Central America/Panama trip

Hi all,

In both 2006 and 2007, I took a solo driving trip into Mexico and had a good time going to a lot of places tourists never go, or at least seldom see. This year, I'm thinking of taking a trip further south, but I'm not quite sure I want to tackle that alone this time. I'm looking to see if I can get a few other folks to take their Jeeps (or trucks) along too. 4WD is not a necessity, but good ground clearance is. Reliability is a must, as is the ability to perform maintenance and at least basic repairs (usually due to bad roads). Something that looks crappy would be best; I have an '82 Scrambler that looks all of its 28 years. You'll likely want to change your oil at least once, and remember Jeeps are NOT that common down there (i.e. bring your own oil & filters).

Dates are flexible for me, but I'm thinking about four weeks to be safe, some time in the next couple of months. My Spanish is rusty but serviceable. Everyone would be responsible for all of their own expenses and for anyone in their car (hey, I'm not a friggin' tour guide). I have a Garmin GPS, which I'll load up with a world map. Unfortunately, I cannot find an equivalent to the Mexican "Bicimaps" for Central America, so the maps will be fairly course. But I have no plans to go too far off the beaten path, anyway. I'll likely pick up a GSM cell phone, too.

My biggest concerns are Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The corruptions about the worst in those four countries, and the crime rate in the Guatemala border towns are pretty bad, at least at night. Once into Costa Rica and Panama, things are probably no worse than Mexico.

It'd be a fun trip, and something to remember. Anyone wanting to go should be aware that they should NOT act like an idiot. Doing so in some of those countries could get you put away for a while. I've never had any issues throughout Mexico, but I rarely drink and only chase women in the approved zones :). Speaking Spanish is a plus, but not a necessity (you'll soon learn what "Topes" means).

I live in Austin, Texas, only a few hours from the border. I'm going to post to a couple of Jeep and Land Rover (let's see if their sense of adventure matches their spare tire covers) clubs in the Texas area to see if there's any interest there.

Let me know what you think. And yes, I'm aware it's crazy based on the feedback I received when I asked about driving into Mexico back on

2005.

Thanks, Michael

Reply to
Michael White
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Reply to
L.W.(Bill) Hughes III

Have fun, sounds like a blast.

My wife and I have rented 4WD vehicles in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua several times within the past 4-5 years. We've talked about driving our TJ down sometime, but it hasn't happened yet.

I'm not sure that I agree with your comment that Jeeps are not that common down there, we saw them all over the place, in fact I remember in both Mexico and Costa Rica seeing many for sale as we drove through the countryside.

In my opinion, Costa Rica is by far the safest of the countries that we have driven through (we drove San Jose to Limon and then south to the Panama border on the Caribbean side, and then back to Guanacaste on the Pacific side).

Nicaragua was wonderful, though we stayed along the Pacific coast where they're used to seeing lots of ex-pat gringo surfers.

And, we've never had a problem with Mexico, though it's been a year since we last visited. Baja is a very fun place to drive. On our most recent trip we drove around the state of Oaxaca and it was excellent. Both in Oaxaca and in the mountains outside of Puerto Vallarta we had the experience of the locals pulling a rope across the road and asking for a "toll". They have no authority to do this, but you're best off giving them a few pesos and a "Dios Te Bendiga" (God Bless You) and they'll lower the rope and let you pass. One time they let us pass in exchange for bringing a migrant worker back to town. Fortunately I've spent enough time in various Latin American countries that I have a pretty good sense for the culture (and it varies quite a bit country to country) and my spoken spanish is adequate.

We've also had the experience of nearly running out of gas in both Mexico and CR, and usually you just ask around, and you'll get directed to some enterprising local who has a supply... in Mexico we once got directed to a farm-house, and upon arrival we asked for gas, the mother sent out her young (I would estimate 10 years old) daughter who brought out gas and siphoned (by mouth!) gas from a container into our jeep. Be sure to ask for the price up-front, though you may be in no position to negotiate.

Yes, watch out for the topes!

I'm very cautious while down there, but I did get pulled over twice in Costa Rica for speeding (they let me go both times after I handed them my California drivers license, I think they are so dependant on tourism that they leave the foreigners alone).

In Nicaragua I got pulled over for going the wrong way down a one-way street (the streets in town aren't always very clearly marked, so be careful!)... again, they let me go after I showed them my license.

I remember "checkpoints" (military checkpoints in Mexico, and police checkpoints in Costa Rica... Costa Rica has no military) where they usually just ask where you're going to... I think they're looking for drug traffickers.

Look into the car insurance requirements for each country. Because we rented vehicles, we didn't have to worry about insuring a personal vehicle. However, we crossed the border from Costa Rica into Nicaragua and had to transfer vehicles, they won't let you bring a rental across the border.

Finally, when in Rome, do as the Romans do....

Jeff

Michael White wrote:

Reply to
Jeff Haferman

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