Oct 15th, 2007: San Francisco - Inuvik - Puerto Toro - Buenos Aires

[Quixote]

In a few months we will be leaving for an extended tour of the North and South American continents. We have setup a website to track our progress at:

http://www.alongdrive.com

The proposed route and dates of the expedition are located at:

http://www.alongdrive.com/about/

The preparation and build-up of the truck can be found at:

http://www.alongdrive.com/fj-cruiser/

We expect that the trip will last about 15 months - if any of you are going to any of our destinations we would love to hookup! This will be our first 4x4 expedition any feedback or suggestions will be welcome!

[stevenmd]

Nice! I am about an hour east of you in Ripon.

[Scott Brady]

Fantastic! Please let me know when you come through Arizona.

This is a nice mod:
http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/fj-mods/350px-fj-bar.jpg

[Mlachica]

wow, that is a nice cargo barrier to fit the sweet FJ. I like the dual tanks as well. Is it hard to fill with the neck in that location? Very covert, I like it.

Now I gotta see your itinerary to see if you're coming through my neck of the woods.

[Quixote]

wow, that is a nice cargo barrier to fit the sweet FJ. I like the dual tanks as well. Is it hard to fill with the neck in that location? Very covert, I like it.

Now I gotta see your itinerary to see if you're coming through my neck of the woods.

The filler neck is a bit tricky to get to but all in all the solution is pretty nice.

[Desertdude]

Real nice Blog site, and a great FJ for the trip, well done.

Going up then heading down, what a fantastic trip :safari-rig:

...a bit of blogging on our North to Alaska (http://web.mac.com/desertdude/iWeb/Desertdude.to.Alaska/N2A-Blog/39895860-97F4-4B0B-A7FA-0E39D9A65137.html) trip in 06







::::

[Quixote]

...a bit of blogging on our North to Alaska (http://web.mac.com/desertdude/iWeb/Desertdude.to.Alaska/N2A-Blog/39895860-97F4-4B0B-A7FA-0E39D9A65137.html) trip in 06

::::

What a lovely adventure with nice pictures! Beautiful FJ80 - I still feel a twinge of regret whenever I see a nice one.

[Christian P.]

Congratulations on the beginning of your adventure!
Starting at Burning Man is an excellent choice. It will help making the transition between the rat race and the traveler's life...

I am actually going to work on our art car tonight!

:)

I am in San Francisco myself, so if you ever have a going away party or something let me know!

bye

[Quixote]

Hello all,

The expedition took a huge step forward last Friday when both my wife and I resigned our posts in the computer industry. Since then we have been working full-time getting our vehicle ready and putting all our things in order.

It is now only three weeks to our departure date of October 15th and our To-Do list is long! We're now working harder than we ever did at our regular jobs - really shows that if you do something that will help you achieve your goals you can put in long hours.

[dmc]

must be an exciting day to walk away from the job and know that the future is on the road. i have a month of work left and needless to say i'm pretty much a worthless employee. if i didnt' need the q4 bonus i'd be gone already. i'm lookign forward to running into you on the road.
dmc

[Desertdude]

Awesome!

Nothing on earth feel as good as being right where you want to be, and with whom...

[Quixote]

must be an exciting day to walk away from the job and know that the future is on the road. i have a month of work left and needless to say i'm pretty much a worthless employee. if i didnt' need the q4 bonus i'd be gone already. i'm lookign forward to running into you on the road.
dmc

The last six months at my company were hellish. They (I guess I no longer have to say 'we') were going through so much turmoil that I felt that any work I did would just be wasted. But they were paying me a salary and in return I wanted to give them value for their money spent. But what kind of value can I produce when I know that anything I made would be irrelevant the instant I made it?

On the other hand working on the car and the expedition was so rewarding and fulfilling - but it pays nothing. Or maybe it pays in currency other than money...

[dmc]

Shreesh,

i see from the blog that the departure date got pushed back from tomorrow until friday. i'm hoping i can avoid similar issues but believe me I understand the challenges. Shoot me an email before you leave with the best way to contact you. if you get a chance. i'm on a bit more agressive agenda than you but i'm sure we'll stumble across each other. good luck with the last week of prep.
dmc

[JPFreek1]

Very cool trip! I definitely look forward to reading the updates on your site. also, just out of curiosity, what made you choose the FJ for the trip?

[Quixote]

Shreesh,

i see from the blog that the departure date got pushed back from tomorrow until friday. i'm hoping i can avoid similar issues but believe me I understand the challenges. Shoot me an email before you leave with the best way to contact you. if you get a chance. i'm on a bit more agressive agenda than you but i'm sure we'll stumble across each other. good luck with the last week of prep.
dmc

Dave,

I most certainly will. We thought that this month preparing would be filled with light packing/prep days and plenty of time to sit around cafes with out friends. Ha! It has been 12+ hour days, every day!!

I am sure we will meet, somewhere sometime...

[Quixote]

Very cool trip! I definitely look forward to reading the updates on your site. also, just out of curiosity, what made you choose the FJ for the trip?

Picking the FJ Cruiser was one of the toughest decisions we made. Neither my wife nor I had any experience with car mechanics so a newer vehicle was indicated. Since Toyota and Mercedes Benz have the best availibility for spares it had o be either of those two marques.

Mercedes Benz was eliminated due to expense, so the car had to be a Toyota. For Toyota we narrowed down the choice to either FJ80 or a FJC. Finally we went with the FJC because it was newer and more fuel efficient.

[Quixote]

After much gnashing of teeth, wringing of hands, of ululations and grunts, we are now underway!!

The first section, up to the Arctic Circle, is a shakedown trip for the gear and the car. It was very very hard getting started. Preparations continued to the last minute of the last hour and our carefully laid plan of a peaceful departure across the golden gate was over turned.

But now we are on the road, quickly finishing up that which was undone...

[HMR]

Good luck! Have fun! Send pics!

[Quixote]

Hello all,

Here are some updates from the trail:

The trip started in quite a flurry of last minute activity. After the hectic preparation days we took a welcome break in Seattle:

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/wa/450px-seattle-calder.jpg

Heading North into Canada the changes in weather become evident. Snow covered mountains on the way to Muncho Lake, BC

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/canada/450px-long-mtns.jpg

After many days on the road, rushing up North to be back in time for our EMT class, we take another rest at Dawson, YT:

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/canada/350px-dawson.jpg

[Quixote]

Now the fun begins in earnest! Heading down the Dempster Highway in the winter. The days start getting short, the weather rough. Descending in near white-out conditions in the North West Territories:

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/canada/350px-fj-whiteout.jpg

We get lucky! The lce bridge across the Peel River is complete the day before we arrive. Rated for 3500kg, it is plenty strong for the FJ!

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/canada/350px-peel-crossing.jpg

Our luck runs out shortly thereafter. The Mackenzie river has refused to cooperate and freeze over. Leaving the FJ at Fort McPherson we hop a plane to Inuvik for a look-see. From here it is all south, all the way to Tierra Del Fuego

[Quixote]

Our first challenge is now successfully behind us. After all the planning and preparing the Dempster was very kind to us and we had no major difficulties. Here is the worst we had to deal with:

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/canada/450px-whiteout-close.jpg

We were a little over prepared with the SAT phone, and high-altitude mountaineering gear but hey, we had it laying around so why not have it for insurance? If we had gotten stuck the highway patrol woukd have found us sipping hot soup and coffee :)

Most of the time the weather was clear and good, the light amazing:

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/canada/450px-pink-sky.jpg

So now it is South, South, South....

[Desertdude]

Nicely done!

[Quixote]

It was a little too quiet out here in Wyoming, where the Buffalo and Antelope play, until one of those antelope decided to play with our vehicle.

In the dead of night, around a curve, a 1000+ bull elk awaited his destiny with the FJ Cruiser. The impact flipped him over the roof, and killed him instantly. Through an incredible stroke of luck both my wife and I were completely unharmed. About eight inches to the center and he would have been through the windshield and on my lap.

The damage to the car is cosmetic but it takes quite a while to get parts out here in the remote reaches of Wyoming so looks like we'll be here for a while...

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/mt-wy/720px-fj-crash.jpg

[Desertdude]

Sorry to hear your news on the vehicle - glad to hear your both OK - those Elk can be very dangerous on the road.

I guess you don't get to keep the Elk?



:::

[kcowyo]

Good grief!!

It's true, the elk here are no joke. The number of close calls I've had just means my time is still coming.

Sorry about the FJ, hopefully the A pillar is repairable. Of course the most important thing is the two of you escaped unharmed.

I hope you enjoy your down-time in Wyoming. Your Lander ER post was tough to read and presumably tough to endure. Hopefully you will have some pleasant memories of Wyoming, by the time you leave.

Oh and enjoy the ridiculous amounts of snow we're getting too. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

[viter]

wow, looks like a huge adventure in front of you guys!
are you planning to install an ARB snorkel on your FJ cruiser (since they are available now) while you are still here? might be a good insurance against water crossing ahead of you...

[Quixote]

Good grief!!

It's true, the elk here are no joke. The number of close calls I've had just means my time is still coming.

Sorry about the FJ, hopefully the A pillar is repairable. Of course the most important thing is the two of you escaped unharmed.

I hope you enjoy your down-time in Wyoming. Your Lander ER post was tough to read and presumably tough to endure. Hopefully you will have some pleasant memories of Wyoming, by the time you leave.

Oh and enjoy the ridiculous amounts of snow we're getting too. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

I hope I didn't come across as too negative towards Wyoming. So many times I have fallen into the trap of attaching the bad experiences in a location to that location. Somehow that experience has to be the fault of that place...

In my dark moods I have cursed this place but so many positive things have happened to us here that anyting bad has been just a small road bump. When you are in need it opens up the the people around you; they want to help. In our need so many in Wyoming have helped us out. For example our hosts have put us up in their guest house until the car gets fixed.

Last night our hostess said "You must stop and pick up the gifts along the way" and in Wyoming those have been abundant...

[Scott Brady]

Glad you are ok, and still underway.

[kcowyo]

I hope I didn't come across as too negative towards Wyoming. So many times I have fallen into the trap of attaching the bad experiences in a location to that location. Somehow that experience has to be the fault of that place...

Nope, not negative at all. You've been through a lot. Totally understandable.

I can relate to your comments regarding attaching bad experiences to a particular location. Just recently I made peace with California, after a decade of me having negative feelings towards the state as a whole.

Your comments are an excellent reminder that sometimes bad things just happen, no matter where you find yourself. Best of luck to you two -

:beer:

[Quixote]

We are now back on the road! The car was at Teton Motors almost six weeks to fix the "cosmetic" damage in the aftermath of the Elk encounter.

Of course, we picked the time when the biggest storm of the season rolled through the Sierra Nevada to cross them :wings:

Nine feet of snow in two days were cleaned with elan by the Caltrans road crew and the passing was a breeze...

Here is the scenery from Highway 50 in Nevada:

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/wy-to-ca/720px-50-road.jpg

[Quixote]

First Elk, now this! :smiley_drive:

The winds in Baja blew these branches down onto the FJC. Luckily they were pretty light, but unfortunately scratched the s-- out of the hood. C'est la guerre...

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/ca-to-baja/720px-palm-attack.jpg

[Desertdude]

Never a dull moment on the road.

Always a good idea to look up before you park now?

Looks warm

[Quixote]

Never a dull moment on the road.

Always a good idea to look up before you park now?

Looks warm

Some lessons need to be re-learned. In Zimbabwe we learned not to park under a Mukwa tree because elephants like to dig them up. Fortunately it was only some branches and not a coco bomb that fell on the car.

[allochris]

:elkgrin: :elkgrin: :elkgrin:

[Quixote]

:elkgrin: :elkgrin: :elkgrin:

heh,heh,heh

I die...

[Quixote]

So after driving the full length of the Baja Peninsula I have come to the conclusion that one has to NOT hit the major cities. They are overrun with extremely rich Americans/Canadians/Europeans with very strange tastes. Since I was traveling with my parents who do not like to rough it we pretty much were stuck to the main sights :)

Anyway, the road was good all the way and no security problems were evident.

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/ca-to-baja/720px-fj-cactus.jpg

[Quixote]

We are currently on a mini-break here in Oaxaca to study Spanish. Hopefully after our month long immersive course we'll be able to make heads or tails of this language.

Taking a break from our break, we got a chance to see the ruins of Monte Alban close to the city.

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/baja-to-oax/720px-temples.jpg

[Streakerfreak]

We are currently on a mini-break here in Oaxaca to study Spanish. Hopefully after our month long immersive course we'll be able to make heads or tails of this language.

Taking a break from our break, we got a chance to see the ruins of Monte Alban close to the city.

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/baja-to-oax/720px-temples.jpg


Now that is cool! I am a sucker for history.

[cnskate]

Oaxaca is a cool place. Glad it's calmed down.

Take the FJ up to Apoala. It's the Mixtec's version of the "Garden of Eden", and for obvious reasons. There's a campsite by the river, or a state run tourist motel there.

Hierve el Agua (sp?) is another gorgeous spot. Just the views are what impressed me.

The food at La Naranja in Oaxaca is amazing. Enjoy.

[Quixote]

Oaxaca is a cool place. Glad it's calmed down.

Take the FJ up to Apoala. It's the Mixtec's version of the "Garden of Eden", and for obvious reasons. There's a campsite by the river, or a state run tourist motel there.

Hierve el Agua (sp?) is another gorgeous spot. Just the views are what impressed me.

The food at La Naranja in Oaxaca is amazing. Enjoy.

It has been very sweet out here - even after being here for over a month there are still tons of things I never got a chance to do. Our spanish class was so intense that we hardly had time for anything else!

Well, we did make some time for drinking :wings:
The grog out here is something else. Here is a picture of my favorite Mezcal tienda, Union de los Palenqueros:

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/baja-to-oax/720px-mezcal-shop.jpg

[viatierra]

Nice! You are helping me remember my forgotten Mexico drinking memories that were fogotten...
:snorkel:

Safe travels & please keep posting!

[cnskate]

Which language school did you attend between drinks?

[Quixote]

Which language school did you attend between drinks?

We went to a place called Solexico, run by an expat and her Mexican partner. They are very attentive to your needs and the program that they have developed has a lot of skill-and-drill exercises. I have never made such progress this quickly in language learning.

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/baja-to-oax/720px-sol-door.jpg

P.S. The owner of La Naranja was forced to sell the place after the troubles in 2006. Last I heard she was looking for a chef gig in the USA. The new owners bought the name and are running the rest. but some of my fellow students said it wasn't the same.

[Quixote]

A little stale now, but interesting none the less...

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/mt-wy/640px-dead-elk.jpg

I had a picture of my dreaded nemesis on my cell phone that I had forgotten to download. This is the very beast that almost brought the journey to an end...

:elkgrin:

[Quixote]

Coming down to Palenque the weather has become much warmer but the forest teems with birds and insects! The site is very atmospheric - in the middle of a deep jungle with the calls of Howler monkeys and the sawing noises of Keel-Billed Toucans, cereal box birds.

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/chiapas/720px-temp-ins.jpg

[Hoss86]

I agree with this mod. If you don't mind me asking, how much did this cost? I'm going to email Superior 4Wheel Drive about availability if the price is right. You could post or PM me. Thanks. Great FJ and wish you the best on your expedition.




Fantastic! Please let me know when you come through Arizona.

This is a nice mod:
http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/fj-mods/350px-fj-bar.jpg

[Quixote]

I agree with this mod. If you don't mind me asking, how much did this cost? I'm going to email Superior 4Wheel Drive about availability if the price is right. You could post or PM me. Thanks. Great FJ and wish you the best on your expedition.

The cost was $425 and the entire barrier was fabricated with 1" tubular steel.

[cruiser guy]

So are you going to Belize after Palenque or Guatemala? If you're heading to San Christobal in Chiapas make sure to stop at Misol Ha and Agua Azul on your way. Beautiful and worthwhile stops!

[Quixote]

The caves at Loltun have a 12,000 year history of human habitation. Ancient Maya carvings are a relatively recent evidence of this long history. Inside the caves one finds evidence of the pressure wave caused by the Chixulub meteorite when it impacted the earth 65 million years ago, contributing to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/yucatan/450px-loltun-spot.jpg

[Quixote]

Does every expedition move much slower than expected? The world is full of so many interesting diversions and little detours!

Originally we had planned on just driving right through Belize - but now we find ourselves out in the Cayes, exploring the great mesoamerican barrier reef...

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/belize/230px-trop-par.jpg

[Desertdude]

Does every expedition move much slower than expected?

Only if your not on Expedition with Scott Brady :safari-rig:

Enjoy your journey where ever it may take you. The side trips and breakdowns have always made expedtions very interesting.


Thats a great photo :bowdown:

[Quixote]

The border crossing from Belize to Guatemala was an unnecessarily complicated affair. I didn't have copies of my passport so I had to wander around the seedy border town in Guatemala looking for a place to copy my documents. The only place that was open was a dental clinic.

Got taken for two bribes - had to pay $3 for the entry stamp and $7 for a 'community toll' across the border. Adding the $40 in Mexico this brings to $50 so far paid out in bribes. All during border crossings.

Anyway, small price to pay for this sunrise over Tikal:

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/peten/720px-sunrise-tikal.jpg

[Quixote]

Lake Atitlan in the Guatemala highlands is ringed with volcanoes. Some say it is the most beautiful alpine lake in the world...

Of course, having a strong local bias towards Lake Tahoe, I beg to differ! :)

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/gua-highlands/720px-atitlan.jpg

[Quixote]

Getting so close to flowing lava was a new experience for me. Volcan Pacaya, about an hour outside Antigua, Guatemala, has been active for two years now. Several outfits, including O.X. Expeditions (http://www.guatemalavolcano.com/index.htm), will get you to where the lava is.

We spent the night close to the lava flow so we could see the spectacular night vistas:

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/gua-highlands/720px-lava.jpg

[Quixote]

The border crossings come fast in this part of the world! The countries are so tiny that they can be driven across in a day (as if you would want to!). Crossing borders has been surprisingly uncomplicated so far. Most usually take about an hour or so for the immigration and the paperwork for the car import/export. More annoying are the small bribes that almost all immigration officers ding the foreign visitors.

Here is a nice vista along the way to Managua, Nicaragua:

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/granada/720px-fj-at-momotombo.jpg

[Quixote]

Hello all,

We have now reached Panama City on the thin wasp-waist of the western hemisphere. Yesterday we had a meeting with Evelyn Batista of Barwil S.A and I am here to tell you that she is all that Dave Connor of Expeditions Americas made her out to be.

Amazingly clear and with a good command of english she really makes this stressful shipping process more comfortable. Here is her contact information for future overlanders:

Evelyn N. Batista
Sales Executive
Barwil Agencies, S.A.

Panama City Office
Avenida Balboa
Galerias Balboa Building Second Floor, Suite 35
Phone: 507 263-7755
Evelyn.Batista (at) barwil.com

Today I will share a soothing picture from Finca Dracula in the Chiriqui Highlands:

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/chiriqui/720px-dracula3.jpg

[Quixote]

The paperwork party started today! We went to the Vehicle Inspections office early at 8:15am to prove to the Panamanian authorities that the car being exported is not stolen, smuggled, etc.

We immediately ran into a problem - the motor number was incorrect due to the fact that I had seen the wrong plaque close to the tranny as opposed to another plaque further up on the block. This required an additional trip to the customs office before the car could pass inspections. Now that the inspector is happy, we need a sign-off from the secretary, whose office, inexplicably, does not process applications until 1:00pm.

From there it will be back to customs with our bill of lading to get our exit paperwork.

So far it has not been too bad, all the officials have been polite and helpful and there have been no lines. The only complaint I have is that the inspector is located in a dicey part of town, which we have to visit numerous times.

I'll keep this thread updated on our delightful progress...

[viter]

thanks alot for the updates!!! it is great to be able to follow your progress online!

[Quixote]

So after running around in Panama City for twelve days to ship the car across the Darien we're now waiting in Cartagena to collect it, the ship being late by three days.

Sigh! At least we have a hotel with a/c...

[viter]

at least it's only 3 days and not 3 weeks. good luck with the "getting it out of the box" process!
some people say that south america differs greatly from central america - let us know what you think!
and thanks again for your updates!

[Quixote]

I'm sure glad we took the advice on this forum (Dave's) and went to Colombia. I would highly encourage other members to visit this interesting and now reasonably stable place. The tourist infrastructure is still not fully in place and they are working hard on improving the road network. Even some large towns like Mompos require a ferry:

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/mompos/720px-ferry-to-mompos.jpg

Bogota has a refreshingly bracing climate and vibrant city life, which puts a city slicker like me at ease...

[Quixote]

The expedition still continues, without and significant difficulties. Luckily the Federal government bailed out our insurer, AIG :)

Deep in the Peruvian we encontered this lovely butterfly:

http://www.alongdrive.com/wp-content/images/manu/720px-clearwing.jpg