Calone and Dax

Hi Hi Hi everyone. So we're alive!!! We've been traveling so much the last few days, plus we both got sick, so we havent really had access or the chance to get onto a computer. I believe I left off at us being in Xela which is so not a cool place. I mean, it serves its purpose as a homebase for hikes and things, but in general its barely a point under Guatemala City. Big, Dirty, Unsafe and uh, yea. Planting trees with the trekkers was loads of fun for me but Dax pretty much saw it as unnecessary labor and just wanted to get up the mountain. I'll leave that experience for him to write about as I went back to Xela and became insanely ill. But ya... Our next day Dax, Jo ... read more

Hi guys... so we made our way out of Antigua and now that i've arrived in paradise I can bad mouth that little weird town, lol. Our planned 2 hour trip from Antigua to San Pedro ended up being 5 hours. At three different points the roads were completely shut down. We got off the bus, pee'd in the woods 'no gracias' to cashews & cell phone chargers. The bus driver would honk and threaten to leave us (multiple times). I finally gathered he just liked seeing us run back. The final hour I was ready to stick my head out of the window and remove all of my insides - glad I hadnt eaten lunch yet. We did stop so I could go to the bathroom... well... it was basically a horse stall with ... read more

...the potato, gravy & egg concoction (simply titled "scrambled eggs") aboard TACA airlines, was the least of our concerns. Long story short - we missed our flight...oh... by just... 24 HOURS! (note to self: remember to double check dates when flying @ midnight). Anyway we saved face by going in the hole ($764.40 to be exact) & getting another flight 30 minutes later. A 5 hour flight, 5 hour lay over in El Salvador and 3 failed attempts @ the 8:40am flight... We arrived safely in guatemala @ 2pm. We found a shuttle right away to get us to Antigua (a 1 hour drive) and shared it with one other person. A big chatty woman who knew absolutely nothing about the country or its culture, and was here adopting an infant girl... blah blah blah. ... read more

Hello all, The countdown has begun as we make last minute changes to what we are taking and what we are not. I for one am not taking as much photo equipment as I had previously planned , and as a result have gone from a 48lb pack to a 38lb pack. Other then that Calone is busy getting all the animals bathed, clipped and prepped for her departure. We still have to pack her bag and repack again minus what she can live without to get the weight down as much as possible. Its been a struggle to decide what to take and what to leave for fear of "Oh no they don't have *insert item* down there". So thats it for now , we will try and update sometime monday afternoon. Best, Dax ... read more

Hey, Calone here... So, less than two weeks now before the big trip. I did my first real hike w/ a 25lb pack over the weekend. I nearly died, Dax barely broke a sweat. We hiked @ Temescal Canyon in the Pacific Palisades (just north of Santa Monica) and although the hike got a little difficult for me, I was determined to reach the "waterfall" which turned out to be no more than (what looked like) a leaky faucet. With that and the fact that they don't allow dogs past a certain point, I doubt its a hike that I'll do again. It served its purpose as a reality check (for me) and a test that my North Face boots really are water proof :) The highlight - The little Arts & Nature school that ... read more

Depart Los Angeles - June 24 @ 12:59am. Arrive Guatemala City - June 25 @ 6:45am. Depart Guatemala City - July 27 @ 7:40pm. Arrive Los Angeles - July 27 @ 11:50pm.... read more

...in 25 days we will be in central america. let the countdown begin as i break in my boots & get needles stuck in my arm. apparently dax has already done both. whatevs. ive been hiking with just under 15lbs on my back so far. i have to get this up to 25+ lbs as soon as possible, then increase my 1-2 miles up to 3-4miles. in other news i spent part of the week in santa barbara with gia & a couple of my neighbors. loved every bit of it, even down to the tar thats still stuck to the bottoms of my feet :D i'll add a couple more updates before our trip just to let you know my progress. ciao for now. ... read more