4RunninfromHome. A quick trip down the PanAmerican

[Scoooooch]

What's up guys, hooked up with some wifi today so as promised I'm throwing some pics your way. I'm sorry I don't have much on my phone at the moment and I'm not too motivated to drag out the computer. Much to concerned with sitting in the hammock and soaking up the rays.

Current location is Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur. Heading back north to La Paz tomorrow to catch the ferry to the mainland. I promise I'll throw some better ones up (of the trip AND the runner in the awesome spots we have found along the way) when I find some decent wifi and the motivation. Happy Belated Holidays to the T4R family, without this site I probably wouldn't be here right now.

Cheers

Chris

 

[Kraze]

Yessss! I have been waiting for this thread ever since you mentioned your trip. Awesome pictures, definitely keep us updated!

 

[Scoooooch]

I will certainly do my best. We're just about to pull out and start the trek back up to La Paz via the East Cape Rd. The ferry to the mainland is about 16-18 hrs so I should have some time to load everything up on the laptop and I'll post some pics up here next wifi I get. And just to keep this thread at somewhat Toyota related...spotted this beauty downtown yesterday. Cheers!!!

 

[Speedy Gomez]

Sweet nice pics!

 

[DannyLlama]

Keep'm comin!

 

[Scoooooch]

Currently in Chetumal, Mexico. We're chillin out for a couple days before crossing into Belize, updates to come I promise.

 

[Kraze]

Looks like paradise!

 

[Scoooooch]

We left Vancouver, BC on December 30 and made a b-line for the American border as early as we could drag our hungover asses out of bed. We had a little shindig the night before to celebrate the beginning of a new life, you see the 4 of us have sold everything we don't need, put the rest in storage in a small interior BC town, quit our jobs, and loaded everything we think we might need to survive in Central America for 4-5 months into the back of my 2nd (the best) gen runner. The next few months are all about new adventures and awesome experiences.

I have to say looking back through all the military and police checkpoints we've been through so far, crossing in the US from Canada was by far the toughest yet...

after waiting in line for 3+ hours just to get to the broader guard, I made the mistake of laughing a little when he asked where we all lived. I couldn't help but just be honest and say "nowhere at the moment". Well that was a giant red flag, he pulled out the yellow pad right away and sent us inside for inspection, telling us that there was a very good possibility that they wouldn't let us come through seeing as how we had no permanent residence, no source of income, and no proof of destination. After another 2 hour wait inside, a quick X-ray of our rig, and a chat with an agent who had a little more of a sense of humour, we were on our way.

More to come...

 

[Scoooooch]

Don't have time to continue this morning, we're getting ready to cross into Belize, but here's what I saw when I opened my eyes today. What did you see?

 

[Scoooooch]

After finally making our way across the US line it was hammer down to get as far as we could the first day. We burned down the I-5 until I could drive no more. After the delays at the border and sleeping in and being hungover, I got about 700 km in 8 hours before having to call it. We found a hotel on the side of the highway in Creswell, OR.

Short sleep and up the next day to put in as many km's as we could. Made it from Creswell, OR to Lost Hills, CA (about 1120 km) before we found another hotel on the side of the highway. Seeing as how it was New Years Eve we went to the local refreshment establishment, grabbed ourselves a couple pops and celebrated the best we could. Under the only palm tree in sight...fitting if you ask me

At the end of day 2 we were almost 1900 km from home, I think that's a good start.

 

[Scoooooch]

Next up was getting through LA, being a bunch of Canuckistanians who had never been there we decided to take a little detour through Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Just to see how the other half live I suppose.

Drove right through the heart of it, walk of fame and all that crap, a cruise around some neighbourhoods of the hills, and back on the road. Drove right down the coast through Santa Monica, Long Beach, Huntington Beach etc and hooked back up with the I-5 for a last push to San Diego. Didn't get any pictures from today, probably had something to do with the special brownies we ate that we brought with us from home...

Found a campsite in Sweetwater Regional Park which really wasn't all that bad except for being stuck between a couple freeways.

Next day we spent in town gathering some last minute supplies and taking care of a few things before we crossed into the Wild West known as Mexico. Made it downtown for happy hour and I have to say to anyone on here who may be from San Diego, you have a beautiful city and I will be returning.

 

[Kraze]

I just caught up on everything. What an epic trip. I've dreamed about doing what you guys are doing for a long time.

If you don't mind me asking, about how much did each of you save up to be able to afford a trip like this?

And if you stop in San Diego on the way back, let me know, I'll buy you a beer :cheers:

 

[Scoooooch]

I just caught up on everything. What an epic trip. I've dreamed about doing what you guys are doing for a long time.



If you don't mind me asking, about how much did each of you save up to be able to afford a trip like this?



And if you stop in San Diego on the way back, let me know, I'll buy you a beer :cheers:

Thanks bud, it was in the works for almost a year. We've each got about $5000 (CDN) plus a little extra for emergencies and such. We planned on a daily budget of $35 or so. It was very easy to hit that in Mexico, Belize has been a little tougher so far but we spent some time in some touristy spots i.e. San Pedro and Caye Caulker. We spent almost a week there and had to find parking for the truck on the mainland and decided against taking all our camping gear to the islands so we spent the money on hotels, let me tell you after a month in a tent even the shitty budget hotels we got felt like a palace.

If we come back through San Diego I'll definitely hit you up on that beer. Right now though the plan is to come up through New Mexico and hit up some hot springs on the Rio, then Utah Colorado and such. I did a huge road trip through the states a couple years ago but it was mainly hotel stays and I'm dying to get back down there. I'm really itching to do some camping in N.M. and around the Grand Canyon and such. Timing depending...maybe even a stop in Moab...?

 

[Scoooooch]

After running errands and tying up some loose ends it was time to cross into Mexico. We decided against crossing at Tijuana and headed east for Tecate. It was a little further than I thought and I was starting to get a little worries that I'd gone the wrong way, when we came over the crest of a hill and there it was. The place where they make that wonderful beer flavoured water!

Drove up to the line and waited for the red/green light...RED!! Sirens and lights and all of a sudden we're getting stated down by the Mexican military. Off to the side we go where my truck was glanced at, we were smiled at, and we were on our way. America take note Inside for some quick paperwork and we were gone in 10 minutes. Wow. That was easy.

First stop was in Ensenada for a roadside market to stock up on fresh cheap produce, and of course some street meat!

Probably the best (and cheapest) quesadilla I've ever had. DEFINITELY worth the $1.00 it cost. Back on the road through some beautiful Mexican coastline heading for our first stop, a little town called Colonial Vicente Guerrero. Cheap camping surrounded by strawberry fields, can't beat that!

More to come...

 

[Hanau]

Awesome

 

[Scoooooch]

Sorry for the lack of updates, we aren't spending much time in places with wifi and when we do get it, it's spotty at best. I know I'm over a month behind but I promise I'll update as much as I can when I can. I'll be staying with some family friends for a couple weeks in Panama so maybe I'll take the time to update all you guys then of what's happened between the last post and now when I get there.

Currently in Antigua, Guatemala enjoying the beautiful sights! I don't know if anyone on T4R is from Guatemala but this place IS DEFINITELY Toyota county. 90% of the vehicles on the road are pickups or Hilux's, the other 10% are split...with 8% being 4Runners and the other 2 Nissans or Datsuns. Any of you guys need parts check down here haha.

Taken in Flores where we stopped for the day. 4 countries worth of mud...5 to go.

Taken where we stopped to air down before continuing into Semuc Champey. The off-roading is epic here, if ANYONE is thinking about doing this trip...don't think...just do it.

These are from our campsite at Semuc. We were a 5 minute walk from the pools. Camped in a local Mayans backyard for Q10 per person per night (about $1.50)

Our campsite at the Parque Nacional in the centre of Cobàn. Trying to keep the 4Runner theme of the thread.

That's it for now, couple more days in Antigua, then I think it's off to El Salvador.

 

[cbielat]

This is great, guy's! Be careful out there.

 

[Hanau]

Epic, keep the updates coming. The 4Runner looks like its in its element.

 

[Scoooooch]

Spent a couple glorious days in Antigua, Guatemala. What a city!! It was declared a UNESCO heritage site in the 60's so everything has remained unchanged, right down to the cobblestone streets.

Stayed at a nice little hostel right in the heart of town, ate some great food, ate some more food and wandered around the city for hours checking out all the ruins, some dating back to the 15th century.

Went to a chocolate museum, took a tour and then handmade our own chocolate, from the bean to pouring it in our own moulds with some delicious treats inside. Made some chocolate tea from the husks the traditional Mayan way, a chocolate drink and some hot chocolate as well.

And of course spotted many Yota's in every street corner, mostly pickups, mostly WAY older than anything we see at home, and all in way better condition than some of the newer ones on the street now.

Sadly again, it was time to make tracks. After settling up for our hotel which cost us $60 for 4 people for 3 nights, 2 separate bedrooms and our own kitchen, it was time to get moving...off to El Salvador!!

 

[Hanau]

I like the Toyota themed pics. What currency do you use? Dollars or local?