Welcome to the site for Michael and Derek Expeditions where our motto is "We Take You Places You Won´t Go Yourself! Please enjoy the website and feel free to leave comments or vital information such as where we should go next or if you know anyone along the way who is willing to give us a floor to sleep on. THANKS!

Most people only have the opportunity or desire to experience life through events that are directly around them where they are safe and a daily routine provides comfort. While these people are content viewing the world through a magazine, book, television or internet, Derek and Michael are not satisfied with this. We require a much more personal interaction with the people and cultures of the world. We require an ubiased and honest view that can only be obtained by experiencing the world ourselves. We are obligated to answer the internal call of adventure which tells us to go out and experience places and situations that are both good and bad but never the less help us grow as human beings. We also desire to leave a lasting impact and positive view of our own culture upon the communities we visit and change the way the world views us. If you have comments or questions about what we are doing feel free to post or comment!

Our expedition will be approximately 6 months long starting in Mexico and flowing down as far south as Tierra Del Fuego in Argentina, the southernmost point of South America. In between we will be visiting as many countries as we can at a pace that will allow us to enjoy the trip. So keep reading and keep us company on this grand adventure! For a complete chronicle of our travels, click on the Journal menu tab and associated archives in the right column.

Hello Everyone! My name is Michael Francik and I grew up in Pasco, WA in the USA. I´ve been working hard my hole life to save up enough money to go to Washington State University where I met Derek and succesfully graduated in 2008 with a B.S degree in Chemical Engineering. I have always had a mandatory need for adventure whether it be backpacking in the wilderness, climbing mountains, or training for and completing an ironman triathlon. During college I devised a plan to travel Patagonia for a year and then met Derek and with his desire to travel as well, our trip expanded to the entire South American Continent. It has been 8 years now since Derek and I thought up this great adventure and only now is it coming to fruition. After working in the Petroleum and Nuclear Clean up Industries for 3 years right out of school, I decided that this was a now or never kind of situation. The stars have aligned and we have both the time and resources to make this trip finally happen. There is soo much more to life and this world than we know and rather than working a standard 40 hour per week or more job with only 2 weeks of vacation, I am out to experience all of it!



Hola! Derek Here! It’s been a long time coming, that is to be on the road. What was once a year plan to travel the world with Mike has digressed into a 6 month adventure in South America. A pretty good compromise for now considering all the other places we could have chosen. After graduating from Washington State University with a B.S. in environmental science, the past two and half years have landed me jobs all over the country from DC to Alaska. Since then, those jobs have given me the opportunity to clear all the standard worries of home; debts and possessions that would otherwise have me locked down are now taken care of. My freedom has been earned with a little sweat traded for cash and cash traded for immunizations and travel gear. I guess you could call this urge to get gone a travel bug, but this bug is the size of Godzilla. It´s so easy to read about foreign places and have preconceptions, based on what someone else has experienced; but I don’t like to read so I guess I’ll have to figure it out on my own(jk, I like to read!!) I’ve always considered myself more of a player than a fan anyhow. Enough blabber… sit back and follow along!