OVERLANDING /// Centroamérica
How long did you stay in Central America?
We spent one month, more or less, in each country, 2 months in Costa
Rica and a little less in Belize since its just half the size of Switzerland
(44.000 km2 approx.)
Which countries did you visit?
We entered Central America from Cartagena up to Colon and drove
from there through Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras,
Guatemala and Belize, before crossing to Mexico. We bordered the
east coast; 18 months later we drove through the same countries but
down the Pacific coast. It was great to meet again with some people
we met on our way up. We celebrated Christmas together with a
German Expat who owned a bakery at Lake Arenal and had met on
our previous journey, 18 months before.
How was the experience through Central American roads?
We drove through all kind of roads some were very good, others not so
much. We were surprised by the terrible conditions certain parts of
the Panamerican highway were. Since we drove a Toyota HZJ 78, by far
the best 4x4 (smiling) with powerful tires (Michelin XZL) and an excellent suspension (ARB) we didn’t face any problems even on the worst
roads.
Could you describe the places that left the best memories?
We think each country has its charm. We enjoyed scubba diving in
Utila and cigars in Danli, Honduras, Costa Rica’s “pura vida” and
beautiful towns in Guatemala (Antigua, Guatemala) and also in
Nicaragua (Granada). Panama was interesting because of the mountains and the famous canal we had a chance to look at. We were disappointed realizing Belize is destroying its own coast and the important
mangrove, to build beach houses for Canadians and North
Americans. If you twist our arm we might vote for Guatemala and
Costa Rica. To be honest, we liked all the places we visited and hope to
go back one day…
12 Geo Adventure Magazine
What do you recommend to people, who like you, want to travel
Central America on a 4x4?
Choose the best 4x4, which is not the famous Landy, but the robust
Toyota HZJ78. We drove close to 300.000 km with just some minor
problems. In Venezuela we installed an ARB suspension, an excellent
accesory. Only buy the best of the best, no cheap tires.