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.”

The main square in Arequipa

Part of the main “highway” from Arequipa to Cusco!

Most of the burned-down tollbooths haven’t been re-instated yet.

Maya sniffing along the drive

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.

Driving through the Andes Mountains

The rain is turning some roads into mud

Road to Santa Teresa

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.

Our hotel in Santa Teresa

Our tiny, basic room in Santa Teresa

What’s wrong with this bathroom?

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.

Camped at Quinta Lala campground in Cusco

Homemade dinner with Rodney and Heather at the campground

Driving around in our truck

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!

Boondocked in Arequipa

Boondocked in Chivay

Boondocked at the Uyo Uyo ruins

Boondocked for a couple of nights at the condor viewpoint along Colca Canyon

Boondocked along the long drive back to Cusco

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.

Free natural hot springs

Free natural bath tub in Chivay

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.

Part of a Peruvian day dish at a local restaurant in Arequipa

Cheap and tasty day dish in Cabanaconde

These day lunches come with a soup, a “segundo” (main course), and a refresca (drink)

A tasty Poke Bowl dinner at the highly recommended Teriyaki restaurant, one of our favorites in Cusco

Dinner at our favorite vegetarian restaurant, El Encuentro, in Cusco

Pizza for dinner in Ollantaytambo

Birthday dinner in Santa Teresa

Lasagna B-day dinner

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!

Eggplant Parmesan, cooked in our tiny oven

Maya loves lettuce!

Bakery in Chivay

Produce market in Chivay

Maya is our composter

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.

Colca Canyon

Pinchollo Geyser near Colca Canyon

Uyo Uyo Archeological Site near Colca Canyon

Juanita Museum in Cabanaconde

Looking for condors in the Colca Canyon

Condor

Viewpoint in Cabanaconde

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.

Griet, Liesbet, and Maya at the lower part of the Q’enqo Archeological Site in Cusco

Sacsaywauman Archeological Site in Cusco

Tambomachay Archeological Site near Cusco

Hike from the Pisac Archeological Site to Pisac town

Moray Archeological Site

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.

Sign in Aguas Caliente

The iconic Machu Picchu photo

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.

Beer tasting for the men on a rainy day, at the cerveceria del Valle Sagrado (brewery) near Ollantaytambo

Fabulous drinks at the Teriyaki restaurant

Pina colada cocktails for happy hour on my birthday

Immediately putting our new vacuum cleaner to good use

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

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.

Drive to the Bolivian border to receive more time in Peru

Needing to drive to a second border of Peru with Bolivia – in vain…

Customs truck in Khasani, a border between Peru and Bolivia

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.

Gas station sign

Stopped by another fuel station

Fuel prices

Fuel station price list

Filling up with gasoline again

The fuel pump rain out, so we had to wait until there was gasoline again.

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.

Oil change in Cusco

Getting the leaking valve of our spare tire replaced for $3

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.

Our favorite bakery in Cusco

Visit to the Bolivian consulate in Cusco

Popular campground in Cusco

Doing projects at the campground

Wiring up our Starlink antenna

Parked for the night in Ollantaytambo – photo taken from the archeological site

Parked for the night in Chinchero

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

Camped close to the Pisac ruins

Camped on the edge of downtown Cusco

Parked for the night by Laguna Huacarpay

Camped by a river along the dirt road up to Three Colored Mountains

Parked for the night at a viewpoint along Lake Titicaca

Camped in Tinajani Canyon for a few nights

Camped on the edge of Puno for a couple of nights

Camped on a beach of Lake Titicaca

Parked for one frigid night at Laguna Salinas (over 14,000ft or 4,300m)

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.

Sangria with a vegetarian dinner out with friends

Main dish of a typical local lunch menu in Cusco

Main dish of the lunch menu in Urubamba

Day menu lunches include a soup, a main dish (“segundo”), and a drink, either some kind of cold juice or lemonade, or hot tea

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.

Starlink is permanently installed under an existing hatch in the camper

Driving by Laguna Salinas, listening to music

Driving in the mountains, listening to music

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.

Ollantaytambo Archeological Site

Pisac Archeological Site

Moray Archeological Site

Chinchero Archeological Site

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.

Maras salt pans

Three Colored Mountains (Pallcoyo)

Exploring the stone forest at Pallcoyo

Reed islands of Uros

Guided boat tour through the islands of Uros

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