drive to south america

OK, I have a big map on my wall, covered in red dots and red ink and it seems that most of the route is planned out except for one (rather largeish) problem – the Amazon. We wanted to come down through Venezuela and the roads seem ok up to Manaus, but south of that city they all but disappear. I’m not really sure what to do with that information, so I think I will just be in denial for a bit while it sinks in. We’re so priviledged, we’re used to roads going wherever we want them to, but that’s not the case in many parts of the world. I may have to rethink this route…

ok, we got a new truck. back on track for 2009.

Our truck is very broken at the moment, but everyday is still a day closer to our big trip. We’ll just have to deal with the setbacks as they come up. Push through.

So, 2 years and 11 months to go!
Yes, this is still a while, but we have yet to:

-Learn Spanish.
-Learn to Tango (this is not urgent because, while I would like to have the basics down, we can obviously learn it down there).
-Save a lot more money.
-Learn some basic auto-repair.
-Hopefully learn some self-defense.

We’ve been plodding along, reading as much as we can and trying to save money. We had a bit of a setback when our car was in an accident, but it is being repaired now and we’re just going to have to work with what we’ve got. I suspect that a lot more damage is going to happen to it along the way.

The real progress will show later when we’re finishing up everything, but for now it is enough to know that the date is getting closer! I am very stoked.

well, most of the way. my partner and i live in vancouver, so we’re am already on the pan-american highway that goes all the way down to the tip of South America, with the exception of the Darian gap – a 50 km spot of impenetrable jungle that the car will have to be shipped around – but otherwise, this is the plan!

so far, we have:
-bought an SUV
-researched the crap out of routes and attractions
-set a date: January 2009
-saved $3000
-started learning spanish (kind of)

it’s a big project, but we’re making progress. I actually think this will happen.