Ok... so one of the guys who was going to do the Asia drive has all but backed out, so Ville (Finnish Guy) and I have been brainstorming a bit about what we´re going to do for the next two months. Instead of planning any route at all, we are just going to buy the worst car we can find (that is street legal in most countries) and drive south. And then may east... or further south.

There is a charity drive (in small cars) that runs every summer from London to Mongolia called the Mongolia Rally. My friend Ville, (from Finland) and Gavin, (from England) tried to enter, but demand was high and we couldn't get a ticket. However, we are going to do the drive anyway! We will leave from Finland in mid-July, and then drive east. We may or may not end up in Mongolia. But the route will be through Eastern Europe, the Middle East, (assuming we can get the Iranian visa) Central Asia, and then South East Asia. Details are still up in the air, but I leave from LA to Dublin on the 30th of June. Until then, I'm in Arizona.

I have finally decided what my next stop will be. I will be flying down to South America on July 4th. I will visit Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and possibly Peru.

After spending a year in Europe/Middle East/Africa, I decided to head down to Central Amecia and check out life down there and pick up some Spanish along the way. I don´t have a specific plan beyond learning Spanish and heading back to Minnesota for my sister´s wedding in April... See my previous journals at www.andyhanson.net