There is a windfall on the horizon- namely my extremely fat 2008 PFD appeal has been accepted and I am the happy recipient of the dividend and the stimulus-rebate-whatever money. Since I already paid for all my gas and oil in 2008, I am looking at this as a grand opportunity to seize the day. Matt and I are looking to plan a week long trip over the Labor Day weekend (maximizing leave time). Current front runners are Peru and Costa Rica, advantage: both are cheap (so we can do something fiscally responsible with the bulk of the money), exotic and speak Spanish (a language we feel comfortable butchering). Peru has Machu Pichu, Lake Titicaca and the Amazons. Costa Rica has appealed to my siblings to visit- so obviously it doesn't suck. Anyone have some insight to offer? Disadvantage, we still can't afford a guide, so we need somewhere easy to get round on the cheap, where we won't be scammed at every corner (which is how Turkey lost this battle). We'll call this a travel training expedition to get some practice getting by in developing nations.
In other news, the lab has finished moving to our new location on the third floor. There is a little settling in left to do, but for the most part we've all gone back to doing science very quickly. We are leaving next week to go to San Fransisco to visit the Seguins over the 4th- hooray! It is about time for a vacation for both of us.
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Well the 'Costa Rica' we did hardly counts as 'developing' at all. Tourism is one of the big industries in CR, and we spent our time in larger-sized hotels that cater to foreigners. We did mostly touristy-explory kind of things which, while not *actually* that adventurous, were a lot of fun. Note, though, that this sort of route does cost more. You could probably get by just fine doing some less touristy kind of stuff, but so much of CR is geared toward tourists now you might have to go pretty far out of your way to find the sort of off-the-beaten-path things you might be looking for. Here's some advice.
-The rainforest is beautiful. Do whatever you can to see as much of it as possible.
-The big city is called San Jose, that's where you would fly into. GET OUT of there as soon as you can. It's a mess to get around an not nearly as interesting as the untouched areas.
-We really liked Arenal. It's got some neat adventures to go do (ziplining and the like) and not too expensive
-The roads there are badly marked, but well maintained enough. Get yourself an english-speaking GPS and you'll get around a lot easier.
-When people talk about *good* white water rafting, they're talking about something different than you are. Plus you'll be there during the (extra crazy) rainy season. Canoeing, on the other hand, was great fun.
Hope that helps. I'll give a call later.
-N
My friend Ellen Searby-Jori wrote the book "Costa Rica Traveler" for independent travelers on a shoestring budget. Also probably a Lonely Planet book on same.
I do recall from research a few years ago that you MUST have a guide for the Machu Pichu hike. To keep people on trail, minimize impact, support local economy by using experienced locals to guide, etc.
Betty, we found the same info about Machu Pichu. I totally respect the requirement, but when we had accounted a budget of $35/day/person, a $300/ person backpacking experience seems pretty pricey- so we are deciding whether to expand the budget or our horizons. Also having to wait out 2 days at altitude makes the whole affair seem like a major commitment.
Noel- Costa Rica or Panama are seeming sort of appealing- jungles, beaches, mysterious food. Figure you can probably get up to your neck in foreign if you get out of the cities, and it is way cheaper to fly to central America than South America (or Juneau Alaska, for reference).
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