Ruined Adventures

Jul 1, 2011

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...

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.

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.

Border Crossing & Shipping info

Border Crossings

We will be crossing anywhere from 12 to 20 (maybe more) borders on our drive, depending on which countries we decide to include. Each border presents it's own challenges and the more prepared you are, the better your experience. Check out BorderHelper and WikiOverland for the latest info on each border crossing.

Shipping Around the Darien Gap

the Panamericana roadway system stops in Yaviza, Panama and then reappears 150km south in Colombia. While others have braved the infamous Darien Gap by vehicle, the region is filled with narcotraffickers and bandits so most travelers avoid the potentially suicidal trip by shipping their vehicle.

We were contacted by a French couple who we first met in Guatemala, and decided to share the costs of a 40' freight container with them. Vehicle shipping can be a lengthy and complicated process, which is usually considered the worst part of a Pan-Am overland journey but overall it wasn't that bad for us. We shipped our vehicle with Evergreen Shipping via Tea Kalmbach (tea.kalmbach@gmail.com). While waiting for the vehicle to arrive in Cartagena, we decided to sail to Colombia via the San Blas islands on an 85 foot boat called The Independence. After calculating the costs of hotel rooms, food, and transportation, sailing ended up costing the same as just flying directly to Cartagena. If you decide to sail to Colombia, be sure to do lots of research because not all boats are created equally and sailing is not for everyone.

Ferry Service Around Darien Gap
There has been much buzz the past few years about a ferry that was rumored to begin voyages between Panama and Colombia, shuttling travelers across. This is honestly an impossible task to pull off, since the company involved has a ton of red tape to hurdle between both countries. Pan-Am travelers were crossing their fingers with high hopes, the rumored maiden voyage was scheduled to be ~~May 31, 2012~~. Err, nevermind. Don't hold your breath, this will probably never be a viable option.

For more information...

These sites were helpful to us 2010-2014 so there is likely a million other resources available now. Another incredible resource that came out after our PanAm journey is the PanAmerican Travelers Association on Facebook. This is a great community, but be sure to use the search function and do some research before asking your questions!
Drive the Americas

PanAmericanInfo.com

Expedition Portal forum

CAMPSITES

FREE GPS files & info:

Pan-Am GPS use for dummies