We spent about two years slowly preparing for the expedition. This included long days modifying the vehicle's drive train, interior and exterior so it would withstand the grueling journey around the two American Continents. It also included long nights writing to potential sponsors and drinking beer while fantasizing about the expedition.  

We are on our way of putting things together- this is how our van looks at the moment. Most of the mechanical issues have been resolved. Now we're placing our sponsors' logos.

This was a virgin excitement of just starting this mind boggling journey. We imagined many scenarios but really had no idea of what was waiting for us.

We have only 9!! days to drive from Chicago to the North tip of Alaska in order to catch the last permit to see the Arctic Ocean. We were not entirely sure if we could pull it off.

The beauty of Alaskan Highway must be experienced. Photos don't do it justice. The road is well-kept, the drive is comfortable and the surrounding nature will take your breath away.

A moose traveling the Alaskan Highway alongside of us, a herd of wild buffalo grazing on both sides of the road, gorgeous scenery- this is a great start of the expedition!

This trip is done on a shoe-string and thus spending each night in a hotel/motel is out of the question. Besides, during a good part of this trip there were no such accommodations around. Here we found a crystal clear creek where we wash up, brush our teeth and clean our dishes. The water temperature is surprisingly cold.

Couldn't fall asleep last night looking at the beautiful night sky. I took these around midnight I think...could have been a little earlier. Notice the light above the horizon never disappears.

Here the northern forest is giving a way to the arctic coastal tundra. Our photos don't do justice to the beauty of this land yet one can still appreciate this awesome environment.

Two small gold mining villages located high above the Arctic Circle in the middle of nowhere. Coldfoot was occupied briefly before the minders got "cold feet" and retreated south. The village of Wiseman is still inhabited and very picturesque.

This is arguably the most dangerous road in North America, often featured on the reality show Ice Road Truckers. There are very few gas station, no service on long stretches of the road and the surface is largely unpaved.

The Atigun Pass mountain range divides the two ecosystems. I noticed even the scent of the air I breathed was noticeably different. On the south side the weather might be agreeable, wheres the north side may feature a snow blizzard.

Our race to the Arctic Ocean was almost over. These photos were taken around 10PM as a heard of Muskox strolled by our parked van. We froze our butts off that night but looked forward to seeing the Arctic Ocean the next day!

We froze our butts off the night before camping in the Polar Tundra and on this day we froze our feet :) The water temperature was said to be 34F, about 1C.

We canoed in an inflatable raft on the Kanuti River, then climbed a couple of hills, cut and tore our way through jungle-like forests, stumbled through treacherous marshes and succeeded at avoiding bears. Moving through this terrain is very difficult and slow. There are no paths, no easy way to get from A to B. You are completely on your own. If you injure yourself, you're screwed.

Reaching the Arctic Circle only a few days after leaving Chicago was a huge milestone and success. It proved we could move fairly quickly across North America and felt like we achieved a first goal of reaching Alaska. Now we had to get through the infamous Dalton Highway in two days in order to make the very last available date to visit the Arctic Ocean. There was no wiggle room; we could afford no major time delay.

Driving back south on the Dalton Highway there was such a dense fog at night I could see only about 5 feet ahead of my vehicle. Got lucky and found a small rest area on the side of the road where we spent the night. I saw the trucks passing by without noticeably slowing down and I thought, how do they do it? Aren't they gonna crash?
The next day the weather cleared and we could see the carnage

Yesterday, Friday 13, we spent relaxing in Chena Hot Springs. Now if you are like me and thoroughly enjoy long and very hot baths/showers, this is the place for you. The temperature of the water ranged from about 105F and much hotter. We got in the water at 5pm and didn't leave until midnight. The three pics in water I took with my little Go Pro camera. The rest are with Cannon T2i.

Albeit relatively short, our Denali Park was truly enjoyable and relaxing. We saw our first Grizzly, hiked a bit, had fun scaling a couple of rocks and did perhaps the more difficult thing in the park: we took photos of Mt. McKinley.

Took a boat ride from Seward unto open sea as well as the surrounding fjords exploring the sea life and the glaciers.

Spent a couple of days in the "Biggest Alaskan Village", as some people in Fairbanks informed us the largest city in Alaska really was. The city center is clean and focused at tourism. Its weather is tempered by the ocean, meaning the winter or summer temperatures tend to be moderate. Wheres Fairbanks may have 80F in July, for example, Anchorage will stay around 60F. Its close proximity to the many fjords, glaciers and national parks make it an ideal launching point for exploration.

Our last few days spent in Alaska were exploring the picturesque towns of Seward and Wittier and doing some hiking to the Exit and Byron Glaciers.

How drastically things change within one day of driving! A beautiful green forest turns into a fire devastated wasteland, the sun disappears behind thick clouds and a moderately warm day turns very cold.

Just before entering the Top of the World Highway we drove through the town of CHICKEN. This is a small gold mining community that has been around since the turn of the 20th century.

A town far north in the Yukon territory where a great majority of the old buildings and boardwalks survive until this day.

Documenting the beautiful drive south from the town of Whitehorse in Yukon Territories to Prince George in British Columbia.

An old Indian battleground and more black cuddly teddy bears.

On the way to Vancouver we stopped at a few places, notably the town of Hope, where the original Rambo movie was recorded. The nearby creek and river were full of salmon that migrated there to reproduce. The Othello Tunnels, a remnant of a railway no longer in use, were also utilized in the Rambo movie. I hope you can see from the photos that they make a beautifully picturesque setting for an afternoon stroll.

Vancouver is one of our favorite places we've visited so far. This is the "Evening/Night" album showing the pleasant atmosphere and scenery of the city. We really enjoyed watching the unicycle hockey and chatting with the goalie- Julien Hart. Can't wait to see the video recording of the game!

It's hard to believe the city has a million rain jokes when all we had was sun and blue skies. This is truly one of the elegant cities in the Western Hemisphere. And what can beat "all you can eat sushi"? :)

Driving south from Vancouver we crossed the border back to the lower 48 and soon entered Seattle. It was a cloudy day with intermittent rain. After being awed by Vancouver on a sunny day this was a bit of a let down. But I still enjoyed going to the top of the Space Needle and the EMP Museum. In spite of offering sparse inventory in contrast to its grandiose exterior, it allowed a sci-fi nerd like me the opportunity to see Captain Kirk's command chair and other Stargate/Star Wars memorabilia. The next day we started driving towards our next destination, the Yellowstone National Park.

Well it wasn't actually in the Boiling River itself but in a "lagoon" where the underground hot mineral water river gushes to the surface and then in a series of waterfalls and cascades falls into the cold "normal" river. Approaching the site where the two rivers meet I noticed fog in the distance created by the mixing of the very hot mineral water with the cold mountain river. We arrived in the late afternoon finding very few people there and they soon left. Joe wasn't in the mood for a dip so in the end I was left completely alone. At first it is difficult to navigate through the cold river to the area where the water is pleasantly hot but once in the correct spot it was heaven. The hot mineral water falling down into the small lagoon created a sense of being in an gigantic jacuzzi bubbling around and massaging my skin. The sun was setting and as the outside temperature fell to the lower 40's F the fog built up creating a sense of other-worldliness. Sitting in the warm area all I had to do to cool off is to move a few feet towards the cold river where the water temperature suddenly changed to about 40F as well. Watching the sunset color the adjacent hills, listening to the sounds of the birds and the falling water, absorbing the unique ambiance of the magical place I felt it was to date my favorite experience of the expedition.

We arrived a day before the park closed due to the government shutdown but we didn't let that stop us. We parked the vehicle away from the general traffic and went off hiking to the Shoshone lake.

Here are a few photos of the rich colors created by the thermal activity in the Yellowstone Park along other pictures we took while driving to the park.

After getting kicked out of the Yellowstone National Park, we started driving toward Salt Lake City and on the way stopped in a huge valley called Jackson Hole (Jackson being the name of the town). It's a place fully focused on extracting as much money out of the tourists passing through to the two adjacent national parks as possible. We spent an extra day at the local recreational compound relaxing in a sauna.

Did a day long stop at Salt Lake City walking around the Olympic Stadium, the city center and mostly the lavish base of the Mormon Church. It is a very impressive compound with the main temple being its center. There are weddings taking place about every 15-20 minutes.

Driving to Lake Tahoe from Salt Lake City we passed by some beautiful natural formations of vast salt deposits coating plains in the foreground while in the distance bordered by rising mountains.

Spent wonderful time exploring the Lake Tahoe area while being hosted by our friend Corrina.

One of our favorite scenic drives. These were breathtaking views of the ocean surrounding cliffs.

From San Francisco we took the beautiful coastal Highway 1 through Santa Barbara, Santa Monica and Malibu to L.A. where we visited the observatory that had a great view of the city and of the Hollywood sign, drove through Rodeo Drive (yeah just drove- we're two guys, remember) and walked around Hollywood Boulevard a bit. Then we took off for Las Vegas.

We were blown away by the raw beauty of the Mojave desert. The rich spectrum of warm off whites and pastel colors was a challenge to capture in photographs. I did my best and you can judge the results :)

 Las Vegas was a lot of bling and little substance. The best thing about Vegas was that by chance we ran into Karl Bushby, one of the travelers that we admire the most. If there was a king of long distance travelers, it would be him.

Somewhere in the middle of the Death Valley is a road junction featuring a dilapidated motel and an opera house. 400 people used to live there, now only 2 do. I found it curious that this nowhere place in the middle of the desert has an opera house. The story goes that in the 40's or 50's (I don't remember) a popular ballerina from New York named Martha Becket got a flat tire there and while waiting for its repair she walked into the building and saw an old theater and fell in love with it. She put a $1 down-payment and started painting it. It took her her whole life to paint the theater as well as the motel and all of its rooms. She still performs in the theater, although she cannot dance anymore. The service desk person at the motel lobby left for a moment and so I took the opportunity to walk through the empty building and into all the rooms that were open taking these photographs. The paint and stucco are slowly peeling and falling off. There is mold that the two caretakers hide in vain. The paint reflects the deterioration of the dancer's body. But I am sure when the old lady walks on stage she is transported to an older time when she was young and pretty and the world was at her feet.

The Hoover Dam is still an impressive feat of engineering and construction, even roughly 80 years after its construction.

While the national parks were closed we decided to go to an Indian Reservation that still granted access to the Grand Canyon. It was well worth the time and money. Seeing the Grand Canyon in the evening should be on everyone's bucket list.

San Diego was our first entry point to Mexico. We appreciate so much that our friend Eva Ngelina showed us around San Diego (we forgot to take our cameras with us so some of the photos are shot on iPhone), took us through the Mexican customs for the first time, helped us procure our vehicle entry permit, helped us get through Tijuana, treated us to lunch there and hosted us in Ensenada.

San Diego was our first entry point to Mexico. We appreciate so much that our friend Eva Ngelina showed us around San Diego (we forgot to take our cameras with us so some of the photos are shot on iPhone), took us through the Mexican customs for the first time, helped us procure our vehicle entry permit, helped us get through Tijuana, treated us to lunch there and hosted us in Ensenada. We thank her for her selfless dedication to our well-being! :) Thank you Pamela Orozco Zuniga and her dad for housing me in Ensenada. We both had an amazing time there!

In Ensenada we were told it would be faster to get to Guadalajara if we returned back to the U.S.A. and drove to Tucson. The highways are straighter, the desert cooler and the hills flatter. So instead of passing through Tijuana we took the "libre" (all the better roads are paid and safer to travel) to Tecate border crossing. The Americans confiscated our bag of oranges (it didn't help arguing with them that we bought the fruit in San Diego) and on we went to Tucson. Slept in the middle of nowhere in the desert and the next day without a problem entered Mexico through Nogales. Driving through Sonora was depressing- everywhere garbage and poverty. We hit a roadblock policed by rebels sporting long machetes. Thankfully they let us pass, although all the commercial traffic was indefinitely stopped. Spent the night in a sex motel in Sinaloa- we didn't feel safe just sleeping along the side of the road and the rates were cheap. The next day in the late afternoon we arrived in Guadalajara. We had an address for a contact person where we could sleep but it seems street numbers are not taken seriously and after driving across the city a few times we gave up on maps and gps and after asking plenty of people we finally arrived at our destination. Joe helped me do a mechanical check of the van and the next day I said goodbye to him at the airport as he flew to the Czech Republic. Guadalajara was my longest rest stop, I spent about a week there.

When I got to Mexico City I picked up my new companion my father Pavel Stauber- who would accompany me down to Belo Horizonte. The first two days after their arrival we explored the center of the biggest city in the world.

On the way from Mexico City to Veracruz we stopped at epic Aztec ruins of Teotihuacan. The area is dominated by the huge pyramid of the Moon and even more imposing pyramid of the Sun. The whole complex is tied together by the Avenue of the Dead. This was some grandiose urban planning.

Veracruz was the entry point to the Spanish territories in Mexico. Through here much of the American gold flew to Spain. Here I spent 4 days sweating and hallucinating in bed battling Denge Fever.

Ciudad del Carmen was an industrial oil rig mining town on an island we drove to over a long bridge. A few miles passing the town we parked by the ocean and spent two days having the beach all to ourselves.

Our next stop of significance was Chichen Itza, an ancient Maya capital.

We did a mandatory stop at Cancun, a tourist central, a place filled with concrete hotels, bellboys and taxis. Every sleeping accommodation seemed to be out of our price range so in the evening we drove to Playa del Carmen where our out-of-date Lonely Planet guide informed us there was a camp. We discovered there was none and under a heavy tropical rain we drove to a gas station where they let us park in the back and sleep for the night.

The next day we drove to the small town of Tulum where after some asking around we found a local guy Max who owns a narrow strip of land with access to the beach. The place had a toilet, a rudimentary shower, something of a kitchen and a shack where he slept. More importantly, it looked like a paradise. There were no concrete hotels, the beach was clean, with few people and apart from Max we had it all to our selves.

We expected a lot from Belize and were disappointed in equal measure. The pictures of paradise we had in mind were all from the islands that are well maintained for tourists. The mainland where most people live is more reminiscent of run down slums where the local population throws out garbage out of their homes and cars, no one seems to care to clean it and the roads look passable only by off road vehicles. We focused on distilling the beauty from the rest and I think the photos show there still was plenty.

Guatemala was refreshing after the disappointment in Belize. Tikal was probably the prettiest and most impressive of the Mayan ruins we've seen.

Driving towards Antigua we were looking for a place where to spend the night. Mira befriended Jenifer, a fellow couch surfer in Guatemala City and after driving to district 2 she and her father came to pick us up. We were completely unprepared for the care and attention we received from them. We had a huge room with a flat screen tv, a private bathroom/shower all to ourselves. Upon arriving they had refreshments ready with a password for their wi-fi internet. In the evening they treated us to an appetizer of local Guatemalan ceviche, which was superb and then we were invited to a family dinner. At night they took us on a scenic drive around the city center. Then in the morning they treated us to an amazing breakfast and Jenifer's father drove me in his truck around town shopping for an external hard drive for my mac. Upon leaving, he drove ahead of us guiding us through the city. I don't usually write a lot about a night's stay but in this case I am compelled to do so as we all felt we received a royal treatment.

After saying good bye to our kind hosts in Guatemala City we drove to the Colonial Capital, Antigua. I thought I knew what to expect yet I was taken back by it's beauty. The ruins of its churches are worthy of Caspar David Friedrich's paintings. The atmosphere is that of a vibrant, fresh and living city, not a ruin of a capital that was abandoned for a more secure place.

I heard of this amazing place from a local Guatemalan photographer while taking shelter in a small hut from a tropical downpour in Tikal. He said these black volcanic beaches are rare on the Pacific coast, the only ones in Guatemala and of course I had to go see them. He mentioned we'd have to take a ferry, but didn't say anything about a shabby barge not much bigger than my van. Driving onto the barge I thought there was a 50/50 chance it would sink along with my unfortunate vehicle. But surprisingly it held and after about an hours of transversing the lagoon we arrived at the beach that was dotted with small fishing villages. On the boat we befriended one fisherman who invited us to park in his backyard, which was facing the ocean. The waves were perfect for body surfing (which we attempted right that night- the moon was bright) and the water seemed to be warmer than the hot air.

El Salvador is a small Central American country less traveled than some of its neighbors but full of beautiful nature and kind people, when one cares to look for it.

Everyone warned us about the Honduran border, that it is a wasteland, a chaos but when we arrived we were pleasantly surprised by a simple, reasonable bureaucracy. It was the fastest crossing, on par with the one in Canada. The only strange thing was the customs officer tried speaking with an English accent and kept calling me Mr. James Bond.
We passed through Honduras fairly quickly. One of the highlights would have to be an amazing fish soup/fried fish meal in one small town. It seems the poorer the country the kinder its inhabitants. Compared to Honduras we spent quite some time in Nicaragua visiting the two famous competing colonial cities of Leon and Granada. We found Granada cleaner and prettier, almost reminiscent of the Guatemalan Antigua.

Upon arriving to the 10th largest lake in the world, Lago Nicaragua, we took a ferry to the Ometepe Island (which is composed of two volcanoes) where we spent a few days. This huge lake is known for sporting a population of sweet water sharks, the only such occurrence in the world.

Upon entering Costa Rica we noticed a few cardinal points: the roads were incomparably better than the rest of the Central America, the police seemed not to be corrupt and tried to help us instead of threaten us to get bribes, and the prices of pretty much everything were much much higher than the other countries. The beaches were as pretty as advertised and all seemed to be focused on tourism.

Panama was partly reminiscent of the U.S. in regards to the infrastructure and the main highways and of Honduras/Nicaragua in regards to the urban slums, poverty and the exceptional kindness of the people we encountered.

After surviving the bureaucratic insanity of shipping my van from Panama to Colombia we drove to the Atlantic port of Colon aka Ghetto S*t Hole to place the van in the container. After giving up my keys with some hesitation, we boarded a local bus that took us to a magical colonial port (so old it was named by the Italians) of Portobelo. There is a visible expat population surviving on cheap beer and tasty bread. The small town sports two beautifully preserved XVIth century forts and medieval walls that proudly reminisce of the old glory days of the Spanish empire.

From Portobelo we took a local minibus to an even smaller port town named Puerto Lindo, where we met our captain Gisbert from the catamaran Santana, who would take us from Panama to Cartagena. The next morning we impatiently waited in the rain for the dingy to take us to the boat that would be our home for the next 5 days. As we sailed onto the open sea the waves were choppy, the catamaran dived and climbed violently and all the 10 passengers except for Mark and I got sick. Some were vomiting. I sat all the way in the front of the boat with my legs hanging from each side of the pontoon and enjoyed the roller-coaster ride as with each dip I splashed into the sea. In the late afternoon the sea calmed down and we arrived at the first San Blas islands. These are a scattered group of about 300 islands, some inhabited by a semi-autonomous indigenous people, that spread from the coast of Panama all the way to Colombia. The islands have a prototypical "paradise island" character: perfect sand beaches, coconut trees, no modern real-estate and are lined by beautiful coral reefs. For three days we went island hopping and for the last two days we sailed the open sea to Cartagena. This was one of my favorite experiences of my journey to date. I always thought that real unspoiled island paradise existed only in movies. I will cherish this experience for the rest of my life.

Having a great group of people sailing with us made the trip even more enjoyable. Those few days island hopping and snorkeling were unforgettable. I'd love to return one day and spend at least three weeks here.

On the fifth day of our sailing journey we saw the distant shores of South America. A long bay dotted with XIIIth century forts welcomed us to the both ancient and modern Cartagena. Full of excitement I wobbled around the streets still feeling like the boat was bouncing around.

It was as much of an ordeal getting the vehicle released by the authorities as it was shipping it. And realizing we were robbed: I forgot to hide my favorite cologne and naturally it disappeared and all the U.S. change was tossed on the floor.

I hope pictures do justice to the colors and shapes of this gorgeous South American city. We spent almost four days here, partly due to the paperwork related to our van and enjoyed every minute of it.

Colombia is a gorgeous country and I feel we shortchanged ourselves for not spending more time there. Sure, Cartagena is still the most beautiful city in South America but what really took my breath away was the countryside with its green mountains and deep valleys. All the people we've encountered were very kind to us, quite the opposite of what we were warned before entering the country. I personally felt much safer here than in Mexico, where I had to be constantly vigilant. I hope to return to this country again and explore it with less time constraints.

We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the roads and the welcoming attitude of the people matched that of Colombia. Around Quito there is a lot of infrastructure development pointing to the country's economic rise. When talking to local people about this, they are rightly proud of their accomplishments. Quito is a fairly narrow but very long city set in a valley at a pretty high altitude so some adjusting is necessary in order to get a good night sleep. Although very near the equator, this is not a warm city, especially at night. We met a great guy, Johann Varela, whose family treated us to quite a few amazing Ecuatorian meals. He was kind enough to show us around his intriguing city. Quito was next to Cuzco one of the capital cities of the Inca empire and to this date harbors its long lasting sense of rivalry with the old capital of Peru.

After returning from the Galapagos islands we started driving south from Quito toward the border with Peru, making a longer stop in Banos, a hot mineral water town. For all you hot springs connoisseurs, this place can be passed over if pressed for time without remorse. It is big on tourists and small on hot springs. Most of Ecuador impressed us as much as Colombia. I travel feeling guilty that I don't have enough time to see even a small percentage of what I'd like.

One of the highlights of our journey, the raw and exquisite Galapagos Islands enchanted me completely and delivered all I imagined and hoped to experience and more. We stayed on the lesser known of the two main islands- San Cristobal from where we did a snorkeling day trip to a rock formation called Leon Dormido (Sleeping Lion). It's a strange sensation knowing that the depth below me is at least 150m, two cliffs tower on each side like two skyscrapers, the strong current pushes me through the strait and looking down through the water tens of sharks are hunting fish.

Giant turtles are an indispensable part of the Galapagos experience. Some of these beasts can live up to 200 years of age.
While exploring the island interior we climbed the highest peak, which is a volcano harboring in its creator a sweet water laguna. It is now apparently infested by tilapia fish that is decimating the status quo environment. The mountain was completely engulfed in fog preventing us from enjoying a clear view of the island. Yet climbing the hill surrounded in thick fog had its magic as well.

I could do a few more Galapagos Islands photo albums but we have to move on to Peru and the rest of South America. Let me just say one more time how taken I was by the raw beauty of these islands. It is an expensive place to visit but well worth every penny.

Since one of my two Canon cameras was stolen in Cuzco, almost the whole north part of Peru has been lost. It is a land of dust and desert that is filled with garbage that people just throw along the sides of the road. Large parts of the desert are filled with plastic bags. The scenery changes drastically when one approaches the capital city, Lima. The center of Lima is pleasant and the main cathedral impressive as one would expect.

I'm sure most of you heard plenty about the famous Nazca lines so I don't want to sound superfluous. Once you get above 2km above the sea level the air becomes thinner, it is harder to breathe and visually everything becomes clearer. Driving through the Peruvian Andes was very challenging and tiresome but the scenery was breathtaking. The photos don't do it justice but the air looked and smelled differently, not just because my brain was starving for oxygen or that my mouth was full of coca leaves.

I have some bitter sweet memories of this city. As a boy I used to read books about its history and architecture and this was one of my most anticipated places to visit. Upon arriving we were led by the proprietor of Grand Hotel Machu Picchu to a private garage where they robbed our van, stealing among other things one of my Canon cameras with an L telescopic lens. Later some of my other friends told me they were robbed there as well. So the city is beautiful, notably its huge and opulent cathedral but beware of its many thiefs.

First of all, Machu Picchu is sinfully over priced and full of pesky tourists. It became a cliche symbol of exoticism, a mandatory visit for all wanna be "explorers". Having said this, it is nevertheless entirely worth visiting and in spite all its inherent negatives it will leave you breathless.
We took a bus half way to Aguas Calientes just to save on some of the train fare. We still paid $120 each for a few km ride on a "fancy" train that ran on uneven tracks. The basic entry fee to the actual site was $50.
The city's architecture in itself is not extraordinary. What is stunning is the setting high in the Andes mountains. I could not get enough of the marvelous view and imagining what life could have been like 800 years ago.

Lake Titicaca is the largest South American lake by volume of water. It is referred to as the highest navigable lake in the world with elevation of 3812m (12,507ft) It is known for its thin air, cold water, beautiful vistas, hidden sunken Inca gold treasures but what I've always hoped to see were the famous floating islands of Uros. These are about 40 or so artificial islands created by stacking layers of reeds on top of each other. They are settled by an indigenous tribe who now a days make their living entertaining tourists like me and selling them trinkets.

The Bolivians call this place "better than Machu Picchu"- I would not compare the two but certainly the artistry and precise and complex stone work at the temple site of Puma Punku holds its own as one of the most intriguing archeological sites of Bolivia in particular and of the whole South America in general.

This is a country full of extremes. There is much richness as far as natural resources yet much poverty of the general populations. It pained me to see droves of kids lining the roads we drove begging for money. My experience with Bolivians was without exception positive. They would share the little they had with me without asking anything in return. They have a beautiful country with exceptional nature and I hope their living standard will improve in the coming years.

Potosi is one of the highest cities in the world with an elevation over 4000m. I had a difficulty sleeping well there as I kept waking up gasping for air. This city was founded in 1545 as a mining town at the foot of a huge mountain filled with silver. About 41,000 metric tons of silver were mined there between the 16th and 18th century making the city one of the richest in the world. Some say about 20 million people died working in appallingly poor condition in the mountain over the years. Work continues to date and the current life expectancy of a miner is 40 years of age.

This was an experience I will never forget. I was fortunate enough to explore one of the mines in the famous silver mountain in Postosi, Bolivia. I met a guy who knew a guy...you know how it goes...who knew some of the local miners. All that was needed was to buy a few presents for them: a bag of coca leaves, some alcohol (98% volume), a couple of sodas and a stick of dynamite. Yes, one can legally purchase sticks of dynamite at the local market in Potosi.
It was a chilly day yet after penetrating deep into the mine shaft the air got warm and was filled with dust. The paths felt claustrophobic and you could easily get lost in the complex mesh of connecting shafts. If you didn't watch your step you could suddenly fall through a vertical vent to a level (or many levels) beneath you.
I didn't see many old miners (the average life expectancy here is said to be 40 years of age) but I met a couple of kids who told me they were 14 years old. We hung out with the miners for about 5 hours, mostly drinking what tasted like rubbing alcohol, chewing on coca leaves and blowing stuff up with dynamite. They wanted to know all about my life and my experiences and I about theirs. So there was a lot to talk about. After I came out of the mine I found a new appreciation for open spaces and fresh air.

We were told we'd never make it to the salt field in our van. In the tourist office they said "The road is terrible, it just rained, there is at least a foot of water on the field, the road leading to the Salar is passable only by a 4x4 jeep, etc.." For a split second I considered purchasing a "tour" but then I said que se jodan and drove there anyway to see if we could make it. Yes the road was awful and it took a long time to get there but the deep water persisted only at the edge of the field and then quickly receded. Driving on the salt is a strange but pleasant sensation. It reminded me of sailing on the open sea. One can't crash into anything, only to keep a general direction so not to get lost. Seeing all white around me I felt I was on a different planet.
After a few hours of navigating the vastness of white salt we arrived at an "island"- a volcanic hill rising out of the field filled with enormous cacti. They say a cactus grows 1cm per year and according to some calculations some of these were 10,000 years old.

Right behind the town of Uyuni in Bolivia there is a picturesque cemetery of trains that are no longer in use. We got there in the early morning and I think we had great lighting for the photos we took.

We tried to exit Bolivia through the only 4x4 accessible path to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. We soon realized however that our van had no chance on such an extreme off road surface so we crossed a bit more north at a place called Ollague where we only got one flat tire. The desert was cold, harsh and breathtaking. Finally we got to the border where although the computers were on in the offices but no one was around. I had to walk from shack to shack knocking on doors to find an immigration and customs official.

After crossing the deserted border Bolivia/Chile, we drove through a breathtaking desert lined with mountains. We spent one night parked at the side of the road and got up early in the morning to capture the deep blue colors of dawn.

Driving through northern Chile one gets a grasp of the vastness of its deserts, of the distance and the slowly changing climate as one descends south. There is hardly any vegetation, just rocks and sand contrasted by the cold Pacific Ocean. This stark beauty is unforgettable.

This is one of my favorite South American cities. It has a Bohemian/European vibe, its streets in the center reminded us of parts of Prague and the street graffiti art is just amazing.

I had to wait a few days in Santiago for my new GoPro camera to arrive. After my Hero3 drowned in salt water in the San Blas islands I contacted the company for a replacement. They stand behind their products and after I sent them the damaged camera from La Paz, they immediately sent me a new one to Santiago. So I used this time to explore the city with friends and to plan our journey through the wild wild south of Chile/Argentina. I decided in our situation it would make more sense to drive around through Argentina in order to reach the famous Carretera Austral in Chile. So in the town of Osorno we took a left turn and headed towards the Argentine border through the national park Puyehue.

In order to reach the Carretera Austral we drove through a beautiful stretch of Argentina where we met our new friend Pavel from Jawa kolem sveta (Jawa Around the World) who we'd soon meet in much difficult situation. We drove around the vacation town of Bariloche and made our way southwest toward the border crossing with Chile near the town Futaleufu, which is known for its great white water rafting.

To me this has been the most picturesque drive through South America. Chilean Patagonia reminds me a lot of Alaska/Yukon territory. Although it lacks the biodiversity of North American wildlife, it makes up for it by its vast romantic geological panoramas.

La Junta is a small sleepy town somewhere on the Carretera Austral in southern Chile. Under any other circumstances we'd pass it by or stop for a short break but in our case we got to know it much better. As we sped along the treacherous gravel/dirt road there happened to be some large stones in the middle of the road. Due to our speed we were unable to slow down and drive around them. We rammed one of the rocks, which cracked wide open the oil pan like a can of sardines. Almost immediately all the motor oil was gone and we were stuck in the middle of nowhere with no means of repairing the damage or moving forward. This was one of my lowest moments during the expedition. I walked away, wanting to be left alone, thinking this could very likely be a premature end to the trip. About 20 minutes later we hear a motorcycle approaching and who it is but our friend Pavel from Jawa kolem světa who we met in Argentina a few days prior. He happened to have a cold weld compound that we used to temporarily plug most of the hole/cracks in the oil pan. Then someone else stopped by and gave us a nasty black used diesel oil that we squeamishly poured in La Terminator and that enabled us to make it the 30mi long trek to La Junta where we found a great Chilean mechanic who after a few attempts stopped most of the oil leakage. He advised us to replace the oil pan with a new one as soon as we can, which we finally did in Buenos Aires. To my surprise we were able to continue our journey the following day.

After our accident I really needed some rest and it came in the form of a luxury hot mineral water spa located right on a fjord that offered amazing panorama. I was lucky to be there completely alone and on top of it the guy who ran the entrance accepted the $20 bill I offered him under the table. (The entrance fee was somewhere around $60). We continued driving through breathtaking environment, my favorite part of our South American journey.

This is the southern Carratera Austral in Chile. A land full of colors and wind and remnants of the first European settlers who lived and died trying to tame this wilderness. This is one of my favorite places in South America.