Taking the less expensive route

We are visiting 14 countries on this trip. That is a hell of a lot of guide books, which seem absolutely essential in navigating our way through Latin America. We'll need road maps, camp sites, hostels, historical attractions, what to do and not do, must see, must avoid, practical information so we don't go in totally blind. There is so much to know and plan for, unless you truly want to go vagabond style and do no prep work. Sounds a little dumb to me.

Anyway, giving the number of countries, we are going to have to buy a lot of travel books.... Lonely Planet, Let's GO, Frommer's, Fodor's, etc...it seems endless. But because I am cheap...and maybe smart, I've decided instead to research, research and research free guides and information on the internet. There are sites such as Drive the Americas, BootsnAll, forums in Portuguese, Thorn Tree forum, they are everywhere and they are free. We are writing every consulate and asking for information.

OK, so I am going to waste ink on the printing but I think if I can pick and choose what information we want as opposed the ton of additional information we don't need in the book, won't that also save money and trees? At the end of the day, we will have a totally tailored informational guide.

Today I am working on Belize cause it is the first in the alphabet and the smallest country. It is still a lot of work but you also run the risk of finding much more interesting information this way. Just look at this amazing photo I found online and NOT in a quidebook. I am DEFINITELY going here.

Aerial of Blue Hole in Belize

I am copying, pasting, and printing to my little wanderlust hearts content. It may be burdensome but the fun is in the journey. And it is cheap.

Anybody have suggestions of internet sites to visit or books they would like to loan, let us know.

Video to change the world!

I am getting overwhelmed with the planning....well not really overwhelmed just becoming more aware of the real focus and serious logistics this will take....not worries just aware. On top of that I am getting obsessed about this video and photo idea I had of wanted to connect with groups doing work and also document our travels in a way that could be meaningful if not useful. If nothing else, I would like to do some short videos as we go along to post for our family and friends. 

I'm currently looking into user generated content sites and hope we can use those as a launch pad....maybe even have a little series as we go.  Two Vagabonds Do Latin America.   Lonely Planet has Lonely Planet Tv which allows people on the road to upload their videos and email directly to family and friends.  I am going to contact them and see if there is a market for a group of short docs about our trip, what we see, what we do, how we do it. I have a new plan; travel guides online should have a section for visitor videos specifically about that country. That is the best sort of info to have, people who have already been there!!! Shhh....can't give away my ideas.

I did lots of searching today and found  - thank goodness for Wikipedia - a list of all social networking sites.  One such site is called OneWorld.  Here is their blurb, which I know you can find on your own but I really wanted to include. It spoke to me.

"OneWorld is a global information network developed to support communication media of the people, by the people and for the people — everywhere. Its goal is to help build a more just, global society, through its partnership community. OneWorld encourages people to discover their power — power to speak, connect, and make a difference — by providing access to information, and enabling connections between hundreds of organizations and tens of thousands of people around the world." 

They also have an online video site, One World TV, "a unique public platform for filmmakers, video journalists, NGOs and just about anyone with an interest in video and a concern for a better world".  Dudes, my kind of place for those of you who know my love affair with media and telling stories of the world.  I hope we will have the time to really use this while we are out there.  

My new goal is to find one topic, one subject, no...one question that applies universally, to ask people we meet on the road. I want to write about it, videotape it, blog post, take its picture.  There has to be at least one thing connecting us all in this world....one thing we all care about the same.  It makes for a great thesis.....this is my new plan....on top of visiting 14 countries, spending LOTS of good quality time with Juj (Juliano's nickname) seeing the historical site and getting our butts to Brazil before my visa expires. 

Let's go!