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At the End of a Long Drive


Shreesh and Neena Taskar

We didn't make the decision, the decision made us. On October 20th, 2007, we left our comfortable city of San Francisco to follow a simple algorithm - go North till the road ends then turn around and then go as far South. In between those two points was the stage, the timeline, the space, where we made things happen and things happened to us.

The past is fleeting and the stories, the sights and the feelings are perishable. One sees what one wants to see, and perhaps we are not capable of more. We saw that people are kind and helpful even if they were not materially rich. Some we could understand even though we didn't speak the same language, the motivations of others were incomprehensible even though we did. In the end fragments remain - the smell of roasting chocolate, a flock of snow Ptarmigians on snow, the creaking of the rainforest, the rough feathers of penguins, and the intoxication of Curanto.


So these are our stories. Every time you visit the site you will see a random post below. Each starts with Lo que pasa es que...

Slickrock Trail

Jul 27th, 2007 by

They trudge part way down the Slickrock Trail. At a very tippy point they turn back. Prudently.(Map this!)

Fear is an emotion that can be crippling. Sometimes it stands between you and your objective and tells you “Its not possible”, or “You are not good enough to do this task”, or ten thousand other confidence sapping things. When I planned this expedition I had all sorts of fears – how will I deal with corrupt cops, or border crossings, or break downs, or thieves and robbers. Will I find a job when I get back, if I get back? The fears concern mostly that which I know little about; all can be categorized as one type of fear, the fear of the unknown.

The only cure for this fear is to try. When I try something new I learn and gradually it exits the realm of the unknown and lessens the fear associated with it. Many times I realize that there was no reason to fear this new experience in the first place, that it was simply an unfounded fear of the unknown, keeping me from experiencing new pleasures or seeing beauty that would have remained unseen.

Adventure begins. Stair Steppin’. This ain’t no elliptical trainer!

The start of the Slickrock trail. Black Diamond.

The FJ stepping over a wee rough patch.

From the beginning the trail was challenging. I requested help from others on the team to spot me through areas I did not feel comfortable with – they responded willingly and patiently. We passed several spots that could have damaged the sides of our truck and a particularly tricky stair-step obstacle.

Babbling brook calms tension

A respite for lunch

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