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Grand Adventure - Trip Details

on May 30, 2017

Northern Peru: Booking it south and avoiding flying trash

Hullo Peru! After a long border crossing from Ecuador we tucked ourselves into a little campspot on the beach for a few days to regroup. The kids make good beach bums. Also! We had our first encounter with Peru's famous hairless dogs. Not to be confused with Mexican hairless dogs . Peru's specimens were bred by pre-Incan cultures along the coastal regions but almost became extinct when the Spaniards arrived. They are...weird. These guys weren't completely hairless and had mottled skin which gave the animal with a slightly diseased look. Perhaps I just don't have an appreciation for fancy dog breeds. What do you think? The dogs had some pretty cushy digs, however. This restaurant/wedding venue doubled as an occasional campground. Ok, let's talk about the Panamerican Highway as it snakes through Northern Peru. This part of the coast is a surfer's paradise with giant swells and hidden beaches. The land, however is ruled by vast stretches of wind-swept desert....

Shipping Across the Darien Gap

Hello! I promise we're still on our trip and trucking south. We've been camping almost non-stop since we left Cartagena and the wifi has been spotty at best. Hence the lack of recent blog posts. Shipping Time! I'm sure most overlanders dread this process; we certainly felt it hanging over our heads in Costa Rica and Panama. A quick recap: Geography buffs will know that it is impossible to drive the relatively tiny stretch of roadless wilderness between Panama and Colombia known as the Darien Gap. A remanent of the guerrilla wars in Colombia, it'll be interesting to see if Panama eventually decides to allow the PanAmerican highway to complete the last missing link. My understanding is that South America, and Colombia in particular, would welcome a road joining the two continents, however the people we spoke to in Panama seemed firmly opposed to the proposition. Given how much of Panama's economy is supported by toll funds from the canal, I doubt we'll see a co...

Daily Life: Food

Life on the road often lacks the conveniences of home: we spend a great deal of time plotting our route, making sure we have gas in the car, accommodation for the night, and food in our bellies. When we're not camping, we stay primarily in Airbnb apartments. Having a kitchen works well for us: we can save money by cooking our own food, rather than eating in restaurants which tend to stretch both our budgets and patience as parents as we have #LoudAmericanKids. Don't get me wrong: We love sampling local cuisine in restaurants but with two kids under the age of 7 restaurant dining is not currently a relaxing experience. Unfortunately, we've found that amenities vary greatly by apartment and the owner's personal definition of "fully equipped kitchen". Often they lack ovens, frying pans, or even enough spoons for a basic bowl of cereal. Our place in Bangkok had a full kitchen but only a single tiny saucepan, not even large enough to fry an egg. Which is why find...

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