15
Jan

Where We’ve Been – December 2011 Road Trip Driving Route

Posted on January 15th, 2012 :: Posted in Central America, Costa Rica, Driving Route Map, El Salvador, GoPro, Honduras, Nicaragua, SPOT map

Thanks to our SPOT Satellite Messenger you can see a map of our exact Trans-Americas Journey road trip driving route. Our newest “Where We’ve Been” feature is time-lapse video created using pictures taken every 10 seconds by our GoPro Hero HD camera mounted on our windshield.

Since we had to get to Costa Rica before Christmas to meet visiting family we covered more territory in December than we usually do. This unusual run also required three border crossings as we touched a record (for us) four countries in one month.

We began the month of December 2011 in Alegria, El Salvador where we visited its namesake volvano and crater lake. From there we drove down to the Pacific Coast to visit the beaches of El Cuco and Play Maculis before heading back into the mountains for our last stop in El Salvador, the town of Perquin which was a rebel stronghold during the civil war in El Salvador. The nearby town of Mozote (site of a gruesome masacre) provided poignant reminders of just how bloody that war was.

Then we headed back into Honduras where we explored the capital,Tegucigalpa and visited Yascaran and Danli where we toured one of the region’s famous cigar factories. With time running out, we crossed the border into Nicaragua where we spent just six days (we’ll return and do it right in the spring), visiting Jalapa, Esteli, Masatepi and Rivas.

Then it was over yet another border and into Costa Rica where we headed to the capital, San Jose, to meet visiting family members. From there we headed off on a little family vacation to the beaches of Mal Pais at the bottom of the Nicoya Peninsula, the famous cloud forests of Monteverde and the hot springs town of La Fortuna and the Arenal Volcano (which, by the way, is not erupting at the moment).

We’ll be putting up full posts about these destinations soon. For now, here’s the time lapse video of where our Trans-Americas Journey took us in December 2011 (complete with a soundtrack featuring the official Trans-Americas Journey theme song)…

December 2011 Driving Route – El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua & Costa Rica

2011 Year End Recap Map

We only drove 8,028 miles during the entire year, making 2011 the lowest mileage year of our Journey. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t get anywhere. We began the year in Guatemala, drove through practically every inch of road in Belize, Honduras and El Salvador then dipped a toe into Nicaragua (we’ll be back) before ending the year in Costa Rica where our explorations continue.

Here’s what a year on the road with the Trans-Americas Journey looked like in 2011.

Trans-Americas Journey 2011 Driving Route

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4
Dec

Where We’ve Been – November 2011 Road Trip Driving Route

Posted on December 4th, 2011 :: Posted in Central America, Driving Route Map, El Salvador, GoPro, SPOT map, video

Thanks to our SPOT Satellite Messenger you can see our exact Trans-Americas Journey road trip driving route. And we’re continuing with our newest “Where We’ve Been” feature: time-lapse video created using pictures taken every 10 seconds by a GoPro Hero HD camera mounted on our windshield.

We started the month of November in the moutainous, coffee-and-flower-growing Ruta de las Flores region of El Salvador. From there we drove down to El Tunco Beach on the coast, then back through San Salvador to go falconing in a park on the edge of the capital city. Then we returned to Suchitoto before heading north to Metapan where we went white water rafting and nearly visited Montecristo National Park (the road was closed).

From there we drove across the Northern Mountains to La Palma, with a stop along the way where Eric got thrown from a horse and fractured two ribs. This was, officially, his worst birthday EVER.

That injury meant that we had to drive back to San Salvador for x-rays, doctor appointments and rehab. When we finally left the capital city went drove back to the coast to recuperate in Costa del Sol, the port city of La Libertad and Barra de Santiago. From there we visited El Imposible National Park (yes, that’s its real name), then headed back to Santa Ana to visit our friend Chalo and his wife.

We ended the month by finally heading to the eastern half of El Salvador to visit the town of Alegria and its volcanic crater lake.

Here’s time-lapse video of where we drove in November, brought to you by our GoPro Hero HD camera. You can thank extraordinary musician and friend Scott Metzger for writing the Official Trans-Americas Journey theme song which you hear in this video. NOTE: Eric fractured his ribs and Karen took over the driving at around the 8:20 mark…

November 2011 Dring Route

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6
Nov

Where We’ve Been – October 2011 Road Trip Driving Route

Posted on November 6th, 2011 :: Posted in Central America, Driving Route Map, El Salvador, Honduras, SPOT map, video

Thanks to our SPOT Satellite Messenger you can see our exact Trans-Americas Journey road trip driving route. This month we’re also introducing a brand new “Where We’ve Been” feature: time-lapse video created using pictures taken every 10 seconds by a GoPro Hero HD camera mounted on our windshield.

We began the month just outside the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula. We quickly headed into El Salvador (successfully this time) via the Honduran town of Santa Rosa de Copan. We crossed into El Salvador at El Poy and drove straight to the wonderful colonial town of Suchitoto where we spent a bit more time than planned due to devastating rains that hammered the region for 10 days.

From there we went to the surprisingly pleasant capital city of San Salvador. We left the capital and went to Cerro Verde (Volcanoes) National Park and ended the month in the low-key, art-filled town of Ahuachapan on the Ruta de Flores.

We’ll blog about all of it soon. In the meantime, check out the video made using images taken by our new GoPro HD camera which has been working hard taking snaps of our entire driving route which we then compile into video so you can see EXACTLY what we see out on the road (only much,much faster).

We’re still working on the ideal settings, but here’s where we drove in October brought to you in under nine minutes! You can thank extraordinary musician and friend Scott Metzger for writing the Official Trans-Americas Journey theme song which you hear in this video.