lb@large

Well, there is a little bit of explanation to it…

My name is Liesbet and I am from Belgium. L-i-e-s-b-e-t. How the hell do you pronounce that as an English speaker? The first part “Lies” is not at all like the English word “lies”. I used to just nod my head when people called me “Lisbeth” or “Elizabeth”, but who was I kidding? The Dutch sound [ie] is pronounced like [ee], so my name should actually be spelled “Leezbet”. Huh?

An ex-boyfriend of mine, he is American, still couldn’t pronounce my name the way it is, after trying for a year. So, since Americans (especially Texans, even the liberal ones) like to use abbreviations, he came up with a new name for me: Lb. Sounded all right to me, easy, different, even a little cute. And, it described me in two ways: Liesbet and Lazy butt. Yep, I admit, I can be somewhat lazy at times, but only if it requires doing something I don’t really like. Luckily, that doesn’t happen too often…

At large? I was convinced I saw a road sign once, with these words on it. As far as I remembered, it must have been somewhere in Australia, driving through pasture land. In my head it means “cattle at large” and “be careful of roaming cows”. I searched the web for hours, but no such sign showed up. The dictionary didn’t give me the description I was hoping to find. But, the thesaurus version was right on! At least when I get to pick the words I want. At liberty, free-spirited, independent, liberal, loose, relaxed, unattached, uncommitted, and free. That’s me!

I’ve done lots of travelling in my 31 years of living. I work to travel. I basically live to travel, to explore, to try new things, to “expand my horizons”. The only things I own are a backpack, lots of memories, and heaps of photos and souvenirs in my parents’ attic. I guess I am addicted to the disease of roaming, wandering, vagebonding.
For now anyway…

Yes, it is possible! Is it dangerous? No! Is it hassle free? No!

Mark, his dogs Darwin and Kali, and I just explored Mexico and Central America for the last year. We drove our truck camper all the way to Panama, over the Canal, and back. It was great to have our own (comfortable, but small) house with us and we could basically go where we wanted in our 4WD truck. The biggest hassles were dealing with the police (Honduras, Panama), crossing borders (most countries), finding places to camp (especially Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua) and trying to escape the heat and humidity.

We camped at beautiful beaches, experienced different cultures, met friendly locals, ate great food, saw awesome wildlife, climbed live vulcanoes, hiked in wonderful nature parks, and lived a basic and cheap life, while sleeping in our own bed at night! Our biggest expenses were fuel (diesel is cheaper than gas).

Of course it is impossible to mention all our adventures here, but I’m thinking of writing a lot of articles and even a book about this unusual road trip. If anyone has questions, or is thinking to do something similar, please feel free to contact me through the comments or at lbcollaert@gm**l.com.