Guatemala Surf Adventure | Central America Road Trip Ep.45

This Central America road trip is on a surf trip in Guatemala, exploring the coast for the best waves and camping. We find some fun surfing in El Paredon and a lesser known river mouth spot with great camping, but run into trouble in Monterrico.
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Here is a list of products we use and love. Each Amazon link is an affiliate link. Once you go to Amazon if you purchase the item or not, anything you do purchase within that buying session we will receive a small commission. The commission we receive goes towards the production costs of this content. Thank you for supporting this content.
Best Dog Bed Ever: amzn.to/2vqlfR3
Best 12volt Fan: amzn.to/2y0LiSQ
Our Solar set-up:
Renogy Solar Panels: amzn.to/2uJmQ2e
Renogy Charge Controller: amzn.to/2vSrwYT
Tracer Meter: amzn.to/2vmz44D
Battries: amzn.to/2fvJ3ie
Camp Kitchen & MORE!:
Camp Stove: amzn.to/2vpYkFc
Hose: amzn.to/2vlVnaj
11lb propane bottle: amzn.to/2vquzEy
Camp table: amzn.to/2fviWIp
Camp Chairs: amzn.to/2fuE95m
Nesting Pots & Pans: amzn.to/2vq3GAm
Cast Iron Skillet: amzn.to/2wx8tAf
Dutch Oven: amzn.to/2vql3kR
Coffee Maker: amzn.to/2wLPDEW
Stainless Steel Insulated Cups: amzn.to/2uJhG6v
Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottle: amzn.to/2wxvwLo
Collapsible Bowl: amzn.to/2fv5GU0
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Most amazing Stainless Steel leak-proof nesting food containers: amzn.to/2hOcRaM
Life Saver Water Purifier Jerry Can: amzn.to/2hNbetU
Shower/Dishes Hose for Jerry Can: amzn.to/2hNzXyb
Charcoal Filters for Jerry Can: amzn.to/2vIukHl
Camera Equipment: We have purchased some of these things along our journey and you will be getting better film quality as the show progresses through Central America
Canon s95: amzn.to/2vmATOU (used throughout Mexico episodes)
GoPro Hero 4 Silver: amzn.to/2wxmgqk
Evo GoPro Gimbal: amzn.to/2vmFrF7
Ram Mount for dash recording: amzn.to/2usDsAg
Ram Claw: amzn.to/2fvnH4M
Ram Mounts are great because you can mix and match them to fit your needs for GoPro or a regular camera.
Canon G7X Mark II: amzn.to/2hNooHn ( I love this camera, used after Cancun Mexico)
Sony A600 with Telephoto lens: amzn.to/2usFwrR (used in episodes starting in Costa Rica) (This is an older model but still a fantastic camera. For less than $1000 you get a great camera and great telephoto lens)
Mavic Pro Drone: amzn.to/2vIpGZZ
Things we wish we had more of:
Best sunscreen for water sports/surfing: amzn.to/2vmiTUF
Heavy duty bug spray: amzn.to/2vpJH50
Music:
Cold Funk - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/Live
Worms by: Josh Lippi & The Overtimers
Deserts by: Text Me Records/Bobby Renz

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

The KZbin Live event about travel safety and security will be held at 6pm Pacific Time on November 11th.

[@curtismulder1950]

I think you brought this on yourself. Disrespect and karma got ya is my guess.

[@the_emo_sloth]

So glad this is back!

[@briansworldandmechanic8437]

Sorry about your situation and I will try to tune in for your event. Stay safe and keep surfin!

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Thanks Brian and hope you can make it next week :)

[@douglasrykerd6266]

Glad to see you guys back at it.

[@westcoasthiker76]

glad to see you're back !!

[@nurzyboyone8826]

Awesome!!! Good to see you guys back!!

[@grahames9228]

Really good to see you guys are back posting video's. Good stuff.

[@eddie1v]

Glad to see you back. Missed you guys

[@samcallahan5665]

glad y'all are back , enjoy your videos

[@amsmorales2193]

Nice surfing in guatemala.

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Thanks for watching our videos and taking the time to leave us kind words. We're glad you're enjoying them

[@powercouplecritics]

Looks like you’re having lots of fun!!!

[@belizeguy]

Glad to see you both physically well . Sorry you have had an unfortunate incident that we will all hear about tomorrow night . Guatemala is so wonderful, until it is not . Hang in there guys. Hug each other and be well !

[@stephen2215]

So cool :) Thanks for editing and posting

[@imitadorherbertnavarro7524]

Bienvenidos por siempre guatemala también es suya ❤️👍

[@marcelguarachi]

U guys are doing such a killer job with all this btw

[@fitoparedes232]

You guys maked great videos

[@Ohlavan]

Those waves look fun! We didn't visit the Pacific Coast of Guatemala, maybe one day! I know they have really good waves every now and then :)

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Yeah. Warm water + waves = good time :)

[@aardvarkiller8133]

So happy to have this back in my life! Love to see your adventure. Matt, that mustache is on point.

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

HAHA Thanks Aardvark killer

[@fernandoovando2598]

This is what life is all about enjoy the world ignore borders the world is your playground baby

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

haha. I love it!

[@antoniocarrillo6504]

They liked my country, so honestly

[@raulmillan5010]

Glade to see another video! U guys are definitely inspiring me to get my Toyota pickup going and do some traveling!

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

So cool to hear that Raul! Go for it!!

[@hernandezrobles2009]

Good surf in GUATEMALA.

[@jacbox3889]

Happy for the new vid! Sad that you had a scary experience!

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

thanks jack

[@renecilloastorga881]

I just started seeing your vlog, and guys, I'm from Guatemala and I'm very sorry for the incident that happened to drunk and disconcerted people. Not all Guatemalans are like that, and even more with brothers and sisters of the waves. I am a surfer and I join to your happiness to discover a world of waves and travel. The next time let us know when you guys coming and we will show you paradisiac places to surf. aloha

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Thank you. We know it was just two young, drunk guys looking for trouble. Most Guatemalans we met were very friendly and helpful and we had a great time exploring the country. Mucho aloha brother!😁

[@israelrodas6232]

Wow do you guys sleep in the car ? That’s amazing 😀😀 have fun here and Guatemala greetings from xela. , I hope to see you guys here too

[@lorenzomatias3499]

Wow nice video congratulation.

[@jeep6242]

Great to see another video...sucks about the encounter. I've been doing some remote exploring around where I am staying near Toluca Mexico and I'm trying to stay away from areas that I am told are dangerous, and most of my encounters have been positive. But you just never know, and things can escalate so quickly. Looking forward to hear what happened and learn all I can.

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Yeah. You just never know, but most people and most of our experiences have been great. If you haven't made the trek yet and you get time, you should definitely checkout pico de orizaba. Just going to the base camp was an awesome adventure. (episode 25)

[@fernandoovando2598]

Sorry guys , I know some people could get mean, you made the best decision, don't give up on guatemala, believe me most guatemalan are cool with you

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

for sure Fernando! We had a great experience in Guatemala. Even this area was super fun except for the one night with those particular guys. But that can happen anywhere.

[@esperanzavillanueva3812]

Glad you guys are back, hope to see new content soon

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Plan to give you travel episodes every other week and as much extra content as I can manage :)

[@jeep6242]

@@TheTravelingTogetherJournal I would love any content about rebuilding the truck and your adventure in toilet design/building/buying/research.

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Thanks for the input Jeep6242. We are still in the early sages of those projects, but I've been keeping note books to help with the videos when we finally address these topics.

[@michigt_]

Hey, i live here, Guatemala ❤️😎😊i hope you guys had a nice experience!

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

lots of fun👍

[@mercythehopefulwoman1747]

Nice intro

[@violetopia]

6 pm what time zone? :) Love your videos.

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

good point Violetopia. 6 pm Pacific time

[@samtaggart3361]

Hey guys wanted to know how it was crossing from Nicaragua to Costa Rica with the vehicle, my girlfriend n I bought a car in Guatemala and currently in Nicaragua but want to keep going south just wondering any advice about crossing to Costa Rica, i have heard it is a bit difficult?

[@guyscratton6749]

Matt I missed the live broadcast. Is it too late to see it? Mahalo

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Not too late at all guy. Check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6qknJ16o92lepI

[@guyscratton6749]

Matt & Amy, if you did the trip all over again, what vehicle would you guys do it in? Also how much to bring the dog from Maui to mainland?

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

HI GUY. I got your email, but couldn't respond to it for some reason, so I am going to give you a response here. Hope that works for you. It cost $100 to put our dog on the flight from Hawaii to California. I was happy with our vehicle choice and would do it again in a T100. I would just give myself more time to build a more comfortable camper with inside living space, but that is just the best compromise I can find that fits our needs and budget. If I had enough money, I would buy something new and reliable and wouldn't have to worry as much about parts availability or fuel efficiency. Since we don't have that kind of money, I made a list of the criteria I wanted in a vehicle, weighted each criteria based on importance to me and used those criteria to score any vehicle I considered. I would say the first big questions in narrowing down your vehicle options are: -What is your budget for the vehicle and build?(some "cheap" vehicles may need a lot of work to make them livable so you gotta consider the entire cost) -Is 4x4 a must for you? (It just depends on your style of travel) -How much of a "build" are you willing to do? (this ranges from installing a roof top tent to building an entire camper, do engine swaps, or converting vans to 4x4) Then you can consider other things like fuel efficiency, parts availability, on and off-road handling, does it fit in a shipping container, will it cost extra to take on toll roads or ferries, can you drive it down the narrow colonial streets, can it carry you and all of your kit, will it be comfortable enough to live in for however long your trip is..... It's tough to recommend anything since so much comes down to your personal preference. Feel free to come back at me with any follow up questions. No matter what you drive it's going to be a fun trip.

[@wanderfullife4.068]

Will try to make it today for the live video. Don’t have any questions regarding the incident... it’s unfortunate when a few people mess up a good trip. Glad to know your guys are okay though. What are you travel plans?? Alaska??Or will you guys explore with international travel???

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Cool, thanks. We'er currently planning on a summer trip to Alaska and then a multi year trip through Africa. If this KZbin channel ever kicks off we'll go around the world, but that's a pretty big "if". ;)

[@wanderfullife4.068]

@@TheTravelingTogetherJournal We are RVing through Alaska next summer mid June. -mid July with the kids and the 2 dogs:) Are you guys back in Cali now? You guys unaffected by the fires?

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

That sounds like a great trip you have planned. We are in california, but unaffected by the fires. We are in-between the 2 that are currently burning. Our area got really well burned last year, so shouldn't be as prone to fire for another year or two.

[@brianboys9015]

Perhaps camping on the beach in front of the bars was not a good idea. LYW

[@71tatonka]

Happy to see the new video! I don't understand why people won't live and let live. Glad you got out of the trouble in Monterrico safely. Tell Jager I'm pulling for him, when they get in their senior years, some days are better than others.Thank you guys for taking the time to post these videos, I really enjoy them. Peace.

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Thank you. You're very kind. We're all pulling for Jaeger these days:)

[@ambienteterrazas]

Glad youre safe, not really a question about saftey but, is this all before you bought a sailboat?? anyways i live in northern mexico (rosarito beach to be exact) and i have double citizenship so drive cars with California plates legaly in Mexico, unfortunately i have had 2 or 3 run ins with the cops who think they are hassling a "gringo" and no matter what they will always take the side of the local or just try to make something up to ask for a bribe, little do they know i grew up in mexico, speak the lenguage and lets just say i know "how the wind blows over here" (not that i take part in their game but i defend myself) try to cover encounters with the cops and how to handle the situation.

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Thanks. Yes, this is all before we bought a sailboat. We were on this great journey from California to Panama and back for 2 years. Once we got back to California we decided to buy a small sailboat and live on it while we work normal jobs and try to save up enough to go travel for a couple more years (or forever if our youtube channel takes off) In the meantime, we still have about 1 year worth of content from this trip to edit and share with you guys Fortunately we didn't have any major issues with the police. We were pulled over and asked for bribes a handful of times, but always refused and were eventually allowed to go on our way. We'll be sure to share it with you when it comes up :)

[@erichughes9098]

😎🌮👍

[@shafts2447]

More surf! Less talk!

[@guyscratton6749]

Matt on screen,you have the same color hair as Jagger

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

thank you. He was a beauty 😉

[@saidabdulle4592]

are you rent truck you using or owned?

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

we own it

[@wtfc2321]

Hi, guys. I been missing your videos. After watching this episod, I have to apoligize for the unfortunate time and experience, eventhough I’m not from Guatemala, still hurts my feelings when irrational individuals behave in such way, leaving you and other with the worse impression of what could have been otherwise a good memory.

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

Thanks for the kind thoughts. It defiantly effected us for a couple weeks, but we still enjoyed our time in Guatemala overall and have good memories of camping on the beach in other parts of the country. Just one of those unfortunate experiences that could have happened anywhere really.

[@jday3671]

What happened??

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

A couple of drunk guys started throwing rocks at us. We got into the whole story in a live videos:kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6qknJ16o92lepI

[@theomaryeski3099]

Why would you drive a truck on the sand where turtles lay their nests is beyond me.

[@rafaelshepparfguldenzoph2510]

If i had a van parking on front of my nice sunset ,im meean the only van un the hal beach i Will be engry aswell, wen you americans Will understend the concept of been a tourist , you dont own the place , i Hope you learn the lesson

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

What do you think the lesson is?

[@rafaelshepparfguldenzoph2510]

@@TheTravelingTogetherJournal respect the locals and theire homes easy....... Imagin if every one do the same at such tiny place not nice..... , do you wont to be on the nature be in the nature ,out side some one House or bissnes its not yours prived parking be carefull arround central América there is a los of friendly people until they dont

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

@@rafaelshepparfguldenzoph2510 I guess it wasn't clear in the video. We were not in someone's private property. We were on a beach where other Guatemalans were camping in a tent. We didn't know if we were allowed to drive on the beach, so we went and asked at the local police station. They said it was allowed to drive and camp on the beach there. After the confrontation it was Guatemalans that were upset that we had been troubled and wanted to help, so I don't think the guys that attacked us necessarily represented the opinion or attitude of the "locals". I live at the beach in California, but just because I am a local, I don't have the right to through rocks at the tourist who come to the beach. I get the idea of respecting the locals, but I don't think that means the locals are above their own country's laws.

[@jaynorthrup3050]

Sunglasses are unnecessary folks....

[@lbenitez3]

Monterrico has became an spoiled beach, go to more virgin places and don't camp on the beach, because you will encounter wirdos no matter what country you are in

[@TheTravelingTogetherJournal]

We really enjoyed camping south of monterico on a less popular stretch of beach. We camped on lots of beaches. This was the first and only time so far that someone gave us trouble.