Category Archives: Central America

Living The Jungle Dream

“Welcome!” exclaimed owner, Davis, with a smile from ear to ear. He has many reasons to smile these days, for what started as a dream has now turned into reality. He and his wife, Meghan, are the proud owners of the Climante Rainforest Eco-Retreat in the Chilamate, Sarapiqui region of beautiful Costa Rica.

Photo of the Week: Windy

There are a lot of stray dog’s in Central America. Some are dangerous, some are indifferent, and some are extremely friendly. This little sweet dog we met at Machete Kiteboarding at Punta Chame, Panama is nicknamed Windy. She passed out early while we all enjoyed the bonfire on the beach.

Just What Is Really Going On In Panama?

Panama is a country of contrasts, probably more so than any other country I have traveled through on this expedition. There are definitely a lot of other countries in the world where you can see the stark contrast between rich and poor, the haves and have nots but because Panama is such a small country relatively speaking, these contrasts can literally be observed without really going anywhere or even trying.

Scuba Coiba and Santa Catalina, Panama

Our last destination in Panama was a sleepy town called Santa Catalina. Surfers first came sometime in the early 80s and not much has been developed since, aside from a few restaurants, hostels and cabins. This would be a good place to come “to get away from it all” as there is zero cell phone service or internet access. For better or for worse, it’s a seemingly odd little vortex of a tropical town and no one in it, tourist or otherwise, has any clue what is going on. After about 45 minutes trying to look for our hostel on one of only 3 dead-end dirt roads, our friends Tom and Steve mentioned that they met someone in the Panama City airport who told them that the town is “really confusing”.

Photo of the Week: Sleepy Newbie

Life on the road often involves late nights followed by long days of driving. New crew member Steel Henessey Jones is pictured here catching up on his beauty sleep. Our trip this day took us from Dominical, on Costa Rica’s pacific coast, to Chilamate Eco-Retreat, in the heart of the rainforest.

Done And Done

No more shipping the trucks! When we were in the planing stages of the expedition, we could not have possibly imagined how difficult, complicated, convoluted, annoying and downright painful the overseas shipping process could be. After four international, overseas container shipments during the course of the expedition, one would think that we are now knowledgeable experts when it comes to shipping vehicles abroad. The sad reality of the situation is the only thing we really know about putting a vehicle into a container and sending it to another country is that we never care to do it again.

Trek To The San Blas Islands

4:45 a.m. rolled around and it was time to get up. The great people at Luna’s Castle Hostel, in the Casco Viejo neighborhood of Panama City, set us up with a jeep ride to Carti to meet the rest of The World By Road crew for the first time in the San Blas Islands.

Sailing the San Blas archipelago around the Darien

Point of Departure: Cartagena Yacht Club

Point of Arrival: Panama City, Panama via San Blas Islands

Mode of Transport: 30ft Single Mast Sail Boat

Approximate hours at sea: 41

Captain: A gregarious loose cannon named Hernando

Crew: 6 travelers entirely un-experienced in sailing and just trying to get to Panama