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A Life Less Ordinary

Category: Lifestyle (page 8 of 45)

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.

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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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Ode to Our Friends – Help and Hospitality during Our Camper Preparations for South America

November 27, 2022 / / 32 Comments

I am behind with my blog posts. A lot. Blame this crazy life of ours.

I want to write about all the improvements we performed on Thirsty Bella and the heaps of preparations we went through to ship her abroad. And what it all cost. But those stories feel boring to me at the moment (and, until recently, also irrelevant and obsolete – right!).

I hoped to have this particular blog ready by Thanksgiving Day in the US – a more appropriate timing – but, on that day, we had bigger fish to fry in a once-again turned-upside-down-world. I promise an update soon, but I am not ready for it; I can’t handle reliving it all (without a happy ending so far).

Ever since we returned to the US from Baja California, Mexico, last spring, our friends from the western states have played a key role – offering us a driveway to park and camp or a room to stay, allowing us access to their bathroom, kitchen, and laundry facilities, showing us support (mentally, logistically, and physically), and providing advice, help, knowledge, or their skills.

Our gang near the top of an epic high-altitude hike in nature

These have been amazing experiences and the highlights of our many months of work, effort, focus, stress, and investments to get ready for the next big adventure: traveling throughout South America in our truck camper, Thirsty Bella.

Us and Thirsty Bella in Austin, Texas

California

It’s been a tough road this year, with nothing going according to plan. We entered the country in California for a quick visit to friends Janis, Paul, and Amy in San Diego. This was followed by a pit stop on our friend Diana’s property in Julian, to clean and photograph our previous truck camper, Temp, before heading to British Colombia to pick up a Lance 830 truck camper we’d paid a deposit for. Diana is someone we house and pet sat for in San Diego twice, years ago. We became friends, stayed in touch, and she’d asked in the past if we were interested in property sitting this place. Now was the time!

Quick stop to visit Janis and Paul in San Diego – no photos of our evening with Amy
Diana taking a selfie with the rest of us in the background
Washing Thirsty & Temp in Julian, CA, to put Temp up for sale

Unfortunately, the Canadian owner of our prospective camper backed out of the deal and we were back to square zero, in a state with extremely high fuel prices. We frantically looked for, researched, and inquired about another Lance 830 and left the Julian property sooner than planned to pursue one in Northern California.

High fuel prices in California (we didn’t stop here)

Idaho

Our next set of friends to help out were Katherine and Brandon, whom we met two short months earlier in Loreto, Baja California Sur. She bought a paperback of my memoir Plunge, we got along really well, and they even invited us to their condo in Loreto. They also offered up their small house in Boise, Idaho, if we needed a place to crash or change gears. And that’s what we did…

We have two campers on the driveway of our friends!
Shopping by bike in Boise

For two weeks in May, we happily slept in their one-bedroom home while switching truck campers. This sounds easier than it was! We had to make the well-used and rough-around-the-edges Lance 830 we just bought and picked up in Auburn, California, livable before our friends returned, and… we had to sell Temp and ideally our e-bikes as well. All within three weeks. The pressure was on!

Selling my electric bike in Boise
Our friends Katherine and Brandon
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Monthly Expenses of a Nomad – October 2022

November 13, 2022 / / 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 East Coast.

October was a rough month for us, in terms of discomfort, stress, frustration, and bad luck. Nothing, truly nothing, went according to plan. But we persevered and, once again, friends came to the rescue. I’ll explain when going through the numbers.

Mark, Maya, and I arrived in the Houston area of Texas several weeks earlier than planned, because our brand-new, state-of-the-art $1,400 Isotherm fridge had to be replaced under warranty. The most economical way for us to arrange this (from Colorado) was by picking up a replacement 1,100 miles away, in Seabrook, Texas, ideally as soon as possible. This would give us “plenty of time” to make sure fridge #2 worked as advertised and expected. Well, it didn’t, and to this day – now out of the country – we are trying to diagnose the cooling issue. We bought extra tools and gear to keep working on this in Colombia.

Massive container ships in Galveston
One day soon, Thirsty Bella will be outbound on a similar car carrier

Delays of the ship that would bring Thirsty Bella to Cartagena had us pinned in Eastern Texas even longer. And, believe me, there is another story coming about that as well. This post of last month was just the beginning. I think Mark and I could produce our own drama series or soap opera by now!

But, let’s get back to our expenses. The grocery category ($354) was on the high side, because we had emptied our fridge the previous month, since it had to be replaced and we had no cool space in 100-degree Texas to store perishables. So, we started over, with a similar goal: finish eating all/most of the food by the time we’d leave the country.

Almost empty fridge
Taking our fridge back out to reverse the fan

Texas is big, but we figured that once we had reached Houston and Galveston (from where our camper ships), we’d stay put for the month. Fuel is pretty much the cheapest in the country here. Yay. Maybe we could get by on one tank?

Nope. The weather chased us around, from county park to the beach, onto the mainland, and back to grassier environs. Incessant heat, 90% humidity, being sandblasted by wind, and a good sprinkle of mosquitoes had us drive the two-hour distance between Galveston and Anahuac multiple times.

Bolivar Peninsula
Beach camping on Bolivar Peninsula
Tea time at the beach
Sunrise on the beach
Sandy nose!
Sweating and cuddling

We also did more preemptive car maintenance ($120) in preparation for the big trip: changing the air filter, transfer case fluid (one extra top-up needed), and coolant (three flushes) in our engine. These were tasks that couldn’t be done in sand, on windy days, in parks, surrounded by mosquitoes, or during the heat of the day. The tolls were paid to cross a $2 bridge between Galveston Island and San Luis Island, where we hoped to spend a week and finally relax a bit, but the wind had something else in mind. More driving.

Great beach spot on San Luis Island – I wished we could have stayed longer
Heavy winds sandblasted our home and car – not good!
Flushing the coolant
Picking up trash – everywhere we parked in Texas, we found lots of litter

Mark and I bought three bags of dogfood ($131) for Maya to give us a head start in South America. Since our girl is allergic to corn and chicken (and a lot of other things), finding suitable food will be a challenge. We also stocked up on another container of her fish oil supplement ($49) to keep her coat shiny and her health optimal.

The alcohol category was surprisingly high ($81).  I guess we tried to drink some of our worries away. We also hung out with friends and bought wine and rum to share.

Our new grill in action! (Photo by Duwan Dunn)

For the first time in years, there was an accommodation cost! One we happily obliged to. Our Houston friends, John and Harriet, graciously offered us the use of their condo right on the beach in Galveston, when we met up at their house in the city, the end of September. Our only contribution would be the cleaning fee at the end of our stay. We eventually planned on using this accommodation for our last week in the US, during which time our camper would be shipped. We’d be able to see the car carrier leave from the condo’s balcony!

The Galvestonian is an incredible place to stay
Condo balcony on the 7th floor

But the anticipated schedule was not to be, delays messed everything up, and we felt no need for a condo when we could still live in Bella. So, we cancelled our reservation for the end of October. Our camper was to be dropped off on November 7th at that point, with our plane to Miami leaving the same day…

As most of you know, Mark and I never stay in and pay for campgrounds. We wouldn’t be able to afford this lifestyle otherwise. We boondock pretty much 100% of the time, which means we camp without facilities and amenities. Not that electricity hookups would matter, since we don’t have an air conditioner on board. And this is an important factor: nobody lives, let alone camps, without AC in Eastern Texas this time of the year. After weeks of suffering from the high humidity, we finally realized why we were always the only RV wherever we parked for the night…

Ferry from Bolivar Peninsula to Galveston Island
Second ferry ride to Galveston
Our go-to beach camping in Galveston, when not too windy
Texas City skyline
Sleeping under a bridge in Texas City after not finding a better option for the night
Watching the full moonrise from this park instead of over the ocean on San Luis Island, as planned

So, when it all became too much – the sweating, the running around, the stressing over issues and logistics, the bugs – we inquired about the availability of John and Harriet’s condo and snatched a glorious week there to cool down, take a deep breath, keep working on the fridge issue and more logistics, go for long beach walks with Maya, and… be sick. Maybe it was the AC? Maybe the culmination of everything going on? Maybe it was finally “letting go” for a bit? It was mostly Mark being under the weather last month, but now, here in our Airbnb in Colombia (with AC), it’s my turn.

Beach and bay walk – the water was much warmer than expected!
Happy hour with a view
Maya gets comfy in the weirdest places
Maya frolicking in the water
Poolside at the condo
Curled up in a ball under my chair
Sunrise seen from the condo

The cost for our utilities ($48) was similar to previous months. It was the last time we paid for our fantastic unlimited AT&T data plan of $35 a month, which doesn’t exist anymore for new subscribers and which we managed to sell on. The rest of the amount was for propane. Frugal as we are, we only bought two gallons, since our tank needed to be empty in order to ship our camper (which is another incredible story for later). Then, Mark discovered a propane leak. It took weeks to diagnose and fix that issue, and more propane.

Checking for a propane leak
Getting free potable water at the sewage plant in Texas City
One for the books: taking a cold shower at the sewage plant of Texas City

The last week of October, our good friends and fellow nomads Duwan and Greg joined us in Texas. We started out at Fort Anahuac Park for three nights (a permit is needed) and – contrary to what we were told previously – discovered we couldn’t stay at other Chambers County Parks for another week. The hunt for free camping in the region then had us stay at a boat ramp, rest area, and Harvest Host brewery location, finishing up at the beach in Galveston again when the wind finally subsided.

Camped at Fort Anahuac Park – we stayed here three times in October, for nine nights in total
Parked for the night at a rest stop – here, we saw an abandoned dog and four cats
Camped among the cargo ships
Maya loves visiting Duwan and Greg’s van, Ballena Blanca – lots of treats to be obtained there!
Last evening together with our friends

When camped at the Equal Parts brewery in Houston, our group went out for drinks and appetizers ($30) on their patio and street tacos at a Mexican food stand ($10). My (bad) Spanish was rewarded with a free Agua de Jamaica (hibiscus juice) and meat taco. ????

Camped on the brewery parking lot (Photo by Duwan Dunn)
Ordering street tacos (Photo by Duwan Dunn)

As always, we cooked and ate most of our meals at home, by ourselves or with friends. Mark spoiled me with his favorite recipe a couple of times: mushroom burgers on a bed of lettuce with aioli and jasmine rice.

My favorite Mark meal: mushroom burgers from scratch
Leftover mushroom burger on a bun with sweet potatoes and spinach
Amazing salad – healthy, diverse, and tasty
Mushroom burgers for everybody in Bella
Greg’s delicious van pizza
Van pizza made by Greg and Duwan and eaten in Bella
Broccoli in the electric oven!
Fried cauliflower and roasted broccoli

I finally met Lexie, a fellow adventurer whose blog I have been following for years. She treated us to lunch and gifted us Texan goodies, which we savored for days.

Meeting blogging friend Lexie in League City

The money spent on household items went to yet another clock and stain and brushes for our new cabinet. I’m still baffled at how we managed to pick the perfect color from memory – no samples and no photos had accompanied us to Home Depot.

New clock – attempt #6 is a winner!
Old clock – it stopped working after a week
Staining the new fridge cabinet
Finishing up the painting project
Can you believe the perfect match with the rest of the cabinetry (to the right and left of the photo)?

During our 24 hours in the big city, Duwan, Greg, Mark, and I also enjoyed free entertainment in the form of historic buildings, street art, a walk in Buffalo Bayou Park, a glimpse of and in Rothko Chapel, and a stroll through the impressive and fascinating Menil collection.

Houston skyline (Photo by Duwan Dunn)
Mural in Houston
A Picasso painting at the Menil Collection
Rothko Chapel and a monument dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr.

To top it off, our total expenses for October were not bad at all – under our monthly average. Maybe this is the start of affordable living again…

(PS: We did have $101 of Lance camper expenses in October as well – diagnostic tools and extra parts – as preparation for our upcoming multiple-year South America trip, but since we budgeted for that, it becomes part of our purchase price. I plan to write a separate post about those projects and costs in the future.)

October 2022 Overview:

Groceries:

Car (fuel: $153; maintenance: $120; tolls: $4):

Dog (food: $131; fish oil: $49):

Alcohol:

Accommodation (condo cleaning fee):

Utilities (internet: $35; propane: $13):

Drinking out:

Household (clock, batteries,…):

Computer (hosting site):

Clothing (hat Liesbet):

Dining out:

Gifts:

 

TOTAL:

 

$354

$277

$179

$81

$80

$48

$30

$24

$20

$12

$10

$8

———

$ 1,123

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.

We Have Arrived in Cartagena, Colombia – A Quick Update

November 13, 2022 / / 44 Comments

Mark, Maya, and I made it safe and sound to Cartagena, Colombia, on Tuesday, November 8th. Unfortunately, with all the chaos and issues leading up to our departure, we forgot to bring our “good masks.” We did wear surgical ones from the moment we arrived at the airport.

Arrival in Cartagena with American Airlines – the last time we visited was about eleven years ago, by sailboat
Visit to the agriculture department – Maya’s international health certificate was exchanged for a temporary import permit
Taking a taxi from the airport to Manga
The taxi driver made us pay extra for “the dog.”

We had booked a relatively expensive, strategically-located Airbnb for a week in the Manga neighborhood, with the idea of walking to the old, walled city a few times and visiting with a friend who lives close by. The first two days, we got settled, bought food, sheltered from the torrential rain, acclimatized to the noisy traffic and cold showers, and researched and arranged our accommodations for the rest of the month. Then, I got sick and bed bound (and still am) with the flu. Now, we fear Mark is getting sick as well. We finally got here, but are stuck inside. We move locations again on Tuesday.

Our first Airbnb apartment is located on the ground floor.
An adequate space for a week – great location, but not in the best shape and very loud
Each time it rains, the streets flood.

We hope to get reunited with our truck camper, Thirsty Bella, the end of this month. She is supposed to be loaded on a ship this coming week.

Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary

Available on Amazon and elsewhere

eBook: US$ 5.99

Paperback: US$ 13.99

Did Wanderlust Drive Man to All Corners of the Earth?

October 26, 2022 / / 75 Comments

It is my pleasure to feature my friend, fellow blogger, dedicated tech teacher, and accomplished author Jacqui Murray on Roaming About today. Jacqui is a huge supporter of indie authors, an Amazon Vine Voice Reviewer, and a Jill of many trades. Ever since I started following her blog WordDreams many years ago, I have been in awe of her writing, her research skills, her dedication and passion for the writing and teaching craft, her genre choice of prehistoric fiction, and her publishing achievements. She is a busy bee and I have often wondered if – somehow – her days are longer than 24 hours.

To support and celebrate Jacqui’s release of Natural Selection, the third and last book in her Dawn of Humanity trilogy (which is part of a grander series called Man Vs. Nature, a collection of trilogies, each dealing with a seminal point in man’s evolution when we could have–probably should have–become extinct), I invited her over to talk about the origins of “wanderlust,” a topic close to my heart. On more than one occasion, Jacqui has pointed out similarities between “her people” in the books and our unsettled lifestyle.

Did Wanderlust Drive Man to All Corners of the Earth? Science Thinks So.

GUEST ARTICLE BY JACQUI MURRAY

Few animals leave their original habitat for a new one without being forced. Sometimes, as in the case of crocodiles who have survived over 200 million years, their habitat moves so they go with it. Man is the exception. In the trilogy, Dawn of Humanity, Lucy’s tribe of early humans journeyed from the North end of Africa to the South in a hunt for better living conditions. In the Crossroads trilogy (the sequel to Dawn of Humanity), our kind migrated from the eastern shore of Asia to a frozen England (via the land bridge that once connected it to the continent).

Why?

It’s unclear. These unusual migrations transcend all theories, most revolving around the availability of food, the threat of deadly predators, the danger from domination by other human species, dramatic changes in the climate, and migration of herds. That the available facts don’t fit nicely into a clean puzzle has caused scientists to rethink what they thought they understood. One alternative theory claimed that this unforced travel was motivated by simple curiosity and boredom, what is often called wanderlust. Some scientists credit it to a variation in the human DNA (DRD4-7R) now dubbed the “wanderlust gene”. Present in about 20% of the population, it impacts dopamine levels, increasing the person’s tolerance for risk taking.

If you’d rather climb a mountain than lie on the beach or are inclined to follow whims rather than rules, you may have this gene variation. 

Over time, man–from Homo habilis to Homo erectus to modern Homo sapiens–has evolved a highly adaptable culture that allowed our genus to wander over a wide range of climates and habitats. Our ancestors hunted meat in ever-expanding territories, greater than the usual twelve kilometers of Lucy’s tribe and much more than other primates. The most mobile of our genus, Homo erectus, left Africa multiple times, spread throughout the known world (predominantly Eurasia), again and then again for no particular reason. Once we conquered fire, clothing, and shelter, we found we could go anywhere. 

Whatever the reason, for about 99% of human evolution, we have moved around. As a result, until about 50,000 years ago, there were many species of our genus, Homo, wandering the planet. Even today, a percentage of us is ready to move on, explore the world beyond the hill, search out greener pastures, something we are better at than any other life form.

Summary of Natural Selection

In this conclusion to Lucy’s journey, she and her tribe leave their good home to rescue former tribemembers captured by the enemy. Lucy’s tribe includes a mix of species–a Canis, a Homotherium, and different iterations of early man. In this book, more join and some die, but that is the nature of prehistoric life, where survival depends on a combination of our developing intellect and our inexhaustible will to live. Each species brings unique skills to this task. Based on true events.

Set 1.8 million years ago in Africa, Lucy and her tribe struggle against the harsh reality of a world ruled by nature, where predators stalk them and a violent new species of man threatens to destroy their world. Only by changing can they prevail. If you ever wondered how earliest man survived, but couldn’t get through the academic discussions, this book is for you. Prepare to see this violent and beautiful world in a way you never imagined.

A perfect book for fans of Jean Auel and the Gears!

Book Information:

Title and author: Natural Selection by Jacqui Murray

Series: Book 3 in the Dawn of Humanity series

Genre: Prehistoric fiction

Editor: Anneli Purchase

Available print or digital) at: http://a-fwd.com/asin=B0B9KPM5BW

Author Bio:

Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, Man vs. Nature, which explores seminal events in man’s evolution one trilogy at a time. She is also author of the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. Her non-fiction includes over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, reviews as an Amazon Vine Voice, a columnist for NEA Today, and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics.

Social Media Contacts:

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Jacqui-Murray/e/B002E78CQQ/

Blog: https://worddreams.wordpress.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacquimurraywriter/

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/askatechteacher

Twitter: http://twitter.com/worddreams

Website: https://jacquimurray.net

Excerpt of Natural Selection:

Continue reading

What’s Happening to Our South America Plans & Why Are We Shipping Our Camper?

October 22, 2022 / / 44 Comments

I can’t believe it’s approaching the end of October already. Soon enough, another year will have passed in the blink of an eye; a year of dedicated focus on our upcoming adventure in South America. I keep wanting to write about all the camper projects we finished the last few months, but I fail to find the time and energy. We don’t seem to get a break from fixing, researching, moving, planning, preparing, shopping, running from weather, and logistical nightmares. And before I realize it, more months have passed and nobody really knows anymore what we’ve been up to or where we are. 

Melting away in 97-degree heat without any shade to park in (Llano, Texas)
Maya tries to cool off in the lukewarm Llano River
Finding trees to park under is important when it is hot out!
A nice camp spot on the beach…
…until the wind picks up, we get sandblasted, sand is stuck everywhere, and we have to move.
Hiding from some of the uncomfortable weather at a condo of friends in Galveston. Note the small difference between the day and nighttime temperatures and the high humidity.
Lots of mosquitoes to kill on stagnant, hot nights

I’ve emailed some friends and family members about our progress, I’ve alluded on social media what’s been up, but I have yet to share the details. Why? Because everything remains unclear. The details, the dates, the reservations, the plans (for this journey, we need some of those) keep changing. The lack of a schedule and the uncertainty keep us on edge, stressed, and sometimes frustrated. Here’s the scoop as we know it today.

Cargo ships move through the channel in Galveston – and are anchored out by the hundreds – constantly.
Heaps of cargo ships on the horizon

The plan

Continue reading

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad – September 2022

October 11, 2022 / / 28 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.

A lot has been going on the last few weeks (again), which means I barely have time to breathe, let alone keep up with my diaries, answer emails, practice Spanish, read a book or blog posts, write, research products and destinations, or work on my own blogs. This one has been ten days in the making, half an hour each time I make an attempt, not my usual approach.

Quick stop to look at the Capitol of Utah in Salt Lake City
Natural arch in Utah
Summer colors in Utah
Chimney Rock in Colorado, near the ranch of our friends
The new fridge we picked up in SLC, Utah, traveled on the back seat, so Maya needed to ride up front…
Drive through Silverton on the way to a weekend of camping with friends in the mountains

It’s been busy on the road – driving huge distances, dealing with logistics to get us all to South America, returning wrong Amazon packages, fixing items that shouldn’t break, maintenance on the car, dealing with failing equipment, disappointments, and limited customer support, and keeping up with our current life – finding free camping spots, locating stores to buy specific items, picking up packages (which require an address), finding the resources we need, and hopping from store to store and campsite to campsite and fuel station to fuel station.

Climbing the dirt roads of San Juan National Forest to camp for a few days
Scenic rock in the national forest
View near our free campsite in San Juan National Forest, Colorado

I’m due for an update here on Roaming About, but first we have to find a decent (and free) location to sit for a while. This proves to be hard in the Houston area. Maybe next week. Back to our expenses of last month…

In September, Mark and I drove a lot – from the middle of Oregon through Idaho, Utah, a tiny piece of  Colorado, and New Mexico to the Houston area in Texas. And then a bunch more in this state as well. With our crappy fuel economy (10.5 miles to the gallon), it is no surprise we spent $900 on gasoline to drive 2,000 miles.  The idea was to sit still somewhere, once we arrived in our last US state, but the weather has not been cooperative. High heat and humidity, nasty bugs, and heavy wind have kept us moving about.

Unfortunately, we didn’t come to sightsee – it was super hot and we needed to keep moving
We wish we could have stayed longer in Colorado – which was the plan.
Our time in New Mexico was short lived

We did another oil change and bought spare parts for our engine.  Our grocery expenditure was relatively low. One of the reasons for that was needing to empty our fridge, because we had to “swap it out” and staying for a few days at a decent beach without shopping for food beforehand. I really enjoy getting rid of things – whether it is by eating food or donating material belongings.

We spent ten days on one of the properties of our friends Danny and Christine in Colorado, where we parked in and used their workshop
Much easier to do camper projects under the cover of a shop and with any tool one could ask for

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we keep on buying and buying for this upcoming South America trip – mostly on Amazon. Mark and I purchased new KEEN hiking shoes (you can find Mark’s here and mine here), ZEEPORTE snorkel gear (Mark picked grey ones here and I chose blue ones here), and a new CUISINART grill (which you find here). We are still considering replacing our 5-year-old COLEMAN camping chairs before leaving.

New snorkel sets – our last pairs were left on our sailboat Irie in Tahiti, seven years ago
New shoes for us as well – Mark swapped his out, I’m keeping these as spares for now.

The advantage of this particular CUISINART grill is that the regulator is easily removed and it allows you to use the low-pressure propane from your RV tank. As always, we researched these products, checked their reviews, and bought them at a great price (at half their original price or heavily discounted), because they are Amazon warehouse deals – the perfect way to save lots of money. To see if there is a warehouse deal on the product you are interested in, click on the “New & Used” box at the right side of the purchase page. The same Amazon rules and conditions apply.

Finally we own a grill again – this has been since 2015 on Irie as well

Side note: My parents usually give us Amazon gift cards as New Year and birthday presents and I asked these in advance this year, because we won’t be able to order stuff down south. The money is to be used for “fun stuff”, not camper parts or necessary items to sustain ourselves. Yet, based on the timeline and returns and refunds for wrong parts, the categories of these might change over time. Our end-of-the-year expense report is therefore more accurate in terms of categories and amounts. The personal goods in this report are supposed to come off the gift cards, which are currently used for spare parts, car maintenance items, and household necessities as well.

Visit to Mark’s nephew Randall and his wife, Rebeccah, plus dog Duke in SLC
Adoring four little kittens at the ranch
A pack of dogs kept us company at the ranch

The alcohol and gifts (dessert goodies) last month came with us when visiting friends and family, and we paid the annual fees for one of four website domains. The total for our hosting fees is around $200 a year. I hereby want to thank everyone who has donated to this cause, so far.

This truck passed us at a 75mph and – no doubt – scratched the driver side of our camper. It was hard to catch up with him to take this photo. Luckily, the damage was negligible but we did chew through extra gas as it took twenty minutes, before we caught up!

Accommodation last month was free again, thanks to friends inviting us to camp on their property or offering a guest room and us boondocking everywhere else.

We had to climb into the mountains to camp from Utah on, as the daytime temperatures were around 100 degrees Fahrenheit
Sometimes, the dirt roads were pretty bouncy…
View through our window in the mountains of Central Utah
Bella camped with like-minded souls
One of the residents during our walk with Maya
Attractive campsite in a park when passing through New Mexico. We needed shade on our drive south, which was hard to find.

We also never paid for sightseeing – once because our friend Christine has a National Park pass; other times because the destinations and activities didn’t cost anything.

Visiting Chimney Rock with Christine and her daughter Sophie
Reading up about this kiva and other ruins at Chimney Rock National Monument in Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Quick stop in Pagosa Springs on the way south

September wasn’t a cheap month, but it brought us to Texas (prematurely, but more about that another time) and we are now biding time in the Galveston area, which is where we will ship Thirsty Bella from. Plus, we stayed under $2,000. Maybe that should become our goal, instead of the usual average of $1,300. It is certainly more realistic. For now.

My first ATV ride ever!
Louie and Maya ride in the back of a golf cart
Weekend in the Colorado mountains, near Silverton
Horse riding on the ranch of our friends, Danny and Christine

(PS: We did have $1,711 of Lance camper expenses in September as well – mostly to buy a new fridge – as preparation for our upcoming multiple-year South America trip, but since we budgeted for that, it becomes part of our purchase price. I plan to write a separate post about those projects and costs in the future.)

This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases without extra cost to you.

September 2022 Overview:

Car (fuel: $913; maintenance & parts: $294):

Groceries:

Clothing (new hiking shoes):

Household (grill, oven pans, filters,…):

Entertainment (snorkel gear):

Utilities (internet: $35; propane: $14):

Alcohol:

Computer (hosting site):

Gifts:

Dog:

Accommodation:

 

TOTAL:

 

$1,217

$267

$141

$130

$72

$49

$41

$20

$17

$1

$0

———

$ 1,955

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.

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