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Preparing for an Extended Backpacking Excursion (Part II)
Last week we discussed travel bags, vaccination requirements and communication options for extended overseas travel. This week, we dive into money issues, travel insurance and more.
Money Matters
Managing your finances while traveling for months at a time requires far more preparation than for a typical vacation; especially when you can’t guarantee secure internet connections or uncompromised ATM machines. Here’s how we prepared:
USS Lexington: Fun Facts
The jet engine of a vintage aircraft on USS Lexington's flight deck
Dubbed the “Blue Ghost” by Japanese servicemen who believed they had sunk the aircraft carrier no fewer than four times during World War II, the USS Lexington now rests – entirely intact – as a museum in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Other interesting tidbits:
- The USS Lexington is as tall as a 19 story building and as long as three New York City blocks.
- You could park more than 1,000 automobiles on its flight deck.
- It has more telephones than a city of 5,000.
- It has crossed the equator 13 times.
- It was the first carrier to deploy air-to-surface missiles.
- It has sailed enough miles to circle the globe eight times.
- It has more sleeping spaces than Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.
- It was the first carrier to establish a seagoing high school.
- It can produce enough electricity to power a city of 150,000.
- I was the first ship in U.S. Navy history to have women aboard as crewmembers.
- The behemoth actually floats.
Free San Antonio
Five ways to spend a day in San Antonio, Texas, without spending a thing.
Walk the River
At street level San Antonio looks like any other American city. One story lower, the River Walk transforms five miles of downtown into canals and bridges befitting the best of Amsterdam and Venice. The Paseo del Rio (walk of the river, in Spanish) is a public park lined with bars, restaurants, hotels and even an outdoor theater. There is no shortage of things to do, day and night, 365 days per year. Just walking and taking in the atmosphere is wonderful, though, and free.
Preparing for an Extended Backpacking Excursion (Part I)
One hundred and six. That is the number of stops we’ve made during twenty months of continuous travel. We move so often that it has become second nature. These days, getting to a new destination isn’t much different than commuting to work. We experience no anxiety, or make special plans. We don’t even really need to give it a lot of thought. We just pack up and go. That is, as long as we’re driving the RV.
Our 107th stop is something else entirely. Shortly we’ll be leaving the RV behind and taking a flight to Belize. From there we’ll spend two months backpacking across Northern Central America. This is a completely new form of travel for us and required a bit more preparation. This is how we got ready.
Travel Bags
We didn’t absolutely need new luggage for the kind of travel we envision, but for ultra-mobility a backpack is hard to beat. The variety of bags available surprised and overwhelmed us, though. Complicating matters is that many retailers only carry certain brands, making comparison shopping a bit of pain. We also discovered that most backpacks are designed with the hiker, not the traveler, in mind. Travelers have special needs, and most bags fell short somehow.
Here’s what we were looking for, and ultimately what we got:
American Safari
When we think about wildlife viewing trips our minds immediately conjure images of a long coveted African safari, or maybe a sail through the Galapagos Islands. We don’t normally think of the American mid-west.
A travel truism is that we appreciate the far off and discount the nearby. I spent nearly two decades in one of the best cities on earth but didn’t really understand New York as a travel destination until after I left. Similarly, we have some pretty spectacular wildlife right here in the U.S. that often gets overlooked.
The good news is that we didn’t need a reminder to marvel at all the fabulous critters that crossed our path over the past six months. Here’s a partial tribute to what we saw, both great and small.
Everywhere Once 