It’s best to think of Uyuni as an outpost, not a destination or town. Get in, get stocked up, and hit the dirt road outta there. It is a good place to meet other overlanders and Minutemen Pizza is a great place to waste away an evening. For an outpost of a place it has a bit of charm. Continue reading
Part two of a three part series on Bolivia’s wild and wonderful Southwest Circuit.
Journal entry dated October nineteenth, twenty-eleven. Location: 100km north of the Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve boundary.
Plumes of frigid breath float to the ceiling as we lay bundled in our cocoon of blankets and sleeping bags. The sun made her welcome presence known through the camper windows over an hour ago. Yet the temperature gauge stands firm at 15 degrees.
The low grumble of a hungry stomach kick starts the morning and motivates us into life. An attempt at goulash the previous evening, using ground beef bought in Uyuni’s central market, ended in disaster. The dusty town sits at 12,000’ and come to think of Continue reading
Editors Note: this is part one of a three part series on Bolivia’s wild and wonderful Southwest Circuit.
The Salar de Uyuni was our first stop on a ten day journey throughout Bolivia’s incredible southwestern circuit. After stocking up on supplies and fuel, we struck out from the dusty town of Uyuni, a true tumbleweed outpost if there ever was one.
Planning a 25,000 mile journey sounds like an impossible task. People often ask how we could route such a lengthy course. The answer is, we don’t. Our planning goes country by country, often day by day. There are, however, highlights that have been on the map since the beginning. The Salar de Uyuni is one of them Continue reading
Editors Note: This is a recap of our 5 months overlanding in Central America and Mexico. It was originally published on Expedition Portal.
From our 7,500 foot perch, the setting sun has just begun to paint the Boquete Valley a pale pink. We stand halfway up Panama’s highest point, Volcan Baru, nestled in the Talamarcara range, having driven up 3,000 feet until the rocky trail warns us to go no more. Before the warm glow of our campfire envelops us, we pass a bottle of Abuelo rum back and forth. A few carefully placed words break the silence and shift our shared meditation:
Can you believe we have just driven to Panama from our home in San Francisco?
Two Continue reading
It was decided at the start. We would rely on good old fashioned paper maps and a compass to route us through the Americas. That is to say no GPS solution had yet presented itself.
So, we navigated Mexico and Central America using the latest 16th century technology. It proved to be a valuable experience in patience, culture, and geography. We quickly learned Castallano for turn left at the tree and keep straight ahead until you pass a shack. More importantly we learned that Latinos will gladly and confidently provide directions regardless of their knowledge of the route.
We circled many colonial streets in confusion, cursing every municipality from Mexico to Honduras; the camper groaning with the weight Continue reading
10,000 miles since San Francisco and our lifeline overland equipment is well intact. The Tundra and the Bronco 800, despite a few small maintenance issues, are holding their own. When leaving California I had two major concerns: the weight of the payload versus the Tundra payload capacity and the structural integrity of the Palomino camper.
To deal with the payload issue I did what many with truck campers do and installed Firestone suspension airbags to help handle the weight on the rear leaf-springs. They were considerably cheaper than adding an extra leaf and, as published, gave our overloaded Tundra a smooth ride.
10,000 miles later they’re falling apart. Structurally, I’ve broken 4 bolts and found they need to be adjusted Continue reading
While we sped through Colombia and Ecuador a few months ago, we’re finally slowing the pace here in Peru. We plan to exhaust our three month visa and, in fact, we are only a few weeks away from that point. As such, the camping list for Peru is much more extensive and we hope our fellow travelers find it useful. Also included in our How To section are a number of other road warrior camping lists. Buen viaje!
We pulled into Vilcabamba Ecuador, thrilled to find Malin and Espen of UNurban and George and Andrea of ToyoTours. Every year there are only a handful of people driving the PanAm. Eventually you start to feel a familial respect for your fellow overlanders. Swapping road stories over a bottle(s) of wine, reminiscing on border crossings, and sharing future routes is one of our favorite aspects of the journey.
Although our class photo is missing a few outstanding students: SprinterLife, Dave & Ann, Adventurous Spirits, and super seniors Lost World Expeditions to name a few, we maintain an ongoing curriculum. These are our new peers, where peer pressure leads to travel extensions, remote border crossings, and yes, Continue reading
Statistics:
Our impressions of Central America varied as often as the landscape. Leaving Mexico and entering Guatemala was as intriguing and mystifying as we expected. These Continue reading
Halfway there, stay tuned…
