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Latin America Overland (Jan-Mar 2003)Details and Notes & Other TextPost Travel Notes | Pre-Travel Planning | Baggage List Cheryl Gelder Notes & Other Post Travel Details- Where Panama City north and west through Costa Rica Nicaragua Guatemala and Mexico to Mexico City. [top of page] When January - March 2003 Note: April through September would be too warm in the lower elevations [top of page] Why The area is rich in culture, heritage and geography [top of page] Resources Along the Way Hotel managers and attendants [top of page] Camera Fuji Finepix 2800 Zoom - set for maximum resolution & quality [top of page] Photos in the Photo log For these web pages the jpeg files were then resampled to about 360 x 270 and compressed about 15% using Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8 to reduce the transmission and display time. The reduced photos are not as exciting as the originals but I am expecting to hold your attention longer with the shorter transmission times. [top of page] Lodging Hotels and Hospedajes - generally we lodged in private family run hospedajes for $10-$30/night. Noteworthy: Granada, Nicaragua - Oasis Hostel Mexico City - Hostel Moneda Other lodging Boquete, Panama - Camped Bocas del Toro, Panama - Legia's home for a week Monte Verde, Costa Rica - Huts called refuges in the rainforest. Antigua, Guatemala - Rented a room in a house for 3 weeks Tikal, Guatemala - Camped [top of page] Food Breakfast - usually in a small family restaurant for about $1 Midday - fruit and baked goods from local street venders Evening meal - again in a small family restaurant for about $2 If we stayed more than a couple of days in one place we acquired favorite place to eat and patronized them almost exclusively. [top of page] Transportation Los Angeles to Panama City Taca Air - $271 - booked through Travelocity Long Distance Transportation Northward Generally we traveled by local bus from one city to the next. It is how the local people travel and is easy and inexpensive. Occasionally we traveled by small boat to travel to an island or up river to another city. Around a Local Area Rental bicycles and kayaks provided good transportation to explore the local surrounding area. Mexico City to Tijuana $123 Mexico City to Tijuana - Taca Air booked and purchased at the airport. From Tijuana We took a taxi to the U.S. border Walked across the border Rode the trolley to downtown San Diego. Rode the Coaster (train) to Encinitas, CA Note: We had expected to take overland transportation all the way back to Tijuana. However, early in our travels we realized that we wanted to take more time and explore further south so we decided that when we reached Mexico City we would fly to Tijuana. Flights within Mexico are relatively inexpensive. Crossing any border though, increases the fare significantly [top of page] Border Crossings They all had similar benign and archaically manual but official looking procedures which took about an hour for a bus load of people and cost each of us about $10-15US. We crossed all foreign borders while traveling by bus. Panama - Costa Rica Costa Rica - Nicaragua Nicaragua - El Salvador El Salvador - Honduras Honduras - Guatemala Guatemala - Mexico Crossing from Mexico back into the U.S. involved a 2 hour wait in line at Tijuana. [top of page] Keeping in Touch Internet Every city seems to have at least one store front internet business. I use Yahoo for my e-mail which then allows me to keep my address book on-line also. It is very convenient and inexpensive at between $1-$4US/hour. More services are available as enterprising businessmen start up new internet businesses. With that in mind I'm not going to provide the details of which ones I used. Just know that they are available. Phone Phone cards are available but rather expensive at $1US/minute. Internet phones are less widely available but rather inexpensive. The price varies. I used one in Granada, Nicaragua around the corner from the bank which cost about $.20US/minute. [top of page] Cost $64 average per day for both of us including: $500 - 5 weeks of Spanish lessons $300 - textiles and handcrafts from Panama and Guatemala $600 - airfare Things Learned I saw results firsthand of U.S. government and big business influence and then abandonment of our neighbors in Central America. [top of page] Cheryl Gelder Pre-Travel Planning Timetable[top of page] Idea Conception No Specific Dates I saw a slide show of Guatemala including Tikal put on by someone from our local hiking club. [top of page] Focused on Latin America travels for 2002 or 2003 1999 Began some serious research and determined that the locations we wanted to see were best visited in the winter months. We were already mentally committed else where until late 2002 We wanted to understand Spanish before we under took this travel [top of page] Educated Ourselves 1999-2001 During our van travels in the Rocky Mountains (summer 2002) libraries in the U.S. and Canada provided a rich abundance of information. National Geographic Adventure - Oct 2002. Has a wonderful article about traveling independently in Latin America. We had already made our plan when it was published, but it was reassuring to see their recommendation was similar to our plans. [top of page] Determined the Scope of the Travel Adventure Aug 2002 Considering the pace that we enjoy traveling and the amount of time we are comfortable being away from family and friends, South and Central America will be broken into a minimum of 4 sections. Latin America north from Panama City will be the first region visited. [top of page] Mentally Committed to a Start Date and Length of Travel May 2002 We will depart January 2003 and travel for 3 months Planned to enroll in an 8 week Spanish immersion program in Mexico Sep-Nov 2002 [top of page] Plan Alternative Itineraries & Prioritize Specifics Jun-Jul 2002 1. Fly to a specific city then travel in a loop back to there. 2. Fly to a specific city and us that as a home base for mini travels. 3. Fly to a city then explore, fly to another city then explore..... 4. Fly to Panama City and return by public overland transportation. 5. Start at Tijuana and work our way south to the Panama Canal. [top of page] Agreed Upon a General Plan and Itinerary Aug 2002 Idea #4 was agreed upon. The main supporting reasons included: #3 would be most costly and would encourage us to see the larger cities rather than the local villages and countryside. #2 would limit the area and countries that we would have time to visit. #3 we could never find a city and loop that encompassed everything. Between #4 & #5 if, like so often happens we choose to stay longer at a number of places it was going to be easier and less costly to get back to San Diego from Mexico than Nicaragua. [top of page] Committed Money Aug 2002 Purchased Taca Air - $271 Los Angeles to Panama City for 1/1/03. [top of page] Purchases Sep 2002 Lonely Planet - Central America (a current version to take with us to Guadalajara, Mexico while we studied Spanish) There are other books and references that are good also, but Lonely Planet organizes their material in the same manner that I think so it is easier to use for me. Started an Itemized Check Off List. Sep 2002 The first 6 items on the list were to 1. evaluate the pros & cons of malaria tablet 2. update our immunizations 3. determine if we were going to carry a tent and sleeping bags. 4. check passports for space 5. plan financial and business requirement while away. 6. check visa requirements for each country [top of page] Agree on a More Detailed Working Plan Oct-Nov 2002 Note: We travel with few commitments and try to be very flexible and leave much room for spontaneity. However we have learned that we need to be going in the same general direction and communicate. The easiest way for us to accomplish that is to agree on a general but changeable plan that has a few things penciled in. We agreed to the following. Spend 2 weeks in each country and 3 weeks in Mexico. Top Priorities - Cheryl Panama Canal Mayan City of Tikal, Guatemala Pyramids of Mexico Ferry from mainland Mexico to Baja See Baja again and kayak in the sea. Top Priorities - Chuck Backpack in the rainforests and volcanoes San Blas Islands, Panama Snorkeling National Parks [top of page] Packed Dec 2002 It was fairly simple. We use 1 pack each and pack with very versatile light weight, go with anything clothes that can be layered for warmth. [top of page] Immunization Dec 2002 Called the public health department, made and appointment and brought our immunization cards. [top of page] [top of page] Departure Dec 2002 Walked to the Corner Bus Stop [top of page] Cheryl Gelder Baggage & Other Equipment[top of page] Pack Outdoor Equipment with hip strap - about 3000cu in. We try to keep our loaded pack weight down to 20lbs each including tent and sleeping bag. [top of page] Equipment Tent - Coleman 3.5lb 2person Sleeping Bags - very lightweight summer bags. Although this was not primarily a backpack we expected to explore the rainforests, volcanic mountains and Mayan ruins and did not want to be limited by the necessity of a hotel. [top of page] My Clothes (all very light weight and sold color) Standard Travel 2 sleeveless tops 2 long sleeve tops 2 pair Travelsmith Not Quite Tights 3 sets under clothes 1 pair walking shoes 1 black button shirt for a more dressed up look and for warmth, just in case 1 nylon shorts 1 rain/wind jacket 1 REI black pile vest 1 pair long underwear tops and bottoms 1 balaclava Particular for This Travel Wrap skirt 1 gortex rain jacket for hiking in the rain/cloud forests [top of page] Toiletries small towel toothbrush/paste antibacterial dish soap for hands, body and hair disposable contact lenses eye drops electric razor (chuck) ibuprophen comb toenail clippers small scissors #45 sun block vitamins panty liners (cheryl) [top of page] Money, Identification and other papers passport drivers license immunization record visa atm card travelers cheques U.S. cash phone numbers Lonely Planet Central America for reference Maps and Guides & Resources AAA map of Central America Lonely Planet Guide of Central America National Geographic Adventure - Oct 2002. Has a wonderful article about traveling independently in Latin America. We had already made our plan when it was published, but it was reassuring to see their recommendation was similar to our plans. [top of page] What Did We Not Pack That Needed to Be Purchased Sun visor cap malaria tablets street/shower sandals [top of page] |
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