‘Long Way Up’ Recap: ‘Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala & Mexico’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Ten of ‘Long Way Up’.
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What is truly amazing about the AppleTV+ series, Long Way Up, is the sheer fact that this documentary has outright managed to perfectly encapsulate the wonder of the road trip and everything that goes into it, both good and bad. Because it has done a fine job of reminding us, of how tough it can be to plan a big one, and how the unexpected can surprise us as we chug along our route. All while celebrating the best parts of hitting the road and how wonderful it is to see new places and enjoy the majesty of the world and really this is relevant to today’s discussion for one key reason. For as we near the end of this 13,000-mile-long journey north with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, it’s quickly becoming clear that this show isn’t going to deviate from this style of storytelling in the slightest.

Because ‘Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala & Mexico’ took the time to explore an important element of this time-honored tradition, the push home. For there comes a point when we are on the road, that the end is in sight, and that oddly inspires us to just go for it. Because when we are so close to reaching the end of our long and epic journey, we decide to just forge ahead and get it done and relish in the wonder of completing our goal. Which is precisely the mantra that Ewan and Charley embraced in this episode. Because they went on a tear in this tale, cruising through country to country, on an outright mission to reach Los Angeles as quickly as possible. But while that makes it sound as though this episode was filled to the brim with a lot of footage from the road, complete with narration about these countries, the guys still made time to explore the world around them.

In fact, Ewan and Charley picked up a companion on this leg of the journey, since Jamyan McGregor (Ewan’s daughter) hung out with these guys for a little bit. Which allowed for us to see first-hand that Ewan full-on embraces the dad lifestyle, since he’s all about those dad jokes and being a goof around a daughter that he loves dearly. And it was just lovely to see Jamyan spend time with her pop as they explored some of the volcanoes in this part of the world, even going so far as to camp in the caldera of a dormant one. Plus, it was equally as amazing to see Ewan and Charley spend a little time in impoverished areas of Central America where crime runs rampant, and see how these communities are fighting back with education. All to keep kids from joining gangs and taking part in crime and speaking of crime… that’s oddly another reason why these guys needed to move quickly on their journey.

Because it turns out that Mexico is one dangerous place to traverse. For the Cartels in this part of the world still run rampant and do as they please, and the last thing the team needed, was to come to harm. Which motivated David to prepare a unique idea in Oaxaca while Ewan and Charley traversed the safe portion of Mexico. In that, the team would retrofit a party bus, something commonly seen in Mexico, so that the bikes and Ewan and Charley and the team could be stored safely at night. All while someone else piloted the bus through the darkness, allowing for them to travel safely at night and move this journey along. As to whether or not this unique plan is going to work, we’ll have to wait to see. For more ugly security briefings about the danger ahead, leaves one to wonder if trouble awaits the crew before they finally reach the United States.

If anything, that is perhaps the most epic cliffhanger to date when it comes to this series. Because the stakes are now super high, and no one wants to see that kind of rotten trouble come anyone’s way. Which means we are likely in for a tense series finale, one that will likely keep us on the edge of seats before it dives into the most important part of the road trip; the home stretch. Because we are closing in on the end of this journey, any way you slice it, and hopefully this last part of the trip will indeed be uneventful and introspective and downright safe and secure, as Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, complete an incredible journey, sixteen years in the making. Until next time.  

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