Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

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Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – May 2024 (Argentina)

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. Other health issues are resolved locally  and out of pocket where needed and possible.

In May 2024, Mark, Maya, and I (Liesbet) traveled around Central Argentina in our truck camper Thirsty Bella. Despite driving across the continent from west to east, we had a decent expense month, thanks to being careful with our budget, shopping for cheaper produce, donations we’d saved up, and emptying our cupboards and fridge.

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

As often, the car cost was the highest with fuel being the ultimate winner and us ordering spare parts in the US, like new brake pads for the front and oil filters. In the middle of the country, namely in the province of La Pampa, we encountered a nice surprise: gasoline was much cheaper than elsewhere in Argentina. That, combined with a better exchange rate for the dollar, had us fill up our tank for about $2.50 a gallon! Unfortunately, that joy didn’t last long as from the moment we entered the province of Buenos Aires, prices skyrocketed again. So, we are back to $4 a gallon ($1/liter). We only paid for tolls once.

Our grocery cost for May was average. We bought some special ingredients for nice homecooked meals and appetizers with friends (like they did for us), but this was offset the last two weeks, as we started eating our stores. We want to leave as little food as possible in Bella during our impending absence.

Recently, Mark and I have been ordering clothes, dog items, and other gear on Amazon for when we visit the US. It’s like everything we own has been ripped or irrevocably damaged. I guess we are going back at the right time! For more than a few reasons…

I think these jeans are done!

We paid the usual $35 for Starlink (our business takes care of the other half) and I added $5 to my Skype account, which allows me to call my parents on their landline if WhatsApp doesn’t work (or they don’t hear the ringtone). And, we spent much more money on “propane” again, which is a story in itself. Drinking water didn’t cost us anything in May.

Because of the freezing fall weather (yes, it’s been cold and uncomfortable for weeks now) in Central Argentina, we needed to run our propane heater a lot. Usually, one 20-pound (10kg) tank lasts us three months. Not now. After a ridiculous cold spell, our gauge showed empty and we needed to make a detour to get the tank filled. Except, unbeknownst to us, the owner of the shop only had butane, so put that into our tank – and overcharged us. In tropical climates (like when we sailed), this is not an issue. In icy temperatures, however, butane is not the right choice, which we learned the hard way.

We had finally arrived in an attractive and peaceful spot by a lake. By 6am the following morning, the temperature had dropped so much that the butane – and therefore our heater – didn’t work. The only way to get the liquid gas flowing and evaporating (“boiling”) again was to pour warm water over the tank in an outdoor cabinet. Luckily, the flame of our stove was big enough to produce lukewarm fluids.

We had two options: top up the tank with “real” propane (since it was a holiday and the weekend, no store was open) or move to a town where above-freezing temps were predicted. That’s what we did. Of course, the weather forecast was wrong and, this time at 3am, we were out of luck and heat!

We saw our breath inside and shivered, as Mark put many clothes on, warmed up some water on a struggling flame, poured it over the gas tank, used the then properly working stove to heat up a massive pot of water, and repeated the process. Our heater worked!

When the heater stopped working again (meaning the butane had gotten too cold), he went outside to pour more warmish water over the tank. Eventually, he wrapped Maya’s dog towel around the tank, so, when wet, that kept the gas in operating condition a bit longer. It was a long night!

Trying to keep the butane gas from “freezing”!

We found a new propane filling station (triple checking it wasn’t butane) as soon as possible. They charged us for a full tank, despite it only being half empty. It didn’t matter!

Filling our tank again, this time with propane in San Antonio de Areco

The cold weather brings other issues with it, like heaps of condensation, turning into mold. We need to open hatches and drafty cabinets and wipe up water constantly, which keeps us shivering and uncomfortable. Because of our upcoming trip to Massachusetts and Belgium, out of Buenos Aires, we cannot leave the area and escape what feels like winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

Other items we ordered online to bring back to the camper in September are a new keyboard and cover for Mark’s laptop, strong Velcro, water filters, and a gasket for Bella, and three types of batteries.

And now is when I want to thank our dear followers and readers who donated money towards our “enjoyment” level the past months. We’d saved some of that up and received new contributions, allowing us to go out for dinner a few times (or order take-out pizzas to make the funds last longer 😊) in May. One time, we picked up cheap, basic crusts at a restaurant and added our own toppings.

Your generosity also let us enjoy some good wines, which we bought in stores and vineyards (at an average of $3.50 a bottle), and it allowed Mark and me to savor a couple of tastings at Bodegas. To us, the wonderful yet affordable wine of Argentina is one of this country’s highlights so far!

Out of character, we did pay for camping last month. We spent a few nights ($3 x 4) at municipal campgrounds with American friends, who allowed us to plug into their rig (our system is not set up for the local 220V outlets) and – for the first time in six months – have a 100% full camper battery! For two nights and days, we did not have to struggle with our power supply and usage.

When checking options to store our camper during our absence, we stayed one night ($7) at Zaparancho near Buenos Aires. More about that in a future post.

Quick stop at Zapparancho in Villars, near Buenos Aires

Most of the nights, we camped for free; sometimes in nature and sometimes in bustling towns. Guess what’s our favorite?

I am currently buying a couple of small gifts for my niece and nephew in Belgium and, lastly, dropping off dirty clothes set us back $10. We can’t wait to do our own laundry soon! As a matter of fact, Mark and I are really looking forward to a multiple-month break from the road as this lifestyle has recently become much more challenging due to the lack of sunlight (power issues) and warmth (discomfort).

We are both pleased with May’s expenses totaling around $1,000, especially since this amount includes a bunch of gear that is waiting for us in the US.

May 2024 Overview:

Car ( fuel: $366; maint.: $45; tolls: $2):

Groceries:

Clothing (jeans L; hiking shoes M):

Utilities (Starlink internet: $35; propane: $22; Skype: $5):

Computer hardware (keyboard & cover):

Camper (Velcro, filters, gasket USA):

Dining out:

Camping:

Alcohol:

Household (batteries USA):

Gifts:

Laundry:

Drinking out:

 

TOTAL:

 

$413

$244

$102

$62

$59

$36

$25

$19

$15

$13

$12

$10

$0

———

$ 1,010

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

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.

Next up: Atuel Canyon & San Rafael in Mendoza Province

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – April 2024 (Argentina & Chile)

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. Other health issues are resolved locally  and out of pocket where needed and possible.

In April, Mark, Maya, and I divided our time between Argentina and Chile in our truck camper Thirsty Bella. We made some headway south, to Mendoza, and decided to hop over to Santiago de Chile for car maintenance. After two weeks in Chile, we slowly drove back to the Mendoza area in Argentina.

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

Our car category was huge; over $1,100 in total! A lot of that went to fuel, as always, but the biggies last month were two new tires ($326) with a $26 installation and balancing fee, a new battery for the engine ($137), and an oil change at a garage, which we did ourselves ($92). We also bought seven quarts of oil extra for our next time ($80). Mark found a spot to store those in one of our utility boxes.

We paid a total of $11 in tolls and spent some pesos on parking in Santiago when leaving the camper behind and for our rental car in Valparaiso.

Groceries were quite expensive in April as well. We joined a couple of potlucks, prepared a special dinner for seven, made daily walks to the fancy grocery store Jumbo in Santiago, and splurged on some goodies at the El Milagro vineyard early on.

We bought wine in both countries, since, you know, we are in wine heaven here. The Santiago area is well-known for the red grape, Carmenere, and Central Argentina produces fabulous Torrontes (white) and Malbec (red or tinto in Spanish) wines. Mark and I enjoy them all. We used half of a $25 “drinking out” donation for three bottles of wine at the store.

While in Chile, we decided to buy one more bag of dogfood for Maya, since that’s the place where we can find her Taste of the Wild – Pacific Stream for a “decent” price ($66 for 12kg/26lbs) and we were one bag down. Also, our remaining bags are bigger than the new one and we don’t want to leave open bags of food in the camper during our summer escapade to the US and Belgium. Maya’s new toy lasted all of ten minutes!

We didn’t go out for dinner much in April; twice, one of which was a take-out pizza in Santiago the day of our arrival ($13) and the other a lunch in Valparaiso ($12). Both times took place in Chile, which, believe it or not, is now cheaper than Argentina for most things. The devaluation of the Argentinian peso is still worsening, leading to continued price increases. We didn’t eat out here at all, last month, and cooked almost all our meals at home. The other $25 in the report was a delayed credit card charge for a dinner out in March.

Some of our followers have been generous with one $25 dining out donation (which we will use this month) and two “$25 for drinks” donations, most of which we will enjoy in May as well. For the first time ever, someone walked by our camper (in Santiago de Chile), noticed our Massachusetts license plates, checked out this blog, and treated us online to drinks, because he is also from our state! Thank you to all our supporters, followers, readers. and contributors!

As usual, $35 went to our Starlink subscription, while the other half is paid by our business. And, we topped up the propane tank for $10 in San Juan, Argentina. That usually lasts three months. We managed to fill our water tank multiple times for free in April as well.

Transportation costs consisted of splitting a rental car for the day with our friends from Meat Around The World, to explore Valparaiso (see next blog post) and the expensive fuel to get there – they paid for the tolls and we covered parking – and a useless taxi drive in Santiago. We were dropped off in the wrong place and had to walk back!

Mark ordered household items and camper parts on Amazon in the US, to fix a few things upon our return next September and we bought a new frying pan and spray bottles in Chile. Did I mention yet that anything imported on this continent is cheaper there than in Argentina?

We also paid $12 for two baskets of dirty laundry in Uspallata, Argentina, after waiting through the weekend because the laundromat wasn’t open and hearing from our friends that this cost $2 six months ago! Not willing to spend even more, Mark and I washed a basket-size worth of linen and clothes by hand in river water.

The other categories were low. Entertainment ($7) was had on two different transportation methods in Chile, namely a cable car in Santiago and two old-style elevators (ascensores) in Valparaiso. Mark ordered an app for his tablet and I needed throat medicines after being sick for over a week. A bad bug/cough had me in its grip for two weeks. Once, we had to leave our quiet camping spot in nature to find a pharmacy in town.

The only money Mark and I spent on drinking out was $3 at a pricey café in Valparaiso, where we split a juice. We also gave a small donation to the firemen (bomberos) and had our car sprayed for $1 at an agriculture spot.

We boondocked the entire month and therefore camping was free for us in April.

Our total was high again, but most of the $1,844 went to car maintenance and fuel, which were needed and made us feel productive. Without that vehicle attention, we’d have been back at our monthly average. After reaching the high numbers in that category, we really refrained from splurges and eating out. We will see what May brings!

Our group on the last night together in Santiago: Mark, Liesbet, Richie, Abigail, Zoe, Heather, Jon, and Maya

April 2024 Overview:

Car (maint.: $655; fuel: $432; tolls: $11; parking: $8):

Groceries:

Alcohol:

Dog (food: $66; toy: $4):

Dining out:

Utilities (Starlink internet: $35; propane: $10):

Transportation (rental car: $29; taxi: $4):

Camper (tape, drain USA):

Household (blade, pan, spray bottles):

Laundry:

Entertainment (elevator, cable car):

Computer (tablet app M):

Medical (meds L):

Drinking out:

Miscellaneous:

Camping:

 

TOTAL:

 

$1,106

$384

$74

$70

$50

$45

$33

$27

$24

$12

$7

$4

$3

$3

$2

$0

———

$ 1,844

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

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.

Next up: A colorful day trip from Santiago to Valparaiso, Chile.

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – March 2024 (Chile & Argentina)

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. Other health issues are resolved locally  and out of pocket where needed and possible.

Apart from the first five days, when we were still in Chile, Mark, Maya, and I explored Northern Argentina in March with Thirsty Bella. This year, prices in Argentina have doubled if not tripled for gasoline, entrance fees, restaurants,… Mark and I had really looked forward to visiting this country to splurge a bit more, but inflation and the devaluation of the peso make that less affordable.

March was a very expensive month, but for a good reason. We bit the bullet and bought return plane tickets from Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, to Massachusetts and from there to Belgium. We will store our camper for 3.5 months in South America and look forward to seeing family and friends again. The three of us need a break from the road and developing countries. We hope that the high cost for the tickets ($2,300) allows us to save money in fuel and other expenses this summer. There will be another substantial price to pay for Maya’s multiple international health certificates and check-ups.

The car category ended up in second place due to our extravagant spending on flights. We bought about $360 of fuel, with one super pricey fill-up in Chile to reach the border and a few top-ups in Argentina. It hurts to know that the current price of around $1 a liter used to be 50 cents last year. We can save by not eating out or buying expensive entrance tickets, but we can’t get around our need for fuel. The $127 for repairs went to a tire valve fix and necessary car parts Mark purchased on Amazon. They will wait for us in the US.

Around $270 bought us groceries in March and were careful with other expenses, because so much of our budget went to the airlines. We cooked most of our meals at home, as always.

The eating out category was $80. It would have been higher, but a nice reader of this blog sent us a donation of $25, which we used for dinner and drinks at the Puna Vinyard in Cachi. Despite very hot, it was a super enjoyable experience.

Alcohol – mostly Argentinian wine – added up to $61 last month and we devoured every drop of it! Eating and drinking out might have become expensive in this country, but we just as well enjoy a good bottle of wine with some tapas at home. And we can honestly say that each bottle in the $3-$4 range that we have opened has been good to excellent. Mark and I kept our drinking out to a minimum: $24; all at vineyards. 🙂

Our monthly subscription for unlimited Starlink satellite internet fluctuates with a dollar or so, based on the exchange rate. We bought this system last fall in Peru and half of it is paid by our business, hence the reasonable $36 fee.

 

I spent $30 on goodies for Mark’s March 1st birthday. This included an array of Belgian beers, which I located in a grocery store in Chile. We had a lovely tapas plate for dinner that day, after a relaxing afternoon in a pretty canyon. Before that, I made him crepes with fresh fruit for breakfast and a goat cheese sandwich for lunch.

Tapas on Mark’s birthday

The entrance fees to parks and hikes added up to $16 for the two of us. I had been interested in a particular museum in Salta, but eventually skipped it as the price had quadrupled from $2 to $8. Maybe another time.

While Maya’s three-year rabies shot from the US is still valid, the countries in South America require dogs to receive those vaccines yearly. We had hoped to get her shot in Uyuni, Bolivia (where this costs $4), but the vet didn’t have it in stock, despite us arranging the appointment ahead of time.

We started looking for another vet in Tilcara, Northern Argentina, but only – and with much difficulty – found a shady office on a dead-end alley. This vet had missing teeth and said he didn’t have the vaccine. When I mentioned, “Rabies shots are important to have, no?” he rummaged through a drawer. Not a fridge. Enough red flags had piled up for us to leave.

So, when we were in Salta, Mark and I stopped our camper along a busy street to get another one-year rabies vaccination for Maya and the accompanying certificate, which we would need at border crossings. The cost for both was $14. Done!

Our campsite for one night in Salta, Argentina

We bought AA and AAA batteries, which belong in the household category, had two loads of laundry done for $6 in Cafayate (super affordable) and paid for one night at a campground in Salta ($5), where I also took a cab to get into the town center and back.

The other 30 nights of camping were free, as well as all the potable water we filled our tanks with.

Our expenses in March 2024 added up to a whopping $3,332 – it was a bad month! But, if you take out the plane tickets, we stayed around $1,000, which is our goal.

March 2024 Overview:

Travel (plane tickets US & Belgium):

Car (fuel: $357; repairs: $127):

Groceries:

Dining out:

Alcohol:

Utilities (Starlink internet):

Gifts (B-day Mark):

Drinking out:

Entertainment (park entrance fees):

Dog (rabies shot):

Household:

Laundry:

Camping:

Transportation (Salta):

 

TOTAL:

 

$2,297

$484

$267

$80

$61

$36

$30

$24

$16

$14

$8

$6

$5

$4

———

$ 3,332

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

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.

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – February 2024 (Bolivia & Chile)

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. Other health issues are resolved locally  and out of pocket where needed and possible.

Despite February being the shortest month of the year, it was an expensive one for us. The first week, Mark, Maya, and I finished our time in Bolivia with Thirsty Bella. We explored Northern Chile for the remainder of the month.

As usual, the car category was the highest at $659 (!) – blame the Chilean fuel prices, our desire to get two new tires, and traveling with a dog…

Our Ford F350 pickup truck has terrible fuel economy, especially with the heavy weight of the camper in the back. We manage to drive around 10 miles per gallon; less in the Andes Mountains, more on perfect, paved roads with a tail wind. At over $5 per gallon, gasoline in Chile is pricy, so much so that we often discussed if an attraction would/might be worth the cost of driving that extra distance. I’ll elaborate more on that in a future post.

We were curious about Northern Chile, so made somewhat of a loop in this desolate and not-so-interesting part of the world. While it is always interesting to explore new territory, this detour easily cost us $200 in fuel (most of it bought as a last, tricky fill-up in Bolivia), something we don’t think was worth it.

But, because of this extra distance, we managed to buy two duty-free new tires in the “free zone” of Iquique for a decent price.

Our all-terrain tires didn’t need replacing yet, based on their use and mileage, but after the tire stabbing incident in Colombia eight months ago, we have always been worried about that extensively patched-up front tire, especially on rocky tracks. Plus, Mark didn’t feel comfortable airing down that tire if ever needed. As fate would have it, tire deflation proved necessary mere days after buying the new set. More about that in a future blog post.

We wanted the new tires in the back, so had to find a place that accommodated rotating the wheels and installing the tires, something that was not included in the purchase price. or was available there. After trial and error, we found a set of guys, who swapped the front and back tires and popped two of the new ones on the rims. With two jacks. Three, when the back of the camper appeared too heavy and stalled progress at some point. I kept mumbling under my breath, “This is a disaster waiting to happen,” as two wheels were removed at the same time and the mechanics’ attitude was very relaxed… A stressful hour!

For Chile, we needed to buy additional liability insurance, which was affordable at $11 for six months. The tolls added up to $8, we urgently needed a carwash after our sandy conundrum ($6), and we paid $2 in tips for parking attendants.

The dog category was high for two reasons. We needed to stock up on special dog food for our allergic Maya, which is available – and “cheaper” – in Chile. So, we bought two giant bags of 18kg (40lbs) in Iquique. This should last a while…

Plus, we had to deal with two export permits to prove Maya was in good health. One to cross into Chile from Bolivia and one to drive from Chile into Argentina. The last certificate is valid for a return into Chile within 60 days.

Chile and Argentina are very strict about internal and external parasite treatment for pets when crossing borders. Since we didn’t have the box or the number of Maya’s current Seresto collar, we ended up buying a new one for a steep $66. At least, it should be good for another eight months! And, the vet fee was for follow-up visits in Uyuni, Bolivia, to get her bite wound checked out and her stitches removed.

The grocery cost was average at $271, despite having to restock our fridge and pantry upon entry into Chile, since we’d eaten everything that was prohibited, like meat, fruits, vegetables, eggs, and honey.

Shopping for food can be pricey in this country, but – as always – we constantly look for the best deals, buy generic brands, avoid imported products, pick produce that is affordable, compare prices, and check our receipts. This way, costs remain manageable. No matter whether it is in French Polynesia, the Bahamas, or Chile! 😊

We splurged on entertainment in February as well, with that private tour onto the Salar in Uyuni for $116 and a tip for our guide. The rest of that $150 of fun went to the entrance fee for the ghost town of Humberstone ($13) in Northern Chile and visits to the salt statues and the “island” of Incahuasi on the Salar. Few attractions in Chile are free, so that trend continues into this month!

Mark and I bought affordable wine and extra Flor de Caña and Bacardi in Bolivia and Chile, because friends told us rum was hard to find and expensive in Argentina. The utility category contains half of our monthly subscription fee for Starlink satellite internet (the other half is paid by our business) and potable water.  For the first time in six months, we had to pay for our drinking water. This happened in Uyuni, where we transferred six 20-liter (5-gallon) garrafones into our tank with an electric pump.

The miscellaneous category consists of a tip of $20 (and a six-pack of beer) for the Chileans who towed us out of a gnarly situation on the beach in Hornitos. I hate to admit it, but February was another eventful month on the road… And, we had to buy prints and photocopies to have in the car with us for border crossings and police checks. Yup. That cost $5 in Chile.

We hadn’t done laundry since running the campground in La Paz, Bolivia, so there was quite a pile to take care of. After a few failed attempts – the machines at a truck stop were broken and drop-off services took too long or were way out of our budget – we managed to get our loads done within 24 hours at a full-service laundromat in Antofagasta. The price was actually much higher, but somehow, that mistake worked in our advantage.

Mark and I enjoy good food and eating out, but that is not in the cards in Chile. Fortunately, a generous donation by our friends Duwan and Greg allowed us to enjoy a Korean dinner in Iquique. Other than that, we went out for a seafood empanada lunch in Antofagasta.

We managed to eat a lot of awesome meals at home, because the only affordable thing in this country, other than wine, is seafood!

The last and cheapest expenses of February were for transportation (a taxi ride in Iquique after a long walk and picking up the dogfood), more birth control pills in Bolivia, some nuts and bolts for a broken cabinet in Bella, and a shower at a truck stop for $1 each.

We didn’t stay at any campgrounds, but boondocked (wild camped) throughout Southwestern Bolivia and Northern Chile. So, our accommodation was free.

And, that’s a wrap for last month. Not the cheapest one of the year but we obtained some big-ticket items and hope that fuel will get more affordable from now on. Plus, we really ought to start driving less and “sitting” more. 😊

Camped for free by El Mano del Desierto – The Hand in the Desert

February 2024 Overview:

Car (fuel: $377; tires: $261; ins.: $11; tolls: $8; parking: $2):

Dog (food: $176; permits: $93; flea collar: $66; vet:$7):

Groceries:

Entertainment (Salar tour & entrance fees):

Alcohol:

Utilities (Starlink internet: $32; water: $13):

Miscellaneous:

Laundry:

Dining out:

Transportation (Iquique):

Medical (birth control pills):

Camper:

Health & fitness (showers):

Accommodation:

 

TOTAL:

 

$659

$342

$271

$150

$84

$45

$25

$16

$10

$5

$4

$2

$2

$0

———

$ 1,615

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

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.

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – January 2024 (Bolivia)

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. Other health issues are resolved locally  and out of pocket where needed and possible.

January was a bit different than other months, since Mark, Maya, and I were stationary at the Las Lomas Campground in La Paz, Bolivia, with our truck camper, Thirsty Bella, for 26 out of 31 days. One of the reasons we took on the managing position for this property was to save money – or better, not spend much. But there are always extra expenses. Always. All in all, it was a decent month, though.

Surprisingly, the car category was still the highest. Fuel was manageable, since we sat still for so long and didn’t top up our tank until we left.

When we arrived in La Paz, however, we noticed sparks in our engine. Mark diagnosed this as corroded ignition coils. He managed to clean a couple, but we had to buy two new ones in Bolivia – one in December and one in January. Since they were of inferior quality, he also ordered two better ones in the US, to pick up later. Hence the $200 amount for repairs. We happily discovered the source of the rust, so this problem shouldn’t be repeated.

Tolls in Bolivia are affordable and you can sometimes reuse a ticket on the same highway.

The grocery cost was average and our exquisite dining out expenses affordable, because we were treated by others, in person or virtually. I promised previously that I’d mention the prices of our gastronomy delights in La Paz in this report.

At Gustu, the #23 on the 100 Best Restaurants of Latin America list, tasting menus cost the equivalent of $65 per person for a 7-course meal. We used gift money from my parents for that splurge.

Ancestral, the #62 on that list, offers 8-course tasting menus for $42 a person, plus $26 per wine pairing, which we split per couple. Our friend Brandon treated us here, because Mark helped him set up a new phone for an entire day, after his old one was stolen at El Alto Market on New Year’s Eve. And, we used the last bit of our gift money – and some of our own earnings – for a second dinner at Ancestral, just the two of us.

At Popular, the amazing restaurant in downtown La Paz, the set gourmet lunches cost $12 per person. We paid for that, although we received one tip from a friendly camping couple and put this towards that meal. Plus, one of you sent us a dinner donation, the day we went out for an amazing pizza meal in Uyuni! So, in January, we almost ate out for free! 😊

Mark needed to get blood work done, six months after two values were off in the US. Since it had been one and a half years since I had any tests done, I ordered a full panel at the same clinic. All these blood tests set us back $61. I wonder how much this would cost in other countries, without health insurance.

Our alcohol expense was average in January. With four small tiendas near our campground, all we had to do was walk a few minutes if we wanted to drink wine that night. Decent bottles of red, like Campos or Tentación, and white wine, like Terruño, cost the equivalent of $4 here. Beer in the grocery store is pricy at around $1.50 a can, and rum is cheaper than in the surrounding countries.

Because fuel is tricky to purchase as foreigners in Bolivia (more about that in a future post), Mark and I decided to buy an (expensive) jerry can in La Paz for the rest of our road trip through this country. We also obtained a new, small, plunger for the camper as the original one didn’t suction well anymore.

Traveling with a fuel can in the car – not ideal!

Our monthly Starlink fee remains the same at $35 a month (of which our business pays the other half). Turning it off during our stay at Las Lomas, which offers free WiFi, would turn into a hassle, so we kept paying our subscription. While settled at the campground, we used colectivos (minibuses), cable cars, taxis, and Uber to get around. The total for those services amounted to $24.

We bought a couple of things for the camper, like electrical cleaner spray (at a local store) and a door strut (on Amazon – packages in the US are piling up again), since the current one is broken and Bella’s door doesn’t stay open anymore. I had my cheapest, fastest, shortest, and best haircut in South America for $3. And, we took Maya to the vet.

The day we arrived in Uyuni, Maya was bitten by a loose dog (more about that later as well). Luckily, its owners took responsibility and paid the first vet bill of $16. We covered subsequent check-up visits, one of which still took place in January. Luckily, animal clinics are affordable here.

From Las Lomas, we left with full tanks of potable water and propane gas, and clean clothes after doing laundry. These services were free for us as camp hosts.

Once back on the road, we boondocked on the way to and in Uyuni, meaning that we didn’t spend a dime on accommodation in January. We are happy with a total of under $900, but had hoped to do better while “sitting still.”

January 2024 Overview:

Car (repairs: $196; fuel: $84; tolls: $7):

Groceries:

Medical (blood tests):

Dining out:

Alcohol:

Household (jerry can, plunger):

Utilities (Starlink internet):

Transportation (La Paz):

Camper:

Dog (vet):

Health & fitness (haircut L):

Accommodation:

 

TOTAL:

 

$287

$280

$61

$50

$45

$40

$35

$24

$14

$4

$3

$0

———

$ 843

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

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.

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – December 2023 (Peru & Bolivia)

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. Other health issues are resolved locally  and out of pocket where needed and possible.

For part of December 2023, Mark and I parked our truck camper, Thirsty Bella, at the Quinta Lala campground in Cusco, Peru, while we explored the city and surroundings with my cousin, Griet, and her husband, Wim. After they flew home to Belgium, we got ready for the road again, met up with good friends, and made our way to the Bolivian border, which we crossed on December 19th. After a few days in Copacabana, we reached La Paz, where we’ve been stationary since, to run the Las Lomas campground for a month.

The car category was huge! Not only did we spend almost $300 on gasoline, we also had two costly “repairs,” and purchased liability insurance for six months in the Mercasur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay with Bolivia and Chile being associated states).

In Cusco, we added “unbreakable” security film to the four side windows of our truck, after reading repeated reports of foreign cars being broken into in Chile.

Before leaving Peru, Mark noticed sparks in our engine, each time he started the car. Once in La Paz, he discovered corrosion in some of the ignition coils. He managed to clean and reinstall two of them, but one had to be replaced. Our options were to buy a low-quality coil locally for twice the price than a high-quality one in the US, or to pay heavy import duties when ordering what we wanted online. We decided to purchase one ignition coil in La Paz. At the moment, one more coil is broken, so we need another part… The good news is that we figured out the cause of the rust, yesterday.

Mark works on the engine

We finally bought a tire plug kit, in case we run into a puncture problem again (like that terrible incident in Colombia). We also took Thirsty to a carwash before leaving Cusco, paid for parking when needing the car close to our Airbnb, and handed over cash at a few restored toll booths. We had gotten away with not paying tolls in Peru for months, after protesters burned most of the stations down in early 2023.

Burned-down toll booth

Our grocery bill was above average, because we went on a couple of extensive shopping sprees, after finishing all the food from the fridge and making a dent in other provisions, before we stored our camper for three weeks. And, there were lots of homecooked dinners, among which two special ones over the holidays.

We ate out quite a bit, having friends and family – and incredible restaurants – around, including a fabulous birthday dinner. Despite Griet and Wim’s generosity, we still spent more than usually in this category.

The next big and unexpected expense was a new smartphone for me. The day after my family arrived, we were strolling through downtown Cusco, ready to join a walking tour. Griet and I were chatting non-stop. In the excitement of the day and the company, I had forgotten to zip up the pocket of my sweater, which was wrapped around my waist. My phone was located in this pocket and skillfully removed from it by someone, without me noticing it.

My phone was stolen in this area, on a pedestrian stretch further down.

I couldn’t help but feel this robbery was my fault, despite being the victim and stealing being a crime. Of course, I should have zippered up! Instead of joining the Cusco Free Walking Tour, Mark, Maya, and I spent that afternoon at the main police office (a story for another day). Needless to say, I never retrieved my one-year-old Google Pixel 6a, of which I’d finally had the cracked screen replaced a month and a half prior. I was beyond bummed.

After one year, my badly cracked screen was replaced!

But, as “luck” would have it, my birthday was coming up and our Canadian friends, Sheri and Jeff, had another week at home, before meeting us in Peru. They joined forces with Mark and managed to find and bring me a new smartphone: A Pixel 7a. Mark surprised me with it, one day on a hike. Interestingly, while I’m super happy to have a good camera again, being without a phone for a month was somewhat liberating; I enjoyed taking less photos and not “having” to post them on Facebook; my main use for this device.

My new Google Pixel 7a smartphone

Our accommodation costs for last month included splitting an Airbnb in Cusco for a week with my cousin and her husband, storage for Thirsty Bella during that time, another few days of camping at Quinta Lala, and tipping a farmer in Tinajani Canyon to boondock on his land for three nights.

December is the period of gifts. I created annual calendars with 13 photos of the two – or three – of us in exciting locations for family members in Belgium and the US, we bought a bottle of Baileys for Sheri and Jeff, whom we celebrated Christmas with for the second year in a row (on a funny side note, they happened to select the same bottle for me as a gift), and we ordered an electric heater for my mother-in-law as an early birthday present.

Our alcohol expense seemed average – surprising, when celebrating the old and the new year with friends – but I have to add a note about the utilities category. We actually pay around $70 a month for our Starlink satellite internet subscription, but Mark realized that some of that fee should be put towards our business/freelance careers, hence the reduced amount of $35 for unlimited internet in this report and going forward. We also filled our propane tank, before leaving Cusco. This should last us three months.

We paid for a rickety barge crossing of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and frequently used taxis to get around in Cusco and La Paz. Plus, we enjoy(ed) taking the cable cars in La Paz. In cities, it is just safer – and less frustrating – to keep the vehicle parked at a secure location and get around with public transportation.

The only real excursion we did in December was a strenuous hike on Isla del Sol in Lake Titicaca, leaving from Copacabana.

 

I explored a few more ruins with my family around Cusco, but those were included in my 10-day tourist ticket, bought in November.

Our friend, Jeff, and I also bicycled Death Road (aka “The World’s Most Dangerous Road”) on a long and exhausting, but fun, day trip from La Paz. I used gift money from my parents for that adventure. More about that in another post.

The remaining categories were all under $20. We went out for a few drinks with friends, obtained meds from the pharmacy for my headaches, sore throat, and birth control, sourced a few items for the camper, bought two new camping chairs that were super affordable (the only negative, we discovered later, is that none of our glasses or stainless-steel water bottles fit in the cup holders), found a muzzle for Maya so she could join us in the cable cars of La Paz, and exchanged coins for toilet visits.

Crossing the border into Bolivia didn’t cost anything and once there (and at a beach south of Puno earlier), we wild camped for free again.

Our total for December was high again, around $1,900, but we are determined to begin 2024 on a lower budget. For once, we are off to a good start.

December 2023 Overview:

Car (fuel: $288; maint.: $271; ins.: $77; tolls: $5; parking: $5):

Groceries:

Computer hardware (smartphone L):

Dining out:

Accommodation (Airbnb: $115; camping: $35; storage: $20):

Gifts (calendars, heater, Baileys):

Alcohol:

Utilities (Starlink internet: $35; propane:$9):

Transportation (barge Titicaca, taxis Cusco & La Paz):

Entertainment (Isla del Sol):

Drinking out:

Medical (pharmacy):

Camper (silicone spray, zip ties):

Household (camping chairs):

Dog (muzzle):

Miscellaneous (toilet visits):

 

TOTAL:

 

$646

$337

$251

$180

$170

$110

$58

$44

$35

$23

$18

$17

$13

$13

$6

$1

———

$ 1,922

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

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.

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – November 2023 (Peru)

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. Other health issues are resolved locally  and out of pocket where needed and possible.

In November 2023, Mark, dog Maya, and I explored the southern part of Peru in our truck camper, Thirsty Bella. These last two months have been extremely busy and overwhelming, hence my delayed expense report.

We drove a lot, from Arequipa to Colca Canyon and then back to Cusco and the Sacred Valley, to meet family from Belgium. Yet, our car was not the highest expense category, last month. That honor went to Mark’s new computer and a few “accessories.”

A couple of months ago, I wrote that Mark’s laptop (needed daily for work) kept crashing. We were trying to figure out how to send his Surface back to the US and get it replaced under warranty. Being in Peru made this impossible, so we went a different route.

We are very fortunate to have a lot of (accommodating) friends. Two of them returned from the US and had space in their luggage. So, Mark ordered a new laptop, which Rodney and Heather brought back to Cusco in November. My cousin and her husband flew back to Belgium via the US and managed to drop off the broken one at a UPS box in one of the airports. A new Surface should be waiting for us whenever Mark returns to the US on his annual visit. This spare laptop will probably become mine at some point. We also needed a new router, hard drive, and Windows Office key for the arrived laptop.

Some of the packages brought back to us in Cusco by Rodney and Heather

The car category – especially gas – was high again; no surprise there. Gasoline is expensive in Peru, our truck has awful fuel economy (10mpg), and we covered big distances on steep, gravel roads. We also paid for parking a bunch and our friends brought specialty grease back from the US. But no tolls had to be paid.

Another extra expense last month (and this one) was accommodation. My cousin, Griet, and her husband, Wim, came for a multiple-week vacation to Peru, some of which to the Cusco area. I’d booked hotels and Airbnbs ahead of time and we split the accommodation costs for sixteen nights.

In the meantime, Mark and I left Bella at the Quinta Lala campground in Cusco and we used the truck to travel between sites and hotels. Sometimes, we parked Thirsty in fenced lots in towns, other nights, we put him next to Bella at the campground. Before my family arrived and a few nights afterwards, the three of us stayed at Quinta Lala in our camper.

I will write about the visit from Griet and Wim later, but I will admit now that we didn’t have the best experiences with our lodgings. Every night, there was something that kept us awake, resulting in a couple of very exhausting weeks. We surely missed our home on wheels!

We did our best to save money on other nights, by boondocking (wild camping) in nature, and enjoyed natural hot springs instead of developed termales.

Since we stayed in hotels for one third of last month, we ate out a lot, upping that category. Griet and Wim were very generous visitors, treating for dinner often. Yet, this cost ended up higher than usually.

Which lead to our grocery category being on the low end, at well under $200. We cooked much less, which meant no dishes and less time spent in the kitchen!

Mark, Maya, and I visited Colca Canyon, for which there is an entrance fee of 70 soles (US$20) per person. This boleto turistico (tourist ticket) allows access to condor viewpoints, a hike into the canyon (which we didn’t do), and a few other sites. I’ll write about these excursions in my next blog post.

To save money – and since we had already (briefly) toured the Sacred Valley – we only bought one ten-day tourist ticket for when my family arrived. I joined them at some of the archeological sites (new ones and revisits to others), while Mark did the driving, waiting, and working.

All of us did visit Machu Picchu, the end of November, which lived up to its fame and popularity. For this excursion, Griet and Wim arose early on our first day in Aguas Calientes (“base camp” for MP); Mark and I explored this site on the second morning, while my family watched Maya. More about that later as well.

As always when we have family – and friends – around, the alcohol expense goes up. Good times were had by all, which was a nice change to our regular lifestyle.

Rum tasting at our first Airbnb in Cusco

Our Starlink satellite internet fee is roughly the same every month, based on the exchange rate. We didn’t use it as much these last two months when staying at hotels and the campground, where WiFi was present, but, being back on the road now, we still love this installation and investment!

Not living in our truck camper also meant we needed to use public transportation, like taxis and Uber, quite a bit, especially in Cusco, heading back up the hill to Quinta Lala to pick up the truck or when we were camped there. Plus, the 20-minute bus ride to Machu Picchu (a monopoly) was expensive at US$14 each way. I bought a return ticket and Mark hiked down the steep steps after our visit.

Masses of tour buses for the ride to Machu Picchu

Flea collars went on sale in the US, so we bought one online for Maya and will pick it up in Massachusetts one day. Mark and I went out for drinks with friends and family a few times, Rodney and Heather also brought back an urgently needed 12-volt vacuum cleaner from the US for us (required to dry out our ceiling after fixing a couple of leaking holes in our roof; our old one had died), I bought a Pachamama (Mother Earth) statue at one of the sites (which Griet took back to Belgium for me) and we managed to drop off all our dirty laundry in Arequipa for a decent price.

In conclusion, November was another expensive month for us at over $2,000, because of the extra expenses (Mark’s new computer, our accommodation costs, pricey Machu Picchu, extra transportation, and Maya’s meds). I’d like to say that this month will be better, but it has mainly been an extension of the previous one. Maybe, we will do better next year?

November 2023 Overview:

Computer (new laptop, hard drive, router, Office key);

Car (fuel: $314; maint.: $22; parking: $13):

Accommodation (hotels: $215; camping: $86; storage: $35):

Dining out:

Groceries:

Entertainment (MP: $82; Colca Canyon: $37; ruins: $35):

Alcohol:

Utilities (Starlink internet):

Transportation (taxi & bus MP):

Dog (flea collar):

Drinking out:

Household (12V vacuum cleaner):

Miscellaneous (souvenirs):

Laundry:

 

TOTAL:

 

$491

$349

$336

$186

$176

$154

$94

$71

$63

$58

$37

$32

$16

$10

———

$ 2,073

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

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.

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – October 2023 (Peru)

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. Other health issues are resolved locally  and out of pocket where needed and possible.

In October 2023, Mark, dog Maya, and I explored the southern part of Peru in our truck camper, Thirsty Bella. It was another expensive, above-average month, but, luckily, much cheaper than the previous one. Peru has been hard on our budget. To be honest, we were ready to leave after our allocated three months, but due to (fun) commitments, we added another sixty days and lots more driving (and fuel costs) in this country to our schedule.

Therefore, the highest category – again – was the car, more precisely, fuel. Peru is huge, gasoline costs about $5 a gallon, and we are driving more than ever to cover distances and timelines.

We also spent money on maintenance for our Ford F350 by getting an oil change done in Cusco, which was a bit of a disaster I wrote about here. We ordered car parts in the US, which our Canadian friends will bring back to us early December. And we had the valve of our spare tire replaced.

The tolls were very affordable, because many of the booths were still in disrepair after being burned down during political protests in the beginning of this year.

Burned-down toll booth

Our grocery and alcohol costs were pretty average, but two extra categories were added in Cusco. Mark arranged his expensive visa for Bolivia there, which took a full day (story here) and, because we had a bunch of camper and car projects to complete (and we were sick), we stayed at a pay campground for nine days. We also handed over money at two parking lots in the Sacred Valley that allowed us to camp.

The rest of the month, we boondocked for free around the Sacred Valley, the Andes Mountains, and the Peruvian countryside.

Mark and I ate out a few times – Cusco has good and diverse restaurants, and day menus for lunch everywhere are filling and affordable – but kept that total amount under $100.

We also topped off our propane tank in October and paid our monthly subscription fee for Starlink, our satellite internet solution, which has been awesome. After installing the dish permanently in our camper, we can now not only get online 24/7, but we also manage to listen to music (Spotify) while driving in the middle of nowhere and rely on the GPS/Google Maps more. This monthly fee hovers around $70, affected by the exchange rate.

Since the Sacred Valley and Cusco area have a lot of interesting sites, our entertainment spending went up. Most of this expense covered our two-day tourist ticket to see the archeological sites of Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Moray, and Chinchero.

We also paid for a visit to the salt mine of Maras and the colored mountains of Pallcoyo. When reaching Titicaca Lake, we enjoyed a guided boat tour to the floating reed islands of Uros. More about those two incredible excursions in an upcoming post.

Mark ordered a few parts for the camper as well (coming with our friends), we had to pay the annual fee for one of our website addresses, Maya was due for a vaccine, which was administered at a vet in Puno, and I forgot to bring pain medicine on our prolonged trip to the Bolivian consulate, so had to buy extra Tylenol at a pharmacy when my head acted up.

Driving through the Andes Mountains in Peru

One of the reasons Mark and I set out on this South American journey is its perceived affordability. Unfortunately, we do not succeed to stay under our American expense average at the moment, so this has to change. We have been able to work more than usually, but none of this is fun, of course, and it would be nice to eat out or splurge more in cheaper countries. Plus, there always seems to be an unexpected expense… What’s the solution? Stay put longer in places and drive less? Leave Peru? Time will tell.

Driving to Pallcoyo Mountain

October 2023 Overview:

Car (fuel: $400; maint.: $160; tolls: $2):

Groceries:

Customs & Immigration (Bolivia visa Mark):

Camping:

Dining out:

Utilities (internet: $68; propane: $8):

Entertainment:

Camper:

Alcohol:

Miscellaneous (souvenir):

Computer (hosting site):

Dog (DHCPP vaccine):

Medical (Tylenol):

 

TOTAL:

 

$562

$264

$160

$111

$83

$76

$66

$63

$43

$28

$22

$17

$6

———

$ 1,501

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

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.

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – September 2023 (Peru)

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. Other health issues are resolved locally  and out of pocket where needed and possible.

In September 2023, Mark, dog Maya, and I explored the central part of Peru in our truck camper, Thirsty Bella. It was an eventful month – financially and otherwise – and the most expensive one this year, at around $2,300.

Note: Traveling overland in this country with your own vehicle is VERY different from flying in as a tourist, using organized transport, visiting the highlights, eating in high-end restaurants, and sleeping in comfortable hotels.

Sunset in Paracas

In Peru, nothing is easy and every event comes with a story or a crazy twist. Hence this longer than normal report. Despite extra expenses, the car category was, again, the highest one for last month, because of the high cost of gasoline (around $5/gallon), our bad fuel economy, and the tons of (mountain) driving we did. Peru is a large country, we only received three months of entry, and when we don’t like a place, we move on…  so we drove a lot. Still, spending almost $600 on gas hurts. Other car costs went to parts, a checked airline bag to have a friend bring said parts to Cusco, tolls, and parking by a grocery store.

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

The first big and random expense was for a Starlink satellite internet system. After months of debate (it’s a pricey product and service), dealing with relatively decent cell service in Colombia and Ecuador (dismissing the purchase), and struggling for weeks to get online in Peru, we bit the bullet and decided to buy Starlink.

Except, we couldn’t. Mark tried for three days to order the product on Starlink’s website for around US$500. The price of the system and the monthly service fee depend on the country – in Ecuador, the dish was the cheapest at $300; in Colombia, the monthly service is, at $65. All our credit cards were declined, even a debit card. We tried different shipping addresses, email addresses, and local ID numbers. Several people provided info to help out, but nothing worked. We couldn’t purchase the dish.

In Lima, we searched for alternatives and found a guy who sold brand-new units for $450. We were leery about it, not wanting to meet inside his house, so set up an appointment at the parking lot of a grocery store. Junior didn’t show up on time, so we bought groceries and were ready to give up on the whole endeavor. While messaging with him, he asked us for more patience and offered a discount if we gave him another chance to show up. So, that’s what we did.

When Junior eventually showed up, three hours late, in a wheelchair pushed by his girlfriend, we felt guilty. Of course, it wasn’t easy for him to meet outside of his house (which is located in a questionable area of Lima). It took another couple of hours to transfer the Starlink account and for Mark to make sure the system worked. Well, it actually didn’t at that location and, since everyone was losing their patience, we took a leap of faith and committed to buying the system then and there.

In an act of goodwill, Junior gave us all the purchase receipts, information, and a one-week “warranty” to return the product if we didn’t get it to work properly. We paid the agreed-upon $430 (in local currency), shook hands, and moved back to our parking spot in Miraflores, where, miraculously, the system worked. We stayed in touch with Junior, recommended his service online, and helped out with questions he had for future customers.

Paying for Starlink’s monthly internet service wasn’t easy either, due to the same international credit card issues but at least, as official subscribers, we can now contact their customer support. Starlink has been a game changer for us. It provides unlimited internet throughout South America and the world, but, in the last few weeks, we did have connection issues three times: when a massive sandstorm blocked access to the satellites, when we were camped in a deep canyon, surrounded by two steep walls, and when being parked next to a patch of forest, the trees interrupting the signal…

Other costs that fall into the “computer” category were parts for a future 12V conversion for our Starlink system (a massive project), which our friend Lauren brought back from the US, the renewal of one of our internet domain registrations ($22), and, after one year of having a cracked screen on my Google Pixel Smartphone, we had it replaced in Cusco for $40, providing our own screen, which Mark brought back from the US a little while ago.

Our grocery purchases were average at $267; as usual, we cooked most of our meals at home. The next big expense was dogfood for Maya. As a highly allergic dog, she eats a special kind of fish-based food of a brand called Taste of the Wild, which is not available in every South American country, let alone, city, and is pricey, especially outside the US. We had three big bags delivered to our friends’ address in Lima, and managed to find storage for them in Thirsty Bella. Maya should be set now for another 18 weeks.

With all the eating out we’ve been doing in Lima and Cusco, the total cost wasn’t too bad at $126. We don’t eat out often and are picky about the cost – and reputations – of the places we splurge at. September offered a nice balance.

Our utilities were higher – and will be from now on – than other months, because we switched to Starlink satellite internet. Our monthly (Peru) fee for that is $70. Last month, we augmented that with the local Claro service before we switched over and for a bit afterwards, as it’s our only means to have cell service away from the camper and – currently – while driving, since the unit hasn’t been permanently installed yet. We hope to cut Claro – and any local service – out entirely, because we hate giving money to companies that don’t have their act together and frustrate us.

We managed to get most of our potable water for free at gas stations, confirming multiple times that the water, indeed, was okay to drink. Once, in Paracas, when we were totally out, it took an hour to find a place that sold 5-gallon (20L) water jugs, at an elevated price. We needed one to hold us over another day at the beach. Easier to fill up with our hose!

A third, unexpected expense went to a hospital visit for Mark. For many weeks, he’s been having chest pain, in between his ribs. Because of his medical history, everything out of the ordinary raises flags and has us worried. A visit to a private clinic and a chest X-ray concluded all seems fine and his body is just bruised, but the pain has not disappeared yet. An unpleasant side effect of this hospital visit is that he came home with a bug or a virus and we’ve both been sick for a week now. Wearing masks is still important!

We spent some money on alcohol in September, but didn’t really drink, apart from being with our Italian friends Valeria and Davide in Paracas and Cusco. The reasons for this abstinence: often camping at high altitude requiring lots of hydration, having frequent headaches, and being sick.

Transportation is not a usual category as we have our own, but in Lima and Cusco, we took a handful of cabs to reach places. We always used Uber or InDrive (a bit cheaper) to visit sites or people while camped at the edge of Lima, and to get to the hospital for Mark in Cusco, when parked outside of the “tight” town.

Buying a piece of plexiglass and having it cut to size in Cusco

We bought a few new items for our household (ice tray, cutting board, frying pan, toothbrush charger) and for camper projects (screws, caulk, plexiglass), went out for drinks once (the staple Peruvian cocktail, Pisco Sour), had our laundry done in Cusco, and explored a few sites.

Entertainment was provided by a guide in Lima, who we tipped at the end, and a visit to Paracas National Park, leaving Maya in the car.

Between the coast and Cusco, we stopped at several archeological sites. Mark and I enjoyed the Palpa Lines and geoglyphs more than the Nazca ones and made a little detour to the cemetery of Chauchilla.

We were annoyed by a disrespectful parking situation – and attitude of the attendant – at the impressive Acueductos de Cantallos, so I visited those by myself. And then, we headed back into the mountains, not yet paying for anything in the Cusco area.

And there was the minor accident in Huaraz, before we left the Cordillera Blanca, on the 1st of the month. Drivers in Peru are impatient, aggressive, and “unaware” of any rules. Add to that road construction and a traffic jam, and things really spin out of control. Instead of waiting in one line, like everywhere else in the world, the drivers keep going and pushing, creating five lanes in one direction, making a bad situation even worse and blocking traffic from the opposite side. Of course, there are hand signals and honking involved as well.

One guy had pulled up to our left (not a lane), inches away from our camper. When Mark moved forward a bit, following the main lane, he swung out a tad to start making a turn and our right rear camper jack crushed the mirror of said car. Not our fault, really. The man shouldn’t have been there. I explained to him the rules of the road in Spanish and refused to give him money for his mirror.

Eventually, we all calmed down a bit. Plenty of time to contemplate… Mark and I didn’t really want to involve the police (we all know how that would end in Peru) and we DID ruin his mirror, so we settled on paying $15 towards a repair or replacement. Everyone was “happy,” we waited in line for another hour, and I took up the role of traffic controller at some point, because none of the police officers did and the local drivers kept obstructing everyone else with their stupidity. If I sound harsh, I’m not. Ask any foreign – or educated Peruvian – driver in Peru about their driving experiences.

As always, we camped for free, with the exception of one night on a Belgian-Peruvian property called Casa Lena. We wanted to support the owners for what they accomplish with their education program (Oye Lena) for local, poor children. Since the nasty biting bugs (gnats, chitras, or sandflies) were awful and we don’t really get much out of paid campgrounds (when there is no potable water available), we left the following day.

Some of the other places we chose caused issues as well, not the least when we agreed with a friendly, local land owner to spend time at his peaceful riverside property and were basically chased off in the middle of the night, because his son entertained visitors with a party and campfire by the river. It was tricky to back out of the driveaway in the dark but luckily, we found a truck stop nearby and were settled again at 1am. We hate driving at night here!

Thus, we entered October and our third month in Peru. And, believe me, there are many more stories to tell…

September 2023 Overview:

Car (fuel: $582; maint.: $64; tolls: $19; parking: $2):

Computer (Starlink, phone screen repair, domain):

Groceries:

Dog (food):

Dining out:

Utilities (internet: $84; water: $4):

Medical (hospital & X-ray Mark):

Alcohol:

Transportation (taxis):

Household:

Camper (repairs):

Entertainment:

Drinking out:

Miscellaneous (accident):

Camping (Casa Lena):

Laundry:

 

TOTAL:

 

$667

$575

$267

$263

$126

$88

$80

$49

$33

$33

$24

$23

$18

$15

$11

$8

———

$ 2,280

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

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.

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – August 2023 (Peru)

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. Other health issues are resolved locally  and out of pocket where needed and possible.

In August 2023, Mark, dog Maya, and I explored the Northern half of Peru in our truck camper, Thirsty Bella.

The golden light near Laguna Churup

Note: Traveling overland in this country with your own vehicle is VERY different from flying in as a tourist, using organized transport, visiting the highlights, eating in high-end restaurants, and sleeping in comfortable hotels.

We literally taste Peru with all our senses, from smelling the smoke from a neighbor burning trash and the black exhaust of trucks, to hearing barking dogs, partying locals, honking cars, homemade fireworks, and the killing of pigs, to seeing trash being tossed in rivers, the sea, or the roadside, to tasting the bland food at local stands and limited vegetables in remote villages, to touching the hungry, skinny, attention-deprived stray dogs huddling around our camper, to being stared at by sustainable farmers and squeezed by aggressive drivers. Being part of Peruvian life has been challenging and heart-breaking, but some of the scenery has been awe-inspiring.

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

It is no surprise that our biggest spending category last month was the car, more precisely fuel. At about US$5 per gallon for gasoline, this has been “killing” us. Over half of our total monthly amount went to gas! On top of the high prices for this commodity, our fuel mileage has been worse than ever, due to all the mountain driving (up and down relentlessly; no tunnels), the liberal placements of topes (speedbumps) everywhere, and the abundance of potholes. There is a lot of accelerating and slowing to a crawl.

Thirsty got a bath for the equivalent of US$3 and we paid for a few toll roads as well. Unlike in Colombia, these highways in Peru are actually smooth, wide, fast, and awesome. As long as you don’t look to the sides.

Despite grocery items being more expensive in Peru than Colombia and Ecuador, we didn’t spend a huge amount in supermarkets, for two reasons: we are being frugal about what we buy and we rarely see decent stores. They only exist in bigger cities.

We mostly obtain produce and eggs at local markets (when present) and don’t eat very varied these days. We have to be creative, just like when we sailed in the remote islands of the South Pacific. Obtaining raw, hanging meat at those mercados is something we are not keen on, so our protein intake has been low.

Because of the high cost of fuel in August, we refrained from too many splurges. We ate out a few times, but none of that was noteworthy. People keep saying that the food in Peru is excellent. So far, we have not experienced this. If you have traveled here, please enlighten us.

One day, not having bread for a sandwich lunch at home, we decided to eat a local meal on our daytrip to a fabulous lake in the Andes Mountains. When asking what was served, the answer was chicharron (pig skins). No chicken? No, but they could make potatoes and eggs for us. Sure! We were only slightly surprised to each receive a bowl with four boiled potatoes in the skin and one, unpeeled hard-boiled egg on top. Never mind that the menu poster showed two boiled eggs (peeled) per plate!

Here is the best part of being in Peru: the scenery and sights! When we can reach and afford them, anyway. 😊 Fascinating ruins, incredible views, rewarding hikes, spectacular lakes. We did a bit of all that, which will be elaborated on in future posts.

After keeping an eye out for an alpaca poncho in Colombia and Ecuador, but never biting the bullet, I did treat myself to a colorful poncho at the artisanal market in Huaraz. It wasn’t cheap, but I love it and have used it since on those chilly nights in the mountains.

Finding usable internet to work has been tricky in Peru. And we have moved camp a lot for that reason. Only some towns have reliable cell service, the biggest plan you can buy is only for 1.5GB, and while Claro states Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, and other social media channels are included in the plan, it is our experience that this is not correct. Sometimes, we’d have full bars of 4G service and not one page loads in our browser. One moment, we can connect, the next, nothing…

We have been able to stay stick to our $30 average budget for internet, but it has been due to careful consideration and planning around accessibility and the few times we bought an unlimited day plan. That’s when I upload photos to my website and read other people’s blog posts. And for anyone who wonders… yes, we are seriously considering buying Starlink. Ouch! For the first time in a year, we paid for potable water as well.

Our alcohol expense wasn’t too bad. We stayed at high altitudes for most of August and when dehydration, headaches, and shortness of breath threaten, an adult beverage is not appealing.

Most of our campsites were wild and free, but we did stay at a paid campground for three nights; something we usually don’t indulge in. The reason was two-fold: we wanted to take the camper off the truck, because that was the only way to visit most sights around Huaraz in the Cordillera Blanca and we needed to fill with potable water. Finally meeting other campers was a bonus. Most of our fellow overlanders stay at places like this.

Our paid campground – Marian Wahi – in Huaraz

Unfortunately, Marian Wasi didn’t have WiFi and the Claro cell service was not strong enough to work, so we had to leave the camping earlier than expected. Not that this was an easy feat… We cleared the lowish entrance gate when arriving, but not when leaving. Letting air out of the rear tires was the solution. Good we have an air compressor with us!

The last three expense categories consisted of a few loads of laundry in Trujillo, buying an orange squeezer and new cheese grater, and drinking fresh juices at a café on the coast and coca tea at a high-elevation refugio to help with altitude sickness.

Based on how we kept spending money on all of this in August, we expected our total to be higher than the $1,058 recorded, so we don’t feel too bad about just cresting $1,000. September, however, will sport some super costly items, which will bring us closer to $2,000!

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

 

August 2023 Overview:

Car (fuel: $555; tolls: $6; carwash: $3; parking: $1):

Groceries:

Dining out:

Entertainment (hikes, ruins, lakes):

Clothing (poncho Liesbet):

Utilities (internet: $32; water: $6):

Alcohol:

Camping:

Laundry:

Household:

Drinking out:

 

TOTAL:

 

$567

$227

$61

$44

$39

$38

$37

$24

$10

$6

$5

———

$ 1,058

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

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.

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

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