Nickel and Dime-ing my way to Tanzania

Despite the title of this entry, this is really about budgets and Costa Rica.

You see, I get a week off between Christmas and New Years, and it seems like a waste to not travel when you're given holidays.  So months ago I started planning a trip to Costa Rica, on the cheap.  I've been told it's hard to do - out of all the Central American countries, CR is the most expensive.  So I figured it was going to be challenging, but I'd do what I could.

It started at home, of course.  I drew up a budget, and set out how much I would spend on the necessities - rent, hydro, phone, internet, and cable (ok, so cable isn't a necessity, but if I was going to spend more time at home, I needed something to do!) as well as food, my bus pass, apartment insurance and my sponsor child through World Vision.  I then factored in entertainment, and how much I'd like to save per month for Tanzania.

This budget worked out great until I realized that I hadn't thought of Christmas gifts.  No problem right?  I have a small family, it was doable.  Until I found myself with a boyfriend, which increased my Christmas spending.

I ended up getting a part time job in a bookstore (more spending!) to fund my trip.  I asked that an extra $40 be taken off for taxes, so that I didn't get hit with a surprise at tax time (and with luck, I'll get a small return, which I can then put towards Tanzania.)

Currently, I have paid off my flight, and exchanged currencies - I've gone with American dollars, as they tend to be easier to exchange for local currency in many countries.  I'll get enough Costa Rican colones to get me through a day or two, as well.  My hostels are going on my credit card.  We're staying in moderately priced hostels, so it shouldn't be more than $200 for the week that we're there.  My surfing lesson was a present from my friend Steph - she graciously offered to pay for it as my Christmas gift, which is amazingly awesome. 

And now all that is left is in incidentals.  Zip lining, guided night walks of the cloud forest, a coffee plantantion tour, bike rentals...whatever comes up. 

It's not easy to travel cheap, or rather it's not easy to plan to travel cheap.  You can save on accomodation - even a single room at a hostel is cheaper than a hotel, and you still get the privacy, albeit with a shared bathroom and shared kitchen.  Taking public transit, or local buses (chicken buses) over private/tourist buses helps as well.  Buying and making your own food, or going to smaller, local places, is also helpful.  Do some research - there's lots out there, on any number of destinations.  Someone, somewhere, has been there and done that, and they want to share their tips!

2 Summits. 4 Hours. 1 Bobsled. 1 Road-Trip.

Seeing as this will probably be the last nice long weekend before next spring, I went on a mini-road trip with my friend Steph on Saturday.  We drove down to Lake Placid, New York, to hike up to the summits of Mount Porter and Mount Cascade, two of the High Peaks in the Adirondacks.

Steph is an aspiring 46er - someone who has climbed the 46 High Peaks (that's the 46 peaks over 4'000 feet) in the Adirondacks.  While she had (previously) climbed Cascade, she had never summited Mount Porter.  Not to mention that she hadn't clocked herself on the Cascade climb, and the club needs your numbers.  For me, I was eager to get some hiking in as prep for my Kili trip next summer.  They recommend that you hike uphil/downhill as prep for you trip, and I thought that actual mountain hiking would be a great training session.

We left Ottawa at 6am.  The drive to Lake Placid takes about 3.5 hours, and knowing that we would end up spending a good chunk of time on the mountains, we wanted to make sure that we were there early.  The route to Lake Placid took us through the border crossing at Cornwall, and down through Malone, New York, and Saranac Lake.  The drive is incredibly pretty, especially at this time of year when the leaves are turning brilliant shades of orange and red.  The small colonial towns along the route were inviting - had we been going down for several days, I would have loved to have gotten out of the car and explore.

We arrived at the Mount Cascade trail head around 10:30.  We had made a pit stop at the Walmart in Malone so I could buy a pair of sandals.  (Note:  When hiking, always always always bring a change of shoes.)  The trail was busy enough with other groups going up, and the odd group coming down.  We took our time ascending - we were in no rush, and knew we needed to guard our energy as we planned to hit the summits of both Porter and Cascade.  The way going was marked by rocks, trees, branches and mud.

About a half mile from the summit of Cascade, the trail to Porter branches off.  We decided to summit Porter first as Steph hadn't hit it yet, and it was farther off, an extra 2 kilometers (.7 miles) from the branch.  The trail winds downwards for a bit, before heading back up towards its summit.  This is not a maintained hiking path, it is a winding trail that is awash is mud and water, and just a few minutes from the summit sits a giant boulder that the trail skirts in a tight line, before opening up the reveal the rocky summit, that is lined with pine trees that block the wind.

We decided to lunch at the summit of Mount Porter, as we had now been climbing for nearly 2 hours.  Porter is not nearly as popular as Cascade, so for a time we were alone, enjoying the view of Cascade across the valley.

After lunch we climbed back down, then started the quick assault on Cascade.  The summit of Cascade is thankfully only a half kilometer from the branch, which is about the only thankful thing about it.  The face of Cascade is pure rock that hikers need to scramble up, and if you're me, slide down on the seat of your pants (on purpose).

In all, it took us 4 hours to hit both summits and descend.  It seemed we would never get off the mountain, as we hiked down.  It seemed to take forever to reach the trail head, and often we were the only people on the trail.  It was such a change from the ascent, when we passed other groups, or had other people in front, behind us as we climbed.  But eventually we did reach the trail head, and signed out.  Taking off my shoes was bliss - my feet were ready for a little relief from the pounding over rocks and mud.

Our drive to Cascade had taken us past a sign that read "Bobsled Rides Today".  There is no way I can pass a sign offering bobsled rides without participating, so after our hike we took the turn off to the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run.

Lake Placid hosted the Olympics in both 1932 and 1980.  The bobsled track from the 1980 Olympics is still in use, and occasionally they offer rides.  At $73 for an adult, it's not cheap, but it is a once in a lifetime experience.  So I paid, and rode up the .5 miles to the start of the bobsled run.

There is nothing quite like hurtling down a mountain in a tin can, on wheels.  (Yes, in the summer, they put wheels on the bobsled.)  There's a driver in front, and a brakeman in the back.  All I had to do, was hold on (and try to keep my head from bobbling around in the zigzagging curves)  We finished the .5 mile track in 42 seconds, which seemed to be about the standard times for the "tourist track" (as I'm calling it.)  It was certainly an experience, and one I'd recommend to anyone.

After the bobsled run, and a quick dinner in Lake Placid, we started off for home around 6:30.  The sunset was unbelievable as we exited the Adirondacks, an excellent end to a somewhat crazy sounding day.

Taking the Cost-a outta Rica

Things have been percolating on the travel front, as well as the couchsurfing front, so expect to see a ramp up in posts.  I don’t want to blog about two unrelated topics in one post, so I’ve decided to hold off on my couchsurfing post for now.  While I’ve hosted my first couchsurfer (hint: it went well), my second arrives in about two weeks, so I’ll wait to blog about that until after he’s left.

This post is all about Costa Rica.  After much debating, googling, and price hunting, my friend Jason and I found a return flight to Liberia, Costa Rica for $850CND, tax included.  This is pretty phenomenal.  We leave Ottawa on December 27, and return on January 5.  I’m pretty stoked to ring in the 2012 somewhere in Costa Rica – maybe on a beach, maybe in a cloud forest, who knows?  All I do know is there won’t be snow involved.

We found the flights on the Travel Cuts website.  We have a bit of a circular route – we fly to Newark, then transfer to a flight to Houston, then a flight to Liberia.  On our way home, we fly Liberia-Houston-Chicago-Ottawa.  Our layovers are generally 2 to 3 hours, so all luggage should make the transfers as well; and we won’t get caught up in any border delays.

I know I said I wanted to go to the Canary Islands – and I do – but this price was just too good to pass up.  Assuming La Palma doesn’t slide into the ocean and cause a mega-tsunami, I can always go at a later date.  There were a few signs (or omens) that kept popping up for Costa Rica.  While looking at sleeping bags at MEC, there was a Costa Rica guide book left on a table.  Reading an online newspaper, I noticed the travel section was devoted to Costa Rica.  A friend mentioned that they were going to Costa Rica next year. Ok, so only three signs popped up, but it did seem a little serendipitous. 

Nothing besides the flight has been planned.  We do know that we’re going to be staying mostly in the north-western part of the country – hiking Arenal volcano, zipling in Monteverde and the cloud forest, scuba diving/snorkling/surfing/relaxing on the Pacific coast.  I’m also hoping to couchsurf at least one night in Costa Rica to experience it from the surfer end.  

The friend I'm travelling with is a scuba diver.  I've never been certified - I've never been anywhere where it was needed - and I've been looking into it here in Ottawa.  There's one spot, within a half hour bus ride from my place, that offers an Open Water course starting in October, for $300.  The only problem right now is that the course is once a week, for 5 weeks, and ends at 11:30 pm.  I'm up at 5:30 am during the week for work.  That is not good math.  But I'll continue to look into it.

Surfing in the...

I recently joined the website couchsurfing.org.  The basic premise is that when travelling, you stay on people’s couches for free.  Likewise, you host “couchsurfers” for free in your city.

There are several safeguards.  Each host/surfer is given a reference from their hosts/surfers – i.e. when someone stays at my place, I give them a “surfer” reference, and they would give me a “host” reference.  There are three options – good, bad, and neutral – and room for a few words.  You use their references when deciding whether to let someone stay, and when deciding who you, as a surfer, would like to stay with.

As well, you are not obligated to let someone crash on your couch.  When contacted, you can decline, for any reason.  Maybe you’re busy those days, maybe the person creeps you out, maybe you just don’t want company.  Whatever it is, it’s up to you.  However, you are expected to respond to the person, even if it is just to say “no.”  The site keeps track of the requests you respond to, and that percentage is shown on your profile, another way to designate a dependable host.

As a host, you can put any (reasonable) limits on your guest.  The number of nights they can stay, how much access they have to the house (i.e. the kitchen, your room.  Basically, anything beyond the couch and the bathroom), any hours they cannot be in your house (e.g when you’re at work, when you’re giving piano lessons, when you’re bathing fluffy the iguana.), you can even state which gender – females only, males only, or either.

These limits, as well as other conditions surfers need to be aware of (pets?  Your hours – are you a morning person, or night owl?  Are you willing to act as a guide and show them around during their stay?) should be written in your profile.  These (should) help ensure that there are no surprises for either surfer or host during the stay.

Shortly after signing up, I was contacted by a guy in France, who was looking for a couch mid September, for two to three nights.  And after him, a girl from Germany who was hoping to find a couch for the weekend of August 27.  The last one was a little short notice – I got the request maybe a week before the intended dates (it is currently one day before her arrival).  I figured I might as well jump in with both feet, and said yes to both.

I have since put my couch as unavailable.  I’d like to see how these two stays go before I entertain the idea of more.  I also need to determine what I’m comfortable with – once a month?  More often?  Less?  Would I prefer someone only on weekends, or is during the week ok?  How long am I comfortable having someone else in the apartment? 

Potentially, I will try the opposite in December, when I travel to Costa Rica?  Canary Islands?  Wherever I end up.  I’m hoping to couchsurf at least on city – perhaps not the entire trip, but one portion of it, to see the other side of the coin.  If I enjoy it, I can always do it again in another country at another time.

Always ride the elephant

My mother has this saying, “Always ride the elephant”.  It’s a stranger way of saying “When opportunity knocks, open the door.”  The theory is how often are you given the chance to ride an elephant?  It’s not, or it shouldn’t be, an opportunity you say no to.

My elephant is the Canary Islands.  It is increasingly looking as if a trip to Costa Rica is a no go – it’s simply too expensive (right now) to do what I would like to do – which is a trekking and diving tour.  There is still a possibility of going down and staying in a resort that offers some snorkelling and diving, and that’s something that will, hopefully, be figured out within the next few days.

The Canary Islands have popped up several times in my various travel preparations.  Last winter when I was planning my Christmas holidays they were a potential destination, before I decided on Hawaii.  They’re a very popular European destination in winter, as they tend to have very nice temperatures year round – 18˚C to 24˚C.  This makes booking early essential – not necessarily the flight, although that is important as I have to transit through Europe, but also hotels as they book up fast.  Especially at Christmas.

Tomorrow I meet up with my travel buddy to see where we stand on Costa Rica, as well as our ideas for the vacation – the timing, the duration, activities we want, and don’t want, to do.  Who knows?  Maybe we’ll end up a completely different location!

Pin the Passport on the Globe

I spend an inordinate amount of time explaining the whys for my travel.  Granted, I don’t usually pick your typical vacation spot, and oft times it does seem to come out of the blue.

Pretty much anything and everything can send me running for my passport and backpack.  For Iceland, it was a pamphlet advertizing the Glitnir marathon.  For Belgium it was a combination of a chance to visit a corner of Europe I’d never seen, the opportunity to connect with a few old friends who live over there, and a free place to stay.  (That counted for a lot, actually.)  I went to Florence because a book I read as a teenager partly took place there.  (This is also, by the way, why I did a cartwheel in the Louvre.)  My trip to Hawaii was inspired by a current deals board at a local travel agency.

The desire to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro came from watching an IMAX movie on the subject several years back.  The movie made it seem interesting, and attainable.  Difficult, but attainable.  And my trek in the Andes two years now seems like good training.  I got a taste of high altitudes (the highest I got was 4758 metres above sea level.  Kili’s summit sits at 5895.  Base Camp for Mt Everest sits at 5364.  So basically, if I can climb Kili, I can go to Mt Everest!  Also on my list of things to do.) 

Most of the companies that organize Kilimanjaro treks also organize safaris, and if they don’t, they still advertize them.  That led to the thought of “Hey, I should go on a safari while I’m there!!”  I’m not too sure when I found out about Zanzibar, but it quickly became part of the trip, rounding it out nicely.  I’d rough it up the mountain, relax a little on the safari, while still camping, and then bam!  Relax on the sandy shores of Zanzibar, with a nice tour of a spice plantation thrown in.

Then, while researching Zanzibar (the next best thing to travelling for me, is pricing out flights and figuring out what I’m going to do/see in any given location.  As well as finding other locations that I simply must visit) I found out about Mafia Island.

C’mon.  MAFIA Island.  I have to go, and yes only for the name.  Turns out it’s a good spot for diving and fishing, and also beaches.  It's easily reachable from Zanzibar,  and handily close to Dar Es Salaam, my fly in/out airport on the mainland.  

I'm sure in the next months this trip will balloon out of control.  I've seen a 4 day trip to Kenya to explore gorilla territory that looks interesting....