We are Karl, Leah and Oz Wolf. In early 2018, we decided to pursue an overland expedition from Boulder, CO to Ushuaia, Patagonia. For us, international travel is not only an opportunity to pursue some of the best adventures in the world, it’s also an opportunity to connect to a broader community and learn more about other cultures. We look forward to sharing our experiences with you in our blogs, photographs and trip reports.
January 17, 2020
As we prepared for our trip back to Boulder, I thought about what we’ve experienced and learned on this trip, and I knew that our journey had changed my future. During our trip I thought a lot about my dreams and purpose in life, including how to create more synergy between my personal and professional […]
January 15, 2020
The idea of taking a year off and traveling to South America came out of an instinct Karl had soon after we got married. I was gearing up to complete my master’s degree program and begin a new career. He was nearing a decade and a half at a company that was now changing directions. […]
January 13, 2020
Wow, what a journey this has been. At first I thought the journey was about finding my tail. Then, I came to realize it was about not chasing my tail. Only to come to realize in the end, it was simply about listening to and giving voice to it. My parents always wondered why I […]
November 14, 2019
I first visited Bolivia 25 years ago. Back then the country was very indigenous and very poor. But to me, it was the most fascinating country in South America, not only because of these factors, but also because it was full of once and a lifetime adventures that very few foreigners (or locals) had pursued. […]
November 11, 2019
“Expect the unexpected, and you’ll be fine.” This is common advice for people embarking on an overlanding expedition through South America. It would be true for any adventure that involves a lot of driving, but it’s especially true when traveling in less developed countries where laws and regulations can be non-existent and infrastructure and resources […]
November 8, 2019
Yesterday I heard my parents talking about a post in the Panamerican Travelers forum. In it, a member had asked a question. To sum it up, he asked whether anyone on the forum had concluded that overlanding wasn’t their “cup of tea” after doing it for a while. In response, our friend James (also an […]
October 4, 2019
During our trip to Peru, we had the opportunity to develop friendships with numerous people who have moved from Lima to Cusco. This isn’t a simple choice. Lima is the the only place in Peru where Peruvians can make a dependable, good living. Many of these people had visited and even lived in the US. […]
October 2, 2019
Sometimes we need to lose ourselves in order to find ourselves again. This was the beautiful reminder Peru gifted us. It wasn’t the friendly elbow reminder one receives from a forgiving stranger; it was the familiar whisper from the far reaches of the universe that grows steadily into an impatient (yet loving) KONK on the […]
September 30, 2019
I’ve been suffering over my own suffering with loss my tail since I was 4-days old. The affects of this loss shaped my mission to find it on this journey. I learned a lot about this mission in Peru. But the truth is, I didn’t find my tail in this country; what I found was […]
August 8, 2019
In our opinion, overlanding is one of the best ways to pursue some of the best adventures in the world, including off-the-beaten-path adventures. But historically, we as a culture haven’t had the time to overland. And we recognize that many people don’t, or won’t have the time to overland during their next adventure. I thought […]
August 7, 2019
Sometimes we find ourselves measuring the distance of our journey by the amount of border crossings we have completed; other times by the amount of time that has gone by. But there is no measuring magic, like the magic that happens when we cross that invisible territory line and are once again teleported into a different world. […]
August 5, 2019
During our journey, many have asked us, what’s it like traveling with me? For me, our journey has been a once in a lifetime adventure. So far, I’ve been to 10 new countries. And I’ve connected with all sorts of different people. My deepest connections have been with other humans like the 6-year old Swiss […]
June 24, 2019
It’s tempting to think about extended overland expeditions as a vacation. But overlanding isn’t really a vacation, it’s more of an adventure. And good adventures are usually challenging. The challenge of overlanding starts with building and learning how to use an overland vehicle. These vehicles typically aren’t simple. Learning how to fix and maintain your […]
June 23, 2019
In Buddhist philosophy there is a liminal space in “time” called the Bardo State. In the most basic, literal sense it is the gap of time between the death of one life and the incarnation of another. In general terms it is what happens during any transitional state when something is still in between two […]
June 22, 2019
When we set out on this expedition I thought it would be a great opportunity to go on a Tail Quest. I haven’t seen my tail since I was 4-days old, and I’d love to be able to show it to people so they don’t think I am crazy. I swear it used to be […]
April 27, 2019
It seems like top 10 lists are cool (at least on blogs and websites) so I’ll give it a go. My top 10 list is a bit deferent than my parent’s. Their’s are focused on crazy adventures in the jungle and hippy dippy nature experiences involving cool birds or weird mammals. I don’t get to […]
April 26, 2019
While in Costa Rica, I spent a lot of time with two different friends who moved to Costa Rica 25 years ago when they were in their late 20s. Having been an expat twice (although never in a third world country) I know that there are specific challenges that expats face in each country. And from the […]
April 25, 2019
Costa Rica is known for its diverse and rare wildlife, so we figured this would be one the best areas to focus our energy while spending time here. Our first landing in the country consisted of exploring trails in the jungles and cloud forests of Santa Elena near the Monteverde region. On our first excursion […]
March 31, 2019
The last time I visited Costa Rica was in the late 80s. As we prepare to move onto Costa Rica, I realized that I’ve spent more time planning our one month trip to Costa Rica than I spent planning our trip to any other country including Mexico, where we spent 2 months, and Guatemala, where […]
March 31, 2019
The last time we were in Nicaragua we flew in just as Tropical Storm Nate was preparing to make its surprise visit. We arranged to have an adventure-themed wedding at the Mango Rosa Adventure Travel and Surf Resort, where we had our first adventure together. We wanted our guests to experience Nica as we first […]
March 29, 2019
Crossing the borders of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua was a little sketchy. First, the vet in Guatemala said it would cost us $300 to get my health certification into these countries. He told us it wasn’t really worth it. So, I had to cross some borders illegally. I didn’t like being stuck behind a […]
March 19, 2019
One of the things we love the most about getting off of the beaten path is meeting amazing people with incredible stories. For 10 days we stayed a small indigenous village in the Ixil region of Guatemala at the end of a valley in the Sierra de Los Cuchumatanes Mountain range. While we were there, […]
March 18, 2019
Guatemala struck movement in the depths of my soul, similar to the low rumble of the active volcanos that have surrounded us. I knew that we would witness much poverty, and what many would classify as oppression. I knew that at times my heart would feel pressed between a pair of vice grips, and that […]
March 8, 2019
During our travels I’ve had the opportunity to call many places home. Home has been in villages, cities, jungles, and nature reserves… on beaches, lakes and farms. I’ve made a lot of new friends in these places that I now consider family; humans, animals and dogs alike. Almost every place we stay, I am taken […]
February 17, 2019
One of the hardest things for me to do when planning an extended trip is to find the right balance between on and off the beaten path adventures. I’m going to use the definition of on and off the beaten path that I think most overlanders use (people who are driving a rig or riding […]
February 14, 2019
One of the several reasons we chose to spend some time in Belize was to get my PADI dive certification, so Karl and I could dive together in the future. While I absolutely love the ocean, I am at the same time terrified of it. A large part has to do with not being a […]
February 3, 2019
One of my favorite things about this trip has been the coconuts. I love coconuts! It all started with coconut oil when I was young. There were a lot of coconuts in Mexico, and just as many in the Caribbean. The places we have stayed have coconuts in the trees and on the ground. Even […]
January 17, 2019
It’s hard to believe that our adventures in Mexico are coming to a close. The time has flown by since we set off on our journey to Ushuaia, Argentina over 2 months ago. Yet, it feels like we’ve been here forever. Truly, time has flown by and it has stood still at the same time. Mexico has surprised us and left us with a […]
January 7, 2019
When telling others about our year (or so) long trip to Argentina in our camper, one of the most frequent comments we heard was about spending a lot of time together in small quarters, amongst the other concerns related to the stress of traveling and its potential impact on a relationship. We’d had enough successful […]
January 4, 2019
So far, this trip has been great for my overall well-being. As an extrovert, I’m often refueled connecting with a broader community. I also find a lot of time for myself, and for my frisbee. I get a little “off” when we are on the go a lot, but life gets boring when we stay […]
December 29, 2018
While we were on our way from the Oaxaca to Chiapas, we reminisced about the amazing beaches on the Oaxaca coast. We love two types of beaches, beautiful deserted beaches and up and coming beach towns. We found both types on the Oaxaca Coast. Huge stretches of the Oaxaca Coast are largely deserted and we […]
December 21, 2018
Most of the dogs I meet in Mexico tell me that they have an important job to do: protect the property. It doesn’t matter if it’s a car, a store, a house or a beach, or all of the above. Sometimes I get this funny feeling when we’re hanging out. Like, I’m supposed to be […]
December 19, 2018
This is one of the best quotes I’ve heard during our trip so far. It came from Rafael, who was sleeping under a shade structure on a Zipolite beach in Southern Oaxaca for 50 pesos per night (we were paying 55 pesos per night to park there). Rafael is a older man who is originally […]
December 14, 2018
I knew Karl and Leah had done something whacky when we started camping in our truck in the guest parking lot in front of our house. At first I missed my 4 beds. But as soon as we hit the road and headed south I realized how much I had needed a break from the […]
December 8, 2018
We’re on our way to Oaxaca. It’s been a bit chilly in the northern and central regions of Mexico, and we’re excited to be heading to warmer climate. The small towns of Mineral de Pozos, Patzcuaro and Valle de Bravo have been charming and authentic with welcoming locals and incredible food. The roads have been […]
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