Sold

I was crying thinking about this post. I cried as I finally cleaned out Skyhorse, taking out all our stained clothes and rusty canned goods with Spanish labels. I cried as she pulled out of our driveway one last time. And I’m crying as I write this now.  

  
Skyhorse is officially sold. A man in Indiana bought her and the shipping company picked her up yesterday morning at 7am. I never got to meet the new owner or even speak to him. I don’t know his plans, though Hani says he wants to retire and live off the grid somewhere. 

I never thought Skyhorse would actually sell. We listed her on eBay a bunch of times and posted the sale on just about every forum. We got more questions out of curiosity than interested buyers. I was convinced that Skyhorse was just going to be a cool fixture in our driveway (which, unlike at my parents house, was welcome in the physical driveway and not tucked in the side yard because of some stupid ordinance). 

It’s kind of hilarious when you think about it, the full circle of emotions I experienced associated with Skyhorse. I thought Hani was insane when he bought the ambulance. And then the truck. And completely off his rocker when we went to an airplane junkyard, rented a U-haul, and brought home a plane fuselage. I can’t even begin to express the fury I felt when he purchased one tow vehicle after another, finally settling on the motorcycle. 

But then Skyhorse started to take shape. It took on all the qualities of a home. The idea of packing up and leaving grew on me and instead of seeming far fetched, it became the next logical step for us. And I have to profusely thank my crazy husband for having this vision and creating Skyhorse, the best home we will EVER have. Without Hani being Hani, we would never have this unbelievable chapter in our life. 

So after 5 years in the making and 2 years on the road, we parted ways. May each of our journeys continue to be adventurous.   

 

Budget Recap–Breaking Down 2 Years On The Road

I’ve always been very open about our finances for our adventure because I believe a trip/2-year-lifestyle like ours is something ANYONE can do.

We worked normal paying jobs (we were both State of Florida employees so not making bank) and saved. Yes, we took vacations and had cars and bought things, but we are not extravagant spenders. Pre-trip, our credit card bills would total around $4,000 a month, plus $2,000 for rent, utilities, cable and all that stuff. We put a portion aside every month to use for this trip, budgeting $100 a day and anticipating a year of travel with plenty to come home to because we knew we’d be starting fresh–without an apartment or furniture or job. Well, the year turned into almost 2 years, with a total spending of…

$62,969

for 680 days on the road, nearly 9 months in the US and 14 months south of the border. That’s $2,798.62 a month and $92.60 a day. We were slightly under our daily budget and cut our pre-trip spending more than HALF!

That figure includes every dime that was spent while traveling–from ferry rides and fuel to copies at the border and camping. So let’s break it down.

**Disclosure: this is just what WE spent and not what is typical of travelers. If we felt like eating dinner out, we ate dinner out. If Hani wanted a really cool handmade knife in Alaska, he got it. I definitely kept our expenses in mind but did not let our budget control our every move, knowing that I’d regret not zip lining in Costa Rica even though we already did it 5 years earlier.

The most expensive places for us were Alaska, where we spent an average of $143.93 a day (Skyhorse needed a new starter, fuel was expensive and we were doing LOTS of driving and the ferry trip), Canada averaged $113 a day (because it’s Canada and things are crazy expensive) and Panama was $110.10 a day (because we went to a fancy doctor and got a pricey repair on the truck). The cheapest countries for us were Costa Rica spending $56.23 a day and El Salvador at $57.87 a day. The funny thing about Costa Rica is that it’s pretty expensive, on par to American prices for groceries, restaurants and tourist attractions. But during our 90 days there, we camped for free, didn’t pay for laundry at all, rented a super cheap house, cooked a lot and relied heavily on the motorcycle, which cut our fuel costs.

 

FOOD: $21,829.51

We are some good eaters! I am actually really surprised by this number, as I thought for sure our biggest expense would be fuel. But oh no, our bellies spoke louder than Skyhorse’s engine, I guess. Of that total, $10,608.20 was spent on groceries (bottles of booze and beer included), $2,341.87 going out to bars (where we just drank), and $8,879.44 at restaurants, cafes, snacks, and anything that was not home cooked (ummm, tacos…). I cooked the vast majority of the time and I am proud that our costs reflect that.

 

FUEL: $14,200

Pretty self explanatory. We average 8-10 miles to the gallon and cruise at 50 mph. The most expensive diesel we came across was in Canada at $5.50 a gallon. The cheapest diesel was when we returned back to the States. Weird.

 

TRUCK AND MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE: $8,436

This includes the brand new tires we bought at the start of the trip down to the oil filters needed for the motorcycle. Hani did our oil changes and regular maintenance but we had our fair share of trips to the mechanic while on the road. The only earth shattering maintenance expense was a new U-joint for $1,462. Everything else was pretty standard wear and tear on our big beastly vehicle.

 

CLOTHES, GIFTS AND SOUVENIRS: $3,251.83

We did replace a lot of t-shirts and undies (if we are being honest), as our clothes took some serious beatings over the years. As for souvenirs, we didn’t buy a lot of things to bring home though couldn’t resist some beautiful art and textiles (our friends and families were the main beneficiaries of what we brought back). The little things here and there added up but I realized that when I saw something I loved, I bought it, knowing I would most likely never see anything similar again. And when I look down at my wrist and see my bead from Alaska and handwoven Guatemalan bracelet, the feeling of being in that moment when I bought those items comes back to me and makes me smile. I’m fortunate that we had that ability to spend money on non-necessary objects.

 

LODGING: $2,743.19

I’m very proud of this number since it’s the result of LOADS of bargaining on my part (big pat on the back). Plus, how many people can say that they lived in a comfortable home for 2 years paying only this as “rent”? We always try to camp for free but sometime it just isn’t practical or entirely safe. Like when we were in the National Parks in the States, we often opted to camp inside the park even though we didn’t need the services they offered us, instead of driving out for the night and coming back in the next day. Also, in a lot of the major cities in Mexico, it’s completely impossible for us to drive Skyhorse into town so we would park at an overpriced campground outside of town and use the motorcycle to drive in and explore the city. This figure includes everything we paid to park at campgrounds, the “tips” we paid the hired nighttime policemen at Pemex gas stations in Mexico, our few hotel stays and our rentals in Costa Rica and Mexico.

 

TRANSPORTATION: $2,603

So yes, we were our own source of transportation, but there were times we took a tuk tuk or cab or bus or lancha/boat or a ferry (in Alaska, Baja and Costa Rica). This biggest chunk of this was $1,400 for the Alaska Ferry from Haines to Juneau to Sitka to Ketchikan dropping us off in Prince Rupert, Canada. Totally worth it and an extraordinary way to explore the Alaskan seas, cities and wildlife!

 

ENTERTAINMENT: $2,262.75

This is our Jazz Fest, museums, tours, movies, zip lining, volcano boarding, park and zoo entrance category. Lots of free stuff to entertain ourselves along the way but these were the special things that we just wanted to do.

 

MEDICAL: $2,071.13

Our doctor visits (big and small) and medicine. I don’t even want to begin to figure out how much these visits and medicine would have cost us if we were in the US. We didn’t see any doctors during our time in the States. South of the border the medical care was fabulous and cheap, and since health insurance didn’t matter, we didn’t have any.

 

DOGS: $1,541

Shae and Olivia were very easy travelers and not very expensive to travel with. But honestly, even if it was expensive to travel with our dogs, we would have done it anyway because it made the trip that much better! When days took a shitty turn (as they usually did), a doggie kiss and cuddle did wonders for our attitudes. We brought the dogs to the vet under a handful times, only one time when Shae was actually sick. We paid a total of $46.33 at the borders of Guatemala (for b.s.) and Honduras for fees. The rest was dog food, treats and refills of their monthly heart worm and flea and tick medicines when I ran out the last 9 months. Dog food was insanely pricey south of the border, which was odd considering how many strays there were.

 

BORDER CROSSINGS: $1,161.96

16 borders in total–US, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, times 2. That figure includes entrance and exit vistas, fumigation, vehicle permits, insurance, and copies (the dog permit fees I included in the above “dog” section). We only bought insurance when we were required to so we didn’t have vehicle insurance in Guatemala, El Salvador or Honduras. Also keep in mind that permits and insurance was for 2 vehicles–Skyhorse and the motorcycle. The most expensive vehicle permit was for Honduras, probably because they know most people just drive through the country. The most ridiculous border fee we paid, aside from the dog fee, was the $30 exit fee leaving Costa Rica. Pay to leave?! Really??

 

LAUNDRY: $376

Laundry is one of those things I have always taken for granted. Except for my dorm years and one year in law school, I have always had a washer/dryer in my home. I never really paid attention to how much it cost to wash my clothes. On our trip, however, I hustled majorly when it came to laundry. When we were in cities when we knew someone, I had no shame in asking to use their washer and dryer. I would scout out the best laundry deals and avoid doing laundry in backpacker or tourist towns, as prices would inevitably be higher there. Coin operated laundromats ceased to exist outside the US so our wash was mostly hand or machine washed, line dried, and folded, waiting for us to pick it up and cost around .40 per pound. I always bargained for cheaper prices south of the border, hence why our cost to have clean clothes was so low…until we got back to Antigua, Guatemala, that is. It was there, after we had just had all of our clothes washed that we discovered we had mites and needed to have every item inside the truck washed again in hot water. EV-ERY-THING! $85 and 2 days later, our bedding and clothes were super clean and mite free.

 

BOOKS: $332.51

Hani is addicted to books. He will maybe read 1 of every 10 he purchases from cover to cover. So when he bought his first book of the trip in Texas for $2, I thought it would be funny to see how much he spent the whole time. This amount is totally nuts. We could have gone out to a few more nice dinners on this. Instead we have a large bookshelf of unread books. Damn Hani and his desire to learn! (Side note: I did buy a few books on my Kindle but didn’t include the cost on here. Many of my books I got for free. I highly recommend getting a Kindle or other eReader to save space.)

 

TOLLS: $327

We came across a random toll here and there in the US, but nothing prepared us for the tolls in Mexico. Not only are they excessively expensive, the quality of the toll roads are 1,000 times better–no speed bumps or cattle or craters–so the cost is minimal compared to the aggravation endured by taking the free roads. Just in Mexico, we spent $271 on tolls and it was worth every peso!

 

CELL SERVICE: $318.56

Cost of having cell service during the 14 months we were in Mexico and Central America only (we still had our US plan in the States and Canada). Both our iPhone were unlocked at the beginning of the trip so when we entered a new country, we bought a $2 local SIM card and a data package with a local company, which averaged about $18 for 3 weeks of internet. We only bought plans for one of our phones since we were always together and would add a few extra dollars on the phone for local calls and texts.

 

The remaining expenses were for water, parking and donations. We never paid foreign transaction fees on our credit card (we have Capital One Visa cards with cash back rewards) nor did we pay ATM fees (we bank with Charles Schwab and get all ATM fees reimbursed at the end of each month).

And that’s the cost to drive from Key West to Alaska to Panama City, Panama and back!   

Back To Mile 0

After leaving Daytona, we arrived in Miami and welcomed to this:

our crap!

and this:

family!

My parents threw us an awesome welcome home party the day after we got to Miami, just enough time to dig through our bags of “new” 2-year-old clothes and find something hole and stain free to wear. (Seriously don’t remember keeping so much stuff!) It was FAN-TASTIC to see our friends and family after being away for so long.

 

we finally met our godson Ethan

 

the sweetest gift!

We spent the next few days readjusting (more on that later), taking the dogs for a vet check up, getting an oil change on our car and other random welcome-to-reality tasks (like getting new batteries for all 5 of my watches that died during our 2 year absence).

Then, on March 5, 2015, back to Key West, where it all began. We decided to drive Skyhorse because, well, why wouldn’t you take an impractically large vehicle a tiny island during Spring Break. No, it just seemed fitting to return with Skyhorse.

The water looked bluer. The sky clearer. I had forgotten how amazingly captivating the drive down the Keys is.

look at that big smile!!

The normally 3 hour drive took us 5 hours, as we stopped to visit friends all along the way down. And after 680 days–1.5 months shy of 2 years–we returned to Key West for a long weekend visit.

Our 5 days in Key West were filled with surprising this one for her 25th 29th 31st birthday

this adorable face’s 1st birthday

happy 1st birthday Ava!!

meeting the newest generation of Key West Conchs, going out on the boat (a million thanks Lori and Kevin!!), wandering our old neighborhood, drinking at our favorite watering holes, and reconnecting with old friends. 

baby whisperer?

give me back my bow!

 

fighting over who is going to wash the dishes. some things never change…

the Robertson Resort

We even camped a night at the office. 

The conversations picked up right where we had left off and though circumstances had changed (new addresses, new jobs…) all the people were the same. Those that we had laughed with for years before we left on our adventure were still standing there with open arms welcoming Hani and I back. The only measure of the passage of time was all the new little ones that have sprung up in the last 2 years.

The city and its unique character will always hold such a special place in our hearts. I know our visits to Key West will always continue. But for now, the wind is pulling us in a different direction.

The return of Skyhorse

       Yesterday–March 5, 2015–concluded the travel portion of our adventure in Skyhorse, as we have landed back in Key West (for a visit, people! Not permanently.)

       Everyone asks how it feels to be back. Well, here it is…

       I crave that simpler time. When the highway meant a one lane partially-paved road in either direction with bare land or small shacks on either side. When I didn’t care if I had makeup on or whether the clothes I was wearing had holes in them or were stained to near oblivion. When $4 meant a full meal for two or a weeks worth of fresh produce or a box of wine. When living with minimal possessions in a 14×8 space was more than sufficient.

       That being said, I missed our friends and family more than I thought. Yes, Skyhorse felt like our home because it had all the things that made it a home. But STUFF doesn’t always make a home complete. The one, massive part of our adventures that was missing was all of you. And it feels FAN-freaking-TASTIC to be back to that.

       This was not just “a trip.”  It was OUR LIFE for nearly two years. We lived in our moving home with the forest/ocean/mountains/wetlands/volcanoes as our ever changing backyard. And I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

       Your reality is whatever you make of it. Hani and I made our best possible reality for two years. So if you want to work 24/7, do it. If you want to quit your job and travel, do it! Whatever you want or dream, don’t just want or dream.

Make. It. Your. Reality. NOW!

Random (belated) thoughts/ month 16

At the beginning of our trip, if you’d ask me where we would be in one year, I would have said Panama. If you’d ask Hani, he would have said already home. Crazy to think that it took us SIXTEEN MONTHS to crawl our way to Panama. This month we:

+ reluctantly left the house in Potrero, air conditioning, pool, friends, bakery with the good brownies and all. That was a sad day.

+ made our way to the towns in southern Nicoya: Montezuma, Mal Pais and Santa Teresa. When we came to Costa Rica 5 years ago, we LOVED Mal Pais/Santa Teresa and were lukewarm about Montezuma. We were so obsessed with this community, I thought this time around, we would buy some business and settle there. The town of Santa Teresa was just ok this time around. Too many people. And much more touristy now. We parked on the public beach and explored other beaches, restaurants and the crappy coastal road (if you can even call it a road) on the motorcycle for a few days. We loved Montezuma! We found a sweet spot in the center of town right on the water and again took the bike down to check out the surrounding town and beach of Cabayu. But as far as settling there long term, meh. Our feelings on the area have definitely changed.

+ learned yet again there’s a different mentality when you travel on vacation versus travel via camper long term. And what worked well on a vacation once doesn’t really do the trick the second time around. BUT finding the same cabana you rented 5 years earlier for a fraction of today’s price is still pretty satisfying.

+ ferried from the Nicoya Peninsula to mainland Costa Rica. It’s been a while since Skyhorse has boarded a boat.

+ caught up with our So Fla friends Huda and Jason in Jaco. They, along with a group of friends, rented condos in Jaco and we were lucky enough to get included in their activities. Huda and Jason put us up in their plush rental (thank you guys again!!) and we enjoyed meals and down time with them and their gang. It was nice to be reminded of home after being away for so long.

+ arrived in Manuel Antonio National Park on a crowded Sunday. We didn’t feel like battling all the people so we planned to go Monday bright and early. Monday morning we packed a bag and lunch, walk the sweaty 10 minutes to the entrance only to find out the park is closed on Mondays. Whaaaat?! So we spent the day with all the other idiots who also probably tried to go the the park and found it closed–at the beach.

+ explored Manuel Antonio National Park. We had been to this park before but were eager to do it again, since the wildlife is spectacular. As we hiked through the steaming park, we saw loads of birds, monkeys and raccoons. Yes, nasty, greedy raccoons that were trying to steal food right out of peoples’ hands. So gross.

 

+ fixed the thermostat on our small fridge. It kept freezing on the lowest setting and ran constantly, draining the truck’s battery. After Hani took it apart, we searched for a repairman in Quepos and then in San Jose. Through a series of fortunate encounters (including running into a mobile refrigerator repair guy) and conversations of not taking no for an answer, we bought what we believed to be the right part, found a repair guy and waited the 3 days near the shop to test and retest the fridge to make sure it was REALLY fixed. It eventually was.

+ parked in a cul de sac in San Jose for those 3 days while the fridge was being repaired. The weather was cool. We were around the corner from the fridge repair shop. The cul de sac was peaceful and neighbors super sweet.

+ were gifted a bag of limes, then gallo pinto, and then invited to breakfast by Miriam who lived in the cul de sac. We were so grateful to be welcomed into their home and in their little neighborhood.

+ arrived at the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. A-MAY-ZING!! Definitely our favorite area of Costa Rica. While there, we camped on the beaches at Cajuita, Playa Negra, Puerto Viejo, and Punta Uva. The beaches were immaculate. The towns of Cajuita and Puerto Viejo had a Key West-y chill caribe vibe with delicious food and friendly people. Punta Uva beach was filled with coconut palms and the water had some cool areas to snorkel. Only a sandy tree covered track lead out to this remote beach. And there were many days we were the ones out there.

+ dined (twice) in Cajuita on the most scrumptious spicy garlic mussels…with a sleeping sloth above us.

+ met John and Jeanine from California who have been living in Cahuita and are now selling their home. We spent a great afternoon with them checking out their house, having a beer on their deck, going to their favorite restaurant and walking the town with ice cream.

+ toured the Jaguar Rescue Center in Punta Uva. Though no jaguars, we saw rescued monkeys, toucans, sloths, monitors, big cats, colorful snakes, baby ant eater, and owls. The monkey playroom was the best–these little guys swing and jump and wanted to be cuddled. We weren’t allowed to bring cameras in because they would destroy them so there’s no picture of the baby monkey jumping on my head and nesting in my hair.

+ got soaked daily. It was a pleasant reprieve from the heat.

+ spent 81 days in Costa Rica and crossed into Panama on August 19th. Our southernmost country!! We made it!!

+ left Skyhorse parked in Almirante (because it would have cost $200 one way on the vehicle ferry) and boarded a small lancha with the dogs to Bocas del Toro. It was a pricey 2 days of staying in a hotel and eating out for every meal but TOTALLY WORTH IT! We would have stayed on Bocas longer had it not been so expensive for us.

 

+ mingled with locals and took water taxis to a few of the surrounding Bocas islands. After eavesdropping at breakfast, we learned that Emma had a restaurant/bar on a mangrove island 10 minutes off Bocas with a reef around it. We snorkeled for hours and ate and drank on this remote little restaurant island, Blue Coconut. Robin was kind enough to give us a ride back in and showed us the ex-pat nightlife. Very Key West and very fun!

+ saw the real Bocas. Way outside the tourist center that’s basically Key West circa 1974 live the local locals. Their homes are shacks tucked into the mangroves. To access the homes, a series of practically rotten planks are set up above the mucky trash-ridden waters. You need pretty good balance to navigate this path, especially when someone is coming in the other direction. We followed the plank path a while and it just got too depressing. Garbage was everywhere and no one was doing anything about it. Tons of tourists pour money into Bocas and it’s doubtful that this community ever sees a cent of it.

+ found the Cangilones de Gualaca, a canyon hidden in a nondescript part of Panama. The river below begins as rapids, gets super deep and narrow through the canyon, then widens into a lazy river kinda thing. The jump in was pretty high and scary, though it doesn’t look it from these pictures. We had the place all to ourselves to jump, float and splash for several hours before a bus load of students arrived.

+ are impressed with how well stocked the grocery stores are in Panama. I can pretty much find anything I would ever need in ONE store! That hasn’t happened since leaving the states.

+ landed in the cool mountains of Boquete. There we explored the city on foot, drove high up into the mountains, hiked a trail, ate some delicious German sausage, and explored the local farmer market.

+ have yet to escape the rain. Oh well.

+ hate Claro, the cell service we choose when we entered Panama. Sure it was cheap, but we’ve had an “extended” signal everywhere in the country. Thus, few postings and this belated blog entry. Forgive me.

Stuff no one tells you: The End

New country. Customs. Copies. Stamp. Stamp. Drive. Groceries. Laundry. Drive. Beach town. Drive. Mountain town. Drive. Immerse. Photograph. Love. Eat. Repeat.

It may seem monotonous at times but it’s exciting, adventurous, and I don’t want it to end. Ever.

But at some point, the money runs out. The bank account that held the key to a future unknown dwindles down to a number a kindergardener can count to. You are faced–no, forced–with the dilemma: what now? Work on the road or go back? Some are privileged enough to have a job to return to. To have a “home” to return to after months or years of wandering.

Others left their once-home in hopes that life would sort itself out. Whatever that means. So now we wait to see when things get sorted out for us.

When you have the world at your fingertips and can start anew anywhere, what do you do? Where do you go? What’s “the next step”? Florida? Texas? Colorado? Washington? Can life get better than living on a 2 by 4 island?

Two wise friends said not all who wander are lost but feeling a bit turned around right about now.