Ireland with my parents

My dad works a lot. Be it his desk job or farming or some committee he is on, he seems to always be doing something. Even now, there's not much time where he and mom are with me when I'm home or we were all five together growing up. Even on 'vacation' he could only stay a couple days to get back and take care of the animals or vacation coincided with some work function that he attended during the day and saw us at night. My dad also didn't have a passport a year or six months ago. When I moved to Singapore in 2009 for three years he told me he thought it was great for me, he was proud of me, but he would not be visiting. And he didn't. :) That may sound harsh on the face of it but it's my dad and didn't surprise me. (I'm not sure where I inherited my travel bug, lol.)

I say all this to give some background to our trip to Ireland. My dad's family is Irish and it's the one country he agreed he'd travel to. When he finally told my mom he was ready for a spring 2015 trip, we almost couldn't believe it :). And me being a bum for a year and never having been to Ireland, they asked me to join. I was skeptical. Dad has never been overseas, mom only the couple times to visit me, and I have never spent over a week with them where we are always together. But I said yes and the planning began. Mostly by my mom :). 

The first day was pretty rough - bad jet lag and crappy weather. I slept while they went to find dinner. Every day just got better from there and it turned out to be a great trip. I had to laugh because by the end both parents separately thanked me for coming along. Somehow we all managed to balance each other out :).

Ireland isn't very big but you do need a car to get a lot of places if you aren't doing a package tour. So except for a day in Dublin on the front and back end of the trip, we picked a central spot for things we wanted to do and found a place to rent on AirB&B. We stayed in County Mayo, which is not one of the famous tourist counties but is in the west/central part of the country. We found a PERFECT little house that slept three out in the countryside. It was a former 'in-laws quarters' and had everything we needed - kitchen, wifi, laundry, living area complete with books and movies, and a great book with info for the area. The owners lived across the driveway and were super nice. We had fresh baked goods at least three of the days we were there (so good!) and mom and dad went over for tea Easter afternoon. We couldn't have had nicer hosts. 

We had a rental car. These are expensive in Ireland, mostly due to the insurance. The roads are not super well maintained and are very curvy and narrow in many places. I can understand why there might be a lot of accidents. Especially when you think of tourists coming who usually drive on the opposite side of the road. We got one of the smallest options, which helped on the dicey roads, and manual because it was cheaper. Dad drove almost the whole week and props to him - no accidents or even scratches!!  I sat shotgun to navigate and try to help give reminders on driving on the opposite side of the road without being too much of a backseat driver. Generally it was all good :). Mom sat in the back and tried to enjoy the ride. 

We hit up some of the main sites and also some lesser known ones. Here are some picture highlights and descriptions. It was a great trip and I'd say Ireland lived up to the hype :). 

The first few days were cloudy, windy and wet, but it did get better. One of our first adventures was finding and visiting Moyne Abbey.

We had to walk past a house along this stone fence (our car is parked on the road near that telephone pole in the background), which is in a field for some cows. There's a 'beware of bull' sign before you cross the fence. Luckily that day he was in another field. 

And here is the abbey we walked out to. It's hidden from the road and we were lucky to have found it. I finally spotted a local in the barn and asked how to get out there. 

The abbey....in someone's backyard :). 

It was pretty neat and I thought pretty well maintained for ruins. It was founded in the fifteenth century. You could walk around most of it too - very accessible and we had it all to ourselves. 

This part was the old church and now there are people buried here. 

In one of the courtyard areas. 

A fireplace and chimney from one of the old rooms. 

We headed up to another place that was along the coast but turned out to be closed and the weather was not so fun.

Mom and dad walking back because there wasn't much to see. 

A view over the cliffs. 

The water and waves were fun to watch. 

One night I took a walk around our countryside neighborhood.

A pasture with farmhouse in the background. 

A scarecrow in a field. 

So many of the roads are one lane and with hedges, shrubs, trees or land acting as natural curbs to keep you on the road. 

I don't know that I've seen a black mama sheep with white lambs :). 

A random cow on the tracks (though I think these tracks were out of commission). 

The empty house that was one of our landmarks on which road to turn down. Roads were not labeled. This one stuck in my mind because the first time I saw it I joked that this was our accommodation for the week :). 

Another little cottage along the road. I wonder when this was originally built. I bet hundreds of years ago. 

Another day we headed south to Kilkee and then worked our way up the coastline. There was a nice, short path along the Kilkee Cliffs you could follow. Not as grand as the Cliffs of Moher, but still impressive and much less crowded (and free). At the beginning of the path is a restaurant that was really nice as well.

Mom and dad trying to stay warm and dry. 

Dad went down to explore closer to the water's edge. 

Mom stayed up higher and kept yelling at dad to be careful and come back. 

Don't fall!!

Mom and dad walking along the path. 

Dad and I in front of the cliffs. 

One of the many stone walls built ages ago throughout Ireland. This one was along the road leading back into town. If you think of the effort to build these and start noticing all the walls....you are in awe of how they did it. 

There are lots more pics to share (and some of them didn't download for some reason), so I'll do a 'to be continued...' and share more later. 

Budgeting in Central America

I don't think I've talked at all about how I planned my gap year from a financial perspective. That's one thing I always assume people wonder about, but social manners don't really allow you to ask someone "how are you paying for that?".

I quit my job in July 2014 and didn't plan to work again until at least Labor Day 2015, so 14-15 months without an income. The accountant in me was very deliberate in making sure I could fund this time off without breaking the bank or using a ton of savings. Not having a significant other, wedding or child to spend money on definitely helps :) (not to say I wouldn't love to spend money on those things). My daily spending habits also changed. No more buying clothes or shoes (for the most part). Where I use to wander the aisles of Target on a weekend (and easily accumulate $100 when nothing was on my list), I now wander the aisles of Salvation Army or Goodwill. I find less and what I do find is cheaper :). The other big change is going from a credit to cash wallet. I still need credit cards for some stuff and I use them for gas but I try to use cash for daily purchases. Actually seeing my money dwindle down in the wallet is helpful protection against impulse purchases.

I then looked at what my monthly outflows would be. Luckily no rent (thanks mom and dad!) and I had managed to pay off any old debts while I was still working. That left health insurance as my next largest monthly expense. I've been lucky in the health department and managed to save a lot of cash in the HSA offered by my old employer's health plans. So I can keep my health insurance under COBRA (up to 18 months) and pay the premiums from my HSA and not my bank account.  

My remaining monthly expenses include cell phone, food, gas and Hulu/Netflix subscriptions. 

All of these are factors into how I saved up some money and how I would limit my expenses going forward. Airline miles and hotel points (and friends with hotel points) have helped a lot up to this point. And in the U.S., when I camp it ranges from no cost (free) to maybe $30/35 at a KOA. Between camping and staying with friends and cheaper gas prices, it hasn't been too bad. Also my activities are focused on National Parks and related areas (monuments, battlefields, forests, etc.). An annual pass is $80 and then you get in free everywhere. I keep an iced cooler in my trunk and try to maintain my own little pantry. So traveling cheaply in the U.S. hasn't been too hard. 

Finally to my main point - how to budget for a winter in the tropics! I wanted to escape the worst of winter but not blow my budget on hotels and eating out every day. First I did my research. My airline miles go the furthest if I went south. I speak Spanish so Central America would be good for that. Costa Rica and Belize are the top two spots people will talk about (based on personal observations). They are the most developed and therefore the most expensive as well. But I wanted a beach and snorkel experience, so Belize was on the table. Guatemala ended up being the other country that was cheap, somewhat developed and had a good variety of places. El Salvador and Nicaragua are a couple other good cheap options. I gave myself one week in Belize at the end (sort of as something to look forward to) and the rest in Guatemala. The longer you stay in one spot, the cheaper per night rate you can get. So I stayed my first place for one month. Also, it had a kitchen and it allowed me to buy groceries and not always eat out. 

I didn't do a detailed budget but wanted to spend $1,000 to $1,500 per month ($2-3k total). I rounded that down to $2k, backed out my first month of housing ($600) and last week of housing ($400) as these were booked and essentially spent already. Then I used a slightly high estimate of per night lodging in Guatemala for the rest of the days. I didn't book any of that prior to leaving the U.S., but I had researched to get an idea of cost. I used $30/night (30*3 weeks = $630), which brought total expenses to $1,630. That left $370 for food, transport and activities/shopping if I went with the low budget. Whoa. Math sucks sometimes :). That's roughly $6 per day at the low budget or $23 per day on the high budget. I decided to give myself $13 per day. Not sure why, just did. 

The first week I did great and on budget. However I didn't really do much of anything. No tours. Just walk to town, eat cheap food for one meal, walk home. I decided I needed to stick to $13 for daily stuff (mainly food) but had to spend for activities and whatnot - but within reason. I still looked for the bargains. I kept a running total each day of all expenses and how I fared against budget at the end of the day. After that first week I was never again positive against my budget :). But this is also why I aimed low with $13/ day instead of $23/day. 

How did I do? Probably a fail.  $3,811 (roughly based on estimated foreign exchange rates) for 59 days of summer during winter :).  That excludes any airfare related costs but does include housing, transportation, tours, tips, food, souvenirs, gifts and mailing home that big package. 

I don't have the data in excel like a good accountant, so I can't analyze it too much. But here are some break outs. 

Activities $1,162 (tours, tutoring, entrance fees)

Food $805 (eating out, groceries, snacks)

Souvenirs/gifts $173 (painting, boots, postcards, gifts)

Transport $275 (shuttles, taxis, buses)

Housing $1,296 

Clearly I did better on housing than expected but my activities weren't really budgeted at all and ended up being a lot of the budget. They were all definitely worth it. I could also tell my financial restraint grew more relaxed as the trip went on. I'm not sure why other than I got tired of telling myself 'no'. Definitely makes me appreciate my old employment and that I've been lucky enough to not need to be on a very strict financial diet before. I do hope when I work again that I can keep some of my good financial habits from this gap year :). 

Belize

I stayed in Belize for a week and a half, about three days inland and a week on an island. I left Flores in Guatemala and crossed the border. I was slightly taken advantage of because I had no clue what I was doing. I got out of the van near the border (which almost left with my luggage - I was running behind it to tell him to stop) at the wrong end of town and later saw people from my same van at passport control. It was only a few bucks though so I wasn't bothered too much and the extra 'taxi' took me from spot to spot so I didn't have to walk in the heat. I don't think I've ever walked through a border crossing before, so that was a first.

Once through, I got a taxi to a nearby town, San Ignacio. It's a good spot to stay when you want to do some cave tours, tubing trips and ruin visits. I did a cave visit that was like three hours in the cave and you got to see Mayan ruins and skeletons because the caves were sacred places for them and rituals were performed here. It was more legit than the candle in a cave and more informative. The ruins and skeletons were pretty cool to see. 

Then I did some exploring on my own and caught the bus out of town to a small village across from more Mayan ruins. You had to cross a river and there was a manually powered ferry. It was hooked up to cables and pulleys and a guy pulled you across - people, vehicles and horses too. A couple vehicles doing other tours asked me if I wanted a ride. I think it was like a mile walk back to the ruins. They seemed a bit surprised when I politely thanked them but declined. 

The ruins were fun and you could climb up top this really high one and even see back across the border to Guatemala. I did some exploring and went to a smaller ruin. There were not many people there and I had it to myself. I walked up and started to walk around the back when I was scared to death by a giant iguana that was white/grey and blended perfectly into the rocks/ruins. I laughed afterwords but it did scare the crap out of me, something so large suddenly scurrying when I was near. 

I headed back on what had to be the slowest bus ever. I don't think we got over 30mph. It took probably triple the amount of time to get home. But I made it. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find my pictures from San Ignacio :(. 

Then I headed to the airport. I shared a ride with another American - maybe in his 50s. Turns out he's a caver. It's his hobby. He comes to Belize frequently and they hire him to lead teams into new unexplored caves in order to map them and identify any new ruins. He had found ruins on this trip! He had a book that illustrated some of his adventures including creatures he has found in the caves. Freak out now. Huge spiders, scorpions, bats. Not to mention he may be underground for miles and days at a time. Definitely not my idea of a fun hobby :). It was neat to meet him though. 

I was headed to the airport to pick up a friend who was joining me for a long weekend on the island. I was so looking forward to it and I know she was too. Seven weeks without friends from home does get lonely even as you meet new friends. Anyway, long story short I saw her for like 10 minutes before she was whisked away to a return flight to the U.S.  Passport troubles that prevented her from entering the country. :(  It was super sad and she was super upset. I felt so bad for her. She did end up making it back home but not without a lot of immigration discussions. Enough on that. 

I headed to the island on my own. I arrived just after a torrential downpour. It had been storming there recently and they were actually without power from one of the three generators that electrify the island. Lucky me, my rental apartment was in the no power zone. But it only lasted the afternoon and then was fine. And the apartment was perfect! My first AirB&B rental and I loved it. The owner lived next door and was the nicest and super helpful lady. She drove me around the island in her golf cart (no automobiles allowed) to give me the tour. 

It is a small island but still plenty of shops to buy food and tour operators to book trips. I did a day snorkeling trip and then a night snorkeling. I had never done night snorkeling before and that experience was awesome! On both trips I got to see a lot. I also kayaked around the island one morning and went to a place where these huge fish chill for the day. The water is clear and you can see them swim right under you. I tried some local food and bbq. I almost did kiteboarding. But I only had one day and he said it takes at least a couple sessions for you to figure it out and get comfortable without being exhausted :). Next time. 

I'll make up for pictures here ;)

We started at a spot where they feed the sharks and rays which was really cool because then they were all swarming below you. These are not people eating sharks by the way. 

One of the crew took my camera and dove down to get closer shots for me. 

Thanks man!

Some type of ray 

We got to see a lone manatee by chance. It was awesome!

She went right by us and below us. 

Then I happened upon what I think is the biggest turtle I've ever seen in real life. Just chomping on some grass. 

Another one swimming alongside me. 

The crew made us some ceviche and had tortilla chips. The leftovers were thrown overboard and the birds had a fiest. 

This is one of the pelicans from my kayaking the next morning. 

These were the big fish swimming in their protected area. 

This guy had his canoe out. 

One night we went out at sunset to do the night snorkel. 

It was a little harder to figure out my flash and get the camera to work well underwater at night. Here the guide is holding a huge hermit crab. 

There's an octopus here, but it's hard to see. Right in the center is its head, the bluish green area. 

Here's one in action moving across the sea floor. Again, middle of the picture a brighter blue green that is almost see through. 

Another turtle we found roaming at night. 

The turtle at a different angle. 

And this is a super small squid floating near the top of the water, thus the reflection. He was able to fit in the palm of the guide's hand. It took me forever just to figure out what he was showing me :).

Otherwise I read a lot. It was very quiet and peaceful. Before I knew it the week was up. I headed back to land and started a long bus ride back to Flores, Guatemala. I stayed in a hotel with a pool there so I could enjoy my last day in Central America. That night I headed to the airport for the red eye back to Chicago.