Tuesday, 31 December 2013

The way of the guey



How to cross the border into Mexico: Go towards Mexico. Pass the US Border. There, you’re done! The Mexican frontier has no customs or immigration from the U.S. side, though they are hardly so lax with their neighbours to the South. Borders seem to be a one-way economic valve around here....
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Monday, 30 December 2013

Our First Taste of the Ecuador Coast - Leaving the Mountains of Ecuador



As we drove from the central Andean mountains to the coast of Ecuador, it took a measly 50 miles to drop from 12,000 ft to 1,500 ft in elevation (steep!). A cursory check of our living quarters revealed water dripping down the mirror. The interior of our cabinets were wet, as were our clothing...
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12/29/2013 – 178 days/16603 miles



From Jaisalmer, I headed to Jodhpur, just for a one night stop. I arrived in the afternoon and had time to take a stroll around the fort in the center of the city, and also get a glimpse of why … Continue reading →

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Discovering the Subtle Charm of Vientiane



The Laotian capital of Vientiane is not a city often lauded as a tourist hub. Unlike Bangkok or Saigon, this lazy, tree-lined town is considered boring by many, and to be used only as a transit point for the rest … Continue reading →
Discovering the Subtle Charm of Vientiane is a...
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Colónia Güell, Cataluña, Spain 10/13



During our visit to St Cirq Lapopie, France, we met Pablo and Cris, a nice couple from Santa Coloma de Cervelló near Barcelona who invited us to stop by on our way east. They kept insisting the nearby Colónia Güell was a very special place we absolutely had to see. We found...
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Sunday, 29 December 2013

12/24/2013 – 173 days/16162 miles



I was about 30 minutes from Jaisalmer when I pulled off on a sandy dirt road leading to a hospital to take a few photos. By the time I got off my bike, pulled out my camera, and took a … Continue reading →

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Oceans, Deserts and Mountains, Oh My!



A few days rest in Puerto Escondido was just what we needed after bouncing from town to town in Mexico’s interior. We found Puerto to be a bit unfriendly to be honest but the little cove beaches to the north more »

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The Gaucho and the Thorn



We reluctantly left the comforts of San Miguel de Allende and headed down the trail to Puebla. Arriving that afternoon in Cholula, an offshoot of Puebla, we weaved our way to the campground, our stomachs begging to be fed, we more »

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Last run of the year?



I hope you all had a great Christmas, I did although as usual more alcohol consumed than is good for me! After the last few weeks of stormy weather we took advantage of a break in the weather today to get out on the Norton. We would have used our BMW’s…

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Saturday, 28 December 2013

A holiday from the Adventure on the road.



Now for the all night flight to Miami! We had a great week with 40 friends and family to celebrate the marriage of Gillian and Bruno. There was an official marriage ceremony on Friday night in Vancouver. Sara’s stepmother is … Continue reading →

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Friday, 27 December 2013

Little boxes on the hillside



Guanajuato—SM de Allende With Sayulita’s sandy beaches and perfectly curling waves in our rear view mirror we reluctantly headed inland in hopes of reaching the much talked about Guanajuato in a few days time. Yes, it may be a long more »

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To the Mainland!



After what seemed like a hop, skip and a jump we had driven the length of Baja and were headed to the ferry terminal in La Paz. Though we didn’t spend an extended amount of time in Baja, we felt more »

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Reminiscing About Leg 2 – The Turkmenistan to Kyrgyzstan Photo Gallery



While I’ve been stuck in Tehran (Iran) over the l […]

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the waiting game



we hit a bit of a pothole in the building process. Its funny that it would happen right as we are listing our bus for sale as it means we have ample time to sit and think and stew on the whole if it…but of course that’s whats been thrown …

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Thursday, 26 December 2013

Santiago



Arriving in Santiago we stopped at Motoaventura to see if the Heidineu tires for the 650 GS had arrived yet. They are 2 blocks down from the new BMW dealership, which is now the second largest in the world. The … Continue reading →

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Lazy Days At Lake Atitlan



After a few days of driving through the Guatemalan mountains, mostly in second or even first gear, and reaching an average speed of not more than 25 km/hour, we were very happy to arrive at Lake Atitlan. Lake Atitlan is a crater lake, surrounded by mountains and vulcano’s. We decided to...
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Baja Sur



With bahia de Los Angeles in our dust it was on to the next bay, Bahia Concepcion. The drive was quite easy thanks to the detailed directions from navigator Kylee (there’s only one road…The 1). Haven’t had much need for more »

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Zambia (part 3)



We had heard reports of elephants at South Luangwa National Park campsites that break into cars to steal food, so I was ready to transfer all my fruit and veges into the camp’s storage. But when we arrived we were advised not to keep ANY food in our cars or tents as one particular elephant...
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Our last days in Baja- La Paz



Most people who are overlanding Baja will go through La Paz twice. Once on their way to the East Cape, and once when they ship there vehicle to the mainland. Our first visit to La Paz was on Thanksgiving day with Richard and Ashley. We walked around town, ate fish tacos, than went to a...
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Southern Christmas



It is hovering around a hundred degrees this week. Spending Christmas in hot weather is even weirder than spending Christmas alone. Growing up in the Midwest, my brothers and I would complain if there wasn’t at least a foot of…
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Baja California Summary – 39 Days In Paradise For $1386



You need three things to spend 39 days adventuring through Baja California: 1.  The AAA Map for Baja This map showed all of the small places that a lot of […]

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Wednesday, 25 December 2013

Baja Norte



San Diego — Catavina — Bahia de Los Angeles Our first week in Baja! Seven a.m in Pacific Beach our alarm goes off alerting us that our journey is officially about to begin. We pack up what little we had brought more »

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And we’re off! The adventure has begun!



After a few busy days of packing, repacking, checking off lists, making more lists and saying goodbye, we’ve finally hit the road! I’ve been so focused on work and trip preparations that I haven’t actually spent much time contemplating the more »

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Oman en Saoedi Arabië



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Christmas wishes



Well, I really can’t believe how Christmas has snuck up on us this year!  It is amazing to think that this time last year we were in Western Sahara – Dakhla to be precise.  We were enjoying the sun and warmth, and savouring the freedom of our life changing decision to...
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Zambia (part 2)



Say ‘remote’, ‘back tracks’, ‘less tourists’ and you’ll have Frankie’s attention. He is often scouring different maps, satellite photos, any other sources for interesting or less travelled tracks to link our destinations. They take longer to...
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Tuesday, 24 December 2013

Happy Holidays!



Ever wonder what it is like to drive from Colombia to Bolivia? Watch this and you’ll have an idea!

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A Christmas Miracle in Puerto Vallarta



December 23, 2013 – 9:00 p.m. The night watchman arrived by surprise at our door.  He rattled off a string of sentences in Spanish, which Richard interpreted as “follow me!” […]

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In Pursuit of Balance



BALANCE - We all search for it in our lives. The ancient Indian principles of Ayurveda focuses on finding it. In Eat,Pray,Love, Liz Gilbert travels to three continents in search for it. Most of the time, I feel relatively balanced, but … Continue reading →
In Pursuit of Balance...
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On How We Did Not Go To Tikal..



In the past two months, traveling through Mexico and Belize, we visited several Maya ruins. The South-Eastern region of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala are famous for the Maya ruins. One of the highlights, and also the largest, is Tikal, in Northeast Guatemala. To be honest, after seeing about 6-8...
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Santanam



It is no secret that India has given us stage fright. We’ve learned quickly that any sort of personal space or blending in with the masses is far from realistic. Over the last two years we’ve grown accustomed to being foreigners, but now for the first time we feel like E.T. Chennai...
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Kickin’ Back in Lo De Marcos



Lo De Marcos is a sleepy little coastal Mexican town (pop. 2000) that we would have driven right past if it were not for the fact that Ash’s Auntie Barbie […]

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Farewell to an overlanding dog



If you’ve done much exploring around the backroads and four-wheel-drive trails of Arizona in the last few years, odds are you’ll remember at some point noticing a silver Jeep Wrangler being led by a black lab mix with a white chest patch, …

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Trip Preparations Update



Well folks, we’re a few weeks from our planned departure. Despite working more than full-time, we’ve managed to get a bit of work done on our truck! We still have much to do and a lot of fine tuning but more »

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Electrical Diagram



I made this wiring diagram to help figure out how to install both a dual battery system and a solar system. The battery switch and relay allow both the starting battery and the house battery (runs the fridge, fan, lights, more »

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12/21/2013 – 170 days/15871 miles



I found the Indian traffic that I was expecting…it required getting out of the cities and off the large divided highways. (No need to read any further, Mom) In the cities, traffic is crazy and chaotic, but it’s so slow … Continue reading →

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Monday, 23 December 2013

La Serena to Santiago



Sadly we had to part ways with our new friends, but we will meet them next year in Brazil. We headed along the route of the Estrellas (stars) along which there are numerous observatories on the mountaintops. We stopped at … Continue reading →

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Free National Parks in Ecuador!?



After leaving Colombia, where national park entry fees for foreigners were around $20 per person, we were delighted to discover that Ecuador made entry to their national parks free as of January 2012! Yet another reason to love this country. Besides th…

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Zambia (part 1)



“It is not safe to walk or cycle to Victoria Falls”. “Do not stop at the viewing area (described) on the way to the Falls, you will get robbed” – says notices on the campground board. Zambia was our first country after leaving “Africa Lite”. It was the...
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Mazatlan How We Love Thee



We arrived in Mazatlan fresh off the boat, and with no map we made our way through town to the Zona Dorada (The Golden Zone) in which the RV parks […]

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Merry Flippin Christmas – A Letter from Boris



Dear Jonny, What do you think your playing at mate?! I& […]

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Ecuador 9 – Northern Highlands – Otavalo, Lagunas de Mojanda, Ibarra and the Reserva Ecologica El Angel



 9th – 15th October –  Returning to Quito and Hostal Zentrum once again, following our trip to see Cotopaxi…….a real highlight!  We renew our vehicle insurance once more for a further month and have one day of sun to dry … Continue reading →

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Cars Honked, Cows Ate Trash, and People Stared



Nacho arrived in Chennai Port aboard a mighty container ship after having floated from Bangkok to Singapore, and then across the Indian Ocean to India’s Central-East coast. The logical procession of events would have had Nacho unloaded from the ship so that we could be on our way, but in...
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Sunday, 22 December 2013

Endless Kindness and the City of the Sky



The view of the Rif Mountains from high on this stoney perch is stunning. It’s Bilay’s favourite spot and it’s easy to see why; two crashes (one each) and a few hours stranded on the side of a mountain pass while Nita’s heart runs wildly out of control all seem to slip...
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Sierra La Laguna- Heading to the mountians



After three perfect days in Cabo Pulmo the famous Baja wind came back. The wind in Baja can be intense, turning a calm bay into one with white caps and breakers in the matter of hours, it reminds me of Le Mistral winds in Southern France. If you are beach camping, getting sand hurled at...
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12/18/2013 – 167 days/15256 miles



I finally got my bike through customs! After leaving Istanbul two days later than planned (which then required waiting over the weekend while customs was closed), and going through 3 days of dealing with customs, it felt pretty good to … Continue reading →

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Friday, 20 December 2013

The Camera Kit



We’ve had some questions about our photos and what kind of camera we’re using.  Hopefully this post will answer those questions!  If not, we can dive into more detail… Canon DSLR About eight years ago, I took a trip to Africa.  Before the trip, I decided I...
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12/15/2013 – 164 days/15248 miles



I’m still in Mumbai, waiting on my bike…here are some more pictures of the city… Dhobi Ghat A massive open air laundromat.             Haji Ali Dargah Mosque This mosque contains the tomb of saint Pir … Continue reading →

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Caprivi Strip / Zambezi Region



Just before we entered Namibia, the president announced that the names of some Namibian regions and towns were to be changed in recognition of the tribal people of Southern Africa. Lüderitz was re-named as !Nami≠Nüs (the symbols represent different click sounds). The Caprivi...
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In Argentina



Both Juan and I have histories here in Buenos Aires. Juan lived for several years in the capital after moving from his hometown a few hours south, and I moved here shortly after finishing grad school, four years ago this…
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