My departure date for my 8 month Latin America trip has been delayed a couple of days. I have some modifications that need to be made before I leave, and I do an overview of what modifications I have already made.

This happened about a month ago, before I sprang the news about my trip to my colleges at work.

We were out at lunch and spent the the one hour of our day away from the computer…talking about computers. We had a fortune cookie, and did the ritualistic opening. “Meh..” and “Mine sucks.” were uttered under their breath, and then I saw mine. “You will soon find new adventure in life” and tried holding back an inordinate grin. I played it off, saying to the others that this must refer to my girlfriend’s mother coming into town this weekend, the first time we will meet. But I wasn’t grinning about that at all. I was imagining my upcoming trip to Central and South America. Out on the road for 8 months.

I’ve been unable to share this on my blog since my co-workers know about it, and I wasn’t sure how secure my position would be if they knew I was quiting four or five months from whenever. So I’ve been hiding my traveling prospects all this time, but now that I’ve given my notice I can talk about it.

I’m really excited about the journey. Tomorrow is my last day at work. No more schedules to keep or responsibilities. In fact my scheduled departure date of August 16th will probably be pushed back a few days. It’s artificial and I’m in no hurry.

Since I made my announcement about my eight month Latin America solo motorcycle journey I’ve been receiving a lot of great support from my readers and I really appreciate it. I am making an announcement of a more formal nature that I hope anyone in the blogosphere or press may find useful to spread to their own audience.

All the details can be found below. You can download the press release as a PDF or plain text, along with the high resolution images that accompany it.

Press Release (PDF)
Press Release (Text)
Press Release (Photos)

Feel free to post this news on your own blog, Facebook profile, Twitter or whatever. I’ll add your blog to my blogroll as a token of my appreciation should you pass the word along

I’ve quit my job and I’m riding my motorcycle to Argentina. My journey will start August 15th.

I’ve been planning this for over a year, but haven’t been able to talk about it due to my employers knowing about my blog. I spent months thinking about this trip. Calculating the miles, the number of countries, minimizing the risks, doing the research and with the departure day growing really close there’s a mixture of anxiety and excitement swirling around in my head.

My calculated estimates tell me that I can afford to be on the road for 6 to 8 months, but they are just that: estimates. I don’t really know what will unfold from the journey. Realistically I think I will be gone for 3 months if I’m rushing too much or 12 if I am really enjoying myself. Hopefully it’s the latter.

Here is my general route I plan on taking:

Maybe I’ll hate this whole thing and turn around after 2 months. Maybe it won’t be as spectacular as I’ve built it up in my head. Expectations have a way to leading towards disappointment, but now I’m kinda just trying to go with the flow and just look forward a week in advance instead of months.

I’ve really enjoyed engaging with all of you who have been following this blog since I started it about two years ago. Thanks for being my virtual traveling companions while I’m out on the road.

If you would like to follow my journey, don’t forget to subscribe either by email or RSS from the links at the top.

I hope you enjoy what’s coming next.

I’ve been reevaluating my camping gear setup, and I’ve decided to add a piece of gear that makes it a little easier to setup camp for an evening. I’m using the Henessy Hammock Expedition Edition and so far I’ve been really happy with it. It’s easy to setup and take down. It packs small, and only weighs 2.5lbs.

Image courtesy of Campist.com

Here is a video giving a tour of all the features, such as:

• Pack size
• Weight
• Mosquito netting
• Entry through the bottom of the hammock
• Space in the hammock
• Rain fly

Was this useful for you? I hope so. I give my honest opinion.

Are you going to go out and buy one?

Please consider buying it through my shop. Full Disclosure: I do get a commission.

I’ll still make videos like this if you don’t buy from my shop.

But returning the favor would be highly appreciated.

Go to http://openn.me/66h to return the favor.

Thanks