May 1st, 2016 we graduated from the University of Portland. Taylor double majored in Biology & Spanish, with a minor in Chemistry. Mitch double majored in Finance & Snowboarding, with a minor in Craft Beer. && we recognized that life was presenting us with a window of opportunity to go have a life-changing adventure...
We decided our adventure would be driving the Pan-American Highway from Seattle, Washington to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina over the next year. So, Mitch both developed and overcame an unhealthy Craigslist addiction, we finally bought a car, made some modifications, & planned like crazy...
But, we couldn't really afford a year long trip on our savings alone, & we couldn't make things too easy on ourselves either. So, we designed a project blending some of our passions (environmentalism, photography, culture, humanitarian work...), wrote a grant, partnered with an NGO, & just like that we were a few steps closer to a more feasible & a more meaningful trip. Our goal throughout our travels (beyond the inevitable self-growth & widened world perspective) is to present environmental issues along the west coast of the Americas &, most importantly, an image of the community members behind them...
June 1st, 2016 we shoved all our stuff in the car, said goodbye to our beloved families, headed south, & started living life on the road, making our way through America...& then Central America...Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama...& then South America...Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile...
Oh yeah, & while we were on the road we got news that Taylor was awarded a Fulbright grant in Argentina. So, we have to be there by mid-March 2017. & then we get to stay there for 8 months. The adventure continues...
"& when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it..." -Paulo Coelho