Originally Posted by jordamf

Mark g you are right, it is like the entire amazon condensed into that narrow space. And there are no trails, lots or rivers and swamps and marshes that won't support a person let alone a 2 1/2 tonne rover.

Originally Posted by osolupo

A little update on my trip.
My truck is now just outside of Medellin, Colombia. I have been on the road just over 5 months. I have crossed every country in Central America (except for Belize). I have surfed every country (pacific coast, except Belize and Honduras). I have hanglided in Mexico, Nicaragua, and Colombia. I have tried to fly in most every country, but most are suited more for paragliding than hangliding (mostly because of the terrain - takeoffs and landings).
I put the Disco in a 20' container in Colon, Panama (total costs aprox $1,200) to Cartagena. I sailed Portobelo, Panama to Capurgana, Colombia, then made my way to Cartagena by boat, bus, and taxi.
The trip has been nothing short of amazing. The places, the experiences, the people. The Disco has been a fantastic vehicle. About half of my driving has been off-road conditions, and a lot of extreme off road. The truck never siezes to impress me in the conditions it gets me through. On regular roads and highways it drives fantastic as well. I have had a couple of misfire issues, somehow they have worked themselves out and the truck is running fine.
I had overheating issues, it turned out to be the fan clutch. I had that changed in Nicaragua. The only problem was they broke a fan blade while they were replacing the fan clutch. So I had to drive a couple of weeks with a broken fan blade until I got the replacement. I intentionally broke another blade opposite of the original brake to somewhat balance it. I had no problems and finally got another fan blade.
I have taken a ton of pictures of the places and things I have seen. And a ton of the Disco posing in all sorts of places. I need to take some of the interior modifications. It seems like quite a job to post pics to this forum as you have to make them smaller to a specific size. If someone knows of an easy way to post pics to this forum, let me know.
I will write again with more info about the trip. One thing I would like to add, there are alot of misconceptions about the safety of driving abroad. Not to say that bad things can't happen, but they can happen in LA or Miami just the same. You just have to be smart and you will have no problems.

Originally Posted by Mark G

From what I have gathered there are only extreme trails, no good roads in that stretch between southern panama and Columbia - Darien Gap. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dari%C3%A9n_Gap

I backpacked in S. America many years ago (when I was a lot younger). Spent a good 6 months there. I had a lot of friends in Brazil from other travels. At the time the Shining Path were a major threat in Peru so there were limits on where one would go. I only travel alone so when you do that you REALLY meet the locals, you're forced to. They invite you in and provide food and shelter. It's amazing. To do it in a L/R off the beaten path would be even more intense. I truely appreciate your sense of adventure.

This last year I spent a month in China. There again, it was a major blast. We were mostly off the tourist trail. We hired drivers (we being my wife and I). Traveling in China is a true adventure. It's so Far Out from what the west is used to.