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"CONNECTING PEOPLE TO CULTURE". THAT IS THE MOTTO THAT HEADLINES YOUR WEBSITE, TIPTOTIPTRIP.COM. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU SUCCEEDED IN THIS MISSION? IF SO, GIVE AN EXAMPLE FROM YOUR JOURNEY THAT SHOWS HOW.

I proudly will say yes to that question. As I sit here and think, "did we connect people to culture?" I feel I can say that we succeeded in what we were attempting to do. We had this global connection in mind during the planning of the trip, but in the end it became what it was, skipping down the Americas, meeting people and spreading the word with our actual voice. Just the other day a friend of mine went to El Salvador on a surf trip. I asked him please to go and visit a good friend of mine who lives on the beach there. He did, and was happy that he had made the connection. This has happened countless times, both me being the presenter of a far away friend, and others presenting me with a far away friend. All of the sudden you find yourself with a place to stay, food on your plate, and good company. People are so excepting and so outwardly generous, even when they have so little sometimes. Someday in the near future we will have a film to show people about the journey and let them meet some of the amazing people we got to meet en route. Our idea was always clear in my mind, but sometimes hazy when trying to articulate. The two points I always followed when I was confused or frustrated with the purpose of our trip were, one: The journey is the destination, and two, try and take in everything around you while traveling, because it maybe the only time you get to experience what is going on at that point in time. We went on the trip with the idea that we were ambassadors and our actions would be taken for what they were and have a lasting impression on the people we met. Therefore we tried to walk softly and speak clearly. We tried to let people know that travel does not have to be across the world, it could be just hopping on a bus and going down the coast 200 km. Also, Scott and I both felt we had to show that not all Americans living in the US are supporting Jorge Boosh, mass consumption and greed.

THE CULMINATION OF THIS PROJECT IS A FILM TO BE FEATURED ON PBS ENTITLED, "VAYA CON GRINGOS". HOW IS THE PRODUCTION COMING ALONG, AND HOW CAN WE ALL GET TO WATCH IT, THEN BETTER YET PURCHASE IT TO SUPPORT THIS AWESOME VENTURE?

The project is in the works, slowly but surely we are editing through the 90 plus hours of footage we shot in route. We aren't sure if we are going to try and show it as a series with episodes on each region, or as a 90-minute documentary. Editing is difficult, especially when you have such an emotional attachment to the footage. It may be that we bring in someone else to help us edit who has a more cut and dry perspective of the project. The other hard part is that Scott lives in New Mexico, and I live in California, making it harder to work together on the project. If anyone wants to help out with the project, come over to my house and baby-sit! That would help me score some time to edit! Ha ha ha. But really, I am hoping to have something by the first of next year, and any input or ideas are always welcomed, and if you want to support the cause, buy our first DVD, Dos Gringos. I would like to thank all the people that have helped us through out this project, and to all the friends that we have made in our travels. Thank you Raphael as well for your grass roots web log and showing people how important travel is and how educational it can be. We live in such a bubble here in the United States, and if that bubble is ever going to pop, we have to show people that millions suffer from the exaggerated lifestyle we live here. Remember as well, respect and you will be respected. Don't hate before you know and get out there and learn to know what is happening wherever you are and in the world. If anyone is interested in contacting Scott or myself feel free to email us. Quite a few people have contacted us for info or hints on getting through central and South America, and its cool to see the connections and make more. It's a small world. Our website is: www.tiptotiptrip.com Zack's email: zack@tiptotiptrip.com Scott's email: scott@tiptotiptrip.com

ER Harris

Part 4/4

PS: An honor and a privilege to cover this astonishing journey! Zack Hill and Scott Cherry are two names that I look to for inspiration in this wide, wide world.