From Sacramento to Colombia via Bus

In July Brian left Sacramento on a Grey Hound bus and after 7 weeks he finally had completed his goal of hitchiking and busing through Mexico from beginning to end, from Tijuana to Guatemala. In Guatemala he entered the world of the Mayans. There he continued on by chicken bus, climbing volcanoes, visiting bustling street markets, and treking around colonial towns. From Guatemala it was on to the warm smiles which were awaiting him in Honduras. Brian got stuck(a blessing) in the tiny town of Gracias, Honduras during the 4 day independence day celebration where every child marched through the streets a minimum of once a day for the festivities. He also avoided a misfired high-power firecracker which sent his street corner group of 40 local Hondurans and him scatering for higher ground. After Honduras it was on to the little-visited country of Nicaragua to return to one of his favorite places on earth...the massive volcanoes which make up the Island of Omotepe in the middle of the Lake of Nicaragua. Here the population of 4,000 goes to bed when the sun goes down and one can see the entire array of millions of stars without one light to obstuct the view!

After Nicaragua Brian continued on with a 18 hour bus ride to Panama City where he spent a week in the fabulous city which is home to the cannal.

Finally after over a hundred buses Brian was forced to take a one hour flight to avoid the dreaded Darien Gap (drug dealers, snakes, and no roads) which connects Panama and Colombia. In Bogota, Colombia after traveling almost non-stop for 3 months Brian decided to settle down for a few months and look for a job. He found a job teaching English in Eco Petrol (the biggest company in the country) and doing translations for Habitat for Humanity Colombia. He moved in with 3 Colombian roommates and two cats (Simon and Tomas).