Post 47: Rooms All Set, last hurdle covered (40 days)

Fellow Adventurers,

This post has been a few days in the making, but much has happened and there is much to report:

Firstly, the room situation has finally been resolved, and June will be moving into my place for the month of October as I had previously mentioned to save more money.

My room will be going to a nice young lady named Ana, who currently lives in Junes hometown of Medford, NJ, coincidentally.

Junes' room was a bit more of a challenge to figure out, but her roomies decided on a guy from the Boston area named Brendon, who seemed to be a good fit for everyone. She confirmed with him tonight, which means we are really over our last hurdle and have accomplish all of our major pre-departure goals.

Of course there is work yet to be done...We are still trying to figure out the best way to go about spending our five or so days in Venezuela. The thought now is to get an inclusive package that comes with air transport to and from Canaima out of Caracas. Now that we have our arriving and departing flights, this will be more simple.

If we have time and money to spare, we are going to try and make a trek to the top of a Tepuyi. We hope to book this within the next two to three weeks, as time is running out quickly and we have much else to plan. Worse case, we just buy tickets for Cuidad Bolivar and go there ourselves to arrange a tour of the falls, but we would really like to have it all figured out before hand.

We have also been studying up on the price of other flights that may need to be purchased before or during the trip, to save time/money/effort/have security. They are as follows:

1. Bogota to Quito (we have heard bad things about the border between Colombia and Ecuador)
2. Quito/Guayaquil to Lima (the border is said to be bad, and the journey longer than a day)
3. Montevideo to Iguazu Falls (time/money saving)
4. Rio de Janeiro to Belem (longest distance we have to cover at around 2000 miles!)
5. Manaus/Belem to Miami/New York City. (we may take the boat back to Belem)

Also of note, we created a ChipIn widget (located on the right side panel) for the blog to hopefully get a few extra bucks from those who may want to help us along the way, or maybe just to show their appreciation for the blog. In our appreciation for your contribution, we will gladly make you a short video from wherever we currently are to say thanks, and perhaps let you enjoy the beer you bought for us, with us. 

(much, much, much) More soon...

40 days!

G+J

Post 46: An eventful day.

Fellow adventurers,

As I had previously mentioned, I had a lot to look forward to today. Firstly, I will start with what I received in the mail, all of which I will give my first opinions on now...

1.) ScotteVest Mens Travel Pants - though they are a little large on me, they are very comfortable, lightweigh, and full of hidden compartments that are a major added bonus. I like them so much I ordered a 2nd pair in a different color, I know these will come in handy, and save on space.

2.) Platy 1L Bottle - I received this in the same box as the netbook, and honestly I was more taken by it at first. I know I will get plenty of good use out of this bottle while trekking through Patagonia. It is super compact, light, and takes up no bag space at all. I have read that it is also very good in use as an ice pack. And its BPA free to boot .

3.) Toshiba NB505-N508(GN) - A 10.1 inch net book, from which I am writing to you now, is more than I could have asked for at $250 bucks. What a steal! Its a little slow, but I have ordered some extra memory to speed it up. However, considering its size and portability, it is perfect for our what we will need it for.

Tomorrow, i am expecting the camera to arrive. I am looking forward to getting a little practice on it before we depart in a mere 40 days or so.

June and I are almost settled on renting out our rooms and have people who are serious about taking over for us while we are away. Tomorrow and over the weekend I will begin to pack up my room items so she can start moving in in the next week or so. I am pretty positive this will be fully settled by Sunday at the latest. I believe my roomies are meeting with one more person before we make a final decision on my end.

After a nice dinner we searched around for some tickets from Caracas to Puerto Ordaz and found some round trip for under $220 ($60 bucks each, each way). The site was in Spanish but as far I could tell I made the purchase, however I received a message shortly after saying the card information wasn't accepted. I went back to the form and reentered to card information and from there got a message stating the information had been accepted prior and was not going to be processed again. Long story short, I dont know if it was accepted or not.

Regardless of that, we decided to go ahead and book our ridiculously outlandishly priced ($600 EACH - ONE WAY) tickets from Caracas to Cartegena for the night of November 19th. We booked them for late in the day in case the other flight in Venezuela was not booked, leaving us ample time to find a flight that fits our schedule.

Angel Falls better be worth it because the price is astronomical compared to what we will be spending otherwise outside of Venezuela. We are talking...

• $600 each ticket out of VE
• $120 each ticket between Caracas and p. Ordaz
• $250 for Canaima Tour
• $??? Lodging/Food/Whatever over 6 days.

= $1000+ or 1.7th the budget for 6 single days, out of 140...this will obviously have to be an exception. 

On top of everything else, we booked our lodging in Cartegena for 5 nights in the old Caribbean coastal city...the room was only $10 a night. We will surely have to make up for some money on that leg of our trip.

All will be well, I am confident. 

G

Post 45: Mon(Day off)

Fellow Adventurers,

This 3 day weekend has been refreshing and was much needed. I decided against getting the vaccine this week, it can wait for my next day off. I spent the day figuring out our money and working on some of the route.

This week we will:

• Buy a camera
• Buy the netbook
• Book Caracas to Puerto Ordaz round trip tickets (Nov. 13th/14th to 18th/19th)
• Book Caracas to Cartagena one way tickets (Nov. 19th at the latest)
• Book lodging for Cartagena for 19th to 23rd

We have settled on the fact that we will just have to bear the cost of making the flight between Caracas and Cartegena. In the end, it will save considerable time and hassle, and furthermore, we will not have to leave the airport in Caracas at all between our time in Canaima and Cartagena. 

I have a few more people coming to look at the room tonight and June seems to have made significant progress with hers as well. She may end up living with me for the month of October after all, if she can get someone to sign on in the next week or two. I hope that is the case, for her sake. It might be a little cramped in my room for the month, but the sacrifice would be well worth it.

The odds are looking in our favor at this point, and besides the little scare at work last week, things have been progressing smoothly.


more soon..

G

Post 44: 3 day weekend and some good news

(Thursday)

Fellow Adventurers, 

I will start with the good news...June got a part time position with another family, which secures her financially for the most part until we leave. A few people have come to look at my room so far, and though we have not decided on anyone, it makes me feel better about it all.

Also, we have just about figured out our plans for Venezuela. I will be booking some more plane tickets this week. We may have to end up staying a night in Caracas by the airport, to catch a flight the next day out to the Canaima area. We have not settled on how we are leaving Venezuela, but I think we will most likely be flying from capital to capital as that seems to be the cheapest way outside of busing it, which we are not to keen on the thought of.

I have been doing further research on cities in Colombia and Ecaudor and have come up with some good finds. I will be adding more of that information in the next few days when I become less distracted by my current Star Wars kick.

G

Post 43: Loose Lips Sink Ships

Fellow Adventurers,

As the days get shorter, they grow more interesting, and the journey has yet to really even begin.

I chatted with a coworker of mine this morning as I waited for an elevator up to the 20th floor. Apparently she had seen my posting regarding my room on Craigslist and figured out my plan. I had to blatantly lie to her then and there, passing it off as being posted for my "room-mate". She then brought up the fact that she had heard from the freight operator in our building (the only soul at my job I have told!) that I was going on a long vacation. I passed this off as a misunderstanding and we chatted about other things until we arrived at our floor.

An hour or so later I e-mailed her to apologize that I had so boldly lied to her and explained I had not yet inform my boss and management regarding my future departure. I wanted to be honest because she is going to find out in a months time regardless, but also needed to air on the side of caution because I want to keep my job for the time being. Her response was positive and understanding of my situation, so I will try to assure myself that I am safe there. Fingers crossed.

The lesson I have learned from this...needless conversation about the plan to anyone in the work environment can get me into some troubled waters which I would be smart to avoid treading into. I have 35 days or so until I give my two weeks notice, and its vital that I hang onto my position or I will not meet my monetary goals. This morning was certainly a wake up call regarding that. I will however admit, that my excitement is hard to contain sometimes.

I have a 3 day weekend and I should really spend that time studying up on our future destinations, but I am afraid I will be distracted by 6 epic episodes of intergalactic drama. Regardless, I will be getting my Yellow Fever vaccination on Monday.

G

p.s.: comments are now open

Post 42: Calendar

I will be adding this to the panel on the right for reference. I am sure this will be a handy tool as far as planning goes. More updates soon!

G

Post 41: Ushuaia to Buenos Aires flight booked

Fellow Adventurers,

We just randomly booked our flight from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires for February 6th on LAN after finding a good deal on a set of tickets. These same tickets just a few weeks ago were running upwards of $300 dollars, but we got a good mid-day Monday flight that lands us in B.A. around 8pm for 75 bucks cheaper. Our original plan was to arrive there around the 1st or 2nd of the month, but we decided to add a few days to keep us flexible.

Now that we have that settled we are trying to arrange a meeting with Junes' sister Gabby and her roommate Sara in Santiago on January 6th or 7th. The plan is for them to spend 10 days with us in Santiago and Mendoza before we head south through Patagonia towards Ushuaia at the very bottom of the continent. This will be about the half way point of our trip, so it will be refreshing to see familiar faces I am sure.

Most of our flights are booked and it feels good to have some concrete dates set down. We are still considering our options for Venezuela, more on that soon.

58 Days!

G

Post 40: 9/11 and empathy.

Fellow Adventurers, 

On the 10th year anniversary of 9/11, I would like to recount what lessons I have learned in the time since that tragic day which I will long remember.

Fear is the only thing that divides us in this world, and empathy is the best tool to fight that mentality. This is a lesson I have learned from travel. I have learned that those outside of my familiar surroundings, those who look and speak differently than me, are no different than myself, my family, or my neighbors.

We must not value ourselves higher than the lives of Afghans, Iraqis, North Koreans, Iranians, Libyans, Syrians, Pakistani, Chinese, Palestinian, Israeli or any other person based on imaginary geographic boundaries. I have learned this from the Italians, Peruvians, Germans, and Jamaicans I met on the road, in their homelands.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

G

Post 39: Two one way tickets please - Flights booked!

Fellow Adventurers,

The day has finally come to cement our plans and buy our tickets. We decided to depart Philadelphia on Sunday the 6th, following my last day of work on Friday, which will give us some time over the weekend to say our goodbyes to friends and family here in Philadelphia. I had a minor hiccup when it came to the names on our tickets, but I quickly resolved that with a call to Southwest and they were able to clear it up for me.

As for our flight to Caracas, we discussed for a good 30 minutes about the pros and cons of different arrival times in Caracas, and even if we should visit Venezuela at all. Angel Falls is top of the list for June, so our decision was an easy one. Hitting the "accept" button put me at an ease I have not felt in many months. We embraced for what seemed like minutes after our tickets had been confirmed in the same way we have 4 times before over the course of the last few years, our love really is bound by the road.

We will be departing a day later than we had originally planned, leaving Miami at 7:54am, arriving in Caracas around 3pm, after a short layover in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Though we have not decided on, nor made plans for our route to Cuidad Bolivar, I thought it best that we arrive in Caracas during a slower time which would leave us more options as far as planning that route goes. With this change in plans, we will be able to spend a little more time with Derek and Steph in Miami, which will be nice. I will have to readjust our schedule a little, but it shouldnt be a problem at all.


November 6th: Philadelphia to Orlando @ 19:35

November 13th: Miami, USA to San Jose, Costa Rica @ 7:54
- San Jose, Costa Rica to Caracas, Venezuela @ 10:20 / arriving around 14:45

(next day update) - My hearing aide finally arrived after some shipping difficulties with USP(o)S , and it is honestly better than I would have ever expected, which is a major relief to me. Thank you Amazon.com and MDHearing Aid, you saved my ass from having to fork over thousands to audiologist and insurance companies, I am forever grateful and plan to buy a second as soon as possible.

With our tickets bought and this minor fiasco of being able to hear out of the way, all we have to do now is wait, save as much as possible, and finalize our rooms before our November 6th departure, which is now less than 2 months away!

Now the real fun begins. More soon!

G+J

Post 38: the day

Fellow adventurers,

Though this week has been all over the place, I rest tonight assured that today will bring many reasons to be happy, and relieved. For my hearing and my heart. Today is the day.

G

Post 37: a minor bump in the road

Fellow adventurers,

Well, I was not lying when I said this week would be eventful, nor was I when I said posting here would become more frequent as our departure came closer.

Today, my now-ancient-and-on-its-last-legs hearing aid was met with a little moisture due to some heavy rain here in Philadelphia and decided not to work again on me after many tries. I should have been more responsible in handling this before but money was always an issue and my thoughts were more directed towards other desires. Sans-hearing-aid, I am unable to interact very well with people, which would make my next two months of work and the 5 after that of travel even more challenging. Considering that these devices go for on average, around $3,000, I nearly panicked, as that would be a great feat to overcome moneywise. 

In my anxiety over how to resolve this problem, I did what I normally do when faced with trouble....I visited Amazon (how ironic...), and to my amazement found one for a little under $200 with a perfect 5 star rating on reviews. Anything must be better than what I was using before, and from what I have been reading, this may be greatly beneficial to me. Everything seems legit as far as the product goes, and I really have no other choice if I want to continue with our plan, so there was no hesitation in trying.

I spoke to J briefly this evening to express my anxiety regarding the whole situation at hand and we again discussed purchasing tickets on Thursday night. Her answer of "absolutely" brought a much needed smile to my face after the aforementioned event. It is about time to take that leap and just go for it, regardless of outcome. I would find great regret if we did not accomplish this goal that we have been working and sacrificing so much for this year.

Updates within the next few days to let it be known if my gamble paid off, and hopefully to announce some departure/arrival times for early November.

G

Post 36: Tickets this week.

Fellow adventurers,

We are nearing the 2 months til departure point, and over the weekend we had some time to discuss our situation. A mutually conclusion was made to purchase our Philly to Orlando / Miami to Caracas tickets this upcoming Thursday. Though we have yet to figure out some financial and planning aspect of the trip, we figure worse case scenario is that we may run low on money and may have to shorten the trip to a minor degree, or cut back on some parts of it. Either way, we are going. I have a belief that we will not end up in that situation and will be able to come home with more money than expected, but as I say often, better safe than sorry. In Peru, I brought less money than expected and came home with more than $100 to spare.

I am sure Thursday will be one of many eventful moments over the next few months. I have taken Sept. 19th off and plan to get my Yellow Fever vaccination at Penn Medical out of the way then. I will rest my wounds watching Star Wars on bluray and take a little breather before what will no doubt be a very long and tiring October, full of last minute planning and preparation, and 2 week notices!

Another note, I have decided to opt out of bringing my netbook, as it is too heavy and too valueable to myself to lose. The plan as of now is to buy a cheap 8'' or smaller netbook that has at minimum a webcam and USB accessibility. The only real functionality needed is internet capability and access to my portable hard drive. A webcam would be great as it would allow me to talk to people back home. I plan to back up all my current files onto my computer and bring the drive empty, so I can fill it with content from the trip, pictures, videos, etc.

Back to work tomorrow for what will be a short week, updates to come soon.

$10000 down
$6000 to go.

65 days!

G

Post 35: Septembre!

Bonito...

Fellow adventurers,

Just a quick update here, to report we survived the earthquake, hurricane and flooding that has hit the northeastern US in the past week or two. No, that is not really the reason, the truth is that a great sense of excitement has struck me, as it is now September, which means I get to put in my 2 weeks notice NEXT MONTH! I do not recall ever looking forward to anything as much as I do that event, its been long in the making.

We have continued to discuss the route and are still feeling a bit of unease about Venezuela. We may end up just spending the extra money to avoid the hassle and fly straight to Colombia after our time in Canaima, as opposed to our previous thought of busing it through the country. The thought of roadblocks and bandits does not really sit right in my mind.

The itch to purchase tickets has never been greater felt. Escape is at the tips of my fingers and it is irresistible, its all I crave. 70 days could not come soon enough...

$9000 down
$7000 to go

G