The book is a Bill Bryson-style travel memoir of me getting into stupid and sometimes dangerous situations driving from Los Angeles to Panama, including getting stuck on the wrong side of Nicaragua during the uprising of 2018. It also contains a ton of historical information on ancient Mesoamerica and some of the modern politics of Central America—basically, anything that piqued my interest in the year+ I spent researching. Also, I eat a lot of delicious food.
Anyone curious about this part of the world should get a lot out of the book as part of a hopefully funny, entertaining read. I hope you enjoy!
I better post this before I get banned for welching on my bet and posting in DC. If I'm banned and anyone wants to go for any part of the trip - PM flopnuts or BRC - they know me on twoplustwo.com and can contact me. More eyes and ears are always welcome. I've got one guy who wants to go - but he'd have to quit his job, so obviously nothing is guaranteed.
I just got back from a photo trip in Patagonia, where we drove a lot. I LOVE the region and South America in general. Never been to Central America but I've had some great trips in Mexico.
I have two jobs and I'm sick of both. I don't think the side job will last much longer, and the day job is about done for me. I probably need to stick it out until the end of year to get my bonus and pay off some 401(k) loans. But unless I get plugged into some interesting projects - I'm gone. I figure there has to be some advantage to dying alone with no kids. This would be the adventure of my life. I'd try to live-blog it as much as possible.
Our photo tour guide from the Patagonia trip is planning a 20-day partial boat tour next May that he's calling "an expedition". We'll get into some fjords in Southern Chile that hardly any one's ever been to - much less landscape photographers. So that's my parameter - be in Patagonia by mid-May.
I've done some cursory research, and it seems pretty doable.
You have to ship your car across the Darien Gap - which is a PITA.
Very rough plan is to drive to Cabo, then take the ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan. Then head South. I'd probably zip across El Salvador and Honduras as fast as possible, enjoy myself in Costa Rica and maybe Nicaragua. I've been to Peru, Columbia, Chile and Argentina and know they're pretty safe. I feel like I'd want to avoid driving in Brazil, Venezuela (govt might seize my car) or the Guyanas. Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia should be fine. I know not to drive at night in sketchy places and find secure parking for my car.
I plan to mostly camp and stay in hostels. I can sleep in my car in a pinch. Maybe splurge on a hotel when I want some extra security for my car. On the way back I may either sell my car or ship to LA or Florida from Colombia.
Prerequisites:
Must learn reasonable conversational Spanish. I know a lot of words but no sentences, etc. I am using this online thing called duolingo. Looking for an an immersion program in LA. There are some Spanish classes by me but they don't start right away.
Lose at least 30 lbs. At 257 - I'm 40-50 lbs over-weight right now. It's just no fun in a lot of ways. I won't enjoy myself unless I get below 230. Plus I hope to get laid a decent amount with my fun story and mad Spanish skillz.
Maximize my social media footprint so hopefully the blog picks up some traction and has a lot of viewers. IE - finish photo website (pretending to sell photos), get active in 500px (2p2 for photographers), start blogging, get active on forum for people doing these driving adventures (forget the name), FJ Cruiser forums, Instagram.
Figure out what modifications if any I want to do to my car. A flat roof rack with a pop-up tent seems really cool. But as I'm going to be jobless maybe I should think about limiting spending. Or maybe some kind of hidden compartment to hide camera gear/computers/etc?
Research, get permits, visas etc. ahead of time.
Big question is whether or not to take my FJ Cruiser or buy an Outback or something for $5k:
Pros:
Great car, nice and high so I can see things developing.
Built like a tank to protect me in a crash.
Can get into fun places like camping on the beach.
I pan to blog the whole thing - so me and my FJ is a fun angle. Me and my Camry lacks the same zing.
Cons:
Everyone says try not to draw attention to yourself. Big ginger beard with CA plates in that car does the exact opposite. (I'm hoping people will think I'm ex-military or something lol)
I am stupidly emotionally attached to my car, and have put some customizations into it. It's got 100k miles so it could easily last me another 10 years. I really would have a hard time selling it at the end, even though supposedly you can get good money in Brazil. Also I know there's a very real probability it doesn't come back from being totaled, or stolen. I have to be ok with that.
15 miles to the gallon/15 gallon tank (yeah wtf) - but I figure I can carry extra tanks.
Any thoughts or advice is mucho appreciated.
I am fine with the idea that I could have everything stolen and have to limp back with my tail between my legs. You don't have an adventure w/o risking something. If I get killed I had a good life. My biggest fears are getting kidnapped or paralyzed in a car wreck. Both seem fairly low probability. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Easy 6:
Isn't it all more or less cartel country?
Without going back through the thread, I seem to recall you having a couple close shaves with shady situations
But I honestly did enjoy this thread, its a legit HOF candidate IMO
Most of Mexico is pretty safe. It's just the areas near the US border, and Guerrero and Michoacan that are problems right now. And I still new tons of travelers who went through Guerrero and Michoacan with no problems. Baja south of TJ, Central Mexico and the Yucatan are as safe as the US.
You generally want to avoid Belize City south of the river, San Salvador, Guatemala City, and Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula in Honduras. But that's not super different than a lot of US inner cities.
My only real close shave was in Nicaragua - which is actually a very safe country wrt crime. But they had protest road blocks blocking all travel. So I got stuck on the Caribbean side for a week, wondering if I would ever get out, then had to talk my way through a bunch of road blocks to make it to Costa Rica. [Reply]
Originally Posted by KS Smitty:
Good bump, I followed this as Suzzer went along. It's an interesting way to travel for sure. Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorland did the South America trip from the bottom up to Los Angeles on electric Harleys in 2019. It's part of their Long Way series that include "...Around" from London to NY from west to east and "...Down" that went along the coast of Africa on conventional motorcycles. Episodes are on Apple TV if anyone wants to check it out.
Good luck on your book Suzzer and keep us informed of future endeavors.
Yeah the original Long Way Round was one of my inspirations. I haven't watched the Pan-Am Highway one yet. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pasta Giant Meatball:
Now the important part....how did he do on the last part of prequisites number 2?
Total fail before the trip. But I did get down to 235 on the trip for reasons I can't explain given I was drinking beer and eating fairly well. Maybe lack of stress?
Then I came back to the states, got a job, and gained weight like I always do on a new job. Peaked out at 280 - an all time high! Now I'm about 256, which is apparently where my body wants to be or something. [Reply]
Originally Posted by suzzer99:
Total fail before the trip. But I did get down to 235 on the trip for reasons I can't explain given I was drinking beer and eating fairly well. Maybe lack of stress?
Then I came back to the states, got a job, and gained weight like I always do on a new job. Peaked out at 280 - an all time high! Now I'm about 256, which is apparently where my body wants to be or something.
I think he actually wanted a "number of times going to bonetown" update. [Reply]
Originally Posted by KS Smitty:
Good bump, I followed this as Suzzer went along. It's an interesting way to travel for sure. Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorland did the South America trip from the bottom up to Los Angeles on electric Harleys in 2019. It's part of their Long Way series that include "...Around" from London to NY from west to east and "...Down" that went along the coast of Africa on conventional motorcycles. Episodes are on Apple TV if anyone wants to check it out.
Good luck on your book Suzzer and keep us informed of future endeavors.
I was inspired by the first two series so much that I decided to do my own 4,800 mile motorcycle trip in 2017. I spent two weeks traveling through NE, IA, SD, WY, MT, ID, UT, NV, CA, AZ, NM, TX, OK, AR and MO. I did all of my driving on nice paved roads though, so I wasn't nearly as daring as they were (or as rich).
Props to you, Suzzer, for keeping track of your journey. I started a journal, but the entries got shorter as the days went by. I wish I would have done better. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bearcat:
Yeah, for me it would mean eliminating all recurring costs here, so either selling my house or renting it out, and then finding a cheap solution for storing stuff.... the goal would be living for less, or breaking even at worst.
It would have to be mine too. But no chance with the side and kids and even in my single days I lived pretty efficiently, so it would be a tough sell. [Reply]
It's basically a Bill Bryson-style travel memoir of me getting into stupid and sometimes dangerous situations along the drive from Los Angeles to Panama. It also contains a ton of historical information on ancient Mesoamerica and some of the modern politics of Central America—basically, anything that piqued my interest in the year+ I spent researching. Also, I eat a lot of delicious food.
Anyone curious about this part of the world should get a lot out of the book as part of a hopefully funny, entertaining read. I hope you enjoy!
It's basically a Bill Bryson-style travel memoir of me getting into stupid and sometimes dangerous situations along the drive from Los Angeles to Panama. It also contains a ton of historical information on ancient Mesoamerica and some of the modern politics of Central America—basically, anything that piqued my interest in the year+ I spent researching. Also, I eat a lot of delicious food.
Anyone curious about this part of the world should get a lot out of the book as part of a hopefully funny, entertaining read. I hope you enjoy!
Good job suzzer! I may have to check it out. You couldn't get me to drive thru parts of Central America without hauling a personal armory with me. I gotta commend you for that. [Reply]
Originally Posted by alanm:
Good job suzzer! I may have to check it out. You couldn't get me to drive thru parts of Central America without hauling a personal armory with me. I gotta commend you for that.
It's pretty safe as long as you stay out of the bad parts of the big cities. Gangs know that cops actually take crimes against gringo tourists seriously (not so much against locals). [Reply]
It took about 4.5 years of working 1-2 hours/day to complete the book. 30% of that was research. The first draft took about 2 years. The second draft took about a year. Subsequent editing took about a year and a half.
I don't think I would have finished it w/o covid and the switch to working at home full time. That freed up 2.5 hours per day just commuting.
I had no idea what I was doing in the beginning. Knowing what I know now and starting from the level my writing is at now, I could probably cut the time roughly in half.
I do plan to do South America soon, and write another book about it. Then hopefully the whole world. [Reply]
