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.
| Country | Days | Food | Lodging | Activity | Trans | Misc* | Daily Avg |
| Mex & C. Amr. | 111 | $17.76 | $10.33 | $23.31 | $20.50 | $7.35 | $79.25 |
| Mexico | 29 | $13.71 | $9.57 | $21.64 | $31.80 | $6.50 | $83.22 |
| Guatemala | 36 | $19.37 | $10.17 | $28.18 | $7.69 | $6.79 | $72.20 |
| Belize | 4 | $22.17 | $0.00 | $7.75 | $51.35 | $14.42 | $95.69 |
| Honduras | 20 | $18.44 | $11.23 | $27.47 | $22.96 | $4.12 | $84.22 |
| Nicaragua | 7 | $19.21 | $9.31 | $13.76 | $7.94 | $3.03 | $53.25 |
| Costa Rica | 10 | $18.88 | $15.28 | $12.60 | $11.60 | $6.25 | $64.61 |
| Panama | 5 | $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!
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