Greetings all, we hope the be in Palmer Notre today but still have issues with the vehicle that needs urgent attention.
If things go well with the vehicle we will also try to push on the Drake bay area.
We can be reached by e-mail krazy@exclusivetents. com or out US mobile +1-520-465-7078.
Will update this again soon
Take care
Paul & Angelika

Greetings from Estrillo Este on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica on our first morning of the Exclusive Tents Expedition.

As you all know we arrived in CR about 10 days ago and expected to get going in a few days.

Little did we know the frustration of the last 10 days to get the Land Cruiser (“LC” aka Elsie) prepared for the expedition.

Without getting into too much detail, the workmanship was so poor that things that were added or repaired had do be redone on numerous occasions, most of this in a variety of backyard workshops of San Jose and not to mention that the smallest repair can take hours to do.

We were fired up to leave yesterday morning but first the brakes needed to be bled as they were rather squishy and the reverse lights redone because of some short in the wiring.

Finally LC was done and with great excitement we loaded her up in a hurry that we could ‘burn some rubber’ and make some distance.

This turned out to be more true than we imagined because we had done less than a Km to realize the rear suspension was too soft and the new tires were rubbing against the vehicle body that it would not be possible to drive any further this way.

Long story short, we found ourselves again in a backyard, huddled in the rain while the dudes extended the rear shackles and inserted an additional leaf into the rear springs.

In the process it was discovered that one of the leaves was clean broken and a replacement had to be cut and fitted, this after we assured by the same guys a day earlier that it would be just fine.

Finally we made our second departure with revived excitement and headed to the mountain passes that would take us to the coast.

Not long into the passes the rain came down, some of it trickling through the back of the dash over our feet making puddles on the floor and shorting out our alarm and whoever knows what else.

Apart from getting used to driving a slightly top-heavy vehicle, we traveled well until the car in front of slammed on brakes to avoid some road digging that was not cautioned and LC was fishtailing all wheels were squealing and the same with the vehicle behind us.

The vehicle in front of as pulled over in his skid giving me enough time to recover and get around the obstruction safely.

Because we departed late we decided to overnight in a small beach hotel for the night instead of the place we had planned on camping at.

Today Sunday, we have decided to take a day off once we get to our camp site and decompress after the last too may days of frustrations.

Tomorrow, Monday the 12^th we will be on the road again and be meeting up with our first appointments and hopefully we will have no further vehicle hassles.

Keep checking on this blog for more updates on our progress.

Paul and Angelika

Arrival in Costa Rica

We've arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica today May 1st. We have meetings with clients in San Jose beginning next week. We are looking forward for the final kitting on the Land Cruiser to begin our expedition to Panama. Keep checking back for further updates.

Paul & Angelika

C.A. Expedition and Other News

Greetings all,

With so much going on, time has been flying by at an amazing rate as we wait to get the Central American Expedition Underway.

Around the 24th of April we will be packing up for the expedition and then head off to set tents up on Grand Cayman Island for a few days.

Thereafter we will head to Costa Rica to pack and prepare for the Expedition.

On arrival we will be spending a few days checking over the vehicle and making the final changes if need be.

The one-week planned diversion to Ecuador that we mentioned in the previous newsletter is now off as the client has postponed the visit without a future date, so we are open to any alternative proposals.

We expect the Expedition to be underway on or around the 5th – 11th of May and departing from San Jose, Costa Rica.

We will keep you updated on our Blog Page on our actual departure dates – Please Bookmark our Blog Page for referencing our Expedition news and progress.

We hope to be updating the blog daily for those not only interested in our Tents and Barefoot Furniture but for those who just simply want to share in the adventure. We will also be posting pictures and video clips of our more interesting adventures and encounters, to the blog.

The kitting out of the vehicle is going well and still on schedule. Some of the additions include a heavy-duty roof rack (to accommodate our custom-made rooftop tent and other gear), security alarm system, winch and recovery gear (sponsored by Overland Experts), 2nd battery & spare tire, snorkel, 31” tires and a few other custom modifications.

See the above picture of Angelika and our 1979 Diesel Land Cruiser, prior to it being kitted out for the expedition.

We would also like to thank our good friend “Homeless” for sponsoring all of our marketing and printed materials and Polar Bear Coolers with their promise to keep our beers cold forever.

Last but not least, we have also been sponsored with inspiring expedition music by the talented Rock Band, The Last Act of Defiance (LAD), their magic constituting a unique mix of
Electric and Acoustic music.

The initial route we will be following from San Jose, will take us to Jaco on the Pacific Coast and east around the Osa Peninsula and Golfo Dulce past Golfito and then on to Panama.
Once in Panama we will mainly follow the Pacific Coast as best we can around the Azuero Peninsula and then onto Panama City.

We do plan to cross the Panama Canal and visit the area around the Portobelo National Park on the Caribbean side but we will not be going much further east in Panama unless we get any appointments in that area.

In heading back to Costa Rica, we will first head up to Bocas Del Toro for a number of appointments and then onto Port Limon on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. We will then cross through the volcano rich part of Central Costa Rica passing through the towns of Siquirres, Guapiles, La Virgen, and the Lake Arenal area on our way back to the Pacific Coast.

Once back on the coast we will follow the coastline around the Gulf and Peninsula of Nicoya to the remote & less traveled Geotectonic interesting Santa Elena Peninsula, before heading into Nicaragua.

Once we are underway on the expedition we will lay out the routes we will be taking through the rest of the Central American Countries will be traversing (Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize and finally through Mexico and back to Arizona).

As we already have close on 50 appointments already set up so please let us know as soon as possible if you would like to schedule an appointment with us to visit with you, even if it is slightly off the routes described above.

We are offering an Expedition Special on the 6-Leg Serengeti Tent that will run through the duration of the Expedition. (See Picture Above)

This tent offer includes a mild steel frame and has a room that is 7.2M x 3.5M (23.7’ x 11.5’), which includes a 2M x 3.5M (6.6’ x 11.5’) area in the rear for the bathroom.

The tent has an overall footprint of 10.5M x 5.1M (16.7’ x 34.4’)

The Serengeti Tent
The Serengeti Tent components consist of the following:
Mild Steel Frame (stainless steel frame is an optional extra)
Shade Fly
Rain Fly
Canvas Tent Body
Tension Chains
Body Poles

For Quotes please contact
Jake directly at jake@exclusivetents.com

Prices will exclude freight, local delivery, wooden platforms, layout, electrical, plumbing, interiors, fixtures, appliances, setup, duties, local delivery and related costs.

Manufacturing Lead Time is about 10-12 weeks.

Though we will be posting all our expedition contact info on the Expedition Blog Page, please also find it below and copy it for future reference.

For those of you who are new to the newsletter, please check the Blog Page to see the past two newsletters and the new Shawu Tent Drawings. Also see the truly beautiful Mabarule Tent – these two tents along with the Kambaku & Mafunyane Tents are named in memory of the Magnificent Seven Elephants.

Expedition Members:
Paul Zway (The Krazy African)
Angelika Kanizsai (The Krazy Hungarian)

EXPEDITION CONTACT INFO:

Exclusive Tents Ltd.
Fax: +1-520-844-1271
Global Mobile Cell: +1-520-465-7078
E-Mail: krazy@exclusivetents.com
E-Mail: angelika@exclusivetents.com
Websites: www.exclusivetents.com and www.barefootinteriors.com
Skype: krazyafrican

Expedition News

Greetings all,

We have a few new exciting destinations for the tents as I write this newsletter; namely Grand Cayman Island, Ambergris Cay (Turks & Caicos), Turkey, Greece and Baja Mexico.

To note, the 3-tent pavilion mentioned in the previous newsletter is no longer available.

Most important to note is that the prices on all raw steel rocketed up 22% about a week ago with murmurings that there might yet be more increases to come in the near future.
This unfortunately means that all quotes made prior to this will no longer be valid and if required, we can re-quote anyone upon request.

We would also like to use this newsletter to introduce our new tent, the Shawu Tent, which can be seen in the drawings above. This tent will be 53 M² (570 Ft²) in area and will be available for production in May ‘08. There will be an extended version of this Shawu Tent as well, which will be 64.5 M² (694 Ft²).
The Shawu Tent is another of our tents, named in the memory of one the “Magnificent Seven” elephants.

Things are moving forward at a very rapid pace with the planning and logistics for the Exclusive Tents Central American Expedition.

The response back has been very exciting since our last newsletter and we already have over 40 appointments set up with just more than a month left before we get underway.
We leave this Saturday (March 29th) for Costa Rica where we will spend a week kitting out our ‘antique’ 1979 Diesel Land Cruiser in preparation for the expedition.

The expedition start date will be based on when the vehicle will be ready but we are still hoping and targeting our departure for the first week of May.
As the vehicle is in Costa Rica, the expedition will start in San Jose and then along the Costa Rica Pacific Coast from Jaco and head towards Panama City.
Once in Panama City we will be taking a week off the Expedition, to visit with clients in Ecuador.
When back in Panama City we will travel backwards towards Costa Rica again but along the Caribbean Coast via Bocos Del Toro and then continue on to Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize and finally through Mexico to Arizona in the USA.

We must mention and thank the numerous people who have made appointments for us to visit with them during the Expedition, who have ever so kindly and graciously, offered us gratis accommodation in their establishments and those who have offered us the same in the expedition just passing their respective locations. We are very grateful for this genuine kindness and generous hospitality extended to us and we will be sure to thank you all personally when we finally meet up.
This kindness will be much appreciated because we will mainly be making use of a specially made, small custom made “Rooftop Tent” that will fold forward from on top of the cab roof to over the hood (bonnet) of the Land Cruiser.

Be sure to keep up on the expedition progress once we get underway, from our Expedition Blog.

Those wanting to contact us once underway on the expedition, please check on the Expedition Blog Page for our E-mail, Mobile Phone number and Skype contact details.
Even though we will be in many very remote parts with no service, we will still be able to check mail and make calls via our Bgan Satellite communications system.

We have been asked many times how long the Expedition will be and take us to complete but there is no clear answer. We do however expect to be doing about 6000 miles (9600km) and take about 2 months to complete the Expedition.
We may also have to break away from the Expedition for a week or so, to set up tents in Morocco and Turkey.

Sponsors:
Dave Mason
Polar Bear Coolers
Overland Experts
Bocas Breeze News
Be sure to let us know if you wish to become a sponsor of this expedition.

Computer Talk with Dave Mason

Greetings,

This past weekend, nationally syndicated talk-radio show host Dave Mason had Paul on to discuss the dirty business dealings of 'Broadway Photo' and to introduce the partnership between the Show and Exclusive Tents on the upcoming expedition!

Click here for part 1 of the interview

Click here for part 2 of the interview

Also make sure to check your local listings and tune in regularly as once the expedition is underway, we'll be checking back whenever we can!

Also make sure to click on the link to the right if you are interested or know any interested parties who want to meet with us along the way.

-Exclusive