Finally... New Orleans!!!

So, the long awaited Blog Post is finally here! Check the movie for details!

Slow internet, failed YouTube...

Yo, So we've tried uploading two new videos to youtube, but they keep hanging upon reaching 100%. I'm gonna try a new video server tonight, and hopefully we'll get y'all semi on track for were we are currently (Sayulita). We will be in Ixtapa shortly, and hopefully we'll find things take a turn for the better there.
All the best,
B

Long Overdue: Our trip down to New Orleans...

Hola todos,
Yeah, I know you´ve all been waiting on the edges of your seats for this one... Our first real video of our actual roadtrip. Although we are actually in Mexico already (Durango to be precise), we´ve only been albe to compiñle footage up to this point. A nother video of our stay in Nawlins will be following asap. Internet is slow down here. Cut us some slack!
C&B

Dropping off the Car!

Well, it's official: The VW is in St. Kitts and Chris is practicing up as you read! If you want to see us off, come down to St Catharines for the wine festival (27th-29th)! There should be room on one of Chris's floors for ya! Check out the facebook group for more info... We leave Canada on the 29th, so this will likely be the last video post for a while (we're gonna try to check in bi-weekly while traveling).
Cheers,
B

Guess We Won't be Going to Bolivia...

Judging by the events of recent days/weeks : ousted ambassadors, violent clashes in Bolivian streets, Russian nuclear payload capable fighter jets landing in Venezuela, heightened tensions around Colombian / Ecuadorian borders; I'm thinking we will probably avoid Bolivia. Check out this CNN vid for a brief overview of the situation:

Some personal reflections...
The one thing that is certain: this trip will challenge much of what we (Chris and I) have been brought up to believe as North Americans. Certainly our concepts of safety, justice and economics will not mesh with the prevailing ideas in South America. I was imagining yesterday trying to debate in Spanish after arguing on a CBC forum for the opening of the airline and uranium industries to increased foreign investment. It was interesting because it is this same battle of left-right policies that dominates much of South America, except down there the pendulum is swinging left.
I wonder what I would believe if I had been born on the other side of the fence. Certainly I agree with my current beliefs, but at their root they are founded upon the arguments of much smarter people than I, and my knowledge of the "opposition" has certainly come through a lens colored by our dominant world-view. Would I also agree with the perspectives of the left if they were presented in a logical manner? By no means do I expect to become a socialist during this trip, but it is likely that this may be the final step in a true "post-modern" education, the loosening of the final bolt grounding my beliefs to something absolute. Perhaps this is why business people are the chameleons of the human race, expected to adapt to whatever mindset serves them best in a given situation, able to hold and express conflicting perspectives simultaneously with little to no internal friction.
Now I'm just rambling. Whatevs. Maybe we should go to Bolivia after all... 15 day till go time. We'll keep you updated.
B

"Fixing" the VW...

So it started out as just a way to save some coin for the trip, but in the end, it'll probably cost more money in mistakes than it would have in labour... Check out the video for the first installation on our 1992 VW Golf Diesel.



Car Stats and Overview

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...