New Photos – DRC

By Steve Bouey in

October 26, 2008 – 7:57 pm

Our trip through the Democratic Republic of the Congo was quick, only lasting about three days. We were kicked out of Kinshasa after partying with UN workers and had to get to Matadi as soon as possible for our Angola visas since we already lied to get into the country in the first place. We did manage to check out the Chutes de Zongo, one of the only established tourist attractions in the entire DRC. While at the Chutes de Zongo, we met some Dutch people working for Heineken in Kinshasa and they were kind enough to let us crash at the “Heineken House” in Matadi while we waited for our visas.


DRC is a pretty crazy place and there are so many police roaming around that trying to take pictures of anything can be risky since basically everything from the port to the shack on the side of the road somehow has some national security significance. Just ask the South African we saw get arrested at the port for simply having a camera attached to his motorcycle to document his overland trip to London.


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By Steve Bouey | Posted in Africa, DRC, New Photos | Tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

New Photos – Angola

By Steve Bouey in

October 25, 2008 – 6:01 pm

It took nearly seven weeks to get our visas for Angola and when we finally had them issued in Matadi, DRC, they did not give us much time. In fact, they only gave us a five day transit visa, so we had to haul ass through more than 2,000 kilometers of bad roads. Angola is quite a unique place. You can tell from the destruction in many of the villages and towns, the extreme landmine danger and by the military equipment scattered throughout the countryside that the civil war had only recently ended. However, the people of Angola were some of the friendliest we had me in Africa to date. Angola is an intriguing country and it was a shame we had such little time to explore such a diverse and vast landscape.

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By Steve Bouey | Posted in Africa, Angola, New Photos | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Keep on Crashing

By Steve Bouey in

October 24, 2008 – 11:23 am

I am sure everyone is anxiously watching the news outlets for glimmers of hope regarding the current global financial crisis. The value of people’s pensions plans are eroding, people are worried about having to work for another five years before they retire and Wall Street analysts and financial managers are wondering if they will have a job tomorrow. Actually, we here at the World by Road could not be more pleased with the current financial turmoil circling the globe.

You may be asking yourself why we are so elated about this crisis, but in every dark cloud, there is a silver lining. For us, that silver lining is shining through bright and clear. Actually, for all Americans traveling abroad right now, this little monetary meltdown is quite a blessing. You might remember a blog I wrote a few months ago highlighting the declining value of the US dollar abroad and the rising prices of oil… two conditions that have taken quite a large dent out of our TWBR bank account. Well, this financial crisis has tilted the scales in our favor. In fact, the scales are pretty much overflowing in our favor in terms of the strength of the US dollar abroad.

To show you just how this crisis has and hopefully will continue to benefit us, consider that yesterday, the price of crude oil closed at just over $66 per barrel. Compare that with an all-time high of around $147 dollars a barrel in July of 2007 and that is a substantial decrease. That decrease does take a while to be reflected in the prices of refined fuels, but it is taking hold and we are enjoying declining gasoline prices for the first time in the expedition.

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It is not just the price of fuel that is shifting in our favor. Foreign exchange rates have bounced back strongly in favor of the US dollar. Not only is the price of gas cheaper, Americans and people with money in US banks are experiencing a lot more bang for the buck in foreign countries. Here are a few examples to highlight just how strong the dollar has gotten in the last month or so. When we first entered Chile at the beginning of October, we were getting about 565 Pesos per dollar. Today, we are collecting around 648 Chilean Pesos. That is a positive swing of nearly 15 percent. Even more dramatic is the rise in value of the dollar to the South African Rand. Back when we were in South Africa in August, one dollar was worth 7.6 Rand. Today, a dollar will get you about 12 Rand, an increase in value of about 58 percent!  Other notable dollar value increases compared to when we were in these respective countries include the British Pound (18 percent), the Euro (15 percent), the Moroccan Dirham (55 percent), and the Central African Franc (23 percent). The list goes on with the exception of China, but in general the US dollar has gained anywhere from 15 to nearly 60 percent against the currencies in countries where we were buying a lot of gas and that truly is significant. I am not going to go into detail as to why the dollar is increasing in value overseas… it is actually quite simple, but in the grand scheme of things, unimportant when it comes to making my point here and that is we are enjoying higher spending power in foreign countries.

I can only hope that the trend continues. Do not get me wrong, I hate seeing people loose their money and their jobs, but since I cashed out all of my stocks and my pension plans, the tumbling Dow is not that much of a sting to me personally. In fact, it is helping me out quite a bit these days. I only wish all the crap hit the fan on Wall Street a year or so ago.

By Steve Bouey | Posted in Did you know?, Trip Thoughts, World News | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

For those of you that might want to meet us…

By Steven Shoppman in

October 23, 2008 – 10:44 am

I have updated the timeline on the site so that everyone can have an idea of where we will be in the coming months.  We would love to have more people join up, even if for short periods of time to say hello.  So to all of my friends that have not made it out to be part of the adventure, you better get planning, because we will be home soon.

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By Steven Shoppman | Posted in Expedition Updates, Media Coverage, South America | Comments (0)

New Video – Stuck in Buenos Aires – A short window into our 6 week delay.

By Steven Shoppman in

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.

After our article in the La Nacion newspaper, many locals responded via comments or direct emails sharing their stories of how similar things happened to them.  One man even told us of a story of having to pay a $400 bribe to get a hearing aid into the country for his grandmother. Hopefully the blog will be done in the near future, but in the mean time, please enjoy our latest video.

You Tube Version (Lower Quality for Slower Connections)

but go ahead and click it anyway to help us get better numbers:)

High Definition version on Vimeo

The music from this segment


 

 

 

By Steven Shoppman | Posted in Argentina, Borders, Visas and Paperwork, New Videos, Shipping, South America | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Taking it One Step Further

By Steve Bouey in

October 21, 2008 – 10:59 am

When it comes to driving around the world, obviously there are several different routes you can take because as far as I know, there is no one official path to take. I assume that if you make it a full 360 degrees from east to west, or from west to east, you can lay claim to driving around the world, barring of course the time and distance that you and your vehicle(s) spend crossing the bodies of water that lay in between. On our particular expedition, we are covering the appropriate east-west distance to fulfill our goal of driving around the world but in the process, we are also deviating quite a bit north of the equator and quite a bit south. Currently, we are in Ushuaia, Argentina which represents just about the southern most point in the world you can drive with a vehicle. Technically, Puerto Williams, Chile on the other side of the Beagle Channel from Ushuaia is the southern-most settlement in the world, but to spare you from going into detail on a sometimes contentious debate between Argentina and Chile, we will still consider Ushuaia to be the southernmost city in the world, lying at about 55 degrees south latitude.

So, we have driven to the end of the world as they like to call it here, but why not take it a bit further? It just so happens, that there is a scuba diving operation in Ushuaia, Ushuaia Divers, and they will gladly take you out into the icy depths of the Beagle Channel, beyond the limits of Ushuaia, for an underwater experience that you can not really get anywhere else. Carlos is a local who has run the dive operation in Ushuaia for more than 15 years and he was kind enough to take us out on an unusually pleasant spring morning  and help us go a little bit beyond the end of the world… under it.

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Snow and scuba diving… not necessarily a good mix

Scuba diving this far south presents some very unique challenges to divers of any skill set. Heading up the list of these challenges is, without a doubt, the water temperature. At five degrees (Celsius), venturing into water this cold for an extended period of time can be fatal, so extra steps are needed to ensure that instead of appearing to have suicidal tendencies, you are actually going in the water to enjoy yourself. A dry suit is the primary measure of protection in cold water scenarios, and at around $2,000 a pop, they are expensive, but it is hard to put a price on your life I guess. It was the first time Shoppman and I had ever used a dry suit in our diving experiences and it took a little getting used to. However, once you learn how to avoid having the dry suit cut off the circulation to your limbs and feeling like you are being vacuum sealed in shrink wrap, you are actually quite comfortable in the frigid waters. To avoid being crushed by the dry suit as a result of the surrounding water pressure and to avoid shooting up to the surface like a cork, you must regulate the airflow going into and out of the dry suit depending on the depth of the water you are in. This all takes some degree of skill on top of paying attention to all of the other factors when you are diving and judging by the marks and bruises on my arms and legs, it is obvious I need a lot more practice at using a dry suit.

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Suited up and ready to go

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Prepping the boat for the dive

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The way Carlos was dressed made us feel like we were embarking on a special forces mission

Diving in the icy waters of the Beagle Channel is sort of a novelty, but you do get the privilege of observing some aquatic life that you do not get to see in most other diving environments. Visibly, there appears to be a lot less sea life here than compared to your typical tropical reef, but it is not that often that you get to swim face to face with giant King Crab, venture through giant forests of kelp and on the odd occasion, soil your dry suit at the sight of a curious sea lion or penguin zipping by to check you out. There are also quite a few underwater wrecks to explore in the channel, but doing so requires good conditions and when you are this far south, the weather is about as predictable as the stock market these days.

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Seal lions and penguins are the only tourists enjoying the beach in Tierra del Fuego

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Shoppman signals that he can’t feel his head anymore

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Standing on the dock in Ushuaia harbor convincing people we are out of our minds

At the end of the dive, part of my mind was thankful to be back on the boat in the comparatively warm nine degree (Celsius) air but at the same time, another part of it was ready to get back in the water. It is an experience that is definitely not for everyone, and I am grateful to Carlos for giving me the opportunity to dive in arguably one of the more extreme environments in the world. When we were not fumbling around with our dry suits, we were actually filming the dive so stay tuned for a video segment highlighting our day with Ushuaia Divers.


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By Steve Bouey | Posted in Action Sports, Argentina, Environment, South America | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

El Chaltén and Fitz Roy

By Melissa Terry in

October 18, 2008 – 5:22 am

The two towns of El Calafate and El Chaltén are easily considered the jumping off points for quenching all of your basic Patagonia needs.  While El Calafate is more of a destination in and of itself these days catering to any and all,  El Chaltén is geared more towards climbing and trekking enthusiasts as it’s tucked at the foot of world famous Mount Fitz Roy.  Although annually Fitz Roy sees thousands of tourists, we were lucky enough to arrive just before the start of the official season.  Coincidentally, the “season” is also marked by the towns anniversary.  In our case, we arrived from EcoCamp for the weekend celebrating El Chaltén’s 23rd birthday.  The number may seem insignificant, but the organized events were not.  We caught the tail end of Saturday’s festivities, which culminated in the performance of regionally renowned Bolivian band Arbolito playing in the local gymnasium…ok, so it’s a really small town.  All ages were welcome, meaning local teenagers were running the show.  It never ceases to put a smile on my face getting to partake in “the biggest night of the year” alongside teenagers that most likely ended up puking up free cake and stolen beer on their front steps later in the night.  Some things are simply universal.

DSC_0260We, on the other hand, went to bed with the cake still in our stomachs at a campground and woke to a wonderful view of Fitz Roy.   It was a gorgeous spring day that brought tourists and locals alike all with one thing in mind: the Asado.   We have mentioned our affinity for Argentine asado, and surely an asado of this caliber is unlikely to be seen outside the Argentine political borders.  The asado area, marked by makeshift fence, contained roughly 20 chorizo grills and no less than 30 lambs on the aforementioned crucifix with one large steer hoisted up in the same manner.  The sight and smells alone were more than enough for a 500 hundred person mob to gather within minutes…actually, to be fair, several hundred were crowding the fences to the pit about an hour before the first dish was handed out.  DSC_0118Clearly more than a few people knew what they were doing since they were smart enough to bring their own dishes, carving knives and even cutting boards.  Had we known the dire straights of the serving procedure, suckers like Bouey and myself would not have been among the last to eat the remaining pieces of unspecified cuts of meat with our bare hands.   We admitted defeat and turned to the gaucho rodeo to lift our spirits.   And let me tell you, just one look at a true Patagonian gaucho decked out in his fancy gaucho best will have you forgetting getting ripped off at the asado for at least several minutes.  Guachos of all ages were displaying their ranching abilities- namely breaking wild broncos and mustangs- in the face of a well sated and roaring crowd for the rest of the afternoon.

Monday we headed out as early as a group of 6 can manage for a day in Los Glaciers national park.  There are countless trails and climbs that could take months to fully explore, but the most popular ends with a 500 meter climb straight to one of Fitz Roys base camps.  The climb is tough and takes around an hour but the perspective from the top is extremely rewarding and also works to take your mind off of what it took to get there.  DSC_0241

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By Melissa Terry | Posted in Argentina, South America | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

El Calafate, EcoCamp and Perito Moreno Glacier

By Melissa Terry in

October 17, 2008 – 5:13 pm

For all of us, visiting the far reaches of the Patagonian region of Argentina has been a dream come true.  It’s generally in the destination top ten list of any traveler and is now one of those places that will one day require a return trip.  Driving on the famed Austral is an extra bonus that few will ever know.  Keep in mind though that it is a long way down and some stretches can be pretty difficult.  Most roads roads aren’t paved and the barren land outside the window is exhausting.  Depending on the route, stretches between the towns (and more importantly petrol stations) can be up to 6 hours in between.  As such we made the choice to simply barrel through one of the nights while completing the last 2 hours of a 18 hour drive from Chile back into Argentina with a late showing of early 90s cult classic, Airheads…just to ease the pain.

DSC_0107After finally stopping for the night at 3am and camping in a dried-up lake bed, which can more appropriately be described as the planet Mars, we woke and drove the last 300km to El Calafate.  Nowadays with an increasing influx of tourists, the town of El Calafate is more similar to ski resort town Park City, Utah than any other southern Argentine town.  We were immediately welcomed at Hosteria Los Hielos for two nights.  After having just come off of a 6 day camping/driving stint, this was just the place to get some work done, and more importantly, to take showers and do laundry.  Once all of that was taken care of no shame was had when it came to fully utilizing the indoor spa complete with floor-to-ceiling  views of the landscape.

Really, though, this small town merely serves as the crossroads to experiencing the true Patagonian outdoors.  There are many approaches to any visit to Patagonia, but after our stay in EcoCamp about 50 kilometers from town, I believe we have figured how to incorporate the best of all possible combinations.  The boys behind EcoCamp, Billy and Eduardo, have managed to secure some of the best property in Argentina to house their cozy camp.  Not only does their camp sit on the edge of a private estancia, it has a direct view of Perito Moreno glacier-one of the world’s most prized natural wonders.  Generally trips to EcoCamp are well tailored but since they agreed to accommodate us about two weeks before their first official clients, they gave us full run of their 5 square kilometers of prime real estate.  DSC_0031 There is absolutely no way anyone would ever be able to happen upon this camp without them to guide you through 10 not-so-well-marked kilometers or the 8 separate gates.  By the 5th gate or so, you realize that you are truly in for something special.  By the last gate, you’re able to get your first glimpse of the glacier and by the time you park about 30 minutes later, you can see their geodesic sleeping domes tucked down below among fairy tale like trees not uncommon to the filming locales of Lord of the Rings.  By day we each took our time wandering alone and secluding ourselves in the Patagonian wilderness, and by night, we gathered around the fire while Eduardo prepared meals of local traditional favorites.

Even though we’ve all seen Perito Merino on every book, postcard and various nature photographers’ catalogues stamped ‘PATAGONIA’, there are few words to fully describe the majesty of all its mass.  Actually, I take that back because I have been considering throwing out a rarely used word from my vocabulary: breathtaking…there, I said it.  It is one of the few advancing glaciers in the world and due to its constant movement, several minutes won’t go by with out hearing it come to life with either thunderous roars or eerie creaking.  While we were able to get a good view from the distance of EcoCamp, it is essential that you forfeit the 40 peso entrance fee to the national park in order to scope the 5 kilometer wide, 60 meter high ice beast from every angle possible.   A 2-hour visit should be ample time to allow you to witness, at least once, several tons of its face colliding with the lake water below.  It has been dubbed an natural icon for a reason, and to be quite honest, it’s pretty easy to walk away with a slight feeling of insignificance….while also a little thwarted…I mean, it just gets to sit there and display itself in all of its glory while some of us have to return home to look for “gainful” “employment” come springtime.  I digress; it’s worth it, no matter how you plan to get there.

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By Melissa Terry | Posted in Argentina, Chile, Environment, South America | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on El Calafate, EcoCamp and Perito Moreno Glacier

Kudos to Colorado

By Steve Bouey in

October 15, 2008 – 6:12 pm

The overlying goal of The World by Road is to inspire people to get out and travel and hopefully, through our photos, videos and stories, we will encourage more people to go explore more of the world that they live in. This is especially true for people living in the United States. We have said it countless times before and that is by and large, people in the United States do not leave the country that much. I have not had a chance to research the numbers more since I have been on the road, but when I looked into it while we were planning this expedition, only about 20 percent of Americans had a valid passport, and less than half actually used them. When Americans did pull out their passports, most of them were bound for the Caribbean or Western Europe. Recently, due to heightened security concerns, Americans traveling to Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas are required to have a passport. This requirement has obviously padded the current number of individuals with valid passports, but I am fairly confident that Americans are still neophytes when it comes to international travel.

We have met a fair share of Americans either preparing for, currently volunteering for, or wrapping up their service with the Peace Corps, however, in our travels through more than 50 countries over the last year and a half, we have only met a handful of “traveling” Americans, especially in the more remote stretches of Asia and Africa. An American on a 10 day vacation abroad (which we did encounter from time to time) is technically out of the country I guess, but due to the time constraints of such a trip, I would bet that they rarely get to experience much more then the inside of their hotel room or resort, a few restaurants and bars, and maybe a few tourist traps, so therefore, they will not be included in my own personal definition of a “traveler.” In contrast, you can usually count on running into a lot of “travelers” from Australia, the UK, the Netherlands, and even Israel, no matter how far off the beaten path you are.

In our encounters with traveling Americans, we have been surprised to find out that the majority of these individuals all have one thing in common… they all somehow have ties to Colorado. Most of them can say that they are from Colorado, a few of them went to school in Colorado and others have immediate family residing in the Centennial State. When we meet someone and find out that they are from the states, there is nearly a one in three chance that they have Colorado ties and that is pretty significant. Maybe it is just random chance and blind luck that we have meet so many people from Colorado traveling and even living abroad, but I think there is something more to it than just shear coincidence.

So what is it about Coloradoans that drives them to travel, potentially more so than residents from other states proportionally? Based upon no other study or survey other than my own observations, I believe people from Colorado are far more active and adventurous than other Americans. Even in this day and age, Colorado still has a wild west feel and in keeping with that, Coloradoans like spending a lot of their free time enjoying their natural surroundings. Thanks to the outstanding weather in Colorado, people can enjoy a wide variety of outdoor activities all year round. The high activity level of Colorado residents is reflected in that it is one of the “lightest” states in the nation in terms of the number of obese people living there. Just like an adrenaline junky looking for a higher bridge to base jump off of, this longing for outdoor activity and adventure may lead people living in Colorado to seek out adventure and activity beyond what Colorado has to offer. However, although Coloradoans may be drawn away from the state at times, as a result of it’s natural beauty, we have never met a Coloradoan traveling abroad that either did not miss Colorado or was not planning on returning to Colorado at some point for that very reason.

Maybe our encounters are reflected by the possibility that Coloradoans are far more curious than residents from other states. Colorado can lay claim to being one of the most educated states in the country, having one the highest percentages of residents with a university degree (nearly one in four), so maybe it is a quest for additional knowledge that drives people from Colorado to travel internationally in an effort experience different cultures, meet interesting people and visit new places. Who knows, these are all theories that I have been mulling over for quite some time now. Maybe it is because most people in Colorado live at an elevation of over 5,000 feet and somehow living at such an altitude has affected our brains differently and pushed us to travel more. Whatever the explanation may be, on the international scene, Colorado definitely represents.

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By Steve Bouey | Posted in Trip Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

The Overlander’s Guide to Last Minute Press Conferences

By Melissa Terry in

October 13, 2008 – 7:34 pm

If you’ve got a story to tell, and you want the southern states of Argentina to be the first to know, then Esquel, Argentina should be your first stop!  Speaking from experience, you’re going to want to head down to city hall (or wherever any major press conference is taking place) introduce yourself to at least one person with either a microphone, pen and paper, fancy hair do, etc.  That is pretty much all it takes to get the attention of every other journalist in the vicinity.  Don’t worry, they can resume their conference later.  *However, it might help to have arranged a meeting ahead of time with one of the bigger outlets like Diario El Chubut, go to their headquarters for the interview, find out where the reporter is and then track him down while he is busy with another press conference.  But, trust us, it works!  Within an hour our story was in the hands of not only Diario El Chubut, regionally broadcast channel 4 and two radio news programs (one of which included a live interview via the journalists’ cell phone).  Also, if you’re not from Argentina and are having trouble with the language barrier lacking the wherewithal to juggle the line up of interviews, try finding yourself your own personal Fernando Bischof.  Any sassy Argentinean that loves to talk and looks strikingly like Ewan Macgregor will work, but we have grown particular to ours regardless of his new found addiction to microphones and spotlights.

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If possible, try to arrange your press junket around mid-morning break as you, too, will most likely be showered with tea and cookies by the lovely ladies in whichever local municipal building you choose.  And, if you’re lucky they’ll pack up their own snacks for you to take with you on the road…free of charge of course, well some pleasant conversation should do the trick.  By the time all is said and done you can experience your very own TWBR level of celebrity–what can we say, we like cookies!

Again, trust us, it works because Argentines follow their local media.  It has been over a week since our Chubut debut, but we have gotten feedback and comments from locals as far south as El Calafate, Argentina…one gentleman who was filling gas for us even mentioned that he first remembers hearing about TWBR from our coverage in La Nacion over a month ago, but had also seen us on Chubut TV. He took the liberty to again apologize for what customs did to us…so be prepared for instant celebrity once your own story hits the shelves and airwaves. With that, ‘good night, and good luck’!

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By Melissa Terry | Posted in Argentina, For some laughs, Media Coverage, South America, World News | Tagged | Comments (2)