The Road Less Travelled, Eight Years Later.

“What, in your lifetime, have you enjoyed doing most?” we asked ourselves.

Well, almost all of life has been more than enjoyable, but certainly the 2003\4 one-year road trip that Jeanne and I took travelling the entire length of the Pan-American Highway, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, stands out. This adventure was instrumental in finding us our beautiful mountainside treehouse in Costa Rica. And now an intriguing thought is out on the table: “Would we perhaps do it again?”

Yes, we think we would.

The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads measuring about 47,958 kilometers (29,800 miles) in total length. Except for an 87 kilometers (54 mi) rainforest break, called the Darien Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's longest "motorable road".

Our proposed launch and departure date could be less than a year away, perhaps September, 2011 – The project might be christened The Road Less Travelled: Eight Years Later. However, we would do a few things slightly differently this time:

• Have a sponsor(s) to help promote and finance the trip. This would ideally be accomplished in combination of furthering and\or raising funds for a worthwhile cause. Markets that might assist us with this venture include automotive, accommodation, health, travel, nature conservation, environmental preservation.
• Perhaps launch website and blog - also film\photo as the trip progresses.
• Climb a different mountain this time - either at the onset in Alaska or British Columbia, or later a mountain in the Andes of South America.
• Vary the route slightly, while still covering the actual Pan-American Highway. Revisiting places and people we that met along the way a few years ago.

One of the several inspirational people for the motivation of our first Pan-American trip was my son Sean, who is a mountaineer and safety expert living in Squamish, British Columbia. Another is Jim Rogers, an investor and financial commentator based in Singapore, who has also travelled extensively and has written several excellent books about that from an investment perspective.

As a proof of concept, we may initiate travelling Toronto to Alaska, including a mountain climb in the Rockies guided by my son, and from there assess proceeding with the next leg all the way to to Argentina. This photo below was taken at the summit of Mt. Edith Cavell, near Jasper, Alberta. 

Finally, a question for you: Might you have any suggestions that would help make this dream become a reality? If you have any ideas to contribute, especially about sponsorship or worthy causes, your thoughts and feedback would be much appreciated. Otherwise, just watch us…..

Thank you,

Paul and Jeanne

pidcock@hotmail.com

http://www.junglavista.com/