Administrative Tasks

This week has been huge for planning. Well, planning the planning. Ben and I had our first "meeting" to determine a budget and a pre-departure timeline. It's an arduous and daunting task, but it must be done. Ben is a rock star about these things, so I'm ever so glad we're doing this trip together. I get way too side tracked to get through these things without some guidance!

"So, how much will this grand adventure cost," you ask? Well...we're figuring a year in South America could cost upwards of $10,000 per person if we live way too well and pay for everything (really nice hotels, expensive food, etc). So...we've got to cut corners somehow! We'll hopefully have room and board taken care of for at least half of the trip, so that will cut down on cost immensely. Hostels instead of fancy hotels for the majority of the trip, though I'm sure we'll splurge from time to time. Eat tasty local (aka cheap) foods instead of at the expensive touristy restaurants. If we're really running out of cash...spend a few more nights in the tent I suppose! (hehe...my parents might kill me even before we leave...)

As for a timeline, it's pretty broad but covers the basics such as setting a general itinerary, getting shots, insurance, etc. Travel stuff. The timeline dictates that we have at least our first country picked out by the end of February and purchase tickets soon thereafter, so we'll be able to announce that soon.