Who says it takes a lot of money to travel? Keiichi Iwasaki has spent the last eight years travelling. In that time he has managed to cycle across half the world, yet he set out with the equivalent of US$2 in his pocket. He makes money along the route by doing magic tricks on the [...]

My first experience of the real Mexican taco came at about 9pm on 1st October 2005 in Guerrero Negro, a dusty town in the middle of Baja California, famous for salt production and whale spotting. Having spent the previous 12 hours on a bus from Tijuana, I badly needed sustenance. My day had been spent [...]

I recently read a good article about planning, written by Leo Woodland over on crazyguyonabike. I especially like this quote, taken from a conversation the author had with a friend of his: ‘You know what I realised?’ he said with his habit of answering one question with another. ‘Away from civilisation you hardly need any [...]

“I’d love to travel, but I just don’t have the money.” Have you ever heard anyone saying anything along these lines? Maybe you’ve even said it yourself. Whenever I hear something like this I am reminded of a common misconception that all travel is expensive. I estimate that two people, on a self supported bicycle [...]

Back to Latin America Summary >> Clothes 1 Pair Trousers – used sparingly, in nightclubs and whe ntemperature dipped – especially in Bolivia 1 Pair Cargo Shorts – used extensively. I recommend Gap. Lasted very well, had pockets repaired in Panama then replaced in Colombia. 3 T Shirts – White t-shirts didn’t last too well. [...]

During the week, Yami invited me to spend a day with her at her clinic, in the tiny hamlet of Toabré in the hills outside Penonome. In order for dentists and doctors to receive permission from the government to work as medical professionals in Panama, upon completion of their degree/doctorates, they must complete two years [...]

Highlights Equipment Review Final Route Highlights The original blog – “roylloydjones” – started out as an almost daily journal from my eleven month backpacking trip around Latin America in 2005/06, recording daily events as I travelled by any mode of transport available – car, bus, train, aeroplane, rickshaw, canoe, sail boat, speed boat and ferry, [...]

Day 237 – Sunday 14th May 2006 I woke up early and decided to make my way north. There was no specific reason for this, I just decided that I wanted to get to Colombia as soon as possible, and hanging around in beach towns was not really conducive to achieving this.

Days 213 to 216 – Thursday 20th to Sunday 23rd April 2006 After a rather restless night I was up pretty early trying to sort out my situation. First port of call was the Police station to file a report of theft, as nothing could be done without one. After a few rudimentary questions I [...]

Day 212 – Wednesday 19th April 2006 A nightmare day. Things started ok, we caught a bus to the border and crossed over into Peru without a hitch. We then took another bus to the town of Puño where we bought tickets to Cusco. Our bus was to leave at 15.30 which gave us time [...]