After completing the Chilean Lake District we crossed into Argentina for the 6th time of the trip and immediately entered the Argentinian Lake Country. For the next month we will work our way around the portion of Ruta 40, known as the Seven Lakes District. This stretch of Hwy 40 between the towns of San…
Chile’s Ruta 7 or as it is more commonly known, the Carretera Austral runs 1,240 km through a stunning landscape of fjords, mountains, glaciers, thick forests and rushing rivers. We crossed from Argentina at Chile Chico and would follow the hwy back down south to explore its most remote points before turning around and driving…
From Ushuaia it was a half day’s drive to the border crossing back into Chile, another couple hours and we were on another ferry that would bring us to Punta Arenas where it is time for a truck service and, unfortunately, a new set of tires. With some housekeeping complete and a few visits to…
We were sad to say good bye to Buenos Aires but were anxious to get back to the truck and hit the road again. A quick ferry jaunt across the Rio de Plata and we were in Uruguay and within a few days we were thanking the family that stored our rig and we were…
With our visit home complete and having successfully missed a couple months of Southern Hemisphere winter, we landed back in Buenos Aires where we would spend the next month enjoying the city and once more try to improve our Spanish skills. We based ourselves in the historic district of San Telmo in a crazy inexpensive…
The crossing from Bolivia to Argentina was a smooth process with a moment of humour thrown in. A Bolivian policeman called us in to his office and provided us with (an unnecessary) check out authorization. He then proceeded to ask us for a “little something” for his effort. Sam wasn’t sure what he was asking…
We made our way to the Peruvian border town of Puno and after a brief overnight stay, crossed into Bolivia at Lake Titicaca, the worlds “highest navigable lake” at 3,812 metres. Our first stop in Bolivia was Copacabana, a nice little tourist town on the shores of Lake Titicaca. A great town with a beautiful rocky beach,…
Crossing from Ecuador to Peru once again a simple and friendly process. First stop was at the popular Swiss Wassi, a friendly oasis for overlanders owned by a Peruvian/Swiss couple on a nice stretch of beach in the otherwise very rough and gritty Northwestern Peru. Swiss Wassi provided a nice respite from the road before…
Once back on the mainland after a wonderful time in the Galapagos islands we prepared for the rest of our Ecuadorian adventure. The beauty of Ecuador is the diversity of its landscape and cultures. From the coastal towns and beaches of the Pacific Coast in the West, to the jungles of the Amazon basin in…
The border crossing from Colombia to Ecuador while one of the slowest of the trip was completely uneventful. 2 ½ hours of waiting for 2 minutes of passport stamps and truck import documents and we were on our way in country number 12 of the journey. After a quick stop in the town of Tulcan…
In Panama City we boarded a flight for Cartagena, Colombia where we hoped in a few days to be reunited with our home on wheels. While we waited we checked into a small hotel in the Getsemani neighbourhood of old Cartagena and set out to explore all that the city has to offer. This square…
Once we crossed into Panama we headed straight for highland town of Boquete, popular with North American expats. The Costa Rican rains have followed us south making for some soggy days at our new campsite. The sun did come out long enough each day to see the sites including getting a round in at the Valle…
Leaving Nicaragua for some reason became one of our most time consuming border crossings, complete with full X-ray of the vehicle, usually reserved for big transports entering the country. Once out of Nica, entering Costa Rica was a pretty simple process and we were soon on our way to our first stop, just over the…
We crossed from Honduras to Nicaragua near the Honduran town of Danli, known for tobacco farming and the manufacture of fine cigars. Our border crossing was fairly uneventful and before we knew it we were on our way to our first stop in Nicaragua, Somoto Canyon. We found a guide to take us on a…
We crossed from El Salvador to Honduras early on a Sunday morning. On approach this appeared to be brilliant timing as the border was very quiet. We were checked out of El Salvador and cancelled our import permit for the truck in about 15 minutes (maybe a new border crossing record). Within another 15 minutes…
From Guatemala we “Spanglished” our way across the border into El Salvador and headed for the Ruta Las Flores (the Flower route). A drive through the countryside stopping in four or five quaint villages was an excellent way to start our El Salvador experience. Our first stop, Concepcion de Ataco is home to the El…
Once we completed the Belize – Guatemala border formalities, we picked up a Guatemalan sim card for the phone, filled up on reasonably priced Guatemalan gas (Regular Gas in Belize is approx. US$ 1.32 per litre, CDN $1.80 per litre) and headed straight for the ancient Mayan city of Tikal. The ancient city of Tikal…
A former British Colony, the official language of Belize is English. The population in the past was made up primarily of English or Creole speaking African descendants. Civil wars in neighboring Guatemala and nearby El Salvador have resulted in a huge influx of Spanish speaking Latinos and Mestizos in the last 30 years and…
Chiapas and bidding adios to Mexico From Huatulco, we flagged down the purified water truck, pumped a few 5 gallon jugs into the rig… …and we were on our way heading down the coast, moving from beach to beach, each one more idyllic than the last. Our favourite…in the small community of Barra de la…
The State of Oaxaca We make our way to Oaxaca City for our first of two visits to the culinary capital of Mexico. Our favourite breakfast of the trip…Huevos Rancheros con Chorizo. We will be back again in a couple weeks when Mom comes to town for Christmas. But for our first visit, we eat…
Before continuing our journey south, there are a couple towns a few hours north of Mexico city we needed to visit. First…a highway stop for a mountain of strawberries. San Miguel de Allende is known as one of the most beautiful cities in Mexico. The preservation of its colonial buildings and its importance during the…
So we said goodbye to the truck and hopped on the bus for a week of exploring and eating our way around Mexico City. The greater Mexico City area is huge, with a population of over 21 million people. There are some 300 neighbourhoods that would take a lifetime to explore. For the first part…
With a successful ferry crossing behind us we spend one night in Mazatlan and then start working our way down the coast. It is immediately apparent we are not on the Baja anymore as the desert has turned to jungle and the extreme heat is now mixed with thick tropical humidity. We zip down the…
On the move again. It was difficult to pull ourselves away from Bahia De Los Angeles but on day 5 we again hit the road. This time heading for Mulege and the Bahia de Concepcion. The drive went well and even included a stop in the desert for a delicious bowl of ceviche like seafood…
So the big day had finally arrived. As much as we have enjoyed crossing Canada and working our way down the West coast of the US we feel the real adventure will start when we cross into Mexico. Different language, culture and food is really what we want this trip to be about. As has…
We crossed into California in search of a Redwood forest. Our first stop did not disappoint. We pulled in to Del Norte Coastal Redwoods State Park Labour Day weekend with no reservation fully expecting to be turned away but instead were given one of the best campsites of our trip. Redwood Forests extend down much…
Lots to do in the Pacific Northwest. We worked our way South through Washington stopping for Don to play Chambers Bay Golf Club (home of the 2015 US Open) on the banks of the Puget Sound. Crossing in to Oregon we head straight for Portland and a few days enjoying the food trucks and crazy…
Seattle was once again all about food. Once we disembarked the ferry in Anacortes, Washington, we headed for Seattle to enjoy the big city and load up on more great eats. Sleeping in the bush in a rather dodgy state park half an hour outside of town for a couple nights, we drove in to…
From Jasper we did the big push all the way to Vancouver. For the last few years, Sam has joined her friends in Vancouver for the annual Seawheeze Half Marathon followed by a concert in Stanley Park. We parked the camper at Capilano RV Park in Vancouver (Our second RV park of the trip). Great…
The drive across the prairies was fairly uneventful… … other than a 3 hour period we were trying to outrun two tornadoes. One coming at us from the south and one down from the north heading for each other and us in between. …Exciting! We increased our speed to get to Regina, fast and made…
Winnipeg has some great eats! In addition to being patriotic Canadians one of the main reasons for choosing the cross Canada route to the West Coast rather than the (more popular to some) US route was so we could pass through the city of my birth, Winnipeg. …and more specifically so we could consume and…
Our first week was great! After almost 2 years of planning it looks like this is really going to happen. Our junk is in storage, the house is rented, we’ve said our goodbyes, the truck has been packed and unpacked and packed again and we finally hit the road on Saturday, July 23. The rough…