San Francisco to Tierra Del Fuego leaving Nov 2010 (Nissan Xterra)

[coydogsf]

Two more great adventures to tell you about in Belize. First, after a fun little 40 mile detour on a dirt road to the coast and exploring the little lagoon town of Gales Point, we coughed up a couple bucks for two nights at the Caves Branch Lodge. In addition to very comfortable cabanas, great food, and a pool with a view of the jungle river, they're best known for their cave tours on 58,000 acres of private property. We floated by innertube and hiked 1km into a cave with incredible formations and evidence of use by the Maya two thousand years before. Watch the video below and read all about it on the blog in Cave Tubing at Caves Branch Lodge.


















From there we met up with James and Angela from NoLimitX for some great company and three days in the jungle near the Belize-Guatemala border. We tagged along on a scouting trip for some amazing routes they're putting together and got just a little taste of what clients can expect when they take the bad-*** Land Rover Defenders out to "get a little mud on the tires." Check out the video below and read all about it on the blog in Into the Jungle with NoLimitX.













Next, we cross the border into Guatemala to visit Tikal. You can always see our tracks, find out where we are now using our spot, or read full stories on the blog at http://advodna.com/.

Now get down here!

Dave

 

[coydogsf]

No problems on crossing the border into Guatemala (info on the blog at Belize–Guatemala Border) and we had a room just south of Tikal before 3pm. That afternoon, we felt like we had Tikal to ourselves. It was almost too quiet. Read the whole story on the blog at Tikal and Rio Dulce.







Ocellated turkeys, coatamundi and monkeys roam all over the site. And supposedly, jaguars too...



We kept following signs, but never found Luis and Lacey.



From Tikal, we dropped down to Rio Dulce and spent a few days relaxing on the river. Though riddled with sneaky potholes, roads were decent, rolling through lush hills and flanked by bright pink flowering trees. The direct route through Coban was at the center of an zero tolerance goverent crackdown against the Zeta cartel in Alta VeraPaz.

Hacienda Tijax in Rio Dulce has cabanas on stilts over the wetlands connected by jungle walkways.







And a great open-air bar overlooking the river...



From there, we joined the overlander's convergence in Antigua, overlapping with Espen and Malin (http://www.unurban.no) and Tree and Stevie (http://sprinterlife.com). Antigua was a great place to stay for a little while so we grabbed an apartment for over a week, signed up for some Spanish classes and settled in. We even took a sketchy field trip into Guatemala City for an errand at the embassy and the Nissan dealership for Espen and Malin's Nissan Patrol. Get the whole story on the blog at Antigua.








The promise of a real kitchen was enough to convince Malin, a chef, to make us Norwegian meatballs!





It was great to get to know some of the other people on the road who's blog's we'd been following. We have a feeling we'll all meet up farther south.

Dave

 

[coydogsf]

From Antigua, we backtracked along the Pan Am to the incredibly beautiful Lago de Atitlan. The town of Panajachel is a bit of a tourist trap, but you can get in and out and back to the business of just sitting and staring out at the lake from the grassy campground at the Hotel Vision Azul. Read the whole story at Lago de Atitlan and Volcan Pacaya.









We took the back route south from the lake through coffee fincas and volcanoes and connected with CA-2. Camping at a waterpark south of Guatemala City set us up for a sunset climb of Volcan Pacaya. We had our doubts on the condition of our car when we got back but it all turned out fine and was a good lesson in planning for the worst but expecting the best. Full story at Lago de Atitlan and Volcan Pacaya.











Next, across the El Salvador border and to El Tunco on the coast.

Dave

 

[coydogsf]

After a relatively painless border crossing into El Salvador at La Hachadura (crossing into at Guatemala-El Salvador Border) - and that includes having to go back to Guatemala after a mix up with the cancelation of our vehicle permit - we hit CA-2 along the coast bound for the surf mecca of El Tunco. There we met up with Tree and Stevie (http://sprinterlife.com) to hang on the beach, take a surf lesson, and most importantly, be a part of their sunset wedding. Read all about it on the blog at El Tunco.

















From there, we did a little backtracking to the Bosque El Impossible in the moutains near the Guatemala border. We'd heard about the park from Luis and Lacey (http://lostworldexpedition.com) but tried to enter from the north. The road's right there on the map but has apparently been closed for a few years! Not to worry, Mama y Papa's hostel in Tacuba was a nice place to land and was able to take us on a hike inside the park through coffee fincas and protected forests where we saw the El Salvadoran national bird and flower within a matter of minutes. Views were impressive towards the volcanoes on the Guatemala/Honduras/El Salvador border and back towards the breakers on the coast. More story and pics on the blog in The Impossible…















And south all the way over the park and back to the coast.





Dave

 

[Dmljohnson]

i love it Dave.........maybe one day we will run into each other, i've met so many ppl, but not anyone here, we came back from Europe in December. and January the rig just arrive back into the u.s, so i'm doing some repairs before i head back by hopefully end of year, i broke an axle and damage a wheel, so i'm doing repairs before i head out again....did you happen to see this couple from germany while you were out there...

they was on your side of the woods around your time, i ran into them earlier in the year.....keep up the great pics and hope to run into you guys one day.....

 

[coydogsf]

No, haven't run into them down here or seen many Defenders other than in Belize (former British colony). There's a great Land Rover shop there that NoLimitX can probably hook you up with. A couple locals in Antigua had Defenders with tons of bells and whistles but tiny wheels. Looked funny.

Good luck getting back on the road and let us know if we can provide any info. There seem to be a good number of overlanders in the area right now. Nice to have some backup info about borders, etc.

Dave

 

[latinoguy]

Nice coverage of El Salvador. I was there in 06. Surfed El Tunco, descent wave, but doesn't compare to the point breaks in the south. (Where you will have an easier time paddling out and thus, surfing) "Las Flores" There is nice town near the point Las Flores, where you could get reasonably priced lodging. The drive south is picturesque.

 

[deadly99]

Thanks for pics and stories, looks like an amazing trip.

Spent a while in Sunzal beside Tunco in El Salv last winter, very cool spot in the world. My best friend owns a place to stay their called Villa V, good rates, airconditioning, secure private parking and all the freaking mangos you can eat :smiley_drive: anyone interested or in the area shoot me a pm

Sorry for the spam

Keep the report coming, I'm taking notes as i hope to get down their again in the near future and your pointing out some cool spots I'd love to see.
:sombrero:

 

[coydogsf]

Well, the followup post to The Impossible…, is …and The Unfortunate. Leaving Tacuba and the Bosque El Imposible, we were feeling great and ready to head over to the Cerro Verde volcano. We hit a food festival in a small town and tranversed through Sonsonate before taking the turn off the Volcanoes National Park.

A few minutes after taking the junction towards Cerro Verde, we pulled off at a view point overlooking the crater lake of Lago de Coatepeque. What happened next involved a ski mask, three dudes with machetes and some tense moments. Full story at …and The Unfortunate.

We're fine and only lost things that can be replaced. It's the kind of thing that could have happened anywhere (other than the machetes), and we don't feel that it reflects any worse on travel in Latin America than similar crimes in the US and around the world reflect on those places. We were just unlucky and got a powerful reminder about the need to stay vigilant. I suppose also a reminder that ******** happens no matter what you do.

I posted a list of things we learned from the experience at the end of the blog post linked above. Check 'em out if you're on the road or heading out soon. I hope they're helpful and thanks to everyone who's offered support.

Dave

 

[lostworldexpedition]

We cringed while reading the post, then Lacey and I went and got tetanus shots!

You guys handled it the right way.

 

[coydogsf]

Well, I'm way behind on this thread and honestly am just focusing on keeping the blog up to date. There you can find the latest posts, our GPS tracks with locations of each post listed as well as our current SPOT position.

But, just to get things current, after getting mugged near Cerro Verde, El Salvador, we crawled with our tails between our legs back to El Tunco on the coast and the company of our friends at SprinterLife and Pleasure Device. After a few days of recovery and planning, we all compared notes on our approaches to get across Honduras and found we were all thinking the same thing; After hearing nothing but horror stories about the El Amatillo border crossing and the short stretch of the Pan Am in Honduras, we decided to actually drive across MORE distance but less traveled parts of the country. Our caravan packed up and headed north for a couple nights in Suchitoto. Story on the blog at Suchitoto.







From Suchitoto, we crossed into Honduras at El Poy (crossing info at El Salvador-Honduras Border). Though slow, it was a breeze compared to what we'd head about El Amatillo. Of course, not to be outdone, the cops in the north made a few weak attempts at extortion. We just said "no," pretended not to understand and were allowed on our way.



And our way was over really rough roads to the ruins at Copan. Full story on the blog at Copan.











Next, across Honduras...

Dave

 

[Christian P.]

Dave,

Please keep enjoying your trip and don't come back in the real world.

It's full of Tsunami, earthquake, civil war, collapsing stocks and nuclear radiations - and that was just this week.

See you at PanamaPassage in April...

 

[coydogsf]

The road north from Copan heads through some cowboy country. Cowboy in that it's ranch land but also cowboy in that everyone is carrying guns, though I don't recall Butch Cassidy having a 13 year old bodyguard with an automatic rifle. Then add some mechanical problems with SprinterLife and we all needed a beer. Good thing we were heading for the only microbrewery in Honduras. After an amazing day IN a waterfall, we returned to a dramatic resolution of the Sprinter troubles. Check out the full story in Lago de Yojoa.





And watch this!



SprinterLife learned as we had in El Salvador that bad things happen to those who try to leave the caravan. We'd gotten mugged and they'd almost had a catastrophic breakdown. Having learned their lesson, the combined "Adventures of Pleasure Life" crossed together into Nicaragua (border crossing info at Honduras-Nicaragua Border - another easy one!) and headed for Playa Aserradores, "The Boom Wave." Check out the story and more pics at Playa Aserradores.














Dave

 

[coydogsf]

Dave,

Please keep enjoy your trip and don't come back in the real world.

It's full of Tsunami, earthquake, civil war, collapsing stocks and nuclear radiations - and that was just this week.

See you at PanamaPassage in April...

Jeez, Christian, we leave you in charge for 4 lousy months and everything goes to :Wow1:

We're on schedule for Panama Passage around the last couple weeks in April and need info on shipping from Panama City back to San Francisco/Oakland (or wherever). RORO frightens us but we're worried container is going to be too expensive. Can you offer any insights?

Dave

 

[Christian P.]

Jeez, Christian, we leave you in charge for 4 lousy months and everything goes to :Wow1:

We're on schedule for Panama Passage around the last couple weeks in April and need info on shipping from Panama City back to San Francisco/Oakland (or wherever). RORO frightens us but we're worried container is going to be too expensive. Can you offer any insights?

Dave

Dave,

let me look into that - Panama -> San Francisco is not your typical route....

But the timing may actually be perfect, I could perhaps ship my Land Cruiser back with you in the same container.