Further Down The Road

Further Down The Road from Michael Peattie on Vimeo.

Hey Guys! It is finally here. The premier of "Further Down The Road." This is our trip documentary style brought to you rom right back where it all started at Nicky Rottens in the Gaslamp of downtown San Diego. Hope you all can make it!

The end

Drained, completely drained. But boy was it ever worth it. From where I left off last we were in Panama City. We were so wrong to think that selling a car would be easy, let alone in another country. Numerous times we would pull into a dealership and get waved off the property before we could even kill the engine. Jimmy and I both thought that this just couldn`t be true. With two days left in the city and our departures hounding us we said, ``Man! We need to do something in Panama City to get our minds off this rediculous trend of being poor salesman.`` So we headed over to the beautiful Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal. We got to stand there for a bit and watch the gigantic ships slip through these narrow alleys right up to the colossal steel doors. I was pretty impressed with the quickness of the entire process. We went on Sunday so it was kind of crowded, your mom was probably there. It just seemed that we really couldn`t just break free and have a reckless time until we sold the car. That weight hovered over us for seven days and then when we were pondering driving it into the canal, we met Sirrik and Ahmed. These two fellas saw the potential of the Manburban, potential that we knew already existed and had proven itself time and time again. But then again, these guys are pros and it was game time. After many people along the way consistantly enforced the error of selling the car anywhere else but Panama City, we went from the not too incredibly loco starting price of 8G`s to about 1G. Ouch! We so should of drove it into the Canal, or blown it up somewhere. I don`t want to discuss that actual selling price of the Manburban because I do not want to disrespect all that it Man about the Manburban. But I will share the post sale activities that took place as a celebration to the completion of a job well done. We decided that after selling the car we would walk back to the hostel in tribute to the heavy Chevy. It was a long walk so we stopped at the Rockin Gorilla for some brew, Balboa is my knid of beer. That of course was followed by a toast. A toast to the trip and how we can`t go back and change what we have already done, and that`s exactly what we wanted. The bartender liked us so the next toast was a grande size toast and I think we just hoisted our wine glasses full of whiskey and laughed. Jimmy and I had a plan. Once we had sold the car, we would walk over to the cigar shop and buy a few Cubans and do our best to look cool. Well it worked, because a $10 cigar brings a little attention around the city, almost too much attention. Next thing you know we had a few ladies sitting down next to us wanting to chat and possibly throw a business proposal our way. We got up kind of quick and ran off to the nearest sports book like any two uncomfortable gringos would. We enjoyed the evening on the town until midnight came around and just like the glass slipper, bearded brothers we are, we had to run. It was show time. The drive to the airport was fun and then we had even more fun at the airport. We were full of spirits which definitely had an impact on our own personal spirits. Jimmy got on his flight and I found a nice patch of tile floor to call my bed for about four hours until my flight. Waking up hurt, real bad. Jimmy probably did not remember too much of his flight home, wait.....yeah, he didn`t remember anything. I was nervous about dealing with the migration officers because on my passport i had a special stamp stating that I had brought a car into the country and I needed another stamp to cancel it out because we sold it. Well, I didn`t get that because it would of came down to me missing my flight and having to fork over some crazy amount of money. So I smell terrible, my eyes are bloodshot, I think my left arm was numb from the way I slept and here I am walking up to the officer with my passport. I smile and then remember that I have not brushed my teeth and she could probably smell a little rum. She takes my passport in her hand and starts looking through all of the pages, I`m freaking out. Preying that she feels like giving off a little christmas joy, I stand there like I`m patiently waiting for my present and all I wanted was my passport and the go ahead. Sweet Jesus! That`s what I got! I gave her the biggest Gracias ever, followed with a sincere Feliz Navidad. Now I am in Cancun, thirty minutes away from boarding the final leg of this journey. That`s right, the return can be just as crucial as getting there. It will be a proud moment flying over the land that only a few months ago we got to experience in a different way. Six hours to get home from where we spent two and a half months to reach, air travel is amazing! Thanks for following our blog. We did our best to show you what the real Mexico and Central America was all about. If you ever need a tour guide you know who to call. I am looking forward to seeing my awesome family and having what will hopefully be the best christmas ever. Happy holidays to everyone who reads this.

-Team Man Out!
Love and Peace

In front of Zoly´s Hostel where we cleaned him up

How much would spend for it? Not much here, that´s for sure.

The carnival in Temenique was all time!! Swing ride´n away.
Some of the carnies that we met
Nicaragua, north side where it may not be big but it is super fun!

PANAMA CITY....at last

After what will most likely be the longest, most enjoyable, frustrating, exhausting, yet exilerating road trips of my life, we are here. The last two days of driving we experienced a few minor set backs as I assume this was the Manburbans idea of protesting our inevitable separation. We had our first road kill as we drove through the mountain pass in Panama which divides the north from the south. Steaming up hill we approached a number of heavy vultures dining away but they did not seem to be entirely phased by the magnitude of the Manburban. That was a sad mistake for one of them. The phrase, ¨You are what you eat.¨, almost had a very grim reality on this occasion. The vulture escaped after meeting our front bumper and rolling out onto the side of the road. The rest of the the mountain road was spent driving through the clouds and banking off tight turns which were drenched from more waterfalls bursting right out of the mountainside. As we made our descent in towards the city of David, where we would jump on the Interamericana Highway, the sound of metal meeting metal started to interrupt our scenic drive. Like I said, the protest got worse. The Manburban had already, since last being repaired in Leon, burned through its front right brake pads. We were forced to stop in Santiago and spend the night in order to fix the problem before arriving in Panama City. It seems as if we were making this mad dash for Panama City, which unfortunately we were. Time just wasn´t on our side and we had to pass many good surf breaks. The next day we had a brand new brake pad and jumped back on the road to continue our race for the city. We arrived in Panama City just before sunset. As we crossed the bridge over where the Panama Canal meets the ocean and the city is standing tall on the horizon we knew we had made it. Though the trip is not quite over yet, we still have to sell the car.

-AeroMexico 12/22 out of Panama City