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Names

Luis and Lacey

Hometown

Arcata, California

Name of your trip

Lost World Expedition

Why the name?

We love National Geographic and old classic expeditions and we wanted a fun grandiose name for our trip. A definition of Expedition is: "a journey or voyage undertaken by a group of people with a particular purpose, esp. that of exploration." Well, that sounds like us and all other folks that are traveling overland. We say "Lost World" because to us, the world and all its goodies are still lost. We are finding it as we go.

Reason for taking this trip

We where inspired by other folks driving the Americas while we where backpacking through Guatemala and Honduras.

Why did you decide to drive?

Amongst a host of other reasons we got tired of riding buses and not being able to pull over and stop at any place we wanted to... we also hoped that having our own truck could be our home on wheels (and it is)

Are you also taking along pets?

Tie, our Black LabxGerman Short Haired pointer mutt started the trip with us, but he had a very hard time adjusting to life in the Landcruiser. He now lives with Luis' sister and family in Florida. :(

What type of car are you driving?

We are driving a Californian 1987 Toyota Landcruiser, with an Australian diesel engine.

Did you make any modifications to your car for this trip?

We replaced the gas guzzling engine with a diesel that gets roughly twice the mpg's, also replaced the fuel tank with a 40 gallon diesel tank, we installed a homemade drawer system that houses our kitchen and added storage, a 12volt fridge, a second battery to power said fridge and a solar panel to help the battery out, a roof top tent is our home. Read More...

Learn more about other people driving the Pan American Highway.

Considered the longest navigable network of roads in the world, it's no wonder many people dream of driving from the Arctic Circle in Alaska to the tip of South America (or at least part of it). Before you set off on the road however, you may want to do a few things to get started. Read more about planning your trip, selecting your vehicle, and roads and driving conditions in Latin America. Get yourself in the mood for your trip by reading some travel books or watching some movies about the places you might visit. Check out roadtripper reviewed gear to see what equipment people have used on their drive on the Pan-American highway.

Or, click on any of the countries below to get specific information about border crossings, gas prices, road conditions, camping, and hotels with secure parking.

Argentina	Belize	Bolivia
Brazil	Canada	Chile
Colombia	Costa Rica	Ecuador
El Salvador	French Guiana	Guatemala
Guyana	Honduras	Mexico
Nicaragua	Panama	Paraguay
Peru	United States
Uruguay	Venezuela

Avoiding the Shakedown: Any traveler driving through Latin America is bound to hear frightening stories about getting pulled over by the police and being forced to hand over hundreds of dollars over a trumped up charge. It is true that bribes are a way of life in many countries, but you can avoid most problems with a few handy tips. read more...