Question A for the traveler: “Where do I want to go?”

Question B (which requires less daydreaming & more planning): “How do I get there?”

Now I’m not talking about the vacationer. Those who have 2-3 weeks/year away from work, that represent that majority of people. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the working class and their travel patterns, they make the world go round (and who doesn’t like to go to a resort?). But their traveling transport problems are usually solved with a roundtrip flight & guided tours/excursions.

I’m referring to people who travel more long-term, and those who may not use travel agencies to plan their trips. Those with tighter budgets. Those who have maybe chosen travel as a lifestyle. For us, answering Question B can be, how do I say it…..a little more creative?

Besides the planes, trains, & buses, I’ve taken almost every method of transport imaginable. From a 2-day slow boat down the Mekong and racing tuk-tuks, to hitchhiking & catching Soviet passenger trucks loaded WAY over capacity in Cuba, I’ve done everything I could to get from point A to point B.

It’s been plenty of fun & I’ve gotten where I need to go, but you know what? I’m tired of depending on other peoples’ schedules, time-tables, & defined routes.

So what ya gonna do about it, buster?

When I moved to Costa Rica 2 years ago, I sold my car back in the States. I didn’t miss it because I didn’t need it. I was too busy trying to learn Spanish and adapt to life in a new country. I didn’t have time to drive. Shoot, I could barely catch the bus!

My best investment in Costa Rica: $40 bike

But after living & backpacking around Central & South America for over a year, my girlfriend & I had a realization on the beaches of Oaxaca, Mexico one day. We decided that we wanted full control over where we go, when we go, and what we do when we get there. We want to be able to truly get off the beaten “gringo” path. We want the ability to find those communities & individuals in need that may not be on the internet or the church sponsorship list.

So I bought another car. And we’re going to drive the Pan-American Highway with it.

Fonte: Wikipedia

The Pan-American What?

The Pan-American Highway. The ultimate road trip. Driving the Americas. Driving to the end of the world.

The Pan-American Highway is a series of highway systems that stretches the entire length of the Western Hemisphere – from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska all the way down to Ushuaia, Argentina – the southernmost city in the world.

All 30,000 miles (48,000km) of the Pan-American highway, EXCEPT the 60 milha (100km) Darien Gap stretch connecting Panama to Colombia (and North and South America) are traversable in a vehicle. We went with Toccoa, Georgia for our starting point instead of Alaska, but we’ll be detouring around plenty of side, dirt roads to more than make up the mileage.

Who is doing this?

My girlfriend Giovanna and I, my brother from time to time, and as many of our friends who can muster up the courage to come join us for a week or 2 (I’m looking at you).

Where are we doing this?

AMERICA – North, Central & South.

We’ll be entering Mexico via Laredo, TX, then driving all the way down to Mexico City before making our way through Oaxaca to the Pacific coast. From there we’ll turn east, roadtripping through the jungle & Mayan-ruin mecca of Chiapas up to the Yucatán peninsula before passing into Belize & continuing south through the rest of Central America and on to South America.

When are we doing this?

Below is the rough Itinerary. You’ll notice only the shorter-term plans are specific. The rest of the details will materialize the farther we travel down the road, and we’re keeping all our options open.

October 22nd – Cross border into Mexico via Laredo/Nuevo Laredo, drive to Monterrey & stay for 2 days.

October 24th-28th – Driving south to explore the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi (I dare you to Google image Huasteca Potosina)

October 29 – Drive to Mexico City in time for Día de Los Muertos

Día de Los Muertos in Guanajuato

November/December – Central Mexico (missions work in Mexico City, Valle de Bravo, Christmas vacation in Guanajuato & Acapulco)

09 de janeiro – Pegando meu amigo do aeroporto da Cidade do México e, em seguida, dirigindo para Oaxaca.

10-23 janeiro – viagem por estrada através dos estados de Oaxaca & Chiapas com Will Oliver de BBB Paddling fama. (espero que o primeiro de muitos amigos para vir encontrar-se com a gente ao longo do caminho)

Finais de janeiro–meados de fevereiro – Voluntariado em Chiapas (Eu te desafio a imagens do Google Cañon del Sumidero or Água Azul Waterfalls). Ou você pode apenas assistir a este vídeo abaixo:

Março / Início de Abril – O trabalho temporário em Playa del Carmen, road trip Yucatán & Quintana Roo no nosso tempo de folga.

meados de abril – Condução em toda a fronteira com o Belize

April–O fim de 2016 – América Central! (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama)

Final de 2016 / início de 2017 – Transportar o 4Runner em um contêiner de carga em um navio do Panamá para a Colômbia

2017 – Ámérica do Sul! (América do Sul – Colômbia, Venezuela, Peru, Equador, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Paraguai? Uruguay?)

Fim do 2017 – Viagem termina o fim do mundo – Ushuaia, Argentina. Um maciço cherry-on-the-top, celebratory trip to Patagonia with all the best outdoor activities & all the coolest people involved.

Why are we doing this?

 

ADVENTURE. SERVING. FREEDOM. GROWTH. GIVING. LEARNING.

These are a few of the words that come to mind. As I mentioned before, having the ability to travel where we want to and when we want to is going to open up a world of possibilities for us.

We’re done with traveling for leisure. Yes we’ve volunteered with various projects & charities over the years, but much of our travels have been for self-fulfillment & enjoyment. Not that we’ve been selfish or anything, we just want to travel with more of a purpose.

We’re on a mission to plug in to communities & help people. We’re on a mission to serve the disenfranchised & needy, and we’re ready to get our hands dirty.

Various projects with organizations such as The Salvation Army and the Christian Missionary Alliance are on the books, but we’re also searching for the unknown.

Searching for the orphanage with no resources.

Searching for the indigenous family in extreme poverty.

Searching for the broken & desperate.

Searching for those places that may not have a website or any sort of awareness whatsoever, e we’re going to be very intentional about seeking out those opportunities.

With the “niños” in Bolivia

How are we doing this?

 

Well, we haven’t got all that figured out yet!

Not that we’re totally broke and haven’t done any budgeting or anything, we just have giant aspirations & (very) limited budgets. The good news is that we’re both experienced & resourceful backpackers, and confident in our abilities to make do and find a way. How will we find a way? Here are a few “ways” we’ll find:

• Online resources like Couchsurfing for local interaction & accommodation
• iOverlander e Drive the Americas for community connections & trip resources
• Workaway volunteer projects provide free accommodation & food as part of their model. Na realidade, most places are open to some sort of work-exchange agreement, even if they aren’t publicly advertising it.
• BlaBlaCar for ridesharing. Rather than modifying my 4Runner by taking out the back seat & building a permanent sleeping platform, we’ve figured out a solution to have enough sleeping space by laying the backseats down. This way we can prop the seats back up to carry 3 more passengers & offset gas expenses, whether they be locals, other travelers, or friends who want to come meet up with us on the road from time to time.
• We got a tent.
• We also like sleeping in our ENO hammocks.
• We’ll be cooking with our propane stove as much as possible. The Yeti cooler will keep the veggies fresh.
• Speaking the local language changes everything. As Spanish speakers, cheaper prices, better advice, & more friendly opportunities are sure to come our way.
• Researching places before we go there & using guide books like Lonely Planet. We won’t get conned into paying too much for a tour.
• Wait a second, we’re researching beforehand AND we have our own car? Come to think of it, we’ll be our own tour company (and yours too if you’re smart).
• Working on the road. Gio is an amazing artist. She’ll be using her creativity to make pretty stuff that people want to buy. By the way, você tem visto seu novo website ela está começando-se – www.coloringtheglobe.com? Eu vou estar trabalhando biscates aqui & there (guia turístico? tradutor?) e trabalhando para tornar este blog sustentável.
• É claro que a nossa economia (esta é uma boa coisa para passar as suas poupanças em, certo?)
• Por último mas não menos importante, temos tido a sorte o suficiente para levantar um pouco de apoio, até agora,. Nós não tomaremos esta bênção para concedido.

Isso tudo soa muito bem. Mas você não vai morrer?

Finalmente 99% das pessoas com quem converso sobre esta viagem pensar que estamos fora da nossa mente. Eles me assegurar de que é muito perigoso para visitar alguns desses lugares. They “informar” me do mais recente massacre cartel de drogas. Eles conhece alguém que conhece alguém que tinha um amigo que foi sequestrado.

Não estou negando que vários países da América Latina têm seus problemas com violência. Mas você está negando que o U.S. não faz? Claro que alguns da gangue & Estatísticas do cartel de drogas são brutalmente chocante, mas países inteiros não devem ser anulados por algumas notícias sensacionalistas. Oh yea, coisas como não andando à procura de drogas & usar o bom senso percorrer um longo caminho demasiado (see this article Para saber mais sobre este assunto). Apesar do que Donald Trump diz, nem todos os latinos são assassinos & estupradores. Assim como você não andaria em torno de certas partes do New York City sozinho à noite, nós também vai evitar as áreas problemáticas & situações ruins.

E tão louco quanto isso soa viagem, não é realmente. Há um monte de pessoas que têm vindo a tomar esta viagem por muitos anos. Confira comunidades online como horizontes ilimitados & the afore mentioned Drive the Americas which are dedicated to overland travel. These forums are made up of thousands of people who have traveled the Pan-Am highway, gone where others told them not to, and emerged on the other side with nothing but great stories & friendly memories.

Our road trip machine – “Cielito Lindo”

Want to get involved? Here’s how you can

As I’ve made clear, we are VERY OPEN to ideas, suggestions, dicas, and direction as this trip unfolds. We have made our fair share of connections already, but are always looking for more. We want to know:

Do you know anyone in these countries? Friends? Family? Friends of friends?

Do you have any missions work/volunteering/charity contacts or experience in these countries?

Have you visited any of these countries before? Any tips? Recommendations?

Do you know anyone who may want to sponsor or advertise with us?

AND FINALLY…

Do you want to come meet up with us?

I’m serious.

One of my main goals with this travel blog is to convince people that traveling is safe, affordable, and important to self-growth & perspective. Stepping outside of your comfort zone & traveling to a new country is an educational experience. Especially when you mix in helping others, you’re in for some real personal development & life-changing memories.

I plan to eventually incorporate full package tours through Where’s the Gringo?

If I’m going to convince some of you guys to come traveling with me, I’ll need to help take some of the guess work out of it, certo? I’m planning my own trip in an affordable, yet fulfilling way, and can do the same for you if you give me the chance.

If you see a place you like and are interested to come traveling with us there, we can throw together packages that include all accommodation, Comida, transport and activities such as:

Spanish immersion

Surfing lessons

Getting your scuba diving certification

Volunteering, charity, or missions work

Community development

Culinary experiences

Salsa or other dance lessons

Ecotourism

Hiking mountains, sand-boarding volcanoes, waterfall cliff jumping, any outdoor activity, etc.

Or some good, old-fashioned beach relax time

Keep in mind that both of us have already spent around 2 years traveling through Latin America, already have many friends & connections built up, and have experience in all of the activities listed above. Those places where we haven’t been yet….bem, we’re going there, e planeja fazer mais do que nós amamos. Vamos colher-lo do aeroporto e seguir nosso caminho!

In Closing

Como alguns de vocês devem saber, my brother, a minha namorada e eu embarcou em uma maciça wild west viagem através dos EUA this past summer, e foi a cada pouco como maravilhoso como eu esperava que seria. Estamos animado para combinar o melhor dos dois mundos – a dinâmica da vida viagem por estrada, e as experiências únicas que só a América Latina pode oferecer.

Olhando para um mapa do mundo, esta rota salta imediatamente para fora como a aventura terrestre final. Vai ser a viagem de uma vida, e se você gostaria de ser uma parte dela, please let me know in the comments below, ou enviando-me um e-mail ou uma mensagem. If not, por favor, nos mantenha em suas orações ou seus pensamentos, e claro, fique atento como a viagem se desenrola neste blog e, www.coloringtheglobe.com!

EXPLORANDO AMERICA, NO IMPORTA THE BORDER