Learning Spanish

Before going on a trip of this proportion, it's important to learn the language. Matter of fact, part of the reason we're going on this trip is to learn more and become comfortable communicating in Spanish. 

At the bare minimum, you should be able to count to ten and know common pleasantries. Just attempting to communicate in the local dialect can go a long way towards making friends with strangers. This shows a willingness to learn the culture and communicate on the terms of the locals.

Both of our Spanish skills have gotten pretty rusty over the years so we bought the entire Rosetta Stone to practice.  It's not cheap, but you are able to download it to two computers so we only used one download, and let our mechanic use the second download in exchange for occasional help and advice. 

Bribe Basket

photo courtesy of DriveTheAmericas

We won a unique giveaway in a contest through Drive the Americas, one of our top resources for this trip.  This anti-bribe kit was put together to help us avoid the shakedown that is often experienced by travelers in Latin America. When dealing with corrupt border officials and police officers, you need all the help you can get...check out Drive the Americas' website for tons of tips and what to look out for. 

They also do a great job of explaining why supporting corruption is bad for travelers everywhere and why you shouldn't ever take part. Here's what is inside of our little goody bag...

Overland Expo

To prepare for our upcoming adventure, we attended Overland Expo.  This is an annual event that educates and inspires people interested in exploring the world by bike, motorcycle, or vehicle.  It's catered to prepare weekend travelers or groups hoping to circumnavigate the globe.

We bought the 3-day package which gave us access to every class, the offroad driving course, and camping onsite for the weekend.  We debated for weeks whether this event would be worth the investment, not to mention the drive to Arizona.  We were very pleased to find out that it surpassed all of our expectations and it was money well spent.

Playing it safe...Find me SPOT

A couple years ago I bought a SPOT satellite locator because they were on clearance. Shannon was looking at me the same way she does whenever we're at REI, Cabela's or any hardware store, holding a potential new toy...

"What do you need that for?" she asked.  I spent about 30 minutes explaining to her (and convincing myself) that we needed it...SPOT's satellite products are made for people who like to go outdoors, far away from any cell phone tower. SPOT's service has several functions, but to sum it up you can use it to signal for 911/rescue/med-evac, check-in with your family and tell them you're ok, or roadside assistance when you have no cellphone reception.