January 9, 2009 – 12:57 pm
Although leaving Ecuador was a 4 hour nightmare, the happenstance of arriving in Colombia on January 6th, however was a giddy dream come true!
We had been warned about a potential delay at the border, but for whatever reason we had somewhat dismissed those warnings until, in line, after a full hour we hadn’t moved one inch. The best part was that we were waiting outside, in the sun, just miles from the equator. There were actually two lines on each side of the immigration building; one for those leaving Ecuador and one for those arriving. The lines merged not so gracefully together at the guarded front door, and 4 hours later we were in (albeit at the back of another line), only to come face to face with 3 unimpressed immigration employees behind the only three desks. Business as usual, I suppose.
By Melissa Terry
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Also posted in Action Sports, Borders, Visas and Paperwork, Colombia, For some laughs, History, South America
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Tagged Borders, Visas and Paperwork, Carnival de Negros and Blancos, Colombia, Colombia/Ecuador border, Pasto, traveling through Southern Colombia
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December 19, 2008 – 8:40 am
There is no doubt about it. La Paz, Bolivia is one of the craziest, most interesting cities I have ever been to. No other city seems to generate as many questions or spark more curiosity than La Paz. Sitting at just under 12,000 feet above sea level, the altitude alone makes La Paz a unique place and as a result, it is home to the highest pretty much everything.
By Steve Bouey
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Also posted in Bolivia, Road Conditions, South America, Trip Thoughts, World News
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Tagged Autopista, Bolivia, Chola, El Alto Markets, highest capital, la paz, pollera, sunset, traffic, witches market, Zona Sur
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December 17, 2008 – 4:59 pm
Well, I guess I can not really say never, because we did get the trucks blessed by some kind and generous monks in Thailand, so maybe you can consider the blessing of the trucks in Copacabana, Bolivia an after-the-fact kudos to the powers that be.
By Steve Bouey
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Also posted in Bolivia, Events, Road Conditions, The Toyotas
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Tagged Blessings, Bolivia, carretera de la muerte, Cathedral, Copacabana, death road, monks, padre, Peru, priest, Religion, Rough Guides, sequoia, Thailand, toyota, witch doctor
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December 16, 2008 – 7:49 pm
“You have driven to Timbuktu?!” is a statement we regularly hear. It is a place that is in everyone’s head as somewhere far and away. Timbuktu, like the Great Wall of China, or the Outback in Australia are all places that we put on the list when planning the adventure. The Gobi
By Steven Shoppman
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Also posted in Action Sports, Bolivia, Road Conditions, South America
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Tagged biking the death road, Bolivia, death road, el camino muerte, la paz, northern bolivia, vertigo biking, worlds most dangerous road, yungas road
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December 8, 2008 – 6:10 pm
We get quite a few questions from our followers about overseas shipping. How we got our vehicles across the various oceans along our route is actually the most frequently asked question. Unfortunately, we have not been able to identify any easy answers when it comes to shipping vehicles abroad.
December 4, 2008 – 11:40 am
Headache, insomnia, breathlessness, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, rapid heartbeat, loss of appetite and in more serious cases, lack of coordination, confusion, difficulty breathing and coughing up frothy, bloody phlegm. These are all the signs and symptoms of altitude sickness.
By Steve Bouey
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Also posted in Bolivia, Environment, Road Conditions, South America, The Toyotas, Trip Thoughts
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Tagged aduana, altitude sickness, Andes, Bolivia, chile, customs, GPS, Salar de Chalviri, San Pedro, stars, toyota
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November 24, 2008 – 7:01 am
Even though some of the toughest and most stressful segments of our expedition have revolved around the conditions of roads we have traversed, traveling down those difficult sections of roads can also lead you to some amazing places. Places that are hidden and inaccessible to someone without a 4×4 and in some cases a large set of balls. In a lot of the countries we have been through, we did not have a choice of whether we wanted to go off road or not. Going off road in many places is simply the only option to get from point A to point B.
By Steve Bouey
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Also posted in Argentina, Environment, Road Conditions, South America, Trip Thoughts
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Tagged 4x4, altitude sickness, Andes, Argentina, Hilux, Off Road, sand, toyota, volcanoes
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November 22, 2008 – 6:11 am
I am sure everyone has been in the situation where you think you are going to run out of gas or better yet, have actually run out of gas at some point in your life. Whether it is running out of gas while idling in gridlock traffic or realizing that you have gone past the point of no return on stretch of road where the distance between gas stations is a lot further than you thought, it is an unsettling, frustrating yet all to familiar feeling that comes with driving. Even more so than any other scenario, going on a road trip always seems to attract at least the potential for running the tank dry at some stage in the journey.
By Steve Bouey
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Also posted in Argentina, Chile, For some laughs, Road Conditions, South America, The Toyotas, Trip Thoughts
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Tagged Argentina, chile, gas, Road Trip, toyota, tundra
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October 27, 2008 – 9:18 pm
Even with the rising value of the US dollar and the dropping prices of oil worldwide, when you are on an overland expedition, you still need to be a little creative in order to conserve your budget. We have been on the road for about 20 months now and during that time, we have become pretty good at coming up with ways to stretch our money.
By Steve Bouey
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Also posted in Argentina, Borders, Visas and Paperwork, Chile, South America, The Toyotas, Trip Thoughts
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Tagged Argentina, borders, chile, gas prices, gasoline, sequoia, South America, The Toyotas, theworldbyroad, toyota, tundra
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October 22, 2008 – 2:49 pm
I am still hard at work on the blog regarding the exact details of what happened with the trucks in Buenos. With Fernando’s help we are putting together a blog that will give a better researched insight not into just what happened to us, but more importantly, why it happened the way it did. More importantly we want to give everyone an insight as to why it is such a tragedy that Argentinean government treats not only us this way, but treats all of the citizens in Argentina the same.
By Steven Shoppman
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Also posted in Argentina, Borders, Visas and Paperwork, New Videos, Shipping, South America
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Tagged adventure, Argentina, Buenos Aires, customs, driving, sequoia, Shipping, South America, the world by road, toyota, travel, tundra
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