Se Oa) DCCs Mee OR ae ea eadCONTENTS | spring 2010 \ FEATURES WA. ar) Cee lea LA SR eer eon EMO Cue eM Ce nt Ge Chiat ace eae Pom eecind cre eee ait aaa nee i) a Road: Two Women and a Motorcycle in Africa in 1934, Lois Pryce 81 “The Lost Murals of San Bartolo, cy msctier 91 Motos Against Malaria, todd Lawson and christina Tottle SMU UIs Seats Ce cro ee ey Pen Cute geri yen [aed DEPARTMENTS 8 Overland Post cme ole ere 16 Editor's Project 20 Reclaimed Editor's Project, Jeremy edgar Cecile cr Fy Overland Conservation, roseann Hanson Bat Es PTT Te Celtel MMC ol eR tL Con 122 Classic Kit: The Jerry Can, Jonathan Hanson 128. Tail Lamp: Black Mamba, sonatnan Hanson Cea aa eee mr Ta Lee ‘This photo: G-Wagen under the North Star, Salt Wells, Nevada. Photo by Chris Collara, CS era en Len aa erent ac?CONTRIBUTORS | Spring 2010 Mike Herbert Mike Hesbert was born in England in 1956, but for the past 30 yeats as lived in Norway: Since 1995 he has been to Teetand numerous times with his modi fied arctic trucks, where he has gained much experience in driving on glaciers and in the harsh terrain of Tecland, Mikes loves the outdoors, especially if the journey is to anywhere there snow and ice—thus his natural atraction to an expedition to Antarctica, When not dodging crevasses, he enjoys skiing, walking, dog sledging, and photography Lois Pryce Weary of the daily grind in jargon-in- fested London media-land, Lois Pryce jacked in her job at the BBC to ride from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego astride her Yamaha XT225. Upon her return she wrote the book of this tip, Las on dle Loot, which was published in the US, and the UK. as well as being translated into German and Dutch. Irehy wheels struck again and it wasn’t Tong before she was poring over maps of Africa, plotting another adventure. 1a October 2006 she set off on a Yamaha TTR250 to ride from London to Cape Town, crossing the Sahara through Al eta and Niger and con: tinuing down the west coast through the Congo and Angola to South Altea, The tale of this trip is caprured in her book Red Tape and White “Knackibe Lois ives on a Dutch barge in London with her husband, fl ow motoreycle adventurer Austin Vince Jeremy Edgar Jeremy grew up in ‘Tucson, Arizona, us extensively: Having lived in both Angen: and has explored the southwest tina and Mexico, he is fluent in Span: ish and is passionate about craveling throughout Latin America. He back packed through Italy for a month and is proficient in Traian, He holds a BS in Management Information Systems and a B.A. in Spanish, he left behind a corporate cubicle for his dream job of working with A few years ago Expeditions West and Orland Jormal. He uses a 2004 Toyota Tacoma rt riding days on for all of his 4WD adventures, and began his dual-sp a Suzuki DR200. Todd's passion for photography and writing, and his interest in human be Ings and the natural environment, have taken him to §3 countries on five con. tinents. He has contributed to numer newspapers, ‘conscious companies, and online pub ‘ous magazines, baly lications in North America for the last five years. Originally ftom Stony Plain, Alberta, he maved to the coast moun tains in 2002 and has lived in all three towns in the Sea-to-Sky corridor. When not taveling wi home in Whistles, BC ‘of people and their land, no matter what country I'm in. his partner Christina Torte, he now makes his “mn enthralled daily by the life, love, and beauty Chris Collard Chriss early years riding dire bikes in Baja, Mexico, with his father lead to a life-long passion for overland adven tures, His journalism career has taken him from Australia and Bolivia to Tee land and Moroceos corporate cliemts include Mopar, Jeep, Hummer, Warn, and ARB, to name a few, A recent two-month, 12,000-kilometer solo trek southern Africalanded the 43rd country stamp on his passport. He is a current contributor to maga: zines in a dozen countries, and his work has been published in Nasional Geegraphic Adventrs, Cigar Aficionado, American Way, and Hearland USA. Chris's favor "We are never lost .. just exploring a bit.” quote Cyril Mischler Thanks to many childhood summ: spent in west Africa, C early the African bush and dusty Land Rover rides, Back in his native France these exotic memories stubbornly stuck Later, the call of the tropies would prove irresistible, Fresh out of college, he was treading the backcountry again, this time in Latin America. From the tallest peaks of the Andes to the deep ‘est jungles of Central America and the Amazon, Cyril has found his il experienced place in the southern wilds. He has now spent the last fiften years in the region as an explorer and jungle expedition guide. He is also a freelance photojournalist and has been published in over two dozen ‘magazines in Scandinavia, the UK., and the US.-# Paerg > pee s a oa heRemem@BBe that rainy season back ir {BH when we Idd to winch the trucks for 17 owes? vealiior tha fipped teak caliper off the Range Rover's Fle and weergled up using olive ol a a sub- Fitce for braked to make it our?” ight! As Whatabout Thanks toa second bottle of Chilean Car hot tropical night, fantastic stoties of our past experiences ménéee, and the mystique of the were resurfacing faster than ever. By the third bottle we had switched to the inexhaustible debate: “What's the better expedition vehicle Land Rover or Toyota?" Allin all, it wa great evening shared with great company. But this. st ‘wouldn't be worth writing about if Bernie hadn't decided to share with us his account of a recent archeological discover straight out of a movie plot. This was 2002, just a few months after ersial discovery. After spending a week on a 4x4 expedition in Guatemala’s Pe ‘én jungle, 1 was telasing a the Nitun Private Reserve and Retreat on the quiet shores of Lake Petéa Ted, That nigh T shared dinner on the lodge’s terrace with Lorena Castillo and Bernie Mitelstead, the eserve's owners, and ngetime friends. And as we uncorked yet an her bottle, Beraie began his ale A Guatemalan of German descent, Ber nie has been exploring the Petén jungles a a professional jungle outfitter for the bet the last 30 years. For some time, ge, richly carved, Mayan stone monuments somewhere deep in the jungle. Bernie shared che rumors with two prominent Maya scholars, Dr. lan Gru ham from the UK. and Dr. David Stuart of the US, both lon field archaeologists. ter par he had heard rumors oF time friends and seasoned he archaeologists want ced to get to the rumored site to retrieve the potentially valuable information carved on the stelae, as the stone slabs are called, before someone else (ie. looters) did. But there was a problem: The source of the intel was himself a tomb looter, a “huechero.” willing to sell the location to the highest bidder. To complicate things further, the man was dying of pulmo: nary cancer and needed money quickly to pay for is treatment. Everything had to happen fast; Dr Stoaet was to travel to Guatemala to join the seou ing party while Bernie was to somehow con: the exact location of the stelae and, iF pos- sible, hire the huechero to guide the team. After weeks of hag ling, the informant foal agreed to accompany the team, for a hefty fee andl the promise of silence, The rest of the prepara checking Bernie's a went quick! jungle-outftted Toyota Land Cruiser, pack ing equipment and supplies, and hieing three trusted trackers, justin case A start date was set and an approach route was laid out. Feom Tikal National Park, the cm was to strike north on a dirt rad to Uax actin, a ruined Mayan city. From there they would take a logging track eastward through a dreaded streteh of low-lying jungle thar ood: «frequently. They hoped it would be de and passable at this time of year. The logging track ended in Xultén, another ancient urban center, so the test of the way to the stelae Opposite: Mayan pyramids buried under tho near San Bartolo. Top: ThickBut there was a problem: The source of the intel was himself a tomb looter, willing to sell the location to the highest bidder. proached ag thatched house. Inside, an ¢ found a substitute the University of > ahead with bright young scientist with Buta no previous expetienee in jungle tre cussing the situation with his Jong time tracker, Mariano Catalan, they both much mote alarming setback was ye cur: The hired huechero was nowhere to be found, Bernie decided to travel to th The morning of departure they picke small jungle community and lo up Dr. Saturno from the Flores aitport, and cf immediately the small team was off 10 the hallenge for Bernie Fuser. So mud would not be 4 Xulin, half the truck finally reachad been drinking liguids without restraint and had pretty much depleted the rationed water supply. On top of that a 50-po equipment, which was taking an enormous ad pack full of heavy photographic coll on his stamina, He had to stop constantly, slowing the group tremendously. Everyone ‘was thirsty and ehe morale was at «low point tempers ran high Then Mariano, who hae! gone scouting ahead of the group, returned to inform the team he had found several large pyramids buried under the jungle. He thought ie was probably the site of the stelae, Instantly the mood changed. The team quickly established a makeshift camp, and strung hammocks s0 he leaped out of his hammock, ecstasy in him to the tunnel and its painted wall and Dr were not out of the woods yet. Their water supply was reduced to a few gulps, no one really knew for sure where they were, and the heat was unbearable. After consulting his men, Bernie decided to spend the night 0 take ad carly cool temperatutes, they would strike in line toward Hormiguero, an aban While he was kneeling and contemplating his find he felt Mariano tap his shoulder. He looked up. Mariano’s face was awestruck, totally frozen. De. Saturno could recover. The three trackers then began looking for water to cook an early dinner. Mud paddles, plats, liana, flowers, harvested. Meanwhile Bernie and Mariano ‘went exploring the pyramids—only to discow them? Was this whole nightmarish expedit Even though both men were suffering m dehydration and fatigue, Bernie and While exploring one of the looter’: wanel trenches through a large pyramid, Bernie and Masiano noticed fragments of ancient pot 3 further, Bernie rated, ist-sized piece of stucco. While he was kneeling and contemplating his find he felt M .n9 tap his shoulder. He looked up. Mati Bernie moved his flashlight to where Mat ano was staring, and his light beam mer the wall surface, It was beautifolly painted, Two brightly colored fg rs appeared, one stand ing, one kneeling in front, Adrenaline lowing und their current condition forgotten, Bernie ran out of the tunnel with the piece of stucco he had found, and showed it to Dr, Satueno, When the seientist saw the painted fragment doned logger’ camp they believed was cated to the south, Once there, they would casily find theie way back to Xultin, the Land Cruiser, and abundant water. The plans su cess depended entirely on Mariano's jungle skills and orienteering, Luckily, he had spent Petén, developing an intuitive 3 of his life working in the backwoods of owledge of the jungle The next day they headed south on a takes the trickets somehow found theit w to Hormiguero. From there they simply had to followa known tail back to Xulnia. Once the Land Cruiser, Betnie real w surprisingly close they had been to theie starting point, only a few ki away, Now confident of theie bearings, the trackers concluded that the pyramids they had stumbled upon were part of Mayan city comples called San Bartolo. The moment Bernie finished his extraor dinary story I knew I had to visit San Bartolo and see the mural for myself. ‘The opportunity arose a few months after my night at NFtua, Bernie and Lorena were to travel to San Bar olo with a Mayan scholar from the United States, and they invited me to join them, A Arivable track had been opened all the way to the pyramids and by the time we arrived at the site, mural excavations were in fll swing, under De, Saturno’s supervision. A. perma nent camp had been set up legions of diggers were hard at work, and scholars from several ‘countries were busy deciphering the secrets of the ancient city. Major institutions, such as Harvard's Peabody Muscum and the National ved. *] om the recent Iraq invasion to map out the Geographic Society, had gotten inv Even US. military satellites had been dive site with the latest technology. At the time only part of the mural had been uncarthed; an entire other wall would subsequently be discovered and excavated. Nevertheless, the paintings T saw were stunning, finely painted exploding in bright colors as if new: Yee they were believed to be of the pre-classic Maya, petiod—at least 2,000 years old Six was nearly complete and the Mayan artwork filly excavs if cance is revolutionizing what we know about 1s ate, in 2007, the Geld project ted, The murals’ date and the Mayss. Radiocarbon and other sophisti ed dating methods are potting the murals’ ympletion at about 100 BC, The Mayan writ ings included on the murals and deeper within the site's Las Pintaras pyramid date centuries easier than any other previously known Ma yan glyphs. Itproves pre-clasie Mayan culture hese glyphs are so old scholars ace as yet unable to decipher them, as they do ‘not match any later classic and post-classc in. scriptions The refinement of the artwork is also ‘unmatched for the time period, ‘The mural Aepicts scenes of the Popol Vuk, the Mayan mythologieal book of creation. Hunapuh, fone of the book’s hero twins, is represented several times performing sef-mutil his genitals, Also, inthe originally discovered ‘mural fiagment, the Maya maize god is seen receiving tribute from a kneeling woman. Ev ery minute detail of the mural is there for a purpose and hasa symbolic significance; some ae yet to be deciphered. The find gives a new perspective to the high level of civilization of the Maya, even in their formative period. The scientific analysis of the San Bartolo murals promises to continue to bring new elements to scholats to help understand the complex ‘world of the mysterious Mayan civilization, Tn the spring of 2007 I had another op- portunity to accompeny Bernie to see the paintings. As faras the logging track was concerned, ‘out jungle crossing t0 San Bartolo was not much different from what Bernie's first expe- dition encountered: the ground was dry, but the clearing of fillen tres from across the path impeded our progress. Furthermore, as ‘we veered off the main logging tack towards the ancient city we could tell immediately that ‘no four-wheeled vehicle had passed through for several months, ‘Thick over tion and dozens of dead trunks of all sizes ‘obstructed the path and slowed us down even more. Bernie was deiving, Philippe was taking picrutes, and Iwas on clearing duty. Everytime ‘we got blocked my job Land Cruiser, swing my machete at dhe brush, or eut through a fallen ere with the chainsaw Several hours passed, and we mecha performed the same routine over and aver. My lower back was throbbing with pain in protest. Looking at my hands and foreatms, I realized they were covered with bloody cuts and bruis ce, The mid-afternoon tropical heat and the humidity were as oppressive as ever, and sweat was drenching me from head to toe, uncom fortably sticking my wee clothes to my body Even though T was drinking plenty of liquid didn’t seem to be rehydrating dry and I was light-headed. Was debydratior creeping up on me? my mouth was Since I had been taking in enough fluids heat exhaustion was moze likely, It was time for me ro sit out truck, Iwas amused at che situation after sev eral years of jungle bushwhackin 1 sil get a kick out of the challenges met on ring duties and rest in the and driving, the trick, even if invariably itis a the eost of punishing my bods: A true relationship with the tropical wilderness of the rain ata high physical price. [remember how even experienced veterans like Bernie and Mariano mistead the capability of their team, used up their water supply, failed to spot basie symp: toms of body exhaustion, and put themselves in ertcal situations Lost in my thoughts, the constant rolling of the Land Cruiser had me dozing off in my seat, My aching muscles slowly relaxed. Bet nie and Philippe were in charge. The regular rattle of the diesel engine was periodically ‘nterrupred by the high-pitched grow! of the chainsaw | didn’t realy hear it anymore, Lost track of time, Outside the window everything was green, green, ernie pulled me out sate, We'd made it to Xulsin, only ten kilome ters south of San Bartolo, We would sleep het sf may vegetative tonight and reach ous final destination t » Bernie and Dr Saturno's expedition, our water and food sup: row mosning, As opposed ply was plentiful This time around the jungle was here to be enjoyed rather than cursed. We set up camp, lia lize, and prepared dinner. As night fell, we gathered around Bernie. By the ‘campfire he showed usa detailed archacolog cal map of the pyramids and buildings of San Bartolo, and told his Indiana Jones tales again n® We were all ears