<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><br><div><blockquote type="cite"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#000000" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000"><b>Subject: </b></font><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>Expedition Update: Stage 4 - Guatemala</b></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><br></div> <div>Dear friends and family,</div> <div> </div> <div>A new chronicle has been posted on <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.jeffdhungana.us/patagonia.htm" target="_blank">my website</a> along with <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.jeffdhungana.us/gallery.htm" target="_blank">photos</a>. This segment of the journey covers the circuitous distance in Guatemala from the Mexican border in Northern Chiapas to the El Salvadorean border.</div> <div> </div> <div>In addition, if you didn´t get a chance to read the chronicle before that, it includes updates from the journey through Oaxaca, Chiapas, and the rest of Southern Mexico.</div> <div> </div> <div>I am currently writing from San José, Costa Rica, where the super-modern cosmopolitan ambience is entirely different than the places I have been spending time in throughout the rest of Central America. Stay tuned for the next update, which will come in two weeks from Panama City, the historical and geographical meeting point of the two Americas!</div> <div> </div> <div>I am now making preparations for the next stage of the journey: the voyage into Panama and the crossing into Colombia and South America. I have been anticipating this crossing for a while now. The border area between Panama and Colombia is the only section from Alaska to Argentina where there the Panamerican Highway is cut short. There is a roadless section of 106 km or so, called the 'Darien Gap,' which poses multiple hazards: the dense jungle is impossibly difficult to navigate; the poisonous animals and snakes have no trouble devouring you; the indigenous inhabitants don´t look too fondly to foreigners, and most strikingly, it is teeming with drug cartels and paramilitary agents who shoot first and ask questions later.</div> <div> </div> <div>Therefore, I am exploring options to execute the crossing into Panama via a sailboat from the Caribbean Coast of Panama to the historic port town of Cartagena de las Indias in Colombia. This involves a 4-5 day sail across the San Blas archipelago in pirate infested waters and in the height of the tropical storm season. </div> <div> </div> <div>As the summer is approaching quickly, here´s to sending you all my best wishes and warm vibes. </div> <div> </div> <div>South America and the Andes are finally looming closer. I´ll see you there in a few weeks!</div> <div> </div> <div>: )</div> <div> </div> <div>Namaste,</div> <div>Japhy</div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Jeff Dhungana<br>"Japhy" - adventurer, anthropologist, artist, agent-of-change<br><a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="mailto:japhyd@gmail.com" target="_blank">japhyd@gmail.com</a><br> <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.jeffdhungana.us/" target="_blank">www.jeffdhungana.us</a><br><br>.Fortune favors the bold. </div></blockquote></div><br></body></html>