning our plan of visiting Campeche and instead we’re driving to the Mayan ruins of Calakmul. Not only is this a shorter drive for us, but the road to Calakmul was only paved last year so it hasn’t been inundated with tourists yet.

Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,
Chuck

Mummy

2009-02-19T19:21:00.000-08:00

Enjoy these photos from the mummy museum. It's pretty creepy in real life - they actually add bodies as families can't pay for their cemetary plots.

Guanajuato photos!

2009-02-19T19:07:00.000-08:00

Mexican Prison Blog (just kidding)

2009-02-19T17:31:00.000-08:00

Mexico City is not an enjoyable drive. It's huge, smelly, crowded, and has no traffic laws. Somehow I survived. The vehicles are all in good shape and we managed to stay together which is a feat in itself. The event of the day was our encounter with the police. They flagged down Scott under the pretense of helping him with directions and proceeded to try to ask for $900.00 US. Not good. Luckily, James is good at handling that stuff and we only ended up giving him about $200.00 US. Scott got the cop's information and we're going to report him to the proper authorities.

Tomorrow morning we're visiting a pyrmid and then driving to Veracruz. Look for the Guanajuato and mummy photos to be posted later tonight.

Guanajuato

2009-02-19T17:25:00.000-08:00

Wow, after spending the last day and a half in Guanajuato, I can easily say it’s the best place we’ve stopped so far. It’s an incredibly beautiful city - in fact it could easily be any number of ancient European cities. Guanajuato was founded in the 1500’s by the Spaniards and flourished after the establishment of silver mines in the area. In the 1800’s, the city became one of the birthplaces of the Mexican Revolution. The Spanish colonial architecture has also been beautifully preserved. The Guanajuato river used to flow through the town, but it was diverted and the old underground channels were turned into roads. The feeling of driving underneath a city through a series of tunnels like this really has to be experienced. The strangest and perhaps most famous of the attractions in Guanajuato is the Mummy Museum. The local soil has a unique mineral composition which causes a number of the bodies buried to become naturally mummified. This was discovered in the 1860’s when bodies were exhumed because their surviving relatives couldn’t pay the fee on their grave-spots. Guanajuato decided to make capitalize on the situation by opening a museum where you can view the mummies! It’s really pretty strange. I’ll post some photos of Guanajuato and the mummy museum soon.

In other news, the latch holding the tire rack onto the back of my Jeep decided to sheer off. Luckily, Scott is handy (and clever) and managed to rig a temporary replacement.

Tequila photos

2009-02-18T19:54:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of photos from our brief stay in the town of Tequila. It was an interesting city, but we arrived late in the day and didn't have much time to explore. To be honest, a lot of us expected more. That's something I think we'll be dealing with quite frequently - spots that are hyped up will disappoint us and cities we know nothing about will knock our socks off.

Here are our vehicles parked in our "compound" of sorts. Hotel Delicias didn't have enough rooms for all of us so they let us rent the courtyard to park all of our vehicles in. Right behind me is a huge locking gate we closed gave an almost castle-like feel.

For some reason, an out of the way hotel in Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico had some pretty crazy hedges. I took this standing on one of the edges of the empty pool. On the other side of the rectangular hedge in the distance are our vehicles. On the left side of the photo, notice the incomplete wall.

Mexican haircut

2009-02-18T19:43:00.000-08:00

My parents have been constantly harassing me about the length of my hair since we embarked on our trip. A few days ago (in Mazatlan), beers were consumed, the stars were aligned, and I decided to do something about it. Conveniently enough, a Mexican man was exchanging his haircutting services for pesos. Needless to say I took advantage of the situation.

Here's my before shot - I'm smiling because I've had a few beers.

The festivities begin:
My skepticism manages to get the best of me. "What have I gotten myself into?"

This guy was no amateur. You may think a Mexican man offering haircuts in RV parks would scream "rookie" but this guy was all business when he whipped out the massager:

The finished product:

In all honesty, it was a pretty good haircut. I've got something like a month and a half left on the road so I might try and go for the mohawk next time.

2009-02-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Last night after dinner we decided to head into the town of Tequila to sample some of the local spirits. Why? Scott phrased it best "Drinking tequila in Tequila is like driving to the end of the road. You do it because you have to." I don't remember what type of tequila we sampled (it was definetly Anejo) but it was good for the price - we bought the whole bottle for under $40.00. The whole group decided to go (except Anne, who abhors tequila) and the restaurant across the street even stayed open late for us gringos. The tequila was good, but it didn't compare to the Don Julio 1942 some of us sampled in Alamos. I'm not a tremendous tequila fan by any stretch of the term, but if you have the cash-flow, pick up some 1942.

When we entered yesterday, navigating the narrow cobblestone streets proved to be difficult. My dad's LT practically took up the entire road. This navigation difficulty, combined with the lack of secure parking at any of the hotels in town, led us to try to find an area outside of the town. It was looking rather bleak when we discovered Hotel Delicias. Once Scott managed to describe our vehicles to her, she decided to rent us a nice little courtyard big enough for all four of our trucks! We rented one room for bathroom access/shower access. It was one of those travel situations where things went from terrible to fantastic in about 30 seconds. The courtyard here is full of bizarre little hedges and an empty pool. There is also a basketball court where the baskets have no rims.

Today we head to Guanajuato, which is the capital of the Mexican state of Guanajuato and is actually the cradle of the Mexican revolution. Look for more photos soon!

Mas Tequila

2009-02-16T21:23:00.001-08:00

Tonight we're camping in the town of Tequila, which is where tequila was invented nearly 500 years ago when the Spaniards ran out of brandy. It's a nice little town, although slightly disappointing. It was very cool to roll in and see huge tanks with the letters SAUZA on them.

Our drive today was beautiful. Every time we climbed a hill it seemed like we were in a different region with new vegetation. The highlight was driving through lava flows near a dormant volcano.

One thing I've noticed so far while driving is the butterflies that dart by while driving. Unfortunately, these tend to make a large splat when they hit your windshield. Oops, I hope they aren't endangered. Also, today a bird hit my windshield. It made more a "slap" noise and seemed to bounce off of my windshield. We pulled over after paying a toll and there were feathers stuck to the cab of my jeep. Messy!

Bluth family seen south of the border?

2009-02-16T20:29:00.000-08:00

During my drive to Mazatlan yesterday, I saw something unusual. As I looked up from switching tracks on my iPod, I noticed a stair-car driving on the other side of the road. No hop-ons were spotted, but Annyong may have been behind the wheel. Does anyone have Gene Parmesan's contact info?

For those not familiar with a stair-car, it's a mobile set of stairs used to board a large private jet. Here's a photo of a typical stair-car:

Right down by the beach!

2009-02-16T07:28:00.001-08:00

(this was originally written at 9:00 PM on Sunday the 15th)

Ahh, the beach. A wonderful place to spend a few days in February. El Fuerte was...interesting (our campground seemed to be the epicenter of all the local festivities) but it’s nice to be some where new. Today we abandoned (temporarily) the overland trails of yesterday and got back on the highways/toll roads. Of course, some of the toll roads are only marginally better then some of our overland trails - and they’re expensive! Some can be 5-10 dollars a pop. One other thing - the Federales drive very cool Dodge Chargers with a slick blue/white paint job.

Today our destination was Mazatlan, which is known as a hive of tourist activity. The drive went by relatively quickly as we left the deserts of Sonora and entered the agricultural region of Sinaloa. Unfortunately, we only are spending one night here on the beach but later in our trip we will make up for that.

We’re staying at an RV park which is quite nice but I’m getting anxious to really hit the jungle and hopefully get into some more remote territory. Our vehicles have been quite popular among the other tenants here and we’ve made some new friends.

Today we head to the town of Tequila. If you haven’t guessed, it’s a hub of tequila distillation.

V-day in a Mexican campground

2009-02-15T18:58:00.000-08:00

After three days of Mexican highway, we finally had some overland action! After leaving the Hacienda de los Santos, we drove 74 miles to the town of El Fuerte. The drive was beautiful - we spent most of it in the high desert. Picturesque mountains were off in the distance while the road was surrounded small shrubs and trees. Our convoy passed through many small towns and ranching communities during our drive today and it was really interesting to see these small towns up close. Since today was Saturday, kids were running around all over. Our lunch spot was in a vibrant community where families were spending the afternoon relaxing out side. Scott bought a bunch of soccer balls to hand out to kids during our trip, so we gave away our first one.

About 3/4 through our drive, we came to a huge man-made lake and dam. What was particularly interesting was a huge stone statue. A local child informed us this was of the lake god - Lolak.

Tonight we’re camping in the town of El Fuerte. It’s an old Spanish city which was used as a base to wage war on the native tribes. Today, it features a beautiful main square and several old colonial buildings to see. No one is quite sure where the original fort was located, but the town has built a museum on one of the possible sites.

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone viewing this blog. I had no idea, but apparently Mexican’s love to celebrate the holiday - we’ve encountered several folks enjoying the holiday to excess and there was a live band playing next to our campsite for several hours.

As I've typed this, we encountered Lupe. Lupe is an extremely intoxicated Mexican resident of our campground who decided to befriend us. Lupe has also served 3 to 4 years in a penitentiary in Minnesota.

Tomorrow, we head to Mazatlan!

On the road again!

2009-02-14T08:15:00.000-08:00

Our stay in Alamos has come to an end. Today we embark our first overland route and are headed to the city of El Fuerte. It's located in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Yesterday was busy - Scott gave us our first photo lesson which was quite interesting (the subject was correct use of the aperture) and then we explored the city. We had some absolutely dynamite tacos from a little cart near the main square - they were incredible.

Photos!

Here is the main square of our beautiful hotel:

Here's the old colonial church in the center of town:

The incredible lunch mentioned above:

Here's a view of the city from a hill we hiked up:

And last but not least, we have a family photo:

Stay tuned. Remember, you can see exactly where we are using this link: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0GRNI8dEoTsmJMyHcgvfn6hCTYV4uWYET (it should update every 10 minutes and if our position hasn't changed, we haven't moved.)

Chuck

Alamos

2009-02-13T09:39:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we arrived in the colonial city of Alamos. We're staying at a beautiful hotel and the owner is a big fan of Scott's magazine and it turns out the Mexican government is having an economic summit here at the same time. They must have decided they needed my input. It's time to explore the city, I'll post later!

First day in Mexico!

2009-02-11T20:41:00.000-08:00

Well, we've finally left the USA. The border crossing was incredibly easy and none of our vehicles were stopped. Vehicle importation was another story. The process wasn't difficult, but it was time consuming. My dad was stopped and had to run to his truck several times in order to find the proper documents. Our group didn't make it was far as we would have liked due to the time spent at the vehicle importation center, but we did celebrate with some roadside tacos. They were delicious. The rest of the day was spent driving to an RV campground near the city of Hermosillo. Tomorrow we head to the town of Alamos!

Chuck

Rock crawlin'

2009-02-11T10:32:00.000-08:00

Above is a picture of yours truly driving the Jeep through a stream during our rock crawling lesson. This basically taught us how to crawl over extremely rocky terrain.

In other news, I just drove away from the gas pump with the nozzle still inserted into my vehicle. Oops. Luckily I made it out of there without the cashier noticing me. On to the border!

Almost to Mexico!

2009-02-11T08:17:00.000-08:00

2-9-09
Greetings from the Arizona desert. It’s been a busy 24 hours - we’ve packed the vehicles, met the group and driven to the desert outside of Tucson. We’re being hosted on the property of Jim & Roseanne, two friends of Scott (and contributors to his magazine). I enjoyed a delicious steak tonight and between the last two nights, I’m ready to eat something besides beef (delicious, delicious beef).

Much of today was spent behind the wheel - my dad and I enjoyed a delicious breakfast with my grandfather at the The Good Egg in Scottsdale, AZ. TGE prepares delicious biscuits and gravy by the way. The next two or so hours were spent working some kinks out of the air suspension in the Jeep and packing both of our vehicles. Soon enough, we drove out to Mesa, AZ to pick up my mother who arrived from Cedar Rapids. After a supermarket sweep at AJ’s Fine Foods with the rest of our group (James, Stacey, Scott, Stephanie and the Nordstrom clan) we drove to the fine homestead I am currently typing this from.

In the last update, I said I would provide a little bit more information about the training session we completed. Here it is. The program began fairly simply, with a safety lecture. We learned the importance of inspecting your vehicle before each trip and every day while on an expedition. After this we got to the good stuff: driving. The first activity involved pulling a vehicle as close to an orange cone as possible, this was designed to get us familiar with the dimensions of our vehicle. The group then spent time driving uphill on sand, airing down tires, and completing more elaborate driving maneuvers. Equipment is very important during an expedition like this so we familiarized ourselves with advanced four-wheeling options like rear and front lockers, disconnecting the sway bar, and climbing hills at an angle.

After we completed day one, it basically rained until the next morning. Day 2 was spent learning rescue techniques. Once we hit the muddy roads of Central America, this could be super important when one of our trucks gets stuck..

One quick note: this entry will probably be posted much earlier then I can post the photos of our training. The rural nature of my travels prevents me from having the necessary internet connection to upload a lot of my photos - but I will get them up when I can.

In more exciting news, you my up to date location at this link: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0GRNI8dEoTsmJMyHcgvfn6hCTYV4uWYET

My dad has a GPS transponder that transmits it’s location to the link posted above. It’s a great way to keep tabs on exactly where I am. The link will be added permanently to my blog.

That’s all for today, keep checking back for more updates and photos. Tomorrow we cross the border!

Reed - I hope the pillow industry is treating you well. Think of me when you're stuck in traffic on the LA freeway.

Mike & Gina - Good to see you're following the blog. I'll definitely take your advice!

Chuck

Rain in Arizona??

2009-02-09T20:22:00.000-08:00

Wow, who knew it could rain so much in Arizona? Our whirlwind 4-wheel training course was a lot of fun even though it rained most of the time. It really helped me get comfortable with a lot of the advanced capabilities of the vehicle I'm driving - I was also put the waterproofing I applied to my tent to the test. I managed to stay mostly dry. I took some pretty interesting photos of the rest of our training group (there were three other "students" and two instructors in our group, of which only Scott will be heading to Panama with us) which I'll try to get posted soon since my internet connection has been pretty spotty.

My dad and I are currently in Phoenix, AZ. We're staying with my grandparents for the night and pick up my mother tomorrow after noon, after which we head to Tucson to finally rendezvous with the entire group.

Below are the photos I promised in my last entry.

The enormous 41-inch Continental tires on the big rig - these things can handle just about anything. To put it in perspective, I'm 7o inches tall. Do the math.

Here I am in the back of the jeep. It's a good shot of the interior with the tent fully inflated. You can't see where I sleep in this photo.
My rig is on the left and Scott's is on the right. Scott is the big guy in the middle and to the left of him is have Nathan and on the right of him is Jeremy. Many thanks to the two of them for helping us get prepared.
That's all for tonight. Keep checking back and feel free to leave comments.

P.S. AJ - the rig handles fairly well. The visibility isn't the best and it's a bit tall but it's fun as hell to drive on the trail.

Chuck

Prep day

2009-02-07T23:16:00.000-08:00

After an 8 or so drive yesterday, we arrived in Prescott. The drive featured some incredible scenery but with I didn't have a chance to stop and snap any photos, unfortunately. Lunch consisted of a stop at Sonic. Our rather tasty dinner consisted of salmon, rice, and vegetables (thanks once again to Steve and Kathy for having us over for dinner). Steve and Kathy both spend significant amounts of time on a research station in Greenland and brought some ice back after their last stay. This type of ice is unique because it has a lot of gasses trapped and makes a very cool crackling noise when you put it in your drink.

Today was spent at Scott and Stephanie's (Scott is our trip mastermind - he's essentially put the whole thing together and Stephanie is his wife, who will also be our expedition) home putting the final touches on our vehicles. The primary task today was to finish waterproofing the roof tent on my Jeep, which proved to be a bit messy. Once that was finished, the rest of the day had a little bit slower pace as we took care of odds and ends. We met some more of our fellow expedition members and had an early dinner.

I've been trying to post some photos but blogger is giving me trouble - I'll try and throw some up in the morning. Tomorrow we head out bright and early for some 4-wheel drive instruction. Dave has completed the course but this should be new to me.

Cruisin' USA

2009-02-06T06:44:00.000-08:00

Well, it's time to hit the road and head to Arizona. Here's a photo of the vehicle I'll be driving, in "street mode" (ie the roof folded up).

Also, check back soon. I plan on setting up an additional online photo gallery where I can post some hi-res images as well as a way to determine where I am in real time.

Pertinent Info

2009-02-05T20:10:00.001-08:00

Here's some background info my dad typed up concerning our trip - hopefully this gives everyone a little better idea of what's going on:

"We leave the US on February 11th through Nogales, Mexico for a seven-week journey through Mexico and Central America via remote, unimproved roads, visiting amazing historical, cultural and natural destinations in each country. We plan to arrive in Panama City sometime around April 1st.
After placing our vehicles on a cargo ship, we head back to the states.

There will be a total of five vehicles on the trip; one other EarthRoamer JP, a Jeep Rubicon, and a Tacoma Double Cab. Scott Brady, owner of Expeditions West and Overland Journal is our Team Leader. Scott has extensive experience in overland travel and four-wheel driving skills. We have access to a vast network of friends and resources along the route."

Here's our route:
Pretty cool, eh? . I'm not sure what the mileage but I'll try and figure it out.

Elliot - I'll see what I can do about your request.

Snack attack

2009-02-05T18:08:00.000-08:00

Anyone have any snack suggestions for the drive tomorrow? I'm thinking:

Energy drinks
Water (and/or Gatorade)
Chips (and/or snacks such as Combos)
Candy bar
Cookies
Main course: summer sausage and Ritz crackers

When the hunger strikes, it's best to be prepared.

Hittin' the road tomorrow

2009-02-05T17:41:00.000-08:00

Well, the vehicles are packed and tomorrow we hit the road. We've got about an 8 hour drive from Pagosa Springs, CO to Prescott, AZ. The weather's been great here in south-western CO but apparently we could be in for a surprise or two along the way.

Here's the vehicles we'll be taking. I'm driving the Jeep (which has the roof unfolded and the tent inflated - it's inspired by similar vehicles used on safaris) and Dave is driving the big dog in the background. I'll throw up some photos of the individual vehicles later. Please forgive the cheesy father/son pose:

Pretty boss. This is the inaugural post and if anyone has any comments, please leave them and I'll try to address them in a later post.