How hard would it be to load up a vehicle somewhere north of Mexico, cross the southern border of the United States, merge onto the Mexican Federal Highways network, cross over into CA-1 (Central American Highway 1), and arrive in Costa Rica?

For two adventurous Canadians, it was a matter of selling their townhouse in Vancouver, British Columbia in early December of 2011, cross over to the United States of America a day later, and sit in front of the pitcher of margaritas you see on the photo attached herein less than a week later. Chris and Guylaine Madden are a very nice couple who, according to their Facebook Timeline, left their home in Vancouver in search of:

“[…] a little piece of paradise to start a new life with our surfboards and our dog Maximus!”

Author’s Note: Some of the quoted comments have been edited for punctuation.

The Fabulous Adventures of Chris and Guylaine in Central America is a great argument for Facebook’s arbitrary switch to the new Timeline, as you can experience their trip since they started last year. It is actually better than loading up the DVD of La Carrera Panamericana, the 1992 musical documentary by David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Steve O’Rourke of Pink Floyd. The two musicians and the band manager participated in the legendary race, but Chris and Guylaine seem to be having a lot more fun.

Just a few days before Christmas, Chris and Guylaine were already surfing in Playa La Saladita in Zihuatanejo and enjoying sunsets while Maximus roamed the beach at will. They took their time crossing over into Guatemala, and leaving the Mexican Federal Highways network was noticeable as they made their way to the historical and magnificent city of Antigua. Chris and Guylaine are great photographers, and one thing that clearly comes across on their numerous Timeline photo albums is that you know you are in Central America when color just seems to jump right out at the camera lens. The great photo opportunities somewhat make up for the evident sorry state of the CA-1 highway network. This is how they described the road conditions:

“First the roads themselves, more like fields of giant potholes than roads really… and then a ridiculous thunderstorm where we couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead of the truck and were going 15km/h. But we made it to Antigua before sundown, barely, only to be met by a religious procession that had closed all the major streets in town… So almost an hour and a half later, we finally found our hotel in spite of the dark (the sign was the size of my hand, with no light on it), and we were extremely relieved to get out of the car!”

By this time, Chris and Guylaine had heard enough about violence in Guatemala and decided to keep going –although they did not mention experiencing any of it. In early April they arrived in El Salvador, and they got a taste of the great surfing in that country. This is not a secret anymore, as they found crowded spots in the north Pacific coast. After being on the road for a little over four months, they hit the first snag while crossing into and out of Honduras: stifling bureaucracy and paperwork darkened the relative freedom they had enjoyed; but, a $100 bribe got them through to Nicaragua.

By mid April they were loving life in Nicaragua, picking ticks out of their hair and reflecting over more than one hundred hours driving through five countries. They really enjoyed Nicaragua and all that she has to offer them: surf, nature, and consumer goods at incredible prices:

“I was just contemplating how inexpensive it is here compared to Vancouver. I’ll list some prices to give you an idea: a can of [Victoria] beer 60 cents. Bakery treats in the morning 1.50, and the equivalent at Starbucks would be $11. We buy whatever we want to eat and don’t cheap out at the grocery store, and the daily cost for the both of us is $10 a day.”

“As you can see in our photos we live in a nice two bedroom house with pool and daily gardener for $750 a month. Thanks to Roy our landlord for giving us a great deal. You can live here for a lot less, the locals sure do. The best coffee in town is about $1.00 and the worst is 25 cents.”

They hit yet another snag in Nicaragua. Apparently a vehicle visa is shorter than a tourist visa: 30 days versus 6 months. They found a way around this by shipping their truck back to Vancouver -which they could not sell in Nicaragua as it is more than 10 years old, and buying a car instead. They could simply go without a car, but that would then defeat their original mission of driving across Central America.

Chris and Guylaine are still in San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua, and thus far they have only dealt with mundane issues, such as trash blown by easterly winds, a stolen credit card number that ended up in a shopping spree in England, and very loud neighbors over a weekend. There is no indication as to when, if ever, they will cross over to Costa Rica.

Tips for Cross-Border Driving across Central America on the Pan-American Highway

There are several considerations and formalities to follow when making the long drive south on the Pan-American, such as getting a temporary vehicle importation form and a sticker for the car from a Mexican Banjercito (Military Bank) branch in the U.S. or at the border. Other aspects to consider include visas, customs fees, the typically higher fuel prices in Central America, bureaucracy, military checkpoints, possible bribes and shakedowns, bad road conditions (mostly in Costa Rica), vaccinations, etc.

One aspect that is often neglected by those who take the plunge and make the drive down is poor contingency planning. As with any trip, a sensible exit plan should always be included.

For more information on and advice on making the long drive, visit sites such as Go Panamerican, Drive the Americas and Escape Artist.