Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Author: Liesbet (page 9 of 64)

The Start of Our South America Adventure in a Truck Camper – Inland to Mompox & Playa de Belen, Two Colonial Towns in Colombia

February 25, 2023 / / 34 Comments

Colombia is expansive and diverse, as we would soon learn. It is the 25th largest nation and has the third-highest level of biodiversity in the world, after Brazil and Indonesia. The country is bigger than Spain and France (or Texas and California) combined. While it had a bad reputation for many decades due to drug trafficking and guerilla activity, especially during the eighties and nineties, it is now regarded as one of the safest countries in Latin America.

Location of Cartagena in Colombia
Departments in Colombia

A thread you will notice throughout my upcoming blogs – and photos – about Colombia is that the people are incredibly welcoming, curious, and friendly, especially on the off-the-beaten-path and that the roads and drivers are incredibly awful; an interesting juxtaposition regarding human behavior!

(As always, hover over or click on the photos in galleries to read their captions.)

Chatting with Colombian visitors to the national park (Photo courtesy of Sheri Ouellet)
The roads in Colombian towns are narrow and busy

I will take the opportunity to introduce a potentially new term to you here: “overlanders.” These are the people who explore countries and continents – even the entire world – overland, meaning by camper; truck campers like ours, vans which are the most popular means, jeeps with a roof tent, and real expedition vehicles, as in old, built-out fire or army trucks. We have also seen Class C motorhomes; a bit inappropriate as they are long, wide, and low to the ground. The act is “overlanding”. 🙂 Just like in North America, our main resource to find (free) camping is iOverlander.

Cartagena – Mompox – Playa de Belen

Mompox (Bolivar Department)

After being stuck in hot and humid Cartagena for five weeks, waiting for Thirsty Bella to finally show up and blowing our budget on Airbnbs without having much fun, we wanted to leave the coast ASAP. We’d need a few days to straighten our home and life out, but most of that would have to wait until we found a cooler, more comfortable climate in the mountains. Once Bella was safely in our hands, we spent a total of five hours on getting ready for the road, filled with propane and fuel, and left the massive city.

Road scene
Driving towards Mompox

Some overlanders meander north from Cartagena, others head south, few drive east (or southeast), and a handful rush through this country with Medellin as their next destination and Ecuador a week or two later. Why go through the hassle, money, effort, and patience for a meager six-month South American whirlwind?

Mark and I were granted three months in Colombia upon entering the country with an option to extend this allowance with the same amount of time. Since we already “lost” five weeks before we even started this adventure, we would apply (and eventually receive) this extension – for the two of us and our camper – in January/February.

Rio Magdalena tributary
Arriving in Mompox – Will we be able to drive through town?
How will we get out of our hotel parking spot?

Mid-December 2022, Mark, Maya, and I decided to head southeast to the heritage town of Mompox (also called Santa Cruz de Mompox or spelled Mompos), which took us two tough and hot days to reach, mostly over slow and potholed roads. Because Mompox is located in the Magdalena River valley, it was even hotter and muggier than Cartagena and we decided to spend our one night there in a cheap hotel ($10/night). Finding one that we could reach – and park at – with our big vehicle was a challenge.

Flooded riverfront
Historic Mompox with ripped-up streets
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Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – January 2023 (Colombia)

February 17, 2023 / / 32 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups and extensive care, we return to the US East Coast.

In January, Mark, Maya, and I continued our Colombian overland explorations in Thirsty Bella, our truck camper disguised as a cow. As expected, we are spreading joy and smiles driving through villages and the countryside. And we are getting stuck in narrow town centers and battered by country roads a lot, too.

(As always, hover over or click on photos in galleries to read their captions.)

Driving through narrow Barichara
Driving through the mountains on small roads
Crossing a river in the mountains
One of the many narrow and rocky dirt roads we traversed in January
Bumpy road surface

Our grocery amount was decent and similar to the previous month. We are eating out regularly now, which might explain a drop in grocery costs and a jump in eating out. Life is much cheaper in Colombia than in the US, allowing us to splurge more.  A decent dinner costs around $5-$8 a meal. It’s possible to eat cheaper and more expensive. Grocery shopping is affordable.

Lunch at a Belgian-run restaurant with Sheri and Jeff in Guane
Lunch out in Guane
Dinner out in Barichara
Small grocery store in Gambita
Crepe with fresh fruit and whipped cream
Saturday produce market in Villa de Leyva
Milhoja dessert at a bakery in Villa de Leyva
Splurge from a French bakery in Villa de Leyva
Fresh fruit and vegetables are easy to come by in Colombia!

While in the US and Canada we always camped for free, mostly in nature. Once we arrived in South America, it’s been a mix of boondocking in or on the edge of towns or along roads and paid campgrounds. That’s what the accommodation cost of almost $100 is attributed to.

Camped (for free) along the beautiful trail to Las Gachas
Parked for the night along the square in Gambita
Camped along the dirt road between Gambita and Palermo
Boondocked (free) along the lake in Paipa
Lago Sochacota in Paipa
Parked for the night (free) along the square of Tibasosa, the feijoa capital of the world
Maya poses in front of the town’s sign
Camped for a few nights (free) at higher elevation next to Laguna de Tota
Lake view through our window
Laguna de Tota
Another night of parking at the edge of a town, Mongui this time

On average, campsites cost $4 a person per day. Don’t expect hookups for that. We merely pay for a flat place to park in a safe environment. Sometimes, there are amenities like showers, toilets, and trash cans. Once in a while, a common space like a kitchen, firepit, or lounge and laundry facilities are available. Secure overnight parking in a lot is cheaper at around $2 a night.

Camped with our friends at an official campground in Barichara for a week over New Year
Sunset in the mountains
Communal kitchen at our campground in Barichara
Outdoor showers at Camping Guaimaro in Barichara
A paid camping spot in someone’s (overgrown) yard in Villanueva
Parked for the night at the hot springs. We did have to pay extra for that.
One (paid) night at a parking lot in Raquira

Our cost for internet was high last month. We paid $50 for our Google Fi plan, which allowed international roaming. Warned that this option was going to be suspended in February, we finally registered our phones in Colombia (mandatory by law) and bought local Claro SIM cards and data plans. The good news: internet is cheap in this country; the equivalent of $20 for 80GB of data (valid for one month). Propane is affordable and we use much less with our electric fridge. Most of the potable water we obtained (up to 48 gallons) was free.

Getting our phones registered in Duitama required fingerprints instead of signatures.
Getting our propane tank topped up. It was still half full after one month
Little chapel out of a propane tank
Filling up with potable cistern water at a gas station
Filling our tanks with potable water from the convent in Villa de Leyva

In February, we planned a visit to our friends Susan and John in El Retiro, near Medellin. They blog about their worldwide travels and Colombian expat life on Latitude Adjustment. This provided us with a shipping address – yes, Amazon ships certain items to Colombia! – so we ordered a few camper necessities, like a waterproof tarp, new propane hose, fridge thermostat, and water filters. Our alcohol expense was decent.

Last month, we also managed to apply for – and receive – visa extensions. If I would have entered the country with my Belgian passport, this would have been free for me. But I boasted my US citizenship when arriving, so I had to pay the same amount as Mark, around $23. Totally worth being able to spend another three months in Colombia, of course! Recently, we managed to get the same extension for Thirsty Bella from Customs (free). All of us can now legally stay in the country until May 8th.

In Villa de Leyva, while driving to a water spigot to top off our tanks, we passed through a narrow road, of which there are many in Colombia. It was a route we’d taken before, except, this time, a car was parked a distance from the curb. Instead of jumping out of the passenger seat like I usually do, I estimated we’d clear everything. When Mark rounded the parked car, we could hear roof tiles clatter onto the cobblestones. Darn…

We hit this overhang from a gate in Villa de Leyva
Pile of broken roof tiles on the ground

Our ladder had hit the decorative, overhanging tiles topping a cute gate. Luckily, the owners were relaxed about the scene and no harm was done to our camper. We gladly reimbursed the lady for eight broken tiles and the labor to fix the gate. Being in Colombia, paying for the damage didn’t set us back too much! That was the miscellaneous category.

Hiking in the mountains around Barichara
Hiking with our friends towards Guane
Hiking near Villanueva
The natural site of Las Gachas is free to visit, depending on which walking route you take.
Little known and free waterfall in Palermo
Maya meets a baby cow
Plaza Mayor in pretty Villa de Leyva
Strolling in the colorful town of Raquira
The colonial church and town square of Mongui
Maya in front of a historic bridge in Mongui

Besides hiking and exploring some natural sites and historic centers for free, we “splurged” on entertainment last month, visiting an interesting fossil museum in Villa de Leyva (El Fosil), hot springs in Iza (Piscina Erika), and a gorgeous waterfall near Gambita. Each destination was worth a stop or a strenuous hike!

The impressive top part of the waterfalls
Along the trail to the top of the waterfall
Piscina Erika hot springs
El Fosil museum
Depiction of the Monquirasaurus
El Fosil, a Kronosaurus that was renamed Monquirasaurus

The other categories were on the low end. Early January, I did laundry at a campground – three loads in three days, hanging everything to dry outside. The rest of the month, we washed by hand.

Camped for free on the edge of
Villa de Leyva and doing laundry by hand – the town offers free water

We took taxis a couple of times in skinny Barichara (“transportation”), I needed aspirin and more acetaminophen for my headaches, Maya could use more treats, we bought a gift for friends, and I finally received a professional haircut. The hairdresser took pride in her work and finished with 10 minutes of hair blowing. This unnecessary touch-up cost an extra 5,000 pesos ($1), totaling $6 for the entire experience. Oh, and Mark drank one beer out as well. At these prices, it is easy, fun, and possible for us to support local businesses!

Tuk tuk taxi in Barichara
Fresh haircut in Villa de Leyva!

We didn’t quite make it under $900, but we keep trying. Luckily, February only has 28 days. Our goal is to spend less than $800 a month in South America. We still have a way to go. Colombia is probably the cheapest country of the continent, so if we fail here, we might have to alter that target.

January 2023 Overview:

Groceries:

Dining out:

Accommodation:

Car (fuel: $89; tolls: $8; parking: $1):

Utilities (internet: $77; propane: $5; water:$1):

Camper (tarp, filters, hose, thermostat):

Alcohol:

Customs & Immigration (visa extensions):

Miscellaneous (broken tiles):

Entertainment (museum, falls, hot springs):

Laundry:

Transportation (taxis):

Medical (drugs):

Health & Fitness (haircut L):

Dog (treats):

Gifts:

Household:

Drinking out:

 

TOTAL:

 

$251

$128

$99

$98

$83

$79

$49

$45

$21

$18

$9

$8

$7

$6

$5

$5

$3

$1

———

$ 915

Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.

Donate to Roaming About to help maintain this website.

Cartagena behind the Scenes – Five Weeks of Airbnb Hopping with a Dog in Colombia’s Famous City

February 13, 2023 / / 32 Comments

In November (and part of December) 2022, Mark, Maya, and I found ourselves in Cartagena, Colombia, for only one reason: pick up our truck camper from the port and start our South American adventure. I’ve already written extensively about how to ship a vehicle between the two continents here and about what went wrong in our story here. Because of all the delays and mistakes made (by our UK agent IVSS), we ended up spending five weeks instead of one in this well-known Colombian City.

(As always, click on or hover over photos to read their captions.)

Statue just outside of Old Cartagena
Street in the walled city
Inside the walls of Old Cartagena
Part of the wall in Old Cartagena

Old Town Cartagena or the “walled city” is a World Heritage Site that draws lots of visitors – nationally and internationally – and that is certainly worth a stop. For a couple of days. It’s picturesque, colorful, and historic, yet touristy, pricier than elsewhere in the country, busy, loud, and very hot and humid. Add to this that Mark and I already visited this city in 2011 by sailboat (check out my short posts about that here (mainly text) and here (mainly photos) and you will understand playing tourists in Cartagena was not high on the agenda.

Location of Cartagena in Colombia
Map of Cartagena, marking the locations of our Airbnbs and the walled city

Our five weeks here were spread over five different areas and Airbnb apartments in this massive city.

1. Manga

Our first week in Cartagena was booked ahead of time. We picked the Manga area, because the cost for accommodation, while relatively steep for Colombia, was much lower here than in the walled city, which was located within walking distance from our Airbnb rental. Price: US$43/night.

Notes: All prices mentioned include taxes and fees; cleaning fees are much lower than in the US; there is no hot water anywhere, so cold showers were the norm in our accommodation choices; we didn’t meet one English-speaking Colombian during our five weeks in Cartagena.

Our apartment was the left one on ground level
Old wall near our Airbnb in Manga
Wet and loud patio in Manga

The apartment was sparse but adequate, with a little patio. Unfortunately, we never sat outside, because the traffic noise was too loud (honk, honk, honk) and it rained a big chunk of the time. The nicest – unexpected – feature of this location was the park across the street and a short riverfront path a block from us. This worked to let Maya out in the early morning and late afternoon.

Living area
Kitchen
Main bedroom
Patio and flooded streets

We had planned some old town strolling and relaxing in the nearby parks during this first week, to decompress from months of preparation for this new adventure, but both Mark and I became sick for over a week. Did we finally contract Covid on the plane ride? We wore surgical masks, but in the frenzy of packing, organizing, and planning for this big move, we had forgotten to grab our “good” masks.

Clock tower and one of the main pedestrian entrances into Old Cartagena
Square inside the wall and through the clock tower
Castillo San Felipe
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Annual Expense Report of a Nomad – 2022 (USA, Mexico, Colombia)

January 29, 2023 / / 32 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. “The less money you spend, the less you need to make” is our motto. ???? At the beginning of each year, I produce an expense report for the previous 12 months. This is the most recent one, for 2022.

Our first yearly expense report (2016) can be found here, the report of 2017 is here, the one for 2018 here, our 2019 expenses are located here, our total costs for 2020 are documented here, and those for 2021 are detailed here.

These reports include ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and a 60-pound dog. We adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019. Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the US East Coast. The utility cost refers to phone data plans, initially with AT&T and at the end of 2022 with Google Fi.

It feels like 2023 has only just started, yet we are already a month into it. Crazy how time flies. I better publish our 2022 expense report, before the February 2023 one is due!

(As always click on or hover over photos in galleries to read their captions.)

Leaving Auburn, California, with our “new” Lance camper
Watching the car carriers before it was our turn
Thirsty Bella dropped off in Galveston port, ready to be shipped

In 2022, Mark, Maya, and I focused on purchasing, fixing, equipping, and upgrading our current truck camper, a Lance 830, in the Pacific Northwest and Colorado. Before that, we explored the Baja peninsula in Mexico for 3.5 months. We completed the year in Cartagena, Colombia, happily reunited with Thirsty Bella, which we had shipped there from Texas. I also visited my home country of Belgium for two weeks, but my parents took care of me there. 🙂

We made it to Colombia!
Colombian church
Back on the road – in south America!
Road travel – and obstacles – in Colombia
Driving through the mountains

Last year was relatively expensive, especially if you add the one-time cost of shipping our truck camper to the mix (see below). We better live extra cheaply this year to make up for that!

The highest category in 2022, by far, was our car and more specifically the fuel. Over $4,000! We purposefully decided not to drive to the East Coast over the summer (to visit family, friends, and doctors), because of the exorbitant gasoline prices. But we did make it to the southern tip of the Baja peninsula in Mexico (and back) with our previous Cirrus camper and ended up driving huge distances to find and pick up our current truck camper in super expensive California. I can’t say any of that was planned, but such is life – our life anyway.

Fuel prices in the US, last year
Fueling up in Mexico
Driving on paved mountain roads in Colombia
On the road in a small Colombian town

Vehicle insurance and maintenance for our Ford F-350 each cost over $600 as well. We prepped the truck for this extended adventure in South America, which included spare parts, oil and filter changes, and a tire rotation and alignment.

Mark and I have periodically discussed our annual high prices for maintaining and fueling the vehicles and sailboats we own(ed), which made us realize that we could easily use this amount for plane tickets to house and pet sit internationally. As a matter of fact, that was the plan… before we adopted our Maya, three years ago. That’s when the South America trip became our goal. Then, Covid arrived.

Groceries is the second-highest category and averages $268 a month. Not bad. This is always the most straightforward subject. What is there to say? Everyone needs to eat. In our case, we stick to a healthy, mostly plant-based diet and consume 95% of our meals at home. Here in Colombia, we eat out a bit more, because it’s affordable.

Massive salad for dinner at home
Homemade salad with cocktail shrimp

Travel costs went to plane tickets for Mark, who needed to fly to Massachusetts twice (once from Mexico and once from Oregon) for family and healthcare reasons. Our dining out expense was almost a grand as well. I’d like to say it will be less this year, but even though food is much cheaper here, we probably will eat out more, so things might even out. We will see.

Dinner out with friends in La Paz, Mexico
Street tacos in Todos Santos, Mexico
Dinner out in Loreto, Baja, Mexico
Pizza at a restaurant in Mompox, Colombia
Lunch out at a local restaurant in Cepita, Chicamocha Canyon, Colombia

Everyone knows that taking care of a dog isn’t cheap. In Maya’s case, we spent over $900, mostly on food, her anti-itch medicine (Apoquel), and one expensive vet visit enabling and preceding our move to South America.

Maya getting ready for her exam, extra shots, and international health certificate

Our utility cost for 2022 also seems high at $800. The majority of that went to internet, unsurprisingly, but almost $200 was “wasted” on propane, thanks to the ordinary fridges put in RVs. Even though they are called 3-way fridges, they run inefficiently when using their DC power source. We don’t use AC, because we never plug into power. When using an RV fridge solely on propane, we emptied two full 20-pound propane tanks every month, and that’s being careful by monitoring the temperature and adjusting the settings.

Like fuel, propane gas prices swung through the roof last year. Filling our two tanks cost around $40 every month and there was the hassle of finding propane places that actually filled tanks instead of just swapping them out. Tractor Supply and U-Haul used to be safe bets but they aren’t anymore.

Maneuvering the new fridge through one of the windows
Prepping the compressor fridge to be installed
Removing the old, partly disassembled fridge, from the camper
Dry fitting our new fridge
Painting the new cabinetry

Because of all these reasons – the hassle, money, research, wasted trips and phone calls, worry of running out of gas, and lack of freedom – we replaced our propane fridge in Thirsty Bella with a 12V compressor fridge that we can easily run with the power created by our solar panels. In Mexico we paid for agua purificada (purified potable water) to fill our water tank.

Inquiring about potable water in Mexico
Filling with potable water in the US, which is free
Filling up with water at a private house in Colombia

Another big – and extra – expense was a new hybrid computer/laptop for Mark. That section underneath also includes hosting fees for our website and some software Mark bought. When it comes to adult beverages, my husband and I occasionally like to drink beer (only Mark) and wine and usually have one bottle of hard liquor around. There is no space for more. Our preferred alcoholic drink is rum with fresh juice, ice cubes, and a slice of lime.

Gifts include the annual calendars I create for our Belgian and American families, gestures (usually bottles of wine or dessert goodies) we bring when invited for dinner, a contribution to utilities when we stay on someone’s driveway for a while, Christmas gifts for friends we end up traveling with, excursions we do with our nieces and nephews, and birthday presents for each other, although I don’t recall any of those in 2022.

Breakfast prepared by friends in Portland, Oregon
Clam chowder made by Katherine in Oregon
Fresh (giant) oysters in Oregon
Seafood fest with friends on the Oregon coast
Our friend in Austin, Texas, presenting us with dinner

Household items are improvements for our life inside the camper – cooking, storing, light fixtures, … – and the camper category resembles materials and tools required to keep our home on wheels running. This last amount is low, because it does not include the money spent equipping our camper for South America, which we consider part of its purchase price and not maintenance cost. I will write a separate post about this in the future.

Camped on the beach in Baja
Our favorite camping spot of 2022 in Agua Verde, Baja, Mexico
Camped in San Juan National Forest, Colorado
A couple of weeks in the workshop of friends in Colorado
Camped in New Mexico
Hanging out with friends on the beach in Texas
Camped with friends by the ruined church of Gramalote Viejo, Colombia

In the US, we always camped for free, but because we traveled in Mexico for a third of the year, there is a substantial accommodation cost as we tend to stay at campgrounds there once in a while. Some of this category’s amount was spent in Colombia, on camping and a hotel.

Camped along Bahia Concepcion in Baja
Our paid campground in Loreto, Baja, Mexico
Pay camping in Ensenada, Mexico
Last night in a Colombian hotel!
Camped at Los Estoraques National Park, Playa de Belen, Colombia
Campground in Gramalote Nuevo, Colombia

The clothing expenses were higher than the previous year, because we made sure to have decent pairs of hiking shoes, rain jackets, jeans, and shirts to hold us over for a few years. In 2023, we hope this amount, in addition to the “computer” section, is negligible.

Drinking out is self-explanatory and transport covers taxis (in Colombia), Uber (to get to Houston airport from Galveston), and public transportation when we visit Massachusetts. Customs and Immigration fees were mostly paid in Mexico for tourist cards and towards a new Belgian passport for me. Luckily, those are now valid for seven years instead of five.

Cashier’s checks cost $15!

Banking costs went to our annual credit card fee and a cashier’s check to pay for our Lance camper (yes, that costs extra money). Health & Fitness includes vitamins (Mark) and occasional haircuts (me). This amount should mostly disappear as well. We gave up on the vitamins (don’t want to deal with it here), we keep cutting Mark’s hair ourselves with clippers, and my twice-a-year haircuts should cost a quarter of the price in South America.

Street view in Loreto, Mexico
Hike through Mesquite Canyon, Baja
Dunes in Baja
Natural bridge in Baja
View over the bay of Agua Verde, Mexico
Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, Idaho
Idaho’s State Capitol in Boise
Going for a (free) horse ride in Colorado with friends
Street view Getsemani
Fort of Cartagena
Historic buildings in Cartagena

We spent less than $100 on entertainment. Most of our hobbies, like hiking, visiting natural attractions, writing, and reading are free. We never visit museums or pay for expensive activities. Last year, we bought two sets of snorkel gear (still to be used) and paid the entrance fee for a few parks.

Hike high into Deschutes National Forest
Hiking with a friend and her dogs in Oregon
Los Estoraques National Park, Playa de Belen, Colombia

Our medical cost is usually minimal, but last year Mark had to pay for an expensive Covid test in Mexico and I had two new pairs of prescription eye glasses mailed to an address out west. My husband chipped in for his dad’s memorial service (miscellaneous), we paid for laundry in Mexico (the rest of the year we managed to use the facilities of friends), and a small amount of money went to postage.

Sunrise along the Baja Peninsula

Extra one-time costs for 2022

One big expense not included in this annual report is the $5,497 we paid for shipping and agent fees to transport our home on wheels to South America for a multiple-year adventure.

Camped for a summer of work on the Lance, St. Helens, Oregon
Lots of work, tools, and gear
Sanding, taping, and painting the ladder
Scraping old caulk off to reuse this hatch
Removing the old letters of the camper to start fresh with cow spots
Installing a secondary water tank, Colorado
Attaching more cow spots, Oregon

So, what would have been a decent year in general at $16,809 (which is about $800 more than our average, not bad under the circumstances of inflation and super high fuel prices) is not so great anymore when you add the $5,500 of shipment costs to the mix. That’s around $22,300 in total. Let’s hope the year 2023 will be a fraction of that!

2022 Overview:

Car (fuel: $4,394; insurance: $666; maintenance: $631;

tolls: $19; parking: $16; registration: $10):

Groceries:

Travel (plane tickets Mark):

Dining out:

Dog (supplies: $413; food: $224; vet: $268; import: $11):

Utilities (internet: $552; prop.: $179; water: $48;

dump stations: $8; Skype: $5):

Computer (hybrid: $728; hosting: $40; software: $11):

Alcohol:

Gifts (B-days, Christmas):

Household:

Camper:

Accommodation/Camping:

Clothing:

Drinking out:

Transport (Uber, tip escort, taxis in COL):

Customs & Immigration (new passport L, tourist cards Mex.):

Bank fees (Chase visa card, cashier’s check):

Health & Fitness (haircuts L, vitamins M):

Entertainment (snorkel sets, parks):

Medical (Covid test M, mailing glasses):

Miscellaneous (memorial service):

Laundry:

Postage:

 

TOTAL:

 

$5,735

 

$3,211

$1,086

$954

$916

$791

 

$779

$574

$483

$364

$307

$302

$266

$188

$166

$147

$129

$126

$94

$85

$51

$41

$14

———

$ 16,809

(It might be easier to read the table when turning your device in the horizontal position.)

And that’s a wrap! If you are enjoying these posts and would like to help out with our expenses maintaining this blog, please click on the donate button underneath, in the side bar, or in the menu bar on top. I promise Roaming About will remain an ad-free website. Thank you!

Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.

Donate to Roaming About to help maintain this website.

Shipping a Camper from Texas in the United States to Colombia in South America – Our Saga

January 22, 2023 / / 59 Comments

If you are only interested in the specifics of how to ship a vehicle abroad, check out the post I wrote about that procedure and some tips here. If you’re curious about how this big move of one camper, two adults, and one 60-pound dog played out for us on a personal level, keep reading.

WARNING: This is a very long post. The dates play an important role.

A car carrier passing by our camping spot in Galveston

The plan

  • Reserve a spot on a cargo ship for the departure date of November 3rd, 2022, for the route Galveston, Texas – Cartagena, Colombia with the German company Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) via our IVSS agent Martin McGowan.
  • Book plane tickets from Houston to Cartagena & deal with the other (many) logistics to switch continents.
  • Prep our camper for transport and drop it off at the port on October 27th (four business days before departure, as we were told is the standard procedure).
  • Stay at the Galveston beach condo of friends for a week and see Thirsty Bella leave by ship.

View from our friends’ condo in Galveston

  • Book our first Airbnb for a week in Manga, Cartagena. Hop on a plane on November 7th to arrive in Cartagena on November 8th. The ship with our camper would arrive on November 13th but Thirsty Bella would need a few days to clear customs upon arrival. We hoped to extend our accommodation with a few days (or find somewhere else) if needed.
  • Visit the walled city of Cartagena during that first week in Colombia, pick up our camper on November 16th the latest, put our home on wheels back together, and start our South American adventure.

The reality

  • Car carriers of WWL leave approximately once a month. When we decided early October that we could make the ship transport of October 25th and tried to book a slot, it had already been delayed by a week. It would leave on November 3rd. This boat was called the Arc Resolve and we’d been watching its progress online for a little while.
  • First, we worried about not getting on this boat, because this route was rumored to be popular. After two anxious days of waiting, we received a confirmation for this booking. The planning could begin.

Booking confirmation on the Arc Resolve, scheduled to leave on November 3rd

  • We reserved refundable and affordable plane tickets from Houston, TX, to Miami, FL, on Southwest Airlines for early afternoon on November 7th and an expensive airport hotel in Miami that was also cancellable. We bought non-refundable plane tickets from Miami to Cartagena on American Airlines for November 8th. We used points/miles for these purchases.
  • We watched our assigned boat, the Arc Resolve, multiple times a day online – its route, schedule, and progress, which was very slow. 
  • Delay after delay happened and we were stuck in hot and humid Texas, but at least in our RV.
Boat schedule 1
Boat schedule 2
Boat schedule 3
  • Every day, we stressed about whether we would be able to leave the country on our reserved date.
  • Every time the Arc Resolve reached a new port on its route around South and Central America, more delays happened. Our departure day (and therefore drop-off day) from Galveston kept being pushed out. We cancelled the condo of our friends. What to do about our flights and accommodation?

Boat schedule 4

  • Since a lot of logistics and preparations (like an international health certificate and shots for Maya within ten days of travel) had been put into motion already and new tickets would cost twice as much on top of losing the international ones, we decided to stick to plan, leaving Houston on November 7th.

Vet visit with Maya to get her international health certificate and extra shots

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Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – December 2022 (Colombia)

January 13, 2023 / / 37 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups and extensive care, we return to the US East Coast.

The first two weeks of December, Mark, Maya, and I still stayed in Airbnbs in Cartagena, like the majority of November, to wait for our camper’s arrival from Texas. This was followed by a night in a hotel close to the port where we picked up our truck camper, Thirsty Bella, on the evening of the 14th. Rule #1 in developing countries, “Do not drive at night,” was immediately disregarded. We didn’t have a choice. Luckily, nothing was hit or damaged on that first drive.

(As always, click on or hover over photos in the galleries to read their captions.)

Our second-floor Airbnb in Las Caracoles, Cartagena
The entrance to our third-floor Airbnb in Boca Grande, Cartagena.
We loved our early morning strolls along the boardwalk with Maya in Boca Grande.
Our campers have arrived from the port!
The campers have arrived – daytime now
Our last night in the Cartagena area

We paid for all these nights with credit card points, depleting our account, leaving us with no buffer for a break from the road in the future. All because we had to wait two extra weeks for our vehicle. Oh well. We were beyond happy and relieved to be reunited with our home on wheels.

First night back on the road in San Pedro – a hot and humid place
Arriving at our first destination, Mompox, where we also searched for a hotel with parking big enough for Thirsty Bella; not an easy feat.
Dinner out in Mompox
Two of these pizzas did the job for dinner in Mompox.
It was tricky backing out of this parking spot in Mompox. Towns are just too tight for us, for driving and for parking.

After spending the first night on a hot and humid parking lot, we put in many more miles to reach Mompox, a World Heritage Site, for another night at a hotel. It was too uncomfortable to sleep in the camper. The other accommodation expenses went to campsites without hookups (just parking, sometimes with the availability of showers, toilets, a shared kitchen, and a laundry machine), which seem to range between $2 and $4 a person per night. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but $8 a night does add up for us, so we try to combine free camping andcampgrounds.

Camped in the cute town of Playa de Belen. Fireworks chased us out.
Parked for a couple of nights at the soccer field of Playa de Belen to get the camper back in order. The fireworks were still bad here.
Parked in Gramalote Viejo with our friends for what was supposed to be the Christmas period
Camping spot along Chicamocha Canyon
Parked for the night at a mirador (viewpoint) – free, but one of the loudest nights we’ve encountered in Colombia
Camping spot for one night at the balneario (swimming area) of Curiti – we couldn’t leave if we wanted to…

December was the first decent expense month since Mexico in February. We stayed under $1,000 for the three of us. The highest categories, “groceries” and “car,” were close, but not that crazy.

The Olimpica is a decent grocery store.
A big bag of red onions for the equivalent of $1
Cooking in the apartment with a headlight on. The lighting in most Airbnbs we stayed at was terrible.
One of our homecooked meals in Cartagena
Once, we cooked a dinner in the Boca Grande apartment of our friends Sheri and Jeff.
Sheri made fantastic hamburgers one night
A lot of the food in Colombia is fried

What we saved in groceries, we spent in eating out, by the looks of it. Again, this pastime in Colombia is affordable, but $8 dinners also add up after a while. Another balancing act is needed.

Buying bananas from a street vendor in Cartagena
We found this amazing panaderia (bakery) in a Cartagena neighborhood where we stayed for ten days.
Local restaurant at 10,000ft altitude
Because of the cold climate at 10,000ft, we all ordered a bowl of soup for $1 each.
A wonderful lunch in Cepita, at the bottom of Chicamocha Canyon

We did cover a bit of ground in those first two weeks on the road, but with gasoline at $2 a gallon, we don’t worry too much. The $40 insurance (SOAT) cost covers our vehicle for liability for three months. Our cost for tolls was actually higher than stated – amazing how many toll roads (Northern) Colombia has, and they’re expensive all things considered – but we received a refund for our toll device and credit we returned to Massachusetts before leaving the country.

Filling her up!
Maya has her backseat back.
On the road again – Chicamocha Canyon
A typical scene on the road
Toll booth in Santander – these cost around $2 each time for cars with 2 axels

The gift category should fall away next month. As usual, I created and shipped calendars to my family in Belgium and the US. Each month of the year exhibits a photo of the two or three of us in a different location. This way, we are somewhat present in the households of our loved ones. And we bought small Christmas gifts for our new friends Sheri and Jeff, whom we met up with several times over the last two months.

Parked for the night by the police station in Gramalote Nuevo
Not what we had in mind for Christmas Eve
Our night parked by the police station was the result of an attempted armed robbery in Gramalote Viejo
Special breakfast on Christmas Day, once we were safely settled at an official campground
Camped safely on Christmas Day
Christmas dinner at the campground

Propane is cheaper in Colombia than in the States, but it is a pain to obtain nevertheless. That’s why we changed our propane fridge out for an electric one that efficiently works on our solar panels. This way, a full propane tank (20 pounds), used only for cooking and heating, should last months instead of weeks. For internet, we still use a Google Fi global data plan, but we already have been warned this will be suspended next month, so we will need to find another, local solution in each country. We’ve been working on that.

I’d say our alcohol consumption was average last month, despite it being the holidays. Beer and rum are cheaper than what we purchase in the US, wine is similar in price. The only reason there is a clothing expense is because Amazon messed up one of the refunds before we left. Therefore, we were recharged for a pair of jeans.

We didn’t plan on buying dog food for Maya in Cartagena, since we carried plenty of it with us on the plane, enough for the expected three weeks there, plus an extra Ziploc bag in case four weeks of waiting were required. Not five, though. Luckily, we found food that she wasn’t allergic to and once Thirsty Bella arrived, carrying heaps of dogfood, Maya could go back on her usual diet. The meds we bought are herbal drops that should calm her down during all the stress and anxiety from Colombia’s daily firecrackers, bottle rockets, and fireworks.

Our drinking out cost is negligible – we usually prefer to have happy hour at home – and the low entertainment amount went to the entrance fee of Los Estoraques National Park in Playa de Belen, where we camped for almost a week as well.

Camped by the national park
Hiking in the national park
Maya in the national park
Los Estoraques National Park in Playa de Belen
Los Estoraques NP
The park has amazing rock formations.

Last month, we managed to only pay $2 for water, a donation to a friendly and helpful family along the way, and do laundry for free at the Airbnbs we stayed at.

Filling our tank with potable water from a private home, three days into our trip.
More generous Colombians offering potable water for our tanks
Our last two apartments had their own washing machine. Nice!

The total amount for shipping our truck camper from Texas to Colombia was $5,500, which is not included in this report as it is a one-time cost. Because moving our vehicle between continents was so expensive, we plan on making our time here worthwhile. A few years of slow travel should do it! 🙂

December 2022 Overview:

Groceries:

Car (fuel: $194; insurance: $40; tolls: $14):

Gifts (Christmas & New Year):

Dining out:

Utilities (internet: $50; propane: $9; water:$2):

Alcohol:

Accommodation:

Clothing:

Dog (food: $20; meds:$3):

Drinking out:

Entertainment:

 

TOTAL:

 

$249

$248

$125

$99

$61

$47

$44

$31

$23

$6

$4

———

$ 937

Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.

Donate to Roaming About to help maintain this website.

How to Ship a Camper or RV from Texas in the United States to Colombia in South America – The Procedure

January 6, 2023 / / 49 Comments

Moving a small family of two adults and a dog, their home on wheels, and all their belongings between two continents that are not connected by road is not an easy or straightforward task. I’m planning to post several blogs about the procedures, the execution, and the impact over the coming weeks. To avoid information and sensory overload, I will split some of these topics over two entries, an informative one and a personal one. Today, I will provide facts and tips about how to actually ship your vehicle abroad. The next blog in the series will elaborate on our personal challenges and experiences going this route.

Liesbet, Mark, Maya, and Thirsty Bella

1. Decide on a shipping method: RoRo or container

The two most common ways to ship a vehicle, whether it’s a car, motorcycle, van, or RV, are via a container or a RoRo (Roll-on Roll-off) ship. Less frequent is LoLo, which means being parked on a flat rack of a container ship, at which point, it’s usually cheaper to opt for RoRo. All three fit the category cargo ship. Your choice most likely will boil down to size restrictions.

RoRo ship or car carrier

The safest, most secure, and cheapest way to ship a vehicle is in a standard container. These come in three lengths; 10 feet (~3 meters), 20 feet (~6 meters), and 40 feet (~12 meters). The most cost-effective option when you have a car or low-rise van is to share a 40ft container with someone else. The maximum height of these containers ranges between “standard” height (8.5 feet or 2.59 meters) and “high cube” (9.5 feet or 2.74 meters) and their width is 8ft.

Container ship in Galveston

The dimensions of Thirsty Bella are 21.8ft (6.65m) of length, 8.8ft (2.67m) of width, and a height of 10.5ft (3.20m). We could have potentially separated the truck and the camper to fit in a 40ft container lengthwise, but the camper part would still be too wide. Therefore, we had to ship our vehicle with RoRo, which means it’s not enclosed and locked up. You drop the camper off at a port (Galveston, Texas, in our case) and leave the key of the truck. An employee drives and parks it onto the ship (roll on), and an employee of the arrival port (Cartagena, Colombia, in our case), moves the vehicle on shore (roll off).

Thirsty Bella

2. Decide on a route

There are several routes between the United States and South America. The US has departure ports on the East and West coasts and in Texas. Arrival ports include Colombia, Chili, Ecuador, and Uruguay. You can also ship to/from the east coast of Mexico and Colon, Panama, the shortest distance to Cartagena. As mentioned in a previous post, the Pan-American highway does not connect the countries of Panama and Colombia, due to the notorious and inaccessible Darien Gap, so you have to put your vehicle on a ship if you want to explore South America overland.

One of the boat routes/schedules

3. Research shipping agents and book a slot

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Happy Holidays & May Your 2023 Be Amazing!

December 26, 2022 / / 0 Comments


Mark, Maya, and I wish you all a fabulous end of the year and a healthy, adventurous, satisfying, productive, and inspiring 2023. Thank you so much for following along on our journeys and leaving comments throughout the years.

The three of us had an eventful and relatively challenging 2022, with most of our focus, effort, dedication, and expenses going towards equipping our Lance 830 truck camper Thirsty Bella for extensive travels in South America. The year started with explorations, fun, and relaxation in Baja, Mexico, and is ending in Colombia. We were reunited with our home on wheels in mid-December, are back in travel mode, and can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store for us.

Already, there are many stories to share – good ones and bad ones – and I hope to resume a more regular blogging schedule in the near future, as much as our life on the road allows. This will depend on my time, energy, interest, and internet availability. Follow us on Facebook (see right column or click here) for more frequent updates and photos.

Season’s greetings from the mountain region of Colombia!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad – November 2022

December 11, 2022 / / 38 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups and extensive care, we return to the East Coast.

Even though the three of us have been “stuck” in Cartagena for over a month, November went by fast. For once, we didn’t care, because the sooner we would be reunited with our camper, Thirsty Bella, the better. Guess what? We are still waiting. But the end of that is coming near.

This is where the RORO car carriers dock in Cartagena Harbor

Mark, Maya, and I flew from Houston, Texas, to Miami, Florida, on November 7th. From there, we continued on to Cartagena, Colombia, the following day. Since the 8th, we have been apartment hopping in this hectic, dusty, hot, and humid city, not spending a lot of time in tourist areas but immersing ourselves in the noisy and affordable Colombian way of (city) life.

(As always, hover over or click on photos in galleries to read their captions.)

Landing in Cartagena, Colombia
Rush hour traffic near Airbnb #3
Buying our breakfast bananas at a fruit stand
Visit to the panaderia
Pastries from the panaderia (bakery)

We booked our plane tickets in early October,  using credit card points (valued at US$590) and we managed to do the same for our airport hotel in Miami (US$112) and five Airbnb rentals (the equivalent of US$945 in total, so far). The estimate was to be here for three weeks (an important factor for packing our belongings, toiletries, and food for Maya, all in carry-on luggage), but we will have been here over five weeks by the time we pick up our vehicle at the port. I will elaborate on the why another time.

Airbnb #1 – outside
Airbnb #1 – inside
Airbnb #2 – outside
Airbnb #2 – inside
Airbnb #3 – outside
Airbnb #3 – inside

On our last week in the US, we bounced between uncomfortable overnight parking lots and parks, meeting up with friends and preparing our vehicle for leaving the country.

Spending the night on a Home Depot parking lot in Houston
Spending the night on the parking lot of Cracker Barrel in Houston
Figuring out where everything can be stored and hidden
Lifting the camper a bit to wedge items underneath once it’s lowered again
Parked in the driveway of our Houston friends for the last three nights

The last weekend saw us finalize everything at and in the convenient house and driveway of friends.

Drilling holes in the plywood to attach the tension bars inside the rig
Sorting through our stuff: what comes for the flight, what doesn’t?
Packing dog food for Maya
Lots of paperwork and photo copies to figure out
Tension bars and wood installed on the cabover part
Every cabinet was rearranged and stuffed.
The food cabinet holds items usually stored elsewhere.
Empty fridge for the ship journey
Dinette area boarded up
Bella boarded up
Totally empty truck cab – nothing stayed behind
What’s going on?

Then, camper drop-off and moving day happened, followed with the rest of the month living in Cartagena. We had a lot of extra expenses in November, yet we managed to not go too far over our average budget.

I am now reporting on camper costs as well, because the basics of our conversions, improvements, and upgrades were finished in October. I will post a separate report about buying and equipping Bella in the near future. This camper category was the highest by surprise, because, you know, nothing goes as planned…

A lot went wrong when Mark finally dropped our camper off at the port of Galveston, which caused added stress on an already logistically stressful day, but I will just elaborate on one episode for now.

There are quite a few rules if you want to ship a vehicle abroad. One of those, regarding campers, is that the propane tank has to be empty and a certificate to prove this is required. We called the issuing company in League City to inquire about the certificate and were told those are only provided for fixed tanks. We had a portable 20-pound tank, so should be fine. Our tank was empty. Our tank was newish. We taped the purchase receipt to the tank, just to not get into trouble.

Nope. Not enough. We needed the certificate. It was 2pm in the afternoon. The port closed at 4pm. Our plane left that evening. We didn’t see an option for Mark to leave Galveston port, drive to League City 40 minutes away, get our tank certified – or buy a new one with a certified receipt – and get the vehicle cleared for shipment, plus visit Customs, before four. Oh, and the escort to guide you through the port costs $50 per hour and once you’re ten minutes over that, a second hour is charged…

Phone numbers of port escorts on the day of our drop-off

Mark called me (I was waiting in a public park with Maya and all our luggage) and we concluded we only had one choice if we wanted to catch our plane: remove the tank from our camper and leave it at the port. This was a huge problem and complication: our tank had US fittings, fit snugly in its compartment, and all our cooking and heating facilities (including hot water and grill) depended on this particular set-up, which we would not be able to find and reproduce in Colombia (different fittings and tank sizes).

Waiting for Mark in a Galveston park

We were screwed and almost gave up on this whole journey (for the first time). Employees, including Mark’s escort Kaylyn, understood, but there was nothing they could do. Mark continued the drop-off and clearing out procedures and joined me in the park. We felt defeated – and homeless – without even having left the US.

Thirsty Bella in Galveston port
Thirsty Bella in line to be loaded on a cargo vessel… three weeks later!

On that picnic bench in Galveston, we brainstormed. We had another hour to kill before airport focus was upon us. A crazy idea emerged, one that would be hard to pull off…

Mark called his escort Kaylyn, asked her if she would be able to deposit a new propane tank inside our camper if we had someone deliver it. The answer was surprising, but music to our ears: “Yes.” Question #2: “Would you be willing to pick one up if we order it? We will pay you for your help, of course.” Another “yes” followed and life looked up again.

Dealing with the propane tank disaster

Over the next half an hour, we called the propane place in League City and paid for a new tank and its certification, emailed them Kaylyn’s information, and copied her on any correspondence with Baygas Propane. Our angel called us three days after we arrived in Cartagena. She had picked up the tank and needed instructions about where to put it – and how to get there. We walked her through storing the new tank safely and securely inside Bella, made sure she locked our home properly again, and sent her $100 as a thank you. Hence our high propane cost last month…

This is where Kaylyn wrapped and stored our new propane tank (we think)

The other amount paid for the camper went to protection (wood to board up the windows and tension rods to keep them in place) and gear to potentially fix our fridge issue. It was our goal to have a fully-working (brand new) fridge before shipment, but that failed.

Buying cut plywood at Home Depot and storing it for a few days – back and forth from the bed of the camper to the back seat of the truck

To bring Maya into Colombia, we needed an international health certificate and a couple of extra shots. That required a vet visit of multiple hours and approval by the USDA; an expensive ordeal. The temporary import permit for Colombia was only $11 and took an hour of red tape.

Vet visit in Texas City
Temporarily importing Maya into Colombia

Back in Houston, we treated our generous and hospitable friends John and Harriet to a Thai take-out dinner. The rest of the eating out category was spent in Cartagena – one “expensive” meal and drinks for my birthday ($60 for two people) in a nice restaurant and the rest on local food.

Birthday dinner out in Getsemani with new friends Sheri and Jeff
Hearty dinner at a local restaurant

The grocery category was low – we needed to eat everything up before leaving the US and Colombia is cheap. We still cooked most of our meals to save money and eat relatively healthy. After we recovered from being sick the first ten days, our Venezuelan friend Nathalie, who lives in Manga, Cartagena, invited us over for a yummy salmon-pasta lunch.

Preparing sandwich lunches for two days of plane travel
Dinner rich in vegetables (at home)
Making French toast with crappy Colombian (sweet) bread
Another dinner at home, with take-out chicken
Lunch at Nathalie and Danny’s place

We didn’t spend a lot on fuel last month, only enough for dock workers to move our truck on and off the boat(s). Your gas tank can only be 1/4 full. We had a last-minute tire alignment and rotation done two days before we left.

Fueling Thirsty for the last time in Texas
This amount differs from the one in the report, because we received credit back from our fuel app Upside.
The front tires were wearing down in an uneven way
Taking the camper off yet again; this time to deal with the truck tires

Transportation was another extra category. The Uber from Galveston Island to Hobby Airport in Houston cost a whopping $50 and we have been getting around Cartagena in local taxis. The price for the port escort was also $50.

Cab in Manga’s flooded streets

Our monthly amount for internet went up. We finally retired our amazing unlimited AT&T data plan that was $35/month for years (we sold it on) and switched to a Google Fi worldwide plan, sharing an account with our friends Duwan and Greg. After the initial set-up fees incorporated in this report, the new monthly amount should be $50 for 50 gig of data.

The only other thing worth mentioning is that I finally spent the second half of Mark’s birthday gift for me from last year (November 2021) on goodies at Trader Joe’s. I totally forgot I had some “credit” left for that! As I write this, I’m eating my final dark-chocolate-covered almonds from the US…

The food bag – just now am I finishing those chocolate-covered almonds!
We are all resting and waiting!

November 2022 Overview:

Camper (propane tank: $220; parts: $87):

Dog (vet + certificate: $260; import permit: $11):

Dining out:

Groceries:

Car (maintenance: $131; fuel: $24):

Transportation (taxis: $75; port escort: $50):

Utilities (internet):

Alcohol:

Gifts (B-day Liesbet 2021):

Drinking out:

Postage:

Clothing:

 

TOTAL:

 

$307

$271

$224

$164

$155

$125

$62

$52

$24

$10

$5

$2

———

$ 1,401

Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.

Donate to Roaming About to help maintain this website.

Two Years after Publishing “Plunge” – Am I Still Selling Books?

December 2, 2022 / / 47 Comments

November 28th, 2022 marked the second book anniversary of my travel memoir Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary. You can read about its one-year anniversary here. It’s been a while since I posted an update about this first book of mine, because not much is going on with it and I don’t want to bore the non-authors amongst you.

It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that the less I focus on book promotion, the less I sell. My goal for this past year was to maintain one sale a day. I failed. Because, how do you achieve this result by ignoring the book’s existence for weeks at the time? To this day, I still haven’t spent a dime on ads and it’s no secret that “to make money, you have to spend money.” So, paid promos and ads might be a thing to consider in 2023. Then again, I am the most frugal person I know. 🙂

Social media posts

Once in a while, I join a free Draft2Digital promo with Plunge, post some news, a new five-star review, or an enticing blurb on Facebook, or lower the book’s purchase price. Usually, this amounts to maybe one or two sales. Occasionally, I get it right (no idea how to predict this) by posting in an attentive, interested social media group or by creating an enticing blurb. In those cases, the correlation between effort and sales is obvious.

And, when that happens, my heart skips a beat, my lips curl upward, and an adrenaline rush improves my wellbeing. Like that time one of my posts on the Sailing Women on Yachts Facebook group took off.

Successful post on the Sailing Women on Yachts Facebook group three months ago
Best sales month since releasing Plunge

If enough sales occur in a day, my status on Amazon goes to #1 bestseller in one or more categories, which, I have to imagine, encourages more sales. And that’s the upshot every author dreams of. Until the spiral spins downward again and sales dry up.

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