I'm leaving tomorrow morning to drive to Central America - at least to Nicaragua, maybe Panama if I have time. Right now it looks like a 2-3 month trip. We'll see how the money lasts.

If you are interested, I have a blog at http://www.laakso.us that I will keep updated on the road.

I've read that it's a major pain in the ass to gain permission to drive into some Central American nations. Do you have those ducks lined up, so to speak?

yup. the only country you need a visa for is panama, and that is easy enough to get in san jose if i go that far. to drive in, you just need an international driver's license, the vehicle title, and copies of your passport, driver's license, vehicle registration, and insurance if you have it.

other than that, it is the standard latin american land based border crossing hassle. if you don't know the drill and don't speak spanish, you can get fleeced by officials on the take. minor graft is always to be expected and makes getting through easier, but some people have been taken for hundreds of dollars in bogus fees.

what are you driving?

2003 Toyota Tacoma.

OK, I'll ask...

What's the purpose of the trip?

Climbing...hiking...sight seeing...covert operations?

come on. a standard toy taco? no add ons? nothing?
covert ops.
everyone knows andrew is a SPY!

A spy? Gee, I thought that maybe after living here several years he was going on a Mission or something.

standard taco - only addons are a shell and a sleeping platform in the back. a stock taco is awfully capable - i've driven it on some rated 4WD roads around moab without any trouble. i do have the rear diff lock and a comealong in case i get in trouble, and a tire inflator/battery jumpstarter.

its a fly fishing and surfing trip mostly. my wife just quit her job so we decided to take a few months off. this seemed like the best thing to do since it'll be relatively cheap and less attractive if we ever pop out a kid.

marc - that is hilarious. i've taken to saying "hi, i'm from utah, but don't worry i'm not a mormon" when i travel in the third world. i'm not a sheltered prepubescent with absolutely no life experience, so i'm not qualified to spread the word of joseph smith anyway.

Hey Andrew,

My brother lives in Nicaragua (principally in the interior, in the boonies near a town called Nueva Guinea (sp?)). He could probably provide you with an English conversation and a beer, should you happen by, and he used to be an avid fisherman although that was mostly in his pre-Nicaragua days.

I have a phone number and an e-mail contact, although I'm not sure whether either of them is currently operative (entropy is pretty active down there, it seems). If interested, let me know.