In 2011, 30-something-year-old Murray Johnson and some friends reached out to CouchSurfers to join them driving two donated ambulances down to Honduras to give them to Honduran hospitals.
Johnson recently posted: “The experience was so amazing and the donation so needed that we have made the Charity Rally official and opened it up for others to join!
You can mix travel, adventure and charity all in one for a good cause.
How it works:
You form your own team or join a “potluck” team. Your team can be comprised of any number of people. (I am guessing it is best if all of our team members fit in your vehicle though, of course.)
Each team secures its own car/ambulance/fire truck/buse/whatever and drive down. The rally organizers work with you to get the vehicle, secure the donation and do the paperwork to have the vehicle imported into Honduras — or wherever it ends up.
Murray says, they have found that “with a great cause like this, it really is just a matter of making some phone calls to get some great vehicles donated.”
The 2013 rally starts in San Diego, California and ends in Comayagua, Honduras. Within that, each team sets its own route.
As it is a rally, each is given a set of goals to achieve, such as things to do while on their drive. How each team fulfills its goals are up to the team. Some teams even branch off to see and do different things. It’s up to how you want to do your trip.
Most teams fly back while some continue to travel around. As a traveler, I highly recommend the latter. Get as much time off as you can and see Central America! That tiny section of our map is full of beautiful vistas and interesting cultures.
Some teams start as friends while others begin as strangers and likely become friends during their drive across Central America.
They would love to see more great teams join them for July 2013 departure. If you are game, visit mesoamerica.charityrallies.org.
If 2013 doesn’t work for you, bookmark the website and start planning for 2014. They are hoping to have one every year.
Note: This is all the info I have at this time, but I will add to it as I hear from the organizers personally.
Wondering if I will be doing this? Maybe, but I have a few things of my own planned to make this world a better place for people I have and have not yet met.
The rally’s website says this pretty well.
Do you stop in that sleepy beach village? Do you drive through the largest city in the world? How about visiting a turtle sanctuary or climbing an active volcano? If you’re more of a water person, then go dive the second largest barrier reef in the world. Then zipline through a cloud forest. And why not stop by an ancient Mayan temple (or six) along the way.
Beaches. Mountains. Deserts. Forests. Which would you like to see?
How about all of them. You can’t avoid them. You will encounter them all. Rich culture, diverse regions and epic excitement abounds. MesoAmerica awaits with experiences limited only by your sense of adventure.