WideAngleWandering
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Wandering Mexico & Central America
A bit over a year ago I took off from work to meander the Americas with my '84 HJ60 Landcruiser and some old Canon FD cameras & lenses. I started
with a trip to Alaska to shake down my gear, then crossed the United States, returning to California to start the roadtrip through Latin America.
This thread is a continuation of my Baja trip report. Since y'all have provided so much useful (and sometimes hilarious) information, I thought I'd continue posting here.
I can't guarantee I'll post in order but each post includes a date at the top.
[Edited on 2012-12-11 by WideAngleWandering]
Traveling the Americas via my old land cruiser
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WideAngleWandering
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Ciudad Vieja (fleeing rockets and mortars)
Full Post: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2012/12/ciudad-vieja.html
2012-12-08 (Please note the dates. I'm now posting in whatever order I please.)
Rickety Rocket Launchers by WideAngleWandering, on Flickr
The chicken bus stopped unexpectedly. The driver said something I didn't make out and everyone began to get off. I stepped off the bus and looked up
to see the top of a rusty ferris wheel against the backdrop of a volcano. As I was wondering what the problem was with the bus, I heard the twin
thwumps of mortars being fired. They exploded high overhead, sending cardboard shrapnel to the ground. I followed the crowd and rounded the corner
to find a flatbed truck full of angels and demons blocking the road.
The rest of the afternoon was uneventful, though after finishing my business in the city, I found myself walking back to Antigua, wondering where the
return buses were.
2012-12-09
The chicken bus followed the normal route today. After a fruitless visit to my mechanic, I walked to the centro to find some food. A sizeable crowd
was picking their way through the aisles, shopping and eating. I bought some water and a tortilla with sausage and fermented cabbage (Mayan
sauerkraut?) and sat down by the church. A banner on the wall depicted a wrinkly old white guy with a gold, jeweled staff topped with a crucifix.
Inside, a pre-recorded sermon read by an overly-inflective voice actor played, followed by hymns. Outside, dozens of bells clammered for the
attention of potential ice cream customers.
After a few minutes, the music changed to flutes and drums. Suddenly the bells stopped and the ice cream vendors started pushing their carts down the
road. I thought a religious procession, the bizarre mix of the solemn and the raucous, might be displacing the vendors but suddenly the people on the
street began to run. I stood up and looked for danger; the last time I'd seen a crowd move like that it was followed by a group of riot police firing
tear gas. A short distance away, I saw a burst of smoke quickly followed by a loud report.
Read more ...
(sorry for the teasers - copying/pasting/fixing links/converting HTML to BBCode for the various fora has become a burdon)
Traveling the Americas via my old land cruiser
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WideAngleWandering
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I continue to be lazy / behind on blog posts. I did, however, talk on this podcast thingy about my experience roadtripping.
http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/2013/01/21/radic...
I also posted a photo essay on World Travel Buzz.
http://worldtravelbuzz.com/overland-travel-americas-photo-es...
Traveling the Americas via my old land cruiser
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WideAngleWandering
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Why Climb Volcan de Agua?
Full post: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/02/why-climb-volcan-d...
Volcán de Agua by WideAngleWandering, on Flickr
We drove from Antigua to Santa María de Jesús early in the morning to meet our guide outside the travel agency on the town square. We'd made
arrangements to hike to the summit, spend the night and hike back down the next day. Back home, I'd have made a trip like this with a light pack but
this being Guatemala, we needed a horse and horse-guy, a cardboard box full of food, a rollaboard suitcase, a couple miscellaneous tote bags, a trip
coordinator and a guide.
Read the full post, if ya wanna: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/02/why-climb-volcan-d...
Traveling the Americas via my old land cruiser
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Bajafun777
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Posts: 1103
Registered: 9-13-2006
Location: Rosarito & California
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Mood: Enjoying Life with Wife In Mexico, Easy on The Easy
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Enjoy your posts here and just met a youngman and young woman in early 20's heading down from San Francisco to Panama on a 650cc Suzuki motorcycle and
it was really loaded down. Told them it must be tough riding double on the bike but they were light, however with their stuff probably a good 500
pounds so their bike power isn't much climbing any kind of a grade.
They had just gotten off the baja ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan and were charged up to head down South. Told them about your posts on bajanomad and
told them to look up your topic, as they were wanting names of Hostels to stay in on there way down and possible camping areas. Told them to be
careful just camping anywhere away from others, so hope they stay safe in there run. Take Care & Travel Safe----"No Hurry, No Worry, Just FUN"
bajafun777
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BajaBlanca
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Location: La Bocana, BCS
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I also enjoy your posts .. thanks for sharing.
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WideAngleWandering
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Thanks all for the kind thoughts.
A good resource for campground & hotel listings can be found on LifeRemotely.com under their PanAm reports. Not much info on Mexico
unfortunately. I'm happy to share GPS locations and such if they want to email me.
And now the next post ...
Full Post: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/03/the-bureacracy-of-...
2013-02-14
Waiting for the Rum by WideAngleWandering, on Flickr
Somehow, in the aftermath of liberation from Spain, the people of Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador were stricken with the ugly,
self-indulgent sense of nationalism. They fought over territory and trade and eventually defined some imaginary lines to mark their borders. At these
borders, each posted low-level bureaucrats and armed enforcers to make sure anyone crossing those imaginary lines knew just how important their nation
was with respect to the others. That became onerous, since we're talking about nations the size of New England states , so they came up with the CA-IV
agreement, making it easier for Central Americans and harder for everyone else to travel in the region. Today they have about as much hassle as I do
driving into California from Arizona. Also like California, they can only aspire to someday be as sensible as Iowa and Nebraska are with their
borders.
[URL="http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/03/the-bureacracy-of-lingering.html"]More on my adventures with Central American visa & vehicle
import rules[/URL].
[Edited on 2013-3-1 by WideAngleWandering]
Traveling the Americas via my old land cruiser
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WideAngleWandering
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The Human Element
Full Post: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/03/the-human-element....
2013-02-15
A lot of people talk about the human element to border control and bureacracy with great disdain. They curse the corrupt, angry gatekeepers to their
travels. They talk about border crossings as if they were parole board hearings populated by gremlins. What one has to keep in mind is that it is the
system, the mob, that is chaotic and broken – the individual workers are just humans caught up in it's machinations along with the rest of us.
Read on for lawyers and maps and begging and how it all works out.
[Edited on 2013-3-1 by WideAngleWandering]
Traveling the Americas via my old land cruiser
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WideAngleWandering
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Semana Santa - Antigua Gone Wild
Full post: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/04/semana-santa-antig...
2013-03-28
Alfombra by WideAngleWandering, on Flickr
I have managed to avoid Semana Santa in my previous trips to Latin America. I've always had a sense that in most places it would be more spectacle
than cultural experience. More of a haven for pick-pockets and parking scams than for connecting with people. A few folks I know who normally live in
Antigua leave during Semana Santa, citing trash, traffic jams and amazingly enough – decreased business. But, for whatever reason, I stayed and fought
traffic, often driving the wrong way down trash-strewn one-way streets.
Full post/photos/video: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/04/semana-santa-antig...
Traveling the Americas via my old land cruiser
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fish101
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Location: Loreto BCS
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Mood: energized
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As always, we enjoy your posts..enjoyed the time you were in Bahia Asuncion and then again in Loreto while you parked in Don & Karen's yard..Are
your travels over now??
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WideAngleWandering
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I'm currently in Nicaragua, where poor Betsy has succumbed to motor fatigue. It would seem that a 2H diesel is good for ~200k km with a turbo glide
turbo before an overhaul is called for 
And now, a post from the past (I'm way behind).
Full Post: http://www.wideanglewandering.com/2013/05/two-weeks-in-antig...
Clouds Over Antigua by WideAngleWandering, on Flickr
Two weeks in Antigua. I'm in that space where I need to settle in or move on. Unfortunately, Betsy is still in the clutches of a good but very slow
mechanic for fuel injector service. I'm getting my cake and eating it too, however, with the help of Club 4x4 Guatemala.
See The Rest
Traveling the Americas via my old land cruiser
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TMW
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I enjoy the post and excellent pictures. Keep it coming
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