Ten Thousand Miles – on a wing and a prayer.

‘It’s a small world.’ How often do you hear that?

When you begin looking at all the possibilities for a year-long journey that will take in 16 countries though you start to get a real inkling of just how big it is. Planning a trip though the incredible variety of all those countries, cultures and cities can be bewildering to say the least. I will be flying almost 30,000 miles in the next year but the part of the journey that really counts will, of course, be done by bus, train, car, boat, bike or on foot. I have been working as a freelance travel writer for well over a decade now and have usually specialised in getting off the beaten track and have sometimes led expeditions in extremely remote (and sometimes entirely uncharted) country. In the course of those 10,000 or so overland miles there are sure to be a fair few jungles, deserts, mountains, wild coastlines…and more than a few un-surfed waves.

The first part of my journey will take me from Panama to Mexico City. California, Hawaii, Fiji, Australia, Bali, Thailand, Singapore and India lie farther down the road and offer their own challenges and adventures. But third-world travel rarely runs to clockwork so it is best to concentrate on planning one stage at a time.

And stage one is Panama City, the most exciting of Central American capitals. Even the most experienced traveller is at his/her most vulnerable when entering into a new country and it is well known that many travellers’ traumas take place at airports or borders. If you can get those baggage stickers off your pack (a dead give-away to hustlers and ne’er-do-wells), get out of the airport, get cash and negotiate a taxi without getting ripped off you’ve won half the battle.

A bit of prior research is crucial. Some cash in local currency is a benefit and a well-hidden stash of dollars is a good backup. Happily these days you can count on ATMs in all but the weirdest places (Zimbabwe and Sudan being two that I’ve been to recently which would pretty much fit that ‘weird’ category). It’s best to research the current exchange rate in advance and find out roughly what a taxi or bus ought to cost. Once you’ve made it unscathed to your hotel a short spell of acclimatisation is a good idea. Drink a beer or two on a sunny terrace. Chill out and start to feel your pulse slip down into a less frantic tropical rhythm.

Most of the countries I will be travelling through this year are not new to me and over the years I’ve worked, partied, travelled or surfed at various times in all the countries in Central America. During the next few months I will follow the established backpacker route much of the time but will turn off the beaten track whenever a chance allows. I will revisit old haunts that I’ve known in the past and will also frequently turn aside to visit places that are mysteriously ignored by the ‘backpacker’s bible.’

Travel is all about variety. As a freelance journalist I often get the chance to stay in upmarket hotels or luxurious lodges. I’m not saying that I always turn these invitations down but the greatest thing is to balance those days of pampering with an extended stint of roughing it: a hammock tied up under a coconut leaf roof or a cold-water shack in some jungle village. I’d swap a 5-star suite anytime for a million-star desert night with a campfire ‘bush telly.’

There are sure to be more than a few nights with hammocks and campfires over the course of a trip from the Darien jungle all the way up the Pan Am Highway to Mexico City. And, after that, a few more during the rest of those 10,000 miles.
It’s a small world, they say…? Well, I wouldn’t want to have to paint it.

See Marks itinerary