Questions and answers

Hi all,
Since there is not much travel going on these days, and because I feel bad I didn’t interact enough with people posting comments on this blog, I thought I would try to round up recent questions I received and answer them the best I could:

• Did the issues with the Cruiser work themselves out after the salt incident?

No, I still have problem with indication of low oil pressure. I tried to clean all the electrical connectors under the truck with no success. In the north of Argentina, I stopped in a Toyota leadership, but they could not find a solution. The A/T TEMP indicator also comes up once in a while. I think the truck is OK mechanically, and it is just sensors problems, so I am not too worry.

• I’m curious to know…why did you decide to drive & ship your car? Wouldn’t it have been easier & cheaper to stay in cheap hotels/hostels & rent cars? The expense of your car has got to be extreme now, yes?
This question comes up a lot. In my mind, driving is better because you can choose the route you want. You also see more of how people are living than if you were just flying to tourist hotspots. You travel at your own rhythm, and can choose where you want to stay few days, or keep driving if you don’t like a place.
Yes, this is way more expensive to drive yourself around the world. But it makes the trip more of a challenge. I like the fact that this travel is not a vacation, but more like a daily job. When I get to places, I feel I really deserved it, after all the problems solving skills and efforts that were involved.
The truth is I could not have done it by flying, because it will not have kept me busy enough. I am kind of a work addict, and I will have miss getting things done if I was not traveling this way.

• Have you had anyone offer to travel with you through Africa?
Yes, people contacted me to come along. I may have visitors. In general, there were more people interested in easier parts, like Asia. There are currently not too much people interested in the Pakistan or Yemen leg of my journey!

• Should we try to contact Toyota to have them help you?
We can try. The land Cruiser could use a bit of TLC.
Send them a letter at
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
19001 South Western Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501
Email: toyota_cares@toyota.com
Twitter: @Toyota

• Nick, just another thought (on the Egypt issue) in case you didn’t know yet… Did you look into getting a Carnet de Passage?
Yes, I have a Carnet de passage, which doesn’t allow me to cross Egypt. I did let a guaranty to AAA of about $20,000, and should have given the double if I wanted to cross Egypt. So now, my only option is to ship from the east coast of Africa to Saudi Arabia or Yemen. I will probably get more information about available options as I travel in Africa and meet people on the road.

• Hey Nick, while you have time, could you post why the West Africa route does not appear to be a good option to you. I would be curious to read what information you found about this route.

There are several reasons. The weather pattern, the visa situation, the deteriorating situation in Nigeria, and the cost factor.
It took me too long to go across the Americas, and now, by the time I get to Cameroon, for example, it will be the rainy season, during which you can find yourself stuck in the mud all the time. It is especially hard if you do it alone, with no other vehicles to help you out. I remember reading the blog of a couple for who it took 10 days to do 10 kilometers.
The visa for Angola is as always very hard to obtain, and I read this week about one more expedition who had to change their routes after spending a long time and a lot of money trying to secure the visa. On the west side of Africa, you have to cross many more countries than on the east side, and each time you spend time and money getting these damn visas.
Also, skipping Europe and the high cost of gasoline up there will save me money.

• By the way why didn’t you include Australia in you trip?
I would have like to include Australia. Unfortunately the high cost of shipping to and from Australia makes it difficult. If I find a treasure somewhere, I’ll do it.

• Have a question: you speak English & French (presumably) do you speak any other languages…Spanish?…??
The only languages I speak are English and French. Unfortunately, I didn’t speak Spanish, which made the communication harder for the first leg of the trip. You definitely experience way more as you can spend more time discussiong with the locals. English is widely spoken on the east side of Africa, which will make it easier for me.

• Can you give us details about the equipment you took with you and what you did on the truck before you left?
I plan to add a link at the top of this page with more details on the prep work. This is long overdue and will help out people who want to do a similar trip.

• What will you do at the end of the trip?
Try to find a job in New York City, and secure a work visa. Hopefully the economy will be in better shape. And more I travel, more I know that I want to live in NY when I am back, if I can.

• How often are you changing your oil? Are you sticking to a 3,000 mile routine or if you are changing it more often due to the harsh conditions you are encountering.

Since I left NY, I use synthetic oil and just change it every 6 to 8,000 miles. I may have to switch to regular oil when I will not be able to find better.

• How are you doing compared to the budget you had at the beginning of the trip?
So far, I think I spent less on lodging/camping that I thought, even if costlt Buenos Aires will change that. I probably spent a bit less on food and more on gasoline. On the top part of the website, there’s a link to the expenses I had. Whenever I will have time, I will put more details into it.

• Aren’t you tired yet of traveling?
Surprisingly not. I was thinking I would get very tired of sleeping in different places every night, but so far, I like this life, and can continue like that for a while.

• Which countries did you like more?
The countries I preferred, I guess are Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Guatemala. But of course I had good time in every country.

• What do you miss the most?

I miss my friends in NY and working down there. Even the NY winter, can you believe that? I miss work and the people I used to see daily. I miss people from Lefferts Place in Brooklyn and Jay and Rosie who owns the house I lived. I miss friends in France, which I did not see much then, but even less now. I miss my bird. I also miss people at BK who helped me out setting up my truck and fix the multiple crappy cars I own in the past. But most of these things will be there when I come back, and New York will always be New York, right?

• Does every country have all-you-can-eat specials? Imagine a Latin American Caribbean smorgasbord with a never ending desert tray at the end. Good stuff.

I didn’t see much of all-you-can-eat buffets, but I guess you can order a Parilla (barbecue) menu in Argentina, and there are few chances you will finish it.

Stuck in central Honduras

The beach in Masca

I wish there would be more exciting news but here we are, still stuck, ten days since our little mountain escapade. After two days making the emergency repairs in the suburbs of San Pedro, we were able to leave and reach the coast, but the mechanical shape of the truck was not reinsuring, and I decided we had to bring the truck to a professional mechanic.

River in the rain forest

On the coast, we spent two days at George’s place, a friend from Brooklyn who lives with his wife Clara in Masca, on the Caribbean coast. George is deeply involved in the community down there, and also represents the Global Block Foundation in Central and South America.

Georges and Nick meets in Masca

We were able to relax a bit, went to the beach and in the rainforest, but were restless because of the state of our vehicle, and anxious to have a definitive word about what had to be done.
The coast is very interesting with its banana-export ports, but also Garifuna villages. The black ethnic Garifunas are believed to live in central america long before the arrival of Europeans. At some point, Hispanic ships carrying enslaved West Africans added to the local population.

On Monday, we decided to backtrack to San Pedro Sula, and visit the Toyota dealership. When we arrived there, we were informed they would not look at any U.S. vehicles, for political reason. Surprised by this – but of course, we are used to surprises by now – we found the address of another shop where an ex-Toyota staffer is a mechanic.
When we got there, they told us we had nothing to worry about, and that the car will be ready in two-days. That was ten days ago.
We left the car, packed bags, and took the bus to go to stay at Antonio, a friend of my New York buddy Sergio from the New York Times.
Antonio lives in Las Minas, one hour east of San Pedro, close to El Progreso.
From there, every day our problems became more complicated. Chases for parts, delays, and of course an inflating bill were making every day a disappointment. As of today Saturday, we still have not much ideawhen we will finally get our ride back. We are still tracking down a transmission part, which is supposed to be the last, but who knows. In addition, the repair budget already took a serious hit.

Antonio's family and friend

Thanks to Antonio, Thelma his wife and their friend, we still had chances to enjoy our stay. We went out with Antonio’s friend, and I was able to try meat specialties as well as many Honduras beers. We also got cigars and coffee, and took advantage of the countryside around the house.
But now it seems that we may have to let our plans to be in Costa Rica by Christmas on the drawing board. Especially if the part we are supposed to get on Monday doesn’t fit the truck, which may happen with our recent luck. But if it does, we should be in the capital by Wednesday, pass the Nicaragua border Thursday, and be very close to Costa Rica by Friday.

And who cares if we are still in this fine country for Christmas, as long as we can be back on the road, have a good meal and maybe smoke one of these Honduras cigars…
Who knows, maybe I should just live in Honduras for the rest of my life, since we already enjoy fame in San Pedro, where we were featured in the local newspaper.