The Ultimate Road Trip!

shellb

Adventurer
Thanks a bunch for the report, it has been a great read.

Sorry to hear about your run in and shakedown with the cops...that sucks man.

:beer:
 

SWbySWesty

Fauxverland Extraodinaire
Thank you so much! I am loving reading this and the detail is great! Sounds like the locals are always willing to help...if not a bit rowdy ;).
 

OverlandZJ

Expedition Leader
Well worth the wait! Not finished your report yet but enjoyed all so far!

Thanks for sharing, awesome trip.
 

RMP&O

Expedition Leader
Thanks a bunch for the report, it has been a great read.

Sorry to hear about your run in and shakedown with the cops...that sucks man.

:beer:

It is just part of the adventure!

It really is just the traffic police. The federal police, the military, drug agents and tourist cops are all fine. It is the traffic police and radom payoffs at borders that is bad. After Belize they didn't get me anymore, the traffic cops that is. I learned to hold my ground, don't speak any spanish and argue with them, don't be rude or roudy but don't take any crap either. You also learn the traffic laws and make sure you don't break any or speed in areas where traffic cops are. Locals flash their brights and sometimes turn on flashers when cops are around. You quickly learn what getting flashed with brights means and you return the favor! This got me out of every situation or bribe from traffic cops for the rest of the trip!

:victory:
 

Saharicon

Adventurer
What kind of dog is that you have? I have a Siberian Husky and was wondering how your dog held up in the heat.

Btw, awesome trip, cant wait for the Belize to Panama update!
 

RMP&O

Expedition Leader
Glad you made it back safe Ian. GREAT write up!!

Hey thanks Jim and no worries!

What kind of dog is that you have? I have a Siberian Husky and was wondering how your dog held up in the heat.

Btw, awesome trip, cant wait for the Belize to Panama update!

He is a Shiba Inu, black & tan. He was really hot a lot of the time. I kept him in the shade, water always available, a/c on in the truck and tossed him in a river/lake/ocean when I could. Everyone thought he is a baby husky, he even gets that a lot in the USA. Or they called him "poco lobo" aka little wolf! He drew a lot of attention. Thing is he is a known biter, especially in the truck. I taped signs in the window that said "cuidado con el perro" which means beware of dog. This helped me a lot on the trip in a lot of ways. Any ways, as far as heat he was hot but I took him on walks at night and in the morning, nearly everyday. The first month he had a hard time adjusting, mostly it was the first week. He wouldn't eat or go to the bathroom. We worked that out though with 2 long walks a day. I should have shaved him before the trip but it slipped my mind.

He had a few health things come up on the trip but they are all taken care of now and he is good. Like skin problems, ticks, ect. He only weighs 25lbs normally but was down to 19.5lbs right after the trip. He is now like 26-27lbs!

Some friends I met on the road had two large Akita/Lab mixes with them. They were miserable...hot all the time. Infested with ticks and one of them even got piosoned! I think larger dogs would be much harder to look after on trips like this.

You really have got to watch your dog down there and on a trip like this. If they have a thick coat do them a favor and shave them before you take them!

The sign....
beware_sign.sized.jpg


and here is Buddy ready to leave Belize and head to Guatemala!
buddy.sized.jpg
 

deadbeat son

Explorer
Looks like an epic adventure man.

I'm leaving my job soon and going back to school full time for a career change. I'd love to do a trip like this in my slack time, but I probably don't have the cajones.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
188,348
Messages
2,905,971
Members
229,958
Latest member
bdpkauai
Top