So now I'm back home and back to work. Not an easy transition, but the prospect of having a new company and new code to learn is heartening and makes it a little better. I just wanted to take a little time to disect what I did on the trip overall, how I would do it better next time, and what this all means for the future.
In the end I traversed five countries in a month. 8 of those days were all day bus rides and several more had rides that were at least a few hours long. I spent my time checking into hostels or small hotels, meeting gringos, and either hanging with them for the night or meeting up again the next day to do some excursion. I never did any serious traveling with another group because I was on a shorter time schedule than they and I couldn't afford it. Aside from that, I also did a lot of day trips to different places and really enjoyed all of them. I have to admit that I had some fears before I started my trip. I was afraid that i wasn't prepared, that I would be lonely by myself, that I was covering too much ground in a month, that I didn't set aside enough money, and that my Spanish would fail me when i needed it. I'm very happy to say that I was wrong on all accounts and that I now believe that solo travel might be the best kind, though a good travel partner is a thing of beauty too.
I have a bit more to say about what i would do differently next time. First of all, let's talk about the quality of the destination. Central America was a great pick because it's cheap, close to the same time zone, I speak a little Spanish, it has a well developed tourist industry, easy/fast transportation, no shortage of activities, good weather, and it's fairly safe. On the other hand it's not as cheap as many other parts of the world like SE Asia and Africa, my Spanish isn't that good that I could have meaningful conversations in it, I heard lots of stories of tourist crime, the bus seats are too small for tall people, and the food isn't that great. Overall I'd say that it was a solid choice but I might have changed my route a little had I more experience. For instance, I would have visited the Bay Islands in Honduras instead of crossing the interior or it would have been worth it to just fly from Guatemala city to Nicaragua since it's like $50 and to skip all of Honduras alltogether. Also I would have spent less time in Antigua as it is highly overrated.
As for travel gear, I tried something different and it worked out ok, but I would do it a little differently next time. I wanted to pack super light so I bought all acrylic clothes, only had 2 pairs of anything, and did a wash in my sink every night. This did allow me to have the lightest pack of anyone I met but it also looked rather unfashionable compared to those around me and sometimes I couldn't do a wash and I'd have to wear the sweaty clothes from the day before. I ended up buying a couple cotton t shirts and they dried fine in a wash and looked better than the shirts I brought initially. If I had to do it again, I'd just bring whatever was comfortable and light, bring a few pairs, and pay someone to wash them for me. It usually costs $5 or less to have it done and I would have only had to do that 6 times or so for the whole trip. Also, I brought Teeva sandals and they were a little too bulky and inconvenient to slip out of so I should have brought some light thong sandals instead. Before I left Samantha put some hidden pockets in my pants for holding my credit cards and that was a great idea, but I had no place for my passport and I wish that I had a pocket for that too. Next time. All the rest of the gear was great, but I also should have only brought the guide book of the country I was starting in and bought the others from people in line at the border crossings. Surely that would have worked. If it failed however, I know how difficult if can be to find an English Lonely Planet at a 3rd world book store... because there aren't any! I couldn't find one for Costa Rica in the 5 days I looked. I should have just brought the Shoestring version and covered the whole region in one book.
Overall I felt very well prepared and never had to buy anything important that I had forgotten. As for what this means for the future... that's a more murky topic. I mean, I enjoyed traveling for a month... really enjoyed it. It makes me think that I simply must do another long trip again but even longer next time. I'm picturing 6 months for a start, and maybe an even longer one after that if I feel so inclined. So then, the question is how to fit a six month trip into my life, relationship with Samantha, and career. The career that I have chosen (computer programmer) requires a lot of skill and that skill can get stale if left unused for too long. It also involves long projects that I can't leave in the middle of if I expect to get a job at the same company again. My current project is going to wrap up around a year from now so that would be the absolute soonest that I would be able to do anything. My estimate for the cost of a 6 month trip to SE Asia is around $7300 with a $35 a day living expense and $1000 plane ticket which sounds reasonable given what I've seen on this trip where I was living for $45 per day before I met up with Sam. I believe that I can get my finances in order so that I could do the trip. A more significant question for me is how Sam fits into all this. I mean, I love the girl and I can't just leave her for 6 months. The only thing that I can make of it is that in a years time we'll either still be together and I'll take her with me or not go... or we'd not be together and it would be no question. It's a tricky subject to discuss. Anyways, 'Future Steve' can deal with that one.
As for now... I guess I need to put my nose back to the grindstone and do a great job at work and play and just make the most of life until I can get back out there again. I'll update this blog again only if I make it back out on the road. ttyl (I hope)
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