• Home
  • About
    • Who We are
    • Affiliates
    • Disclosures & Guidelines
    • FAQs
    • Privacy Notice
  • Funding Your Travels
    • Banking on the Road
    • Credit Cards in Our Wallet
    • Spending
  • Contact
    • Media
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Partnership Opportunities

i should log off

log off and live!

  • Travel & Planning
    • Travel Reflections
      • Good, Bad & Ugly
      • Re-Entry
    • Travel Resources
      • Travel Tips
      • Travel Bloggers
    • Reviews
      • Gear
      • Operators
      • Travel Clothing
    • Travel Gear
      • Cameras
      • Danny’s Clothes
      • Electronics
      • Health & Hygiene
      • Jillian’s Clothes
      • General Gear
  • Destinations
    • Travel Guides
    • Africa
      • Egypt
      • Ethiopia
      • Lesotho
      • Kenya
      • Malawi
      • Morocco
      • Mozambique
      • Namibia
      • South Africa
      • Sudan
      • Swaziland
      • Tanzania
      • Uganda
      • Zimbabwe
    • Asia & Oceania
      • Armenia
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • Georgia
      • India
      • Kazakhstan
      • Laos
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uzbekistan
      • Vietnam
    • Caribbean
      • Antigua
      • Cuba
      • Jamaica
    • Central America
      • Belize
      • Costa Rica
      • Guatemala
      • Honduras
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
    • Europe
      • Armenia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Czech Republic
      • France
      • Georgia
      • Germany
      • Hungary
      • Italy
      • Spain
      • Turkey
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Mexico
      • USA
    • Middle East
      • Egypt
      • Israel
      • Jordan
      • Oman
      • Turkey
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Brazil
      • Bolivia
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
      • Uruguay
  • Weekend Adventures
    • Cycle
      • Pastimes
        • Beer & Wine
        • Books
        • Cooking
        • History & Culture
    • Dive & Snorkel
    • Hike
    • Trek
    • Whitewater
  • Photos
    • Photo of the Day
  • Family Travel
You are here: Home / Archives for summary

Brasil, Brazil

October 6, 2009 By Danny

Usually when we write a little summary post of a country we do so at the end when we’re already in a new county. Right now though, that wouldn’t seem quite right. Brasil is so different from where we’ve been that we really just need to share that now.

First off, they don’t speak Spanish here. Not since our first days in Mexico have we felt this lost when communicating with people and it has been very frustrating. We hear the Portuguese, respond back in Spanish, and everyone just looks at each other like they don’t know what happened. I have vowed that I will not be traveling like this in Africa…Swahili lessons here I come.

Constantly we get and give a thumbs up to show that we understood the Portuguese…initially we assumed this was just the international symbol for “you got it?” or something like that. Looks like it’s more the Brasilian sign for “we’re all good” because it is used all the time here.

When we first got to Brasil (they spell it with an ‘s’ not a ‘z’ so we’ll leave the ‘s’ in for now) we entered from Bolivia which is probably (not looking at economic statistics, just going by what I saw) the poorest country in all of South America. If ever we saw a case for not being land-locked I think this would be it. From the pobreza of Bolivia (with 0 coastline as compared to Brasil’s 7400km) we were shocked to see our first Brasilian city even had a skyline! When we entered the country, two brothers that had helped us said “Welcome back to civilization.” I didn’t realize how much I had missed that civilization for the prior few weeks in Bolivia.

It was here in that first city of Cuiaba that we first had our real taste of Portuguese. The accent in that region sounded more like a Swedish version of Spanish than it did a Portuguese accent. So strong was the Swedish that whenever someone opened their mouth I felt the need to point, say “Swedish Chef”, and walk away. Luckily the Swedish sounds went away with the countryside and now the accent sounds like a mix of Spanish, French, and Italian.

For us, the challenge of spending here has been just as great as the challenge of speaking. Brasil is fully a 1st world country and with the prices to go with it. The Metro in Rio costs almost to the penny what the metro in Washington, DC costs, and city buses are similar. The long distance buses are expensive and domestic airlines know this and price their flights just a touch higher. We actually flew from the Pantanal to Rio, it cost double what the bus would have cost but took an afternoon instead of 40 hours. At least the beer and wine is still affordable!

Bathrooms all have toilet paper and paying for the bathroom seems to be the exception rather than the rule. We’ve spotted water fountains in a variety of places (that means the water is treated) and our faces are stuffed with more food than we can handle EVERY time we go out to eat.

One negative though, my arms hurt. There are VW Beatles all over the place and every 2 minutes Jill puts her fist into my arm and says “Punchbuggy whatever, no punchbacks.” Luckily this has frustrated me immensely, disturbed my sleep, and I now hit her and say “Punchbuggy imaginary, no punchbacks.”

Filed Under: Brazil, South America Tagged With: language, summary

Report Card #1

July 8, 2009 By Danny

So  now we’re home in the states for a week so we’ll take this opportunity to take stock of how we’ve done so far and what it is we need to change.  Overall, it looks like our preparation has paid off.  We’ve rarely been without something we’ve needed and have never been completely unprepared.  Since leaving the US we have not met another backpacker with smaller packs than we have (we do have the added benefit of being able to share a few things) but we have met many with things we wish we did have.

Our supplies have treated us well but we are swapping a few things out that don’t seem to be standing up to the wear and tear we put them through or just aren’t quite perfect enough for our uses.  Mostly this has to do with our  wardrobe…we’ve put several reviews up this week and several more are coming.  Once we’re done with all our trips to REI and repacking our bags we’ll update our gear page and link to the reviews we’ve written.

As for budget, which is what we are most concerned with on a daily basis, we’re spending less than we budgeted but a bit more than  we had hoped to spend.  All in all though we’re not in such a bad position.  Reminder, these numbers are updated each time we finish a country on the $$$ tab.

CountryDaysFoodLodgingActivityTransMisc*Daily Avg
Mex & C. Amr.111$17.76$10.33$23.31$20.50$7.35$79.25
Mexico29$13.71$9.57$21.64$31.80$6.50$83.22
Guatemala36$19.37$10.17$28.18$7.69$6.79$72.20
Belize4$22.17$0.00$7.75$51.35$14.42$95.69
Honduras20$18.44$11.23$27.47$22.96$4.12$84.22
Nicaragua7$19.21$9.31$13.76$7.94$3.03$53.25
Costa Rica10$18.88$15.28$12.60$11.60$6.25$64.61
Panama5$19.10$12.00$28.50$18.64$7.00$85.24

MEXICO:  Our first country so we weren’t so savey yet.  Having said that, we didn’t so do badly.  We did some expensive activities, several of which we would not pay so much for now.  Overnight buses and couchsurfing helped to keep lodging low but those same buses made for some high transportation costs.

GUATEMALA: This is a very cheap country.  We could have lived there very inexpensively, especially given how long we spent there.  Spanish school is the sole reason for this being as expensive as it was.   Additionally, living with a host family proved to be far more expensive than had we lived alone.

BELIZE:  Only went here to visit some family and had a wonderful time staying at their fancy (free lodging) house.  Getting there and back from Honduras, by boat, proved to be a very expensive endeavor.

HONDURAS:  Another cheap country, but we spoiled the budget here by getting PADI certified.  How dare us!  Add to that the expense of transportation to some isolated villages in La Moskitia and the island of Utilia and this country looks more expensive than it really  was.

NICARAGUA:  Not really any cheaper than Guatemala and Honduras, but as we didn’t have any major adventures here we were more on target with our spending.  That being said, this spending still represents a few small splurges.

COSTA RICA:  Really proved to be too expensive for us to do many of the things we had hoped to do…so we visited some monkey infested beaches (mostly free) instead and continued onto Panama earlier than we intended.

PANAMA:  Home to our most expensive hotel room, two overnight (low lodging costs, high transportation costs) bus rides, and finally some awesome whitewater…oh, and a canal!

Filed Under: Belize, Central America, Costa Rica, gear, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, USA Tagged With: budget, spending, summary, travel

Central America Summary

July 6, 2009 By Jillian

Central America has been wonderful, but after almost 4 months (including Mexico) we’re itching to move on. By the time you read this we’ll be in the USA for a mini break. Yay!:) The timing and finances worked out so that we’d be able to take a week or so in the States before heading to South America. Fortunately for us it coincided with the 4th of July (my favorite holiday) and the wedding of our friends Aaron and Alexis. Sometimes the stars just align like that!

Anyway, we’re really looking forward to South America. (Really we just need to verify if the toilets do indeed swirl the other direction!).  We’ve met so many incredible people, other travelers, expats and locals each of whom has helped us adapt to life on the road. We’re pro card players at this point and play a mean game of 500. 🙂

We’re definitely looking forward to another continent and exploring new regions, hopefully with some different food (if I eat rice and beans one more time, arg!).  Our first stop will be Colombia and we plan to move south and east across the continent.  Send us tips if you have them!

So, drum roll please…. here’s our Central America wrap up:

# of chicken bus rides: too many to count

# of times we went through San Pedro Sula, Honduras: 5

# of natural disasters: 1

# of coup d’etats narrowly escaped:1

Most number of bug bites at one time on one appendage,: La Moskitia, Danny’s foot, approximately 50

Nights spent on overnight bus: 2

Most expensive hotel room: $30 Panama City, Panama

Least expensive hotel room: $7 San Pedro Sula, Honduras

Biggest surprise: The size and scope of Panama City

Favorite Country: Honduras

Volcanoes Hiked: 5

Monkeys encountered: tons! yay! 🙂

Hot springs enjoyed: 3

Items Lost: 2 more baseball hats, Jillian’s bathing suit (in Honduras), one yellow spork

Best Meal: Chicken, Rice and Beans on Ometepe, Nicaragua

Favorite Snack: Chicky’s!!!!

Filed Under: Belize, Central America, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama Tagged With: adventures, summary, travel

Our Time in Mexico…

April 24, 2009 By Jillian

One country down, about 75 more to go. Time to do our first country summary.  If you haven’t been reading along, here’s your 30 second summary of Mexico. Drum roll please…

Hours on a bus: 96..4 days exactly, lets not forget the additional 15 hours traveling by boat and train.
Longest Bus Ride: 12 hours
Nights we slept on a bus: 6
Nights we spent in Mexico: 29
Best night’s sleep: Night number two….on the bus….after playing with whales.
Strangest Food: Chapulines. Claro.
Trips to a Medical Establishment: One, for Jill’s leg in Creel
Best Meal: Anything at Martha’s house… 🙂 Muchas Gracias!!!!
Best alarm clock: Eeeeeeee gaaaaaaaaassssssssss in Zacatecas
Number of times the the time changed: 5, we think.
Best Compliment: From a ‘rico suave’ Mexican…his exact words to Danny: “You are more Americano than a hamburguesa”
Best medicine: The plant that says if it doesn’t work….to try another plant and pray
Worst medicine: Whatever we ate that sent us to the laboratorio
Days of Rain: 0
Other Americans we met: 0, until the day we crossed the border
Most Expensive Meal: 194 pesos in Oaxaca (it was about 13 pesos to the dollar)
Cheapest Meal: 4 tacos for 20 pesos, San Cristobal de las Casas
Number of tequila shots per person: About 3…pathetic, I know
Number of cities we visited: 12
Rivers Kayaked: 2
Mountain Bike Excursions: 3
Gauze pads used on Jill’s Leg: 30
Rolls of tape for Jill’s Leg: 2
Most number of consecutive days in one bed: 4
Cold Showers: 4
Consecutive Days without a shower: 3
Times we hand did our laundry: 4, 100%
Mayan Ruins Visited: 2

And finally….
Hamburgers Eaten: 0

Filed Under: Mexico Tagged With: statistics, summary

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2

Connect With Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Featured Posts

Our Bucket List
How We Travel For Free
$ Travel Tips

Recent Comments

  • Barbara on Kayaking Kauai’s Na Pali Coast
  • Lori Hubbard on Review: Eneloop Batteries and Charger
  • TK on The Trouble with Philadelphia

Banking on the Road

It can be very hard to keep track of your finances while you're on the road long-term. Be sure to check out how we took care of our finances while traveling and feel free to email us any questions you have.

Adventure Guides

Torres Del Paine
China Adventure
Uzbekistan Overland
Egyptian Odyssey
Malaria
Argentina Adventure
DIY African Safari
South Africa Guide
Bolivia by Bus
How-To African Visas

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright 2008-2015 · All Rights Reserved · Contact I Should Log Off · RSS · Partner With Us · Privacy