Los Hermanos

My brother Patrick has decided to join me on this adventure.  He speaks Spanish, has a wonderful personality and is an overall great guy.  I'm excited, he's excited, we now begin the mutual planning process.

We talked on the phone earlier tonight, and decided that the best way to move forward would be a collaboration on the scope of the trip.  There is more in the universe than we will ever be able to experience, and while we want to see and hear it all, we cannot.  So, Patrick and I are going to do some research, propose packages back and forth, and from those broad ideas hone in on the trip that we think will best suit our desires.

An example package:

(Panama)
Boquete - Birdwatching at Finca Lerida, and rainforest hiking
Chiriqui - Volcan Buru national park
Ciudad de Panama - gastronomical tourism, check out the locks, meet up with Isabel's friends
Colon - Chagres national park, Portobelo national park
Pedasi - work on an organic farm for a few weeks doing odd jobs.

La Apertura

On the 14^th of December, 2013, Isabel Guerrero and Raul Dance are getting hitched in Lima, Peru.  I bought a one-way ticket back to Kentucky.  This blog is a record of how I’m getting there.

Plenty of folks that I’ve shared this idea with have expressed that they fear for my safety.  I spent yesterday afternoon with my dad and he touched seriously on the physical danger that could result from ignorance or unpreparedness.  A few things were learned from our chat.  Importantly, I should: find a travel partner, have a clear travel itinerary to ensure that the routes and modes taken are at least not outright dangerous, and let those that care about me know that I’m taking it seriously. 

Welcome to the planning phase.  Not all of my ideas are good ones (as much as this truth disappoints me), so hopefully the inclusion of many more brains working together will be able to make this trip as safe, enlightening, and fun as possible.

My goals of the trip:

To meet and learn from people of America whose culture I know next to nothing about

To see and feel the landscapes from which these people have been shaped

To gain a better prospective on how we are all connected

The itinerary as of now:

Santa Barbara, California

Austin, Texas

Mexico City, Mexico

Merida, Mexico

Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras

Costa Rica

Panama City, Panama

Colombia

Lima, Peru

The itinerary will be updated to be more specific as I digest comments and learn more about places and people of interest.  If you have ideas about of how to meet any of the goals, how to stay safe or know of good places I could lay my head, please comment. 

-Daniel