NewWorldOverland.ca

Well,

Finally an update, but not too much to update on, folks!

The Truck

I flew down to Vancouver monday morning to pick up our new rig, the HDJ81 LandCruser. We had a “slight” technical problem east of Golden, one of those things you can’t predict…Expect a full write up once we get her on the road again!

Anyways, the rig is in Calgary as we speak, awaiting repairs and an inspection for the insurance. The guys at Outback Imports have been super helpful taking care of the problems we’ve had. Jesse/Marko/Olivier, as soon as the truck is in our driveway, I will be writing the best testamonial ever!

Although the trip back wasn’t what I (or anyone else) expected, it was good practice on how to act and think when you have problems on the road. You just gotta deal with what happens, no need to cry about it!

BIG HUGE thanks to Classic Towing in Golden, BC, Columbia Diesel in Golden, BC, and Pro-Active Automotive in Calgary! Also, big thanks to the lady who picked me up east of Golden in her ’62 Valiant! I knew when I saw that thing coming, salvation had arrived!

The first impressions of the truck are great: lots of power, smooth ride and it really turns heads! Even with a 3 inch lift, it handles better than any SUV or Minivan i’ve driven. We’re chomping at the bit to get it out and muddy! I guess we should be picking a name for her too, since that’s what most nutty people do. She’s pretty Butch to be a lady, though.

The Trip

Slow and steady progress. We may have a place to stay in Mex. City, and we’re looking into spanish classes, starting this fall.

I met with Jan and his friend in Calgary a few weeks ago (thanks again, Jan!). He is a gentleman that contacted us offering some advice for us in our travels. Having lived and worked in South and Central America (not to mention everywhere else in the world), he had some great insight into life down there and how we’ll fit in. Along with the awesome advice, our pub chat was very motivational; having to wait over a year to leave is torture!

Next on the list is to start honing our route so that Visa applications can start going out soon.

The Website

Ahh, the Website. My apologies for not having any updates recently; i’ve been holding off until we get the truck here. Also, my trial has ended with the fancy web design software I have been using, so I have to decide whether $400 bux is worth it, or if I should dust off my HTML skills and update it manually.

Another thing is spare time: with our Wedding coming in September, my promotion starting on June 4 and chores to be done, it’s hard to keep up! There, now it sounds like a real BLOG!!!

My promise to the 3.5 people that read this blog is this, I will update the website, but only when there are relevant things to put there. Like my grandmother (ok, ok, and Abraham Lincoln) said:

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

NewWorldOverland’s Book Club!

Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer

“In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possesions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter…”

I read this recently, and found that it offers insight into why people travel, and the motivations behind people who sacrifice their comforts to find themselves. Check it out!