Days: 311. We departed from Bay City, MI on August 6, 2016 and returned on June 13, 2017.
Countries: 16. USA, Mexico, Belize, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Cities: 82. (These are all cities where we either spent the night or had significant time sightseeing. I did not count cities where we spent the night on layovers, like Rio de Janeiro and Beijing).
- USA: Chicago, Bloomington, Springfield, Independence, Chadron, Custer, Deadwood, Gillette, Cody, Yellowstone, Idaho Falls, Moab, Kayenta, Grand Canyon, Grants, Tucumcari, and Waurika.
- Mexico: Tlaquepaque, Guadalajara, Mexico City, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapa de Corzo, Palenque, and Chetumal.
- Belize: Caye Caulker, Placencia, and Belize City.
- Ecuador: Quito and Puerto Lopez.
- Peru: Lima, Paracas, Huacachina, Nasca, Cusco, Aguas Calientes, Puno, and Arequipa.
- Chile: Arica, La Serena, and Valparaiso.
- Argentina: Mendoza, Los Quirquinchos, Rosario, and Buenos Aires.
- Uruguay: Colonia.
- South Africa: Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Table View, Cederburg, Johannesburg, Addo, Jeffrey’s Bay, Stormsriver, The Crags, Knsyna, Wilderness, and Simon’s Town.
- Namibia: Orange River, Fish River Canyon, Sesriem, Namib National Park, Swakopmund, Spitzkoppe, Etosha, Grootfontein, and Bagani.
- Botswana: Okavango Delta and Chobe.
- Zimbabwe: Victoria Falls.
- Zambia: Livingstone.
- Thailand: Bangkok, Koh Lanta, Chiang Mai, Krabi, and Phuket.
- Cambodia: Siem Reap and Battambang.
- Vietnam: Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, Da Nang, Dalat, and Ho Chi Minh City.
This was a typical travel day for us with all of our things! And if you can believe it, we carried a handful of items that we never ended up using, so we could have packed lighter.
Accommodations:
- Campgrounds: 18. (4 in the USA and 14 in southern Africa).
- Apartment rentals: 12.
- Hotels/hostels: 58.
- Overnight transportation: 9.
In Paracas, Peru, we found a hostel where each room was a converted camper van.
Modes of Transportation: 28. Taxi, Uber, public bus, train, walking, scooter, tour van, shuttle, tuk-tuk, electric bike, regular bike, camel, Intrepid truck, mokoro, 4×4 Jeep, boat, zipline, airplane, BTS, water ferry, rental car, funicular, trolley, dune buggy, golf cart, chicken bus, subway, and car.
- 18 total flights, 3 of which were overnight
- 4 train rides, 1 of which was overnight
- 27 long-distance bus rides, 5 of which were overnight (this total does not include local/city buses, just buses that we took to get from one city to another)
We took so many different types of transportation, like this bus in Vietnam. Some were definitely more comfortable than others!
Sick/Injured:
- Jon: 7 (traveler’s diarrhea in Mexico, infection in Mexico, threw out his back in Ecuador, hurt his back again in South Africa, hurt his back yet again in Thailand, got a bad cold in Thailand, scraped/banged up from scooter crash in Vietnam).
- Lana: 6 (traveler’s diarrhea in Mexico, infection in Mexico, swimmer’s ear in Belize, sinus cold in Ecuador, sick in Peru, scraped/banged up from scooter crash in Vietnam).
Robberies: 1. Our camera was stolen from a bus in Ecuador. Luckily the theft was covered by our travel insurance so we were reimbursed the full amount and purchased a new camera in Peru.
People:
- Who we visited: 10 (My sister Rhonda in Chicago, USA; Jon’s parents in Waurika, USA; Pamela and family in Los Quirquinchos, Argentina; and Elze in Table View, South Africa).
- Who visited us: 2 (My sister Rhonda and her friend Harry both visited us in Thailand).
- New friends we made: 15 (our wonderful crew and fellow trip-mates on our Intrepid tour – we miss them all!!)
One of our favorite parts of our travels was getting to meet and become friends with people around the world, like Elze in South Africa.
Animals: 57+ different types of animals. We saw many kinds of fish and birds, but I’m not able to name them all!
- Bison, wild turkey, deer, prairie dogs, rabbits, donkeys, coyote, horses, elk, ducks, condor, stork, alligator, nurse sharks, sting rays, a ton of different kinds of fish, barracuda, eel, iguana, turtles, manatees, whales, manta rays, pelicans, penguins, seals, sea lions, llamas, alpacas, parrots, cows, sheep, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, elephant, lion, hippopotamus, giraffe, black and white rhinoceros, kudu, antelope, springbok, crocodile, oryx, ostrich, impalas, jackal, monkeys, warthogs, bushbuck, mongoose, python, chickens, a huge number of different types of birds, and millions of little lizards.
Amount spent: $44,449.93
- Daily average for 2 people: $142.93.
- Cheapest meal: 2 bahn mi sandwiches in Hanoi for $1.32.
- Cheapest beer: 2 beers in Vietnam for $0.44.
- Biggest expenses (amounts are for 2 people): $3,312.42 for the 3-week overland trip with Intrepid in southern Africa, $2,249.09 for flights from Buenos Aires to Cape Town, $1,025.02 for flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Chicago, $808.17 for PADI scuba diving certification in Belize, $792.00 for flights from Cape Town to Bangkok, $790 for our tour to Machu Picchu.
We kept at least one bill from each country we visited, like the 10 Rand note from South Africa.
The statistics are really interesting. Glad to have been part of the favourite parts of your travels…awww:-)
We both agreed that one of the best things about our travels was meeting friends along the way!! 🙂
1. Jon’s pack looks much heavier than yours, Lana.
2. Ii want to ride the zipline (though not the one you rode–too scary) and the chicken bus.
3. Lots of interesting wildlife.
4. Good job saving your money for years! You better start saving again.
1. Jon’s bag was bigger than mine! He carried more and also carried our electronics backpack. What a strong guy!
2. I’m happy I rode the zipline once but don’t think I need to do it again!
3. That was one of my favorite things we did – get to see all the wildlife. Not only in Africa but other places as well.
4. Haha, except this time we’ll be getting a little (and I do mean little) bit from the government to do it!