Julia and Micah quit their jobs and sold all of their belongings so they could travel around Central America for one year. I was able to catch up with Julia midway through their trip to ask a few questions about their experiences and preparations.
What inspired you to take this trip?
Julia (right) with Angie and Kaiden in León, Nicaragua.
My sister, Angie, joined the Peace Corps in 2006 and was sent to Nicaragua. When she completed her time, she found other work and stayed, but always talked about moving back to the states. After a few more years, she married Osman who is from Nicaragua and they now have a two and a half year old son. It became pretty obvious to me that she wasn't coming home anytime soon, so a few years ago, I decided that I would come to her. Micah and I started dating two and a half years ago, and during dinner on our first date, I mentioned my hope. Within six months, he said that if I went to Central America to travel and spend time with my sister that he would come with me.
Was it a big mental hurdle for you to start taking the steps toward your goal? How did you work up the courage?
Initially, pre-Micah, the biggest mental hurdle for me was the fear of traveling in potentially dangerous countries alone as a female. I played with the idea of this trip but knew that I would probably just take a very long vacation to Nicaragua for a few months and wouldn't get to travel around as much as I would like. Obviously, once Micah and I started planning it together, I knew there was safety in numbers and I'd also have someone to bounce ideas off of in case my judgement was off. For the record: Central America is much safer than it's perceived. We're cautious and lay low when appropriate, but we have never felt in danger during our travels.
After the safety part was resolved, my other hurdle was leaving my job. I loved my job, and I feared that I would regret leaving the best job and best boss I may ever have. The courage came simply from knowing that it was now or never: I didn't want to regret not taking advantage of the opportunities I had at the time. We're young (enough), don't own a home, don't have kids, and I have family in a foreign country. Once we told enough family and friends about our plan, we knew we couldn't back out.
What preparations did you need to do?
The biggest of course was financial. For nearly two years, we both worked on paying off debt and saving money. Six months before we left, we moved in together to a smaller place to save money on rent. Four months before we planned on leaving, I told my boss. Micah didn't need to give as much advance notice to his work so he quit one month prior to departure. Micah sold his car, we sold some belongings, and packed everything else we wanted to keep in a 10' x 5' storage unit. Those were the big preparations. Some small things we had to do were researching vaccinations we needed, schedule doctors/dentists appointments while we still had insurance, and I had to put my student loans on hold.
Julia and Micah adjusting to their first day of their new life on the road, relaxing at the resort Angie lives and works at
Do either of you speak Spanish?
Prior to our trip, Micah spoke enough just to get by, obtained during his previous travels. I didn't speak any Spanish. A bare minimum is helpful when traveling, but it's easy to pick up another language when on the road. There are key phrases that are necessary that you'll learn quickly (ex. "Do you have a room available?", "How much...", "Where is..."). We took a week of one-on-one Spanish classes in Antigua which was really helpful, and I would recommend finding an opportunity like this if you are a long-term traveler. The class helped me figure out some basics and the logistics of the language, which I probably wouldn't have figured out just from immersion. We also travel with a small dictionary and have found some beneficial apps (Duolingo is our favorite and it's free) that we spent time learning from in the beginning.
Do you two have jobs lined up for when you get home? And where is home?
Home is Portland, OR. Neither of us have jobs waiting for us, but I am technically "on sabbatical" with my company, and will temporarily do fill-in work at various Physical Therapy clinics when we return. We hope that work will give us a few months to job search and decide what we want to do and where we want to go. Micah is ready for something new.
Did you find a good resource (books, websites, etc) that helped you know how to prepare for your trip? I know BootsnAll.com is a good resource for long-term travelers...
We actually did not prepare! We planned to be in Nicaragua with Angie for the first month or two and figured we'd just research our route then. We used the Lonely Planet guide for Central America and also for each individual country (Kindle Unlimited includes a lot of travel books!). The Lonely Planet books provide useful information about the transportation between towns and great maps, so we would know which part of town had hostels or a bank, etc. Additionally, we found a few good blogs online of individuals or couples that did similar trips, which helped fill in the blanks about details we couldn't find in our book. We have both also traveled a fair amount prior to this trip and had a decent idea of what we were getting ourselves into!
How much money did you save, and what is your budget for the year?
When trying to plan our budget, we had to look at the two different types of traveling we'd be doing: the 3-4 months of the year we'd be at my sister's house, and the other 8 months on the road. We give my sister and her family a small amount to help out with food and bills while we're here, and we are helping her out with a lot of projects around the house. The fact that we have the ability to stay with them for part of the year really helps the budget. When we're on the road, we initially hoped we could get by on $60/day for both of us for all expenses. This estimation was based on previous travel that Micah did in South America, and knowing that Central America is slightly more expensive. Using our estimated daily expenses, we then calculated that the year could cost us $18,000 - $20,000 including the plane tickets.
With two years to plan and save, we were able to save nearly twice that amount. This has allowed us to travel without a strict budget, but we still try to keep costs low with numerous tactics. We shop around for the cheapest hostel and ask if we can get a discount for staying multiple nights. We take local or second-class buses and generally walk a few miles a day to lessen transportation costs. Most days, we eat two meals a day at local diners or street food, and buy bread, fruit or cookies to snack on the rest of the day. If the hostel has a kitchen, we also try to cook many meals there.
We've managed to stay close to our expected expenses thus far. Our current average cost for on the road is $64/day. This includes our hostel, meals, daily transportation, and any additional purchases such as entrance fees/visas, guided tours, and souvenirs. It does not include our plane tickets to Central America, Cuba, or recently to the Corn Islands. These figures are greatly influenced by our pace, since travel days and major tourist site days are the most expensive. Because we have more time than most other travelers we have met, we are able to balance those spendy days with relaxed $30 days ($15 hostel + $15 food).
Viewpoint of Semuc Champey (natural limestone bridge with pools) in Guatemala
What has been your itinerary so far?
We flew to Nicaragua on January 20th and spent the first five weeks with my sister and her family. My parents and brother also flew over for a few weeks, as a late Christmas celebration together. Micah and I left Nicaragua in late February and spent the next four months backpacking. We started on the Pacific side and headed north through El Salvador and Guatemala before entering Southern Mexico. We flew from Cancun to Cuba for two weeks, and then back to Mexico and descended down the Caribbean coast; Belize, back to Guatemala for a few weeks, and then Honduras. Mid-June, we met up with my sister's family in northern Nicaragua and then headed back to their home on the Pacific Coast. We were at their home for about a week before Micah and my friends flew over to visit, and so we did a bit more exploration around Nicaragua, including flying to the Caribbean Corn Islands with them. And now we're back "home" again with my sister!
What are your plans for the second half of the year?
For the month of July, we plan to be at my sister's house. We have a few big house projects to try to complete, and an energetic, sassy bilingual toddler to play with. My parents fly down to spend August with my sister, so we'll stay for a week or two of August to visit with them before we take off again. We'll likely spend a few weeks in southern Nicaragua. Then in September and October, we'll backpack through Costa Rica and Panama. Our plan is to return to my sister's in time for Thanksgiving, and then return to the US in December.
How much do you plan, and how much do you just wing it?
We mostly wing it, since we have the luxury of flexibility. Most long-term travelers we have met on the road are hopping from one continent to another and therefore have multiple plane tickets purchased in advance. Since we don't really have any of our transportation planned ahead, it gives us more time where we want it. The only thing we had to plan in advance was Cuba, which gave us a bit of a schedule since we had to make it to Cancun by a certain day for our flight. We generally have an idea of the route we're going to take; for the northern part of Central America, we decided we'd head up the Pacific side and return down the Caribbean, making a big loop. The flexibility is nice. Once we get to a town, we stay there for one night if we need to move on, or we'll stay a few nights if we really like it.
Temple 1 in Tikal, Guatemala
Did you have a list of "must-dos" before you left?
Once we realized how close we were going to be to Cuba and saw plane ticket prices were reasonable ($300 roundtrip from Cancun), that became our only "must-do." Otherwise, our goal was just to visit every country in Central America!
How did you decide what to pack for the year?
Packing was tough for me, since I've taken long vacations before, and short backpacking trips, but never combined the two! We packed for our on the road portion as conservatively as we could. We knew we'd be in the highlands a bit and would need clothes for cooler weather, but we'd also be on the Caribbean a lot. We each packed a lot of dri-fit clothes that we can easily sweat in and just a few things to layer for the cold. I personally didn't pack enough "normal" clothes like a cute tank top or sundress to wear when going to dinner. Luckily, we were able to pack a few extra things that stayed at my sister's house while we were on the road, so I'll pack a little differently for our trip this fall. My recommendation to anyone doing similar travel is to pack as light as possible, but smart. Consider a pair of long-johns that can pack small and keep you really warm. Pack at least one, if not two backpacking towels. Make sure to bring something to put dirty laundry in. Bring dri-fit material for warm climates because it won't smell as bad when dirty and it dries quicker when cleaning. Other items we packed that I was thankful for were my headlamp, shoe string to hang clothes on when hand washing, collapsible water bottles, tablets to purify water, and a multi-tool leatherman.
Waterfall hike in Juayúa, El Salvador
A must have "packing" item for anyone traveling internationally for an extended period of time is a bank that will help absorb some of the costs associated with withdrawing money. Between ATM fees, international exchange fees that your bank can charge, and the fact that you're only able to take out a certain amount at a time (usually $400 max), accessing money can get expensive. We have spent approximately 3% of our total budget on these fees alone, which after an entire year could add up to almost $600 in transaction fees. Unfortunately, we didn't think about this before we left, but rumor has it there may be a bank (Charles Schwab is one we've looked at) that doesn't charge international exchange fees and/or reimburses foreign ATM transaction fees. It's worth researching to save a few bucks.
How has transportation been in Central America?
For the most part, really good and easy to navigate. Chicken buses (our old yellow school buses) are how we travel the most. We find that the buses travel frequently and cost usually $1 per hour of travel- super cheap! We've also used collectivos (shared taxi buses) which are slightly more expensive but don't tend to stop as much and are sometimes, although not always, more comfortable. Transportation in Mexico was more fancy; they use coach buses and generally we'd have to buy the ticket a day in advance. With the chicken buses, you just jump on and at some point, someone will walk down the aisle of the bus and tell you what you owe. Cuba was the only place where the transportation was difficult and frustrating. They required you to buy the ticket a day in advance and then check-in an hour before departure. Their system was also very inefficient; they hand-fed their printers that looked more like typewriters. There were also less buses running from point A to point B, and sometimes they didn't have any public transit in an area, so we had to take an expensive taxi.
What is the best food you've had so far?
That's a tough question! We both love trying different food- that may be our favorite part of traveling! Each country we've been to has it's own specialty dish that we loved: baleadas (a wrap style flatbread stuffed with meats, veggies, beans) in Honduras; pupusas (grilled corn meal dough stuffed with cheese, refried beans and chicharrón) in El Salvador; cochinita pibil (pork marinated in citrus juices and spices) in Mexico. We would say that the tacos in numerous countries, but especially Mexico, have been the best food on our trip. That and the sweet fried plantains. And the liquado fruit smoothies. And the churros.
Where is the best beach you've been to so far?
Hands down, Caye Coco and Caye Guillermo on the northern side of Cuba. The water was crystal clear blue and so calm you could see forever. The sand, especially at Playa Pilar on Caye Guillermo, was so fine you couldn't hold it in your hand. We also snorkeled at Playa Pilar and swam over a school of maybe 10,000 fish which was amazing!
The best beach of the trip in Caye Coco, Cuba
Have you done some good hiking?
We have hiked a bit but not as much as we were hoping. Central America doesn't have the huge mountainous peaks that other places, like South America, have and it's recommended that you hike with a guide in a lot of places, which of course makes it more expensive. We did a few great guided hikes of waterfalls in El Salvador and Nicaragua, which included repelling down and jumping over waterfalls. Our favorite hike we did was just outside Antigua, Guatemala. The first of two days, we hiked 7 miles and camped at 10,800 ft on Volcán Acatenango. Acatenango is the highest peak in the area and is right next to the very active Volcán Fuego. We immediately saw eruptions of ash and were even woken up in the middle of the night to a large rumble, ash and lava included. It was amazing. The next morning, we woke at 4:30am to hike a couple more miles to the summit of Acatenango, just in time for the sunrise and more noise from Fuego. It is one of the hardest hikes I've ever done, and both of us would say our favorite adventure of the trip.
Reaching the summit of Volcán Acatenango just after sunrise with a view of active Volcán Fuego in the background
Let's end on a funny story! What's a mishap you've had?
Of course, getting to the most beautiful beaches was a challenge! The public transit in Cuba was inefficient and difficult compared to other countries we've visited, so we realized to get to these beaches we'd have to take a $30-$40 taxi. We did, and were dropped off at the one cheap ($35/night) hotel on the island. The hotel looked to be under construction and after fifteen minutes, we were told they had no rooms. At this point, our options were to walk and see what we could find, knowing that everything else on this island was insanely fancy and out of our price range, or turn around and take another taxi back to the mainland. We decided to walk the barren island, with the closest hotel 8 km away and in the worst heat of the day. We walked, hitchhiked and finally, drenched in sweat and toting huge backpacks, found ourselves walking through a beautifully manicured lawn to the large entrance of a 5 star all-inclusive resort. Their price was $170/night which was painful to even hear since we just paid $10/night in Trinidad. We decided to continue shopping, and walked to the next resort which was slightly cheaper at $140/night and also all-inclusive. We chose to go for it! We changed in their bathrooms, chugged two free tropical drinks, and ran into the beautiful Caribbean with so much joy. We spent two nights at the resort, eating and drinking back the weight we'd lost, hand washing all our clothes in the bathtub, and trying to look like we belonged.
Julia and Micah keep a travel blog, so if you want to read more about their trip, check it out here!
To read more inspiring stories, check out the rest of my Travel Tips.
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