In Retrospect: Maybe Malarone was the Better Option...

Just rocked my vaccinations: Hep A, Yellow Fever and T.D. Polio. Good times. Also decided to go with the Larium (Mefloquine) over the much more expensive Malarone. Saves me some cash, but I might end up with a genuine case of psychosis. Possible side effects include: chest pain (Doesn't seem so bad :), anxiety (I'll be feeling this anyways), hallucinations (Could be good times...), paranoia (Hmm. little dark), tremor (Well, I'll just let Chris drive!), depression (Ok, not so good), panic attack (Sounds serious), suicide (... Really? Thats a side effect!?!). Is it just me, or do these jerks always try to slip the sketchy one in at the end? And how is suicide a side effect? Like really, it will make me kill myself? Hmmm. Malarone maybe wasn't such a bad idea... On the upside, scored some Cipro tabs to kick the squirts for free!
So, pop quiz, anyone have a 1988-1993 Jetta / Golf Diesel with tons of kms and good suspension? I've been looking kinda half-arsed, and although there's a ton of them out there, I'd prefer if someone was like: "Hey Benji, heard you needed a car for your sweet adventure. I've got one you can have for free!" To which I would reply, "Thanks, that's awesome. We'll shoot you a postcard from Panama when we get there!". If anyone would like to playout the above scenario in real life, I'd potentially be open to it.
I've got my app all done for school (UCA), work is nearing an end, and my vaccinations are finished... The countdown has really begun!
B

Mid Summer Update + Darien gap insights

So, work has quickly come upon us, and increasingly Chris and I are finding ourselves unable to devote much mental time to trip planning. Which is fine, as there is not too much more we can plan.

Last weekend I headed down to St. Catharines, where Chris and I discussed which video cam to pick up, we settled on a sweet waterproof one. Hopefully we'll pick it up sometime this week, though my bank account is getting a little thin these days...

My "to do's":

• Get passport (this weekend) √ (Post entry edit)
  
• Get shots (August?) √
  
• Decide for or against sponsorship* X
  

*Although sponsorship is what I do I know how time consuming putting together a decent "sponsorship plan" is...

Hopefully sometime this month we'll get a video up of the car we are currently planning to take, my Bro's old VW golf. I'm sure we'll also follow that up with a poll - cause once you see this thing, you might doubt our ability to make it to Cambridge let alone Panama City.

I also felt I should post some info on the Darien Gap for fellow future traveller Panamerican traveller Serban, who is attempting this same trip in late 2009. I can't remember the site address I copy / pasted this from, but it's got some good info for sure: ... On second thought, this thing is huge and will take up pages of blog space... You can read it by clicking here.

Peace and Love,

B

Episode One: The Panamerican Project

If she ain't loading, click here...

Hello Everyone,

Episode One is finally complete - and I think everyone should know it was completed in one take; we are either that good or that lazy. This should provide you with a brief overview of the places we will be visiting, living and wreaking a little (maybe more ;) havoc upon. Keep in mind that these are predominately just the border crossings! You will also note just how much B really does love to talk- thus the strategy for the next shoot will be to place him furthest from the microphone :), as im sure everyone is quite anxious to hear my soothing yet incredibly rugged voice.

Check it out and give us some feedback!

Stay tuned- as there is a pile of videos, posts and antics in the works

Hope everyones' summer is going well... all the best,

Chris

Some Sort of Flimsy Blog Itinerary

Hello everyone,

So chris and I have now moved out of Ottawa, back to St. Catherine's and Guelph respectively. Upside, I can eat again, downside, It's gonna be really difficult to get our papers sorted out from here. Nearly every country we are gonna pass through had an embassy in Ottawa, and for some things (like mexican car insurance)  we need major advice. So I'd like to ask anyone reading this blog with (*relevant) travel experience in Latin America to please pass your wisdom on to us in the comments or through email. We're gonna need it. 

Over the next few weeks / months gearing up for the trip you can expect a detailed account of our preparations, what *cars we are looking at, which video camera we are gonna purchase (as we plan to make episodes of our adventures and upload them to the blog along our trip), which shots / visas / *weapons will be necessary... And *much, much more. I'd also like to point out that although I asked the lady at the passport counter (who was quite cordial by the way) if my app was okay, it was in fact rejected as Chris was too young to be my guarantor. Jerk. 

One last tangent: I'm thinking of looking for a cause we can support through this trip, so, not-for-profits / NGOs, *contact me. We'll see if we can't work something out.

Peace and Love,

B 

*Relavant = Not: "*giggle*, I once went to Puerto Vallarta, and like, the hotel was sooooo dirty, and this one hot Mexican guy, Pablo, kept asking my friend Trixie, like, where we were from... *giggle*"

*We need a cheap old car, preferably a VW (as they apparently have abundant parts in S.A.), so if you own one and want to off it for a very reasonable price (or want to donate it to the cause of scientific exploration), llamanos!

*Primarily for Hunting, though I'd be lying if I said that protection hasn't crossed my mind

*Eventually, I'll probably start on some ill-fated rant on the economic outlook of "enter-place name-here", I encourage everyone to rip my half-baked and usually uninformed arguments to shreds... if you can (said with evil stare and menacing background music directed at Jonah)

*Email or Facebook is best...

The Journey of a Lifetime

When Benji and I first sat down to discuss our year abroad in 2009, we realized that we had a common desire to take the 6 months between the end of summer and the beginning of our semester and travel. So what did we do? If you know Benji, the obvious answer would be to come up with the most outrageous adventure ever. But it has spawned into much more than just an adventure. This trip will be life changing. Our goal is to look back on our lives and be able to say that we have been able to experience life to its utmost potential and enjoy every moment of it along the way!

The idea is pretty simple; drive as far south as we can and enjoy every moment along the way while overcoming any apprehensions, fears and obstacles. At this point we have come up with a basic itinerary with a few adventures along the way. However half the ecstasy is the spontaneity of it all: Bungee jumping in Mazatlan, surfing in the pacific, roaming jungle territory and saving Benji’s life… as well as saying hola to every cute Spanish girl along the way.

Some may consider it a ludicrous concept that two white boys, gringos, are about to journey through some of the most dangerous, thrilling and diverse environments this world has to offer. However this is the premise of our adventure. Mark Twain once said that twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do; Explore. Dream. Discover. And that’s just what we are going to do.

Check in from time to time and leave some feedback. We are going to continue to update the blog as we prepare for The Great Transamerican Road Trip!

-Tester

Ps. And let’s just be realistic here. Eaten by a snake!? I will be wearing a snake skin hat, boots and loincloth by the time I exit the jungle.

The Inaugural Post

Traveling across the Americas by land has long been a dream of mine; its foundations were laid in a story told to me by my brother: Some crazy guy attempted this way back in the day, driving as far south as possible in a old jalopy on a dare from his buddies. Apparently his car broke down somewhere in Panama, where he had to scrape by for a few months / years to get enough cash for a flight home.

The essential elements of this trip will be the same; traveling south, as far as possible, in an old junker, switching to foot, bus, boat and hitching when it breaks down until the ultimate goal of Patagonia (Although Antarctica is also being discussed). An epic trip. No, more than that, a life changing trip. Planned Itinerary: down through the States (As quick as possible) stopping only to check out New Orleans, Crossing at Nuevo Loredo into Mexico; Bunjie Jumping in Mazatlan; Beach camping down HYW 200; Sleeping amidst the mayan ruins in the Yucatan; Busting across into Guatemala; Racing through Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica until reaching Panama, where we'll ditch our car and boat into Cartegena; Down through FARC infested Colombia until reaching Ecuador; Exploring the Inca trail in Peru, Eating $2.50 eggs, rice and beans in Bolivia; Visiting our IB buddies in Chile; and lastly Bouncing through B.A., Argentina on our way to Patagonia.

14 Countries, 6 months, 2 travelers, 1 great journey; The Great Transamerican Road Trip. Stay tuned, we embark in September.

B