In a little less than two weeks, Clint, Jared, and I will finally depart on our (hopefully) massive, bank-busting trip. I say finally, because although a lot of people were not aware at the time, we spent a lot of time and money preparing.
How did this all start??
How did this idea come up? I'm not entirely sure, you'd have to ask Jared; technically it was his idea that I just latched onto. Jared was getting ready to get out of the Marine Corp, and a small hiatus before becoming a fully funtional adult seemed like a nice buffer into post-military life. As for me, I had been bitten by the travel bug years ago. It's always been part of my plan; I've turned down jobs and boyfriends under the pretense of needing freedom to pick up and go when I finally decided to.
Last year, Jared and a friend were discussing the possibility of throwing caution to the wind and taking this trip. They happened to be within a 10 mile radius of me, so naturally, I overheard and invited myself to join PART of the trip (the South America part), because I was the only one who spoke Spanish. After that, things developed seamlessly from taking an extended vacation from work, to fully quitting and putting my professional plans on hold.
Clint came along as a last minute addition, much to my elation (I'm a fan of threesome group, because during decision-making, one person can always be vetoed and the decision is made, no arguing!!). Clint and Jared met in the Marine Corp and became Corp BFF's. Clint also got out of the Marines around the same time, and decided to come along as a nice pre-adulthood vaca. Clint and I had met before for a couple days, and got along, so I was siked! And then there were three...
You must be rich, honey!
My dad always told me that, in order to the live in NYC, you have to be very rich or very poor. I made it work relatively well in NYC being (relatively) poor and, I'm hoping I can make that work as well outside of it.
Finances were the biggest issue for me. I've been blowing money like it's my J.O.B while in New York, and loved every minute. Owning anything and these so-called "credit scores" were not at all part of my budgeting plans...new restaurants and bars and Bloomies were. Needless to say, when I decided to undertake this trip, things had to change. I moved to a much cheaper apartment and cut out all non-essential spending. Clint and Jared had nice little financial cushions from deployment already, and were nice enough to wait until I scraped together enough to go. $20,000 was my savings goal; once I had it, I'd be gone. I donated my eggs to supplement, and 32 babies later I'm at my financial goal!! Jared and I are obtaining work visas for Australia, so we really only have to make it through Mexico, Central and South America on our budget. Also, looking into your banking options while traveling abroad is essential; getting charged for international transactions can blow a hole through the small amount you've stashed away. Barring anything crazy, we should be ok (famous last words).
Ooohhh, you're going with two guys!
Safety has been a big issue with this trip. People seem to think I have enough concern for safety to fill nothing bigger than a thimble. Yes, we are aware of the Darien Gap. Yes, we know not to drive at night. Yes, we know not to sell our drugs in Mexico (just kidding). Yes, we know not to bring a gun! SHOCKINGLY, we have done a hefty amount of research to thwart any foreseeable issues. A large part of guarding for safety is planning; then there's common sense; rounded out by an acute awareness that certain things are out of our control.
Planning: Trip advisor and Lonely Planet are great for helping to figure out the "must-see" attractions. That's the easy and exciting part. The part that has given me a chronic headache for the past several months is figuring out the exact hot-spot to hot-spot plan. Our driving route has changed countless times, and I expect many more changes along the way. Other travel blogs and travel forums have been amazing resources! Everyone even attempting something like this has seen www.Drivetheamericas.com. I checked the State Department Travel Warning website for up-to-date information on safety issus. If you're attempting this, do not visit www.blogdelnarco.com, it might deter you entirely. Fabeook is a great resource also to get in touch with people you know or your friends know from around the world. All the "Wiki's" were somewhat helpful (Wikpedia, wikitravel, wikivoyage). I didn't even know there were all those Wiki's. Basic premise I used to make the itinerary, was to keep driving times short. If we get lost we can always double back and make it before dark.
Common Sense: The plan is to keep a low profile. We are fully aware that it's practically impossible, given that I may be one of the whitest people ever, with a head full of blonde hair, and the two guys I'm traveling with are both over 6 foot and pushing 200 lbs, but the overall concept remains. At one point, I was immensely confused, because I was getting horror stories from people I trusted who had never attempted anything like this, and receiving virtual giggles from internet aquaintances, whom I had never met but had in fact done this before, saying I was "way overthinking this." Take away messages: A) We are not the first people to do this; B) We are not pioneering any trails: C) This does not involve rocket science.
Out of our control: I'm certain that sort of speaks for itself.
TO SUMMARIZE...our tentative driving itinerary.
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