The journey has begun. Had a short drivers meeting before we headed out around 10 am from our camping spot on Overland Journal’s executive editor, Jonathan, and his wife, Roseann’s property in the Sonoran desert. 

The boarder crossing in Nogales was uneventful. So uneventful, in fact, that I was busy “battening down the hatches” in preparation for the boarder crossing, and missed it. Not one of the four vehicles in our party were stopped or even looked at sideways. They just waved us on through (or so I was told).

The planned beach camp turned into an inland camp due to a “problem” at vehicle importation that took several hours to iron out. With a laptop and a printer in the large EarthRoamer, a new document “materialized” and we were on our way. After a short stop at the first taco stand we saw, we were on our way to Hermosillo, and our first camp in Mexico. 

The Expedition Team: Dave, Charlie, Anne, Stephanie, Scott, Stacey, and James

Sights of Mexico: Drove past a horse set out to graze in the center median of the highway (he was tied up, but still, how’d they even get him IN the median across 2 lanes of constant 60 MPH traffic?). 

Prologue

Well, here we finally are. Two years of planning is finally coming to fruition. We are about to embark on the Central American leg of our Ends of the Earth Expedition (E3). The months consisted of detail trip planning, team conference calls, and master purchasing and packing lists divided between myself, Scott, and our employee, Jeremy. The time flew by, especially as we grew closer to our departure date. It seemed there was no end to the details. Every time we checked an item off the list we thought of several more to take it’s place. Shots, check. Shop for quick dry clothes. Check. Waterproof the tent. Check. Pick up pesos, insure new camera equipment, acquire vehicle and medical insurance, copy and translate documents, secure the businesses, find someone to watch the animals, water the plants, open the mail…

Finally, the day came…I felt a surge of emotions as we headed down the mountain toward Phoenix in near blizzard snow conditions. I couldn’t really pinpoint what was making me tear up. I guess the realization that this was it. The months of planning, details, organization, late nights, early mornings, and near crushing, heart-palpitating stress had finally come to an end. We had made it. There was nothing left to do but leave. 

Trip facts

Ends of the Earth Expedition: We leave for Central America, and will travel along the western coastline of Mexico. We will explore the foothills of Copper Canyon and the rich colonial cities before turning east towards the jungles and the remote, muddy tracks in the Yucatan and Belize. The team will explore newly discovered Mayan sites in Guatemala and travel several routes not documented since the Camel Trophy. Continuing south, we will cross into Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, before completing the final 140 miles of dirt roads to the Darien Gap.