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This journey is called Trekking the Planet. It is a 400-day, around-the-world trip to raise geography education awareness. We plan to visit six continents and approximately 50 countries. During the time we are away we plan to trek to some of the most remote and unspoiled places in the world. We will be traveling mostly on the ground by land and sea, minimizing flights. By visiting places of cultural and natural significance, our hope is to instill a greater awareness and curiosity about the world in as many young people as possible.

We plan to engage students by providing enrichment materials: sixty (60) four-page weekly education module overviews (that correspond to where we will be) that use the framework of the Geography Standards of 1994 developed by the US National Council for Geographic Education. In addition, we plan to send out weekly supplemental emails with our impressions during our journey, as well as images and video from the road.

Our materials are totally FREE to educators, kids and parents. Become a subscriber to receive our pre trip monthly newsletters and free weekly geography education modules during our journey. Non-Educators can also follow our trip by subscribing to our newsletter.

To learn more about our journey, frequently asked questions and subscription options, visit our new Trekking the Planet website.

A long weekend in December 2010 provided a great opportunity to experience Panama on a five day trip. With just three full days in the country, there was time to sample both the Panama City and the surrounding countryside. Even almost constant rain didn’t keep us from walking through plazas, visiting markets and seeing the amazing Panama Canal from several vantage points.

In all it was an amazing introduction to this country, only a two and a half hour flight from Miami. Our emails from the road below chronicle the descriptions and pictures from this trip.

9 - 13 December 2010

Current Time in Panama:

Date: Monday, 13 December 2010 05:24 PST
Subject: Greetings from El Valle, Panama

Captions for Pictures:
1. View as we climbed up the road - note the Pacific Ocean in the background
2. Papaya trees at the farm
3. The Sunday market
4. Stream along our hike
5. One of the petroglyphs that we saw
6. Orchids at the garden
7. Golden frog behind glass at the zoo

When last we wrote we were in Panama City making do with the extreme weather and the havoc it was reaping on our plans. We were notified on Saturday morning that the other activity that we had booked prior to leaving the US, national park rain forest hiking and river rafting, was also canceled because of the rain storms of the preceding few days. So we spent that afternoon making inquires about other possible day trip options. The one that was the most interesting and had the fewest weather issues was a trip to the town of El Valle. Located about 70 miles north of Panama City, it is in the highlands of Panama and sits in the valley crater of one of the largest extinct volcanoes in the world.

To get there we set off from our B&B with our guide / driver and two others from Canada also staying at our hotel. We drove down the four lane Inter-American section of the Pan-American Highway, crossing the Bridge of the Americas over the entrance to the Panama Canal, and heading north through increasingly hilly terrain. We passed several small towns and turnoffs to Pacific resorts over the next 95 km until we reached the road to El Valle. The guide explained that the town and surrounding valley is a popular getaway for Panama City dwellers, due to the cooler temperatures. Some wealthy Panamanians have vacation homes here.

For the next 27 km we wound up a narrow two lane road going higher into the hills. We made stops at a pottery studio where they built clay ovens for the homes in the area and at a papaya farm in which we saw different varieties of trees. We reached the market at about 11am and it was in full swing. There was a food section, comprised of fruits and vegetables, and a great craft section with many local artisans selling pottery and jewelry.

We bought a few items and then headed for a cool hike in the misty rain along a stream to see some petroglyphs. A native teenager explained each drawing while our guide translated. It was time for a lunch break and we ate at a local cafe and I enjoyed arroz con pollo (rice with chicken) and fried plantains. The valley had many other attractions to see and our group chose to visit the orchid gardens and small zoo over attractions such as thermal pools and waterfall hiking. The orchid gardens were beautiful, even though very few flowers were blooming.

The zoo had many birds, some monkeys, a few mammals and a frog section. Within this section was a golden frog display. This animal is severely endangered and native to the El Valle area. It was amazing to see it since it is so colorful. The rain, misting almost the entire day, stayed with us as we made our way down the hill in the mid afternoon.

We returned back to Panama City just before sunset and bid the others in our group goodbye. We then capped off the day with a great Chinese dinner downtown. We fly home Monday afternoon.

In all, this trip was a great introduction to the country. Although Panama is only about the size of South Carolina I can see there are many things to do. With more than half of the 3.4 million population living along the canal corridor, the rest of the country is very rural and pristine. Things did not go our way with our planning and the subsequent weather issues; however we still had a wonderful time and in fact have a greater desire to return to try out the activities that we missed this time around.

Love -
Sandy

Date: Saturday, 11 December 2010 07:43 PST
Subject: Greetings from Panama City

Captions for Pictures:
1. Monkey from our balcony
2. Ship in the Panama Canal
3. Panama City street
4. Presidential Palace - the heron is on the floor under the fountain
5. Train from Colon to Panama City
6. Panama City skyline earlier in the day

Lauren and I are in Panama City on a five day trip to celebrate our December birthdays and completion of her finals. We flew here on Thursday and upon descending into the airport at about 9pm that night I was struck by the views of both the tall skyscrapers making up the Panama City skyline and all the ships sitting off the Pacific coast, presumably wanting to transit the canal. The city is very modern and clean and our B&B is located on a hill where the military officials used to live when the US had control of the canal zone.

Our first day was supposed to be spent with a guide / driver taking us to the Caribbean side of the country, seeing two UNESCO sights and riding a historic train back to Panama City. However, the weather dictated otherwise. The day before heavy rains had hit the Caribbean side of the country, causing flooding and washing out the very roads we had planned to travel. The rain was so bad that the canal had closed for a few hours for only the second time in its 95 year history. When the guide showed up at the B&B to explain this on Friday morning we quickly went to Plan B - a tour of Panama City and the Miraflores canal locks. The good news was that we could still be driven to Colon to catch the train back to Panama City in the late afternoon.

The rain still fell steadily as we went to the Miraflores locks. This was an impressive place and the combination museum, theater and observation deck kept my interest. It was fascinating to watch the huge ships in the locks, with the water rising and all the activity taking place around them. The museum and 10 minute film provided an informative history of the canal, US involvement and subsequent turnover to Panama in 1999. We learned many facts about the canal but what I thought was more interesting were the future plans. A new set of lanes is currently under construction and scheduled to be complete in 2014, which is the 100th anniversary of the canal’s opening. This will significantly increase the size of the ships that can pass through the canal and generate more revenue for the country.

From the canal we took an in-depth tour of Panama City, driving past former US bases, visiting many neighborhoods, including a Chinatown, and several churches and plazas. We saw three different city sites: the first, from the 1500’s that Spanish explorers founded, the next from the late 1600’s after pirates destroyed the original city, and the current downtown. The middle site, with both Spanish and French influences, is being restored with some of it reminding us of New Orleans Square at Disneyland. One highlight was walking right up to the Presidential Palace, called Heron House, because a live heron lives in the lobby. The palace guard motioned me up to take a close up picture through the iron rails.

After lunch we left Panama City, with the rain now falling more intensely, to head on the highway towards Colon, on the Caribbean side. The hope was that we might see some sights over there before boarding the train. About halfway on the 50 mile trip, our guide’s eight year old Ford Wind Star, that he had just bought used five days ago, began to overheat. We had to pull over and, after trying to resurrect the car, making many phone calls and three tow trucks later, we and the incapacitated car ended up at a repair shop on the outskirts of Colon. We had just enough time to get to the train station to make the 5:15pm departure back to Panama City.

The railway was first built in the 1850’s, before the canal, and to address transportation needs arising from east coast prospectors traveling to California during the gold rush. The one hour trip skirts along the present canal route and also passes along some beautiful jungle and river scenery. Lauren and I each enjoyed a Panama beer in the domed dining car as dusk set in. Back in Panama City we still had one more adventure and challenge, hitting Friday night rush hour traffic going back to the B&B, with our taxi taking an hour to cover about five miles. Dinner later at an outdoor restaurant, overlooking the ocean and skyline, was a relaxing end to the day.

In all it was a day of unexpected activities and surprises and we both had a great time!

Love -
Sandy

I love reading guidebooks and use them extensively in trip planning and while on the road. However, they are a pain to travel with since they are bulky and weighty. In the past I have resorted to copying just the pages I needed or even cutting out the sections of the book that did not pertain to my trip, leaving the rest of it intact.

I am intrigued now by electronic media, both written and audio, as perhaps a solution to this printed guidebook issue. Especially with a smartphone and a laptop / iPad, there are many more options than just a few years ago. A case in point is the fact that Lonely Planet offers many guidebooks as pdf files. These can easily be downloaded and transferred to my iPhone, iPad and laptop. Although it is usually cheaper to buy the entire book, I can just download the chapters of the areas I will be seeing. All the information is then readily available, although I will most likely still print the map pages when I try this on my next trip.

There are also more and more mp3 audio files that can make taking a city walking tour or visiting a museum a much more memorable experience. Rick Steves is one of those who offers these for no cost and I plan to use them on some European trips I have planned in 2011.

I am still not sold on these electroinc alternaties as total replacements for the printed word but will be experimenting with them during future trips to determine how viable they are as guide alternatives. Curious to know if anyone else has any feedback in this area.

When the iPad was introduced a few months ago, I grappled with the decision of whether to buy one. It wasn’t a question of the technology, which I thought was really great, but whether it would be practical for me to have, given the cost. So I began to think how I would use it and, of course, taking it on the road was one of those considerations.

I ended up buying one right before we went to Canada on our rail journey in June. The purchase I made actually consisted of two different components: the iPad itself and a “photo accessory” which allows one to upload pictures directly to the iPad from either an SD card or an USB connection from a camera, through two different connectors that are provided. Unfortunately, the photo connectors didn’t arrive until the day after we got home from the trip, so I wasn’t able to try those out during the time I was gone.

I opted for the 32 GB iPad (the middle choice between 16GB and 64GB) and the Wi-Fi only version. I wanted more size for movies that I planned to load to the device, and with the average movie taking about 1 GB, I would be limited with only 16GB. The Wi-Fi version was chosen over 3G for several reasons. First, I didn’t want to spend more up-front money plus an extra monthly amount for 3G. Secondly, I have Wi-Fi at home and it is fairly prevalent on the road so I felt that it was more cost effective to “pay as you go” for Wi-Fi, rather than the flat monthly rate that would be the case for 3G. Even on my two recent trips in South America and Africa, getting Wi-Fi at hotels was not a problem, and some of the time it was even free. Lastly, the iPad was going to replace the small laptop I usually bring and I could only get to the Internet with that using Wi-Fi, so I was no worse off than I would normally be.

So we set on vacation with iPad in tow, which made my computer bag feel much lighter. I used it to surf the Internet, send emails with pictures taken and emailed from my iPhone camera in lieu of my other camera, since I did not have the photo connector, watch movies and even blog on the WordPress application. Wi-Fi was free at the hotel and at the various train stations we stopped in, and I was able to connect with no problems.

On one occasion during the train trip, we had a four hour layover in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where we could get off the train and wander into the downtown area. I never did find a Starbucks in Winnipeg, but was directed to a coffee shop called Second Cup, which had free Wi-Fi. After purchasing a snack and a drink I whipped out the iPad and began putting the finishing touches on an email that I had been composing on the train. Almost immediately several folks in the coffee shop gathered around because it was the first time any of them had seen an iPad. So after providing a quick guided tour of the device, I was able to get my email sent and make my way back to the train.

Duiring the flight home from Vancouver, BC to Los Angeles, I not only used my iPad to compose and send another email, but I was able to use airline Wi-Fi for the first time, which made the flight seem like 45 minutes instead of 2 1/2 hours. It was great to use such a small device (compared to my laptop) while sitting in those economy seats. Overall, I knew I would like the iPad, since I already have an iPhone and it is my all-time favorite device. I have not been disappointed – my iPad has been great and I love using the apps. I also am impressed with the screen quality and processing speed.

So I have to say that my first trip with the iPad was successful and I am looking forward to enjoying many more days with it on the road.

A 2,775 mile (about 4,466 kilometer) train journey across Canada provided a great opportunity to experience a wide variety of scenery, from forests laced with lakes and rivers, to wide open prairies to the majesty of the Canadian Rockies. The three day, four night journey across a portion of the second largest country in the world gave one time to see it at a leisurely pace while enjoying the view from the 360 degree observation deck or eating a meal in the dining car.

Reading my Canadian guidebook, I learned more about the creation of their railway. When Canada became a dominion in 1867, it was a group of eastern provinces with nothing between them and British Columbia except a small settlement where Winnipeg is today. Concerned that the Americans might try to take British Columbia since they had just bought Alaska, the Canadian government pushed for a railway to the Pacific. What followed was a tale, not unlike America’s railway construction, of politics, financial scandals, hardships and the deaths of many workers. However in November 1885 the railway was complete.

Although this was a short trip, we were able to spend time in Toronto before boarding the train and in Vancouver after we arrived. We also had a four hour break in Winnipeg, which gave us the chance to visit that city for a brief time. Overall the train journey provided us with a better understanding of Canada’s people, cities and scenery.

25 - 27 June 2010

Trip to Toronto and First Day on the Train

We left very early on Friday morning on the first of two flights from LAX and arrived in Chicago in the early afternoon. After just enough time to have a quick lunch at the airport, we boarded our plane for a one hour flight to Toronto. We had the rest of the night and all day Saturday to see the city before our train trip began. With the G-20 summit taking place at the same time we were there, we had some challenges with sightseeing, but made the best of the situation.

The train left Toronto at 10:00pm on Saturday night. When we woke up on Sunday morning we had already covered over 500 km and were near Gogama, Ontario. The scenery was a series of seemingly endless forests, streams, meadows and lakes. It was just beautiful. All meals are included on the train and breakfast was served each morning from 6:30am to 9:30am. Choices included omelets, pancakes and eggs / bacon. Since there were two of us we were paired at the four person table with different twosomes. During our meals we met Brits, Germans, a Norwegian, an ex-pat Brit couple living in Spain, a few Americans and several Canadians.

After breakfast, there was plenty of time to sit in one of the two observation cars, complete with half car 360 degree dome sections, to look outside, take pictures or read. We almost immediately saw a moose out the window and later in the day we both saw a bald eagle.

Lunch and dinner on the train are served by reservation in three different sittings. One waited for a dining car employee to walk up and down the eight cars that comprised the sleeper class to announce that commencement of that sitting. Lunch was a choice of salad, hamburger, sandwich or wrap. The food was very good and it is always fun to sit in a dining car and watch the scenery go by as you eat.

The afternoon was more relaxation, reading, listening to music and napping as the train continued to make its way through the forests of Ontario. This area is known as the Canadian Shield, which is characterized by bare rock and coniferous boreal forest of spruce, larch, pine, poplar and aspen trees. A stop in Hornepayne, Ontario, in the middle of the afternoon allowed us to get some fresh air and take a short walk, even though it was raining.

For dinner there was there was a choice of prime rib, chicken, fish or a veggie option, complete with Canadian wine. As the sun set at about 10:15pm in Western Ontario, we were treated to some great picture taking opportunities with a beautiful orange glow in the sky over a series of lakes. After that bit was time to get some sleep as we needed to be up early in the morning for our arrival into Winnipeg.

Crossing into Manitoba and Arrival in Winnipeg

We were sure to be up early on Monday morning and at the dining car a little before opening at 6:30am as we wanted to eat before the train arrived in Winnipeg for a four hour stop at 8am. We both enjoyed pancakes and then were ready to leave the train when we arrived about 20 minutes late, at 8:20am. Winnipeg, located just a few kilometers from the longitudinal center of Canada. We were 33 hours into our journey from Toronto, with about 46 hours to go to Vancouver. Founded as a fur trade center at the intersection of two rivers, it now has a population of about 650,000 and is one of the ten biggest cities in Canada.

The train station is located right in the center of the city, making it convenient to explore the river and downtown areas. We arrived back about a half hour before departure at lobby of Union Station, which was designed by the same architects who were responsible for Grand Central Station. It felt good to stretch our legs and we were ready to get on the train for the journey westward.

Current Time in Toronto:

28 - 30 June 2010

Westward Across the Prairie to Edmonton

After leaving Winnipeg at mid-day on Monday, we passed blazing yellow fields of canola plants, with bright purple flax plants mixed in. We were now in the prairie and the remainder of the afternoon was spent moving through a series of towns dotted with grain elevators and onion-shaped churches, signifying the Eastern European immigration in this area.

Soon after the train crossed into Saskatchewan, an extended stop in Melville, gave us an opportunity to take a quick walk along the train. After dinner, some final prairie views in the extended daylight provided some further picture taking possibilities. As we were going to sleep, the city lights of Saskatoon were seen in the distance, as the train stopped at a station several miles from the city.

Canadian Rockies and Arrival in Vancouver

A beautiful sunrise greeted us on Tuesday morning, just east of Edmonton, Alberta. Similar to Saskatoon, the Edmonton train station is located several miles outside of the city, so we were able to just walk around the train during the hour we were there. Soon after we left Edmonton, the prairie faded away and we began to see more lakes and rivers as we anticipated the first views of the Rocky Mountains.

Finally we were able to see the first signs of the mountains in the distance, which caused great excitement throughout the train. More mountains came into view as the train moved along the foothills, along with beautiful lakes and streams. At about 1pm we arrived in Jasper, Alberta, which is located in the national park of the same name. Many people on the train break their journey here and stay in this area for a few days. The 90 minute stop gave us time to walk along the town streets and do some shopping.

Back on the train, we passed the continental divide, marking the border of Alberta and British Columbia. Soon after we saw a bear outside the train window! As we continued to move west during the afternoon, we passed the “Monarch of the Canadian Rockies”, Mount Robson, which at 12,972 feet (3,954 meters) is the highest peak in the Rockies. We continued to see beautiful mountain vistas and breathtaking lakes and rivers, including the 300 foot (91 meter) high Pyramid Falls, complete with a rainbow. A final extended early evening stop in Blue River, BC gave us a few minutes to stretch our legs before going to the dining car for our last dinner as the sky moved towards dusk.

On Wednesday morning we woke up a couple of hours outside of Vancouver which gave us enough time for breakfast in the dining car and final packing before arriving at the train station a little before 9am, which was about one hour ahead of schedule. After leaving our bags at the station, we spent the day seeing downtown Vancouver. After visiting Stanley Park, the Vancouver aquarium and the downtown waterfront, we went back to pick up our bags at the train station and then took the light rail to the airport and our evening flight home.

Current Time in Vancouver: