top of page

UNLOST: AUDIOBOOK FOOTNOTES

In order as they appear in the book

 

OCTOBER 29, 2001

 

Volkswagen:  The people’s car.

 

Framers in Colorado:  Reference to the first book, The Buddha and the Bee.

 

“there isn’t a bike trail that goes that far”:  Reference to the first book, The Buddha and the Bee.

 

Get my job back.:  Reference to the first book, The Buddha and the Bee.

 

PUERTO PEÑASCO  

 

Aliens I ran into back in Utah:  Reference to the first book, The Buddha and the Bee.

 

México D.F.:  México Distrito Federal (D.F.) was officially renamed Ciudad de México in 2016. 

On the bike ride:  Reference to the first book, The Buddha and the Bee.

MÉXICO D.F. 

Pensions:  Guest house or boarding house.

 

México D.F. was the largest city in the world:  In 2001, México City was the largest city in the world by population. In 2021, it was the fifth largest by population. 

Western Interior Seaway:  Reference to the first book, The Buddha and the Bee.

 

The white van as I was on my bike trip:  Reference to the first book, The Buddha and the Bee.

 

Lancha:  Small boat.

 

GUATEMALA

 

Vaquero:  Cowboy, cattle driver.

 

TIKAL

 

Camioneta:  Chicken bus

 

Trochophobia:  Fear of riding on a truck or bus.

ANTIGUA

 

Colectivo:  A shared taxi (in the form of a small bus) with an established route.

 

HONDURAS

 

Kerouac book that I picked up in San Francisco:   Reference to the first book, The Buddha and the Bee.

 

PANAMA

 

WHO Card:  World Health Organization yellow card titled, “International Certificates of Vaccination.”

 

MÉRIDA

 

MSP:  Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Minnesota

 

PICO BOLÍVAR 

 

Chimney:  A crack in the rock large enough for the body to shimmy up or down.

 

BACK IN MÉRIDA 

 

Pendejo:  “Asshole” in Spanish

 

The Gap:  Trendy clothing chain in the United States.

 

QUITO

 

Mehran Karimi Nasseri:  Iranian refugee who lived in Charles de Gaulle Airport from August 1988 until July 2006. 

 

BACK IN QUITO 

 

Earth’s centrifugal bulge:  The centrifugal bulge is created due to the centrifugal force of the earth spinning in space,

making the earth actually an oval, not a sphere. 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2001 

 

Chinese didn’t poach all the wildlife first:  In 2020, the Chilean Navy intercepted the Chinese fishing vessels who were illegally fishing in Galàpagos waters. 

 

CUSCO

 

Charlie:  Cocaine.

 

COPACABANA

 

Charon:  The boatman who ferries souls of the dead across the River Styx to Hades.

 

Pachamama:  Mother Earth.

 

“So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.”:  Caddyshack quote given by Bill Murray’s character Carl Spackler. 

 

CÀRCEL DE SAN PEDRO 

 

Cuy:  Guinea pig

 

TO PUERTO MONTT 

 

Land of the Big Feet:  It has been noted by Ferdinand Magellan, that Patagonia was populated by giants.

 

Guano:  Accumulated excrement of seabirds.

 

TREK WITH HANS 

 

Herbert Nitsch:  Known as “the deepest man on earth,” world record holder for freediving 253 meters (831 feet). 

 

Hic sunt dracones:  “Here be dragons” meaning, dangerous or unexplored territories 

 

ANTARCTICA

 

Displacing:  The displacement of a ship is found by calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, and then

calculating the weight of that water. By Archimedes' principle, this is also the weight of the ship. 

 

Ear to the ground:  Another US Americanism that originated in the 1800s, literally means to put your ear to the ground to hear horses or footsteps. 

 

Hoigaard’s:  Hoigaard’s was a local outdoor outfitter in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a focus on winter sports. 

bottom of page