Yasha and Juergen

Name and age
Yasha and Juergen, both 51

Hometown
At the time Byron Bay, now Mullumbimby (NSW/Australia)

When did you start your travels?
Longbeach, where a friend lives, bought the truck in Oklahoma (through ebay), camper in Palm Desert/Indio,CA (via internet)

Reason for taking this trip?
Always wanted to do it; we are both experienced travelers

Why did you decide to drive?
Convenience! Starting with little things, like being able to stop and take a photo anywhere (when road conditions permit, which we found quite often not the case there were so many photos I could not take) to basics like personal comfort and expenses—you have your own bed, you know how clean or dirty your surroundings are, you can carry your favorite food and cook for yourself (Juergen is allergic to garlic, which makes eating out sometimes a challenge...), you're in control of your itinerary, no hassle with early buses or travel connections or arriving in the middle of the night when there aren't any more hotel rooms (in Manila/Philippines I once had to stay in a seedy hotel by the hour, as all other places were locked up at 3am).

Are you also taking along pets?  If so, names.
Nope

Are you also taking along children?  If so, names and ages.
Nope (don't have any)

What type of car are you driving?
1994 Ford F250 T-Diesel with 2003 Bigfoot camper

Did you make any modifications to your car for this trip?
Yes we got new shock absorbers and  had some minor work done in US, plus some more along the way: we had extra rear springs fitted in Mexico.

How did you save up or finance your trip?
We sold our house, lived (until GFC) off interest, then unfortunately lost about the same proportion of money.

How long do you plan on traveling?
We finished our trip in 2009. All up we spent 3 years and 2 months driving the Americas. We spent 9 months in US (incl. Alaska) and Canada alone.

Where do you plan on driving?
You can see our route on our site at the bottom of the page.

What were your family’s and friends’ reactions when you told them about your trip before you left?
"Yeah, right, you'll never do this!" that's why our website is named dare2go.com.

Did you speak Spanish before you left your home country?  How much Spanish?  Are you taking more Spanish lessons as you travel?  If so, where and for how long?
Nope, neither of us spoke any. Juergen had basic Italian, some French, and Latin from school. We first took Spanish lessons in Mexico (3 weeks) and then (4 weeks) in Panajachel, Guatemala. We managed ok until we hit Brazil (where they speak Portuguese), and then Argentina (where people speak too fast with a typical Spanish lisp), but we still managed to advertise and sell our vehicle in Spanish while we were in Chile.

Do you have a favorite place or country that you have visited during your trip?
Colombia! Best people... followed by Brazil, of which we didn't see very much (and want to go back soon).

What was the weirdest thing you experienced on your trip?
Probably "living in Bogota" because our engine needed extensive repairs and parts had to be shipped in.

What was the worst border crossing?
Santa Clara/El Amatillo crossing from El Salvador into Honduras (the only time we paid a tramitador [guide] $5 to get us through). It took over five hours! All other crossing were ok. South America was much easier than in Central America. Yasha was cheated by a slime bag going into Belize (an it cost us $50).

Do you have any advice for others who may be considering driving the Americas?
Just do it, be friendly but also firm and persistant with officials. Don't rely on tramitadores or other "helpers", don't pay bribes, trust the locals (99% are friendly and helpful—a better percentage than in some parts of the USA or Europe).

Would you do it again?
We are currently planing to leave again in early 2013, either Africa East route with own vehicle, or straight to Brazil (buy a traveler's car in Argentina, and work in Brazil as language teachers).

Do you have a blog or a website describing your trip?  If so, what is its address?
www.dare2go.com  Our camping list is still a favorite among many travelers...