Rob and Anna's travel adventure

My View - Central America trip stats and backpack contents[Rob´s entry (#10)]

Below are a few statistics and summaries on our trip to Central America that I thought might be interesting.

Overall
Distance: Over 10,000 miles, all surface (10,020; plus unaccounted for city miles), Note 1.
Duration: 140 days
Countries: 7 (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador)
Stopovers: 50 (47 unique, Note 2)
Modes: Plane – 0, Boat – 10, Taxi – 9, Bus – remainder

Sites
UNESCO World Heritage Sites: 7 (Note 3).
National Parks: 6


Financial
Cost per day: ~USD$30 for both ($15 per person). Note 4.
Total spent: ~USD$5,200

Accommodation
Cheapest: USD$4.50/night (La Ceiba, Hond)
Costliest: USD$25/night (Monterrey, MX)
Typical cost: USD$10/night
Best value: See cheapest
Nicest room best value: $15 (Note 5)
Home stays: 6

Transportation
Best value: Costa Rica - ~$1/hour with good buses
Worst value: Mexico - ~$5/hour on excellent buses
Night buses: 6
Longest stretch (distance): Lincoln NE to Zacatecas MX 1,660 miles
Longest stretch (time): Nuevo Laredo MX to Lincoln NE ~57 hours (Note 6)

Miscellaneous
Photos captured: 1,887 (~1,350 unique)
Days vomiting: 5 (Rob), 0 (Anna)
Passport stamps added: 22 (Note 7)
Souvenirs purchased: $0 (R), ~$11 (A)
Largest city visited: (Mexico City), ~20 million (this value varies by source)

Notes

1. Distances: Lincoln-Laredo TX 1,230 miles, Laredo-Tapachula 1,285, Tapachula-Nic/CR boarder 1,326, across CR1 613, Panama 785, across CR2 728, CR/Nic boarder-Laredo 2,535, Laredo-Lincoln (via Colorado) 1,518.

2. Stopovers: Mexico1 ( Nuevo Laredo, Zacatecas, Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Melaque, Acapulco, Puerto Escondido, Tapachula); Guatemala1 (Guatemala City, Antigua,); Honduras1 (Copan, Roatan, La Ceiba, Tegucigalpa); Nicaragua1 (Ocotel, Leon, Granada, San Juan del Sur, Ometepe); Costa Rica1 (Liberia, Tamarindo, San José, Tortaguarea, Puerto Viejo); Panama (Bocas del Toro, Panama City, Valley, David, Cauldera, Boquetta); Costa Rica2 (Corcavado, San José, Arenal, Liberia); Nicaragua2 (Masaya); Honduras2 (Chilateca); El Salvador (Perquin, San Salvador, Apaneca); Guatemala2 (Guatemala City, Coban, Santa Elana [Tikal]), Mexico2 (Palenque, Cuarnevaca, Mexico City, Monterey, Nuevo Laredo ).

3. UNESCO WHS: Mexico- Zacatecas, Palenque; Guatemala- Antigua, Tikal; Honduras- Copan; Panama- Viejo, Historic Panama City.

4. Costs: USD$30.14 per day and included ALL transportation, food, lodgings, visas, admissions, medical, Internet, shoes, misc. Does NOT include equipment, insurance, training (scuba [$220 pp], Spanish language [$270 pp]).

5. Accommodation: Nice clean room with hot water shower, TV, cable, tiled floor, towels, soap, toilet paper.

6. The lengthy trip was due to a simple border crossing (3 KM) taking over 5 hours, which prevented us from catching remaining connecting buses. The initial re-route was to take over 70 hours (a 40-hour delay in addition to the travel time), but creative re-routing trimmed the entire trip to 57 hours (should have taken 32.5 hours).

7. 22 stamps each, including one from El Salvador that consumed the entire page. Most countries stamped upon entry and exit, and we made two visits to most counties (down and back). Passport stamps were a concern for us because despite our request for the extra-pages version, we received the standard 24 pages and they are filling up!


In addition.....
Learned to appreciate: Cold water for drinking, warm water for showering, shade.
Greatest thrills: Scuba diving, spotting wildlife (crocodiles, big cats, etc.) in the parks.
Greatest disappointments: Health problems (throwing up, and a couple of major rashes), inability to penetrate the 'invisible wall' between us and the locals (home stays excluded), poor treatment received by some locals (particularly in more rural areas), total obliteration of the nature in almost all areas visited (parks excluded), the local attitude towards environmental concerns.


I thought that anyone considering a similar journey might be interested to know what we packed. The contents of my backpack are listed below.


Main Backpack
Tee shirts
Underwear
Nylon running shorts
Swimming shorts
Convertible pants
Small towel
Wet suit
Umbrella
Fins
Aquapacs
Hat
Cable and lock
Snorkel
Mesh bag
Jacket/Windbreaker
Socks
Dress shirt
Sandals
Boots
2-liter bottles
Hidden cash
Zip-lock bags
Big plastic bag for backpack
Travel books



Odds/Ends bag (fits inside Main)
Shampoo/conditioner
Razor / Shave cream
Spare eye mask and ear plugs
Duct tape
Bungee cords
Wet suit cement
Clear nail polish
Chlorine drops
Solarcane
Heavy-duty thread
Sewing kit
Rubber bands
Mosquito repellent
Washcloth
Extra toothbrush
Laundry soap
Body soap
Dictionary


Medicine bag (fits inside Odds/Ends)
Thermometer
Gauze
Bandages
Allergy medicine
Bandage tape
Alka-Seltzer
Sulfa cream
Antibiotic cream
Cough drops
Malaria meds
Calamine lotion
Fasigyn
Vitamins


Day Backpack (fits inside Main)
Small locks
Cortisone
Water purifier drops
Sunscreen packets
Stretch band
Chapstick
Flashlight
Plastic water bottle
Hand cream
NiMH batteries
Battery charger
Allergy medicine
Leatherman/knife
Breath tabs
Floppy disks
USB Flash memory
Toothbrush (with brush protector) & paste
Salt deodorant
Bungee clothesline
5-liter wine box bladder (for water or a pillow)
Prescription diving mask
Water filter
Floss
Ear plugs / mask
T-paper
Hidden cash


Fanny Pack (fits inside Day)
Micro cassette recorder & tapes
Binoculars
Shortwave radio (Sony SW-1) with alligator clip jumpers and extra wire
Hidden cash
FRS radio
Spare glasses


Camera bag (fits inside Day)
Digital camera
Memory modules
Card reader & cables
Spare NiMH cells
Lens cleaning supplies

On-person
Money belt
Neck wallet
Passport
Immunization card
ID’s
Drivers license
Traveler’s checks
Money
Scuba card
Pen
Watch
Glasses/Sunglasses
Tickets


Not all items were found to be useful, such as the micro-cassette recorder, spare glasses, FRS radios, many of the extra clothes (especially socks and underware), USB thumb drive, and fortunately a lot of the medicine. Most things however, were used at one time or another.

posted by Rob and Anna @ 1:54 PM