I’ll be honest, I love the idea of my travel blog but somehow I have yet to make it a priority; however, in my defense, if travel blogs were valued by the amount of kick ass ideas that lay unpublished, well then, I would have a real gem. Unfortunately they aren’t, and for that reason this is my first blog post in a few months. So what got me back in the driver’s seat you ask? Nothing but a little well-timed and well-needed dose of inspiration from the Vanajeros. In my quest to once again abandon the ordinary and comfortable, I have been searching for meaningful positions in Latin America that will allow me to live and work at little to no cost. While researching one of the organizations with which I was considering courtship, I serendipitously chose the one blog post that happened to refer to a Vanagon full of hooligans living my dream; I mean, driving through Central and South America while documenting the people, places and experiences as they go.
One look at their website will show you that these guys aren’t a bunch of haphazard slackers like moi… well they might be (they ARE artists anyways). But regardless, these four friends have a beautiful idea and they are portraying it in an absolutely splendid way via their website. Their concept combines the giving aspects of Portrait Equality with the professionalism that you would expect of young budding photographers capable of making 10-minute documentary webisodes. The group was able to raise over $18,000 through Kickstarter in order to cover costs associated with the travel and photography equipment. Ultimately, they want to share their journey by producing a hardcover photobook that contains their best work from the road.
Their ‘travel movement’. (Image ruthlessly pillaged from their website http://www.vanajeros.com/about/)
In case you haven’t noticed, projects like this give me a great big chub and even inspire me to write! Now THAT says something (the writing part, not the chub thing). It is always awesome to see people bridging worlds and creating intercultural connections through artistic means that fall outside the realm of standard development ideas. I bet that just about every single person they meet becomes aware of their mission and in some way knows that they have become a part of their journey. They will then share the project with friends and family who will become exposed to their pictures, videos and goals… thus making the world that much more connected.
“Pecan Sandy” Named after the paint color they used to paint the top. (Photo ruthlessly pillaged from their website http://www.vanajeros.com/about/)
If I haven’t expressed it already then I highly encourage you to check them out and support them either with a follow, like or by purchasing some of their incredible photos. Let their journey inspire you to reach a bit higher, stretch a bit further and set off into the unknown.
Website: http://www.vanajeros.com/
Videos on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/vanajeros
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vanajeros
Instagram: http://instagram.com/vanajeros
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vanajeros
Store: http://www.vanajeros.com