travel distance & food costs

After 100 days on the road, we’ve covered 13,327 km, crossing 7 countries and burning 2,364L of diesel at an average cost of $1.25 CAD per liter.

• Nights Camping: 60 paid / 40 wild camping
• Average Daily Spending: $150 CAD (compared to $90 on our 2020 trip)

Favorite Destinations – Guatemala vs. Costa Rica

We’ve enjoyed all the countries for different reasons. Guatemala is by far cheaper, and we had some great adventures there, but Costa Rica wins in the beauty category for beaches, jungle, flowers & birds. People across all countries have been warm & welcoming. 

“Not once have we felt unsafe. Just like at home, we lock the doors at night and stay cautious.”

Climate & Camping Challenges

Experiencing all temps from 0’C to 35’C. Coming down through the USA we froze our butts off. It wasn’t till the Oaxaca coast did we truly feel the heat, and haven’t slept with more than a top sheet since. The coastal heat & humidity is tough,  we manage 2-3 days max before having to retreat to high ground to cool down, dry out & sleep. 

• Camping Costs:
  • USA & Mexico: $21/night
  • El Salvador: $10/night
  • Nicaragua: $15/night

Cold showers have became the norm—initially shocking but eventually refreshing. Ranging from water blasting to a mere trickle to water shooting in every direction.   Toilets vary too, without sharing too many details, some have seats, some don’t, some flush well, most don’t. In Mexico the stalls were often so small that you can’t close the door as my knees are in the way, so Charley and I take turns standing guard and holding the door. 

 The roof top tent is a godsend and has had much use, mostly by Charley, occasionally by Jaxon.  About half the nights they share a bed, I’ve rigged the dinette bed to be bigger to give them as much space as possible as they fight & it’s worked.

Food Adventures & Local Cuisine

Sampling local food is a highlight of our travels:

• Mexico: Mouth-watering tacos
• El Salvador: Delicious pupusas—thick handmade tortillas filled with beans, cheese, and meat
• Roadside BBQ chicken: Found everywhere ($7–$10 USD)
• Fresh Produce: Always from roadside vendors for the best flavor and freshness

Eggs thankfully are cheap and don’t require refrigeration.  Proclaimed Jaxon’s favourite food, we buy in flats of 30, which lasts at best 5 days.  Sometimes I bake sourdough bread, as we just can’t find good bread down here, it’s all full of sugar. Mexico: Puraficadors everywhere; 200L for $0.05 per liter lasting 10–12 days

Guatemala: Difficult water sourcing—relied on bottled water

El Salvador: Free, pure well water

Border Crossings & Driving Conditions

Border crossings in Central America are an exercise in patience:

• Requirements:  entry visas, TIP (truck permit), departure taxes & endless stamps
• Nicaragua: The most challenging—3.5 hours to enter & 2 hours to exit

Each country has the same requirements, entry visitors visa and the TIP. Then exiting we have to reverse this process, pay departure tax, stamps for passports and cancel the TIP. Repeat. The fun, not fun part is locating all the offices.

Driving has been both rewarding and challenging:

• Mexico: Narrow roads with endless topes (speed bumps)
• Southern Guatemala, El Salvador & Nicaragua: Smooth, new roads with visible infrastructure investments. China at play here?
• Nicaragua: Unique hand-laid interlocking paver roads

Managing Police Checkpoints

 Nicaragua has the most ‘check points’ with cops looking to make a little money on the side & appear to be every 20km.  To avoid extortion, we have printed off copies of all our documents, put them into a plastic sleeve binder and hand the entire thing over when stopped.  Twice they demanded originals, we simply reply that they were stolen.  With no real reason to hold us, they return our documents & wave us on.  One time they tried to fine us for not wearing seatbelts, we agreed, asked for the ticket.  (Written tickets aren’t paid on the street, but down at the station).  No written ticket, eventually they loose patience and let us go. We never hand over original documents.   

daily life

I’m usually the first awake, somewhere around 5am & usually spend my time writing.   The kettle goes on around 7am then Tim sneaks out the door with his coffee & to plan the day & research our next steps, where to go, camp, explore etc.  I drink my cuppa tea in bed, me time!

Charley is the next one up, she steals the iPad and together we loose another 30 mins before we have to wake sleeping beauty, Jaxon, who would happily sleep till 10:30am if we let him! 

After breakfast we get the day rolling.   Tim would love to be on the road daily by 7am as that’s the coolest and quietest time for driving.  Sensible, but the reality is that we don’t usually get going before 9:30am.  Border crossing days we make the extra effort to be there early. The goal is to be off the road by 1 or 2pm, sometimes we don’t park up till 4pm. 

Just like at home, chores & laundry is a constant, usually done by hand. A few times I’ve had it done locally, sometimes it comes out clean, sometimes it doesn’t. 

Kids do the dishes.

Tim takes care of the truck, route finding and teaches Math & Science.

I take care of cooking, cleaning, laundry, blog writing & teach English & Socials Studies.

People

The world is full of wonderful people & we’ve met a few more, both travellers and locals, each touched our hearts is special ways.  Most of the travellers we meet are German, Swiss, Dutch and the occasional Canadian, Kiwi & American. The network of travellers on the road feels smaller this trip & campground owners confirm this as they feel there is at least a 50% decrease in their visitors. 

Home School & learning 

In the ‘school of life’ they are learning much through experiences & adventures.  In the school of books and academics they aren’t spending as many hours on the books as their teachers would like, but both are doing very well.  Time just isn’t allowing for the required 4hrs study per day. Many days the don’t open the books, others they spend the whole day. Sometimes a bit of a source of anxiety, more so for Tim & I. Charley could care less.  Jaxon’s teacher has agreed to half his academic load, providing we submit his experiences & travel journal online.   When your classroom looks like this, it can be hard to focus.

Family Insights

Jaxon, 11

“At first I didn’t want to go or leave my friends, school, skiing & soccer. But now I feel great, we’ve had some really great experiences, met new people and had lots of fun. My best days were Six Flags, hiking Acetenango with our new friends and exploring Ometepe Island on motorbikes. I like trying new foods & just overall exploring all these new places. Oh and learning other surf in Nicaragua & Costa Rica was pretty epic too. I love seeing so many different kinds of birds and enjoying life.

The worst part is waking up early & the bugs. Border crossings are boring and take too long. Sometimes I get bored driving. I like playing Monopoly Deal & have learned to play Backgammon & Crib. School sucks, mum is always nagging us to write our journals and do school work. I like to cook my own breakfast.”

Charley, 13

“So far the first three months has been good and bad, I mean being crammed into a shoe box 24/7 with your family can get a little much! Privacy, what’s that? We pee with the door open, haha! I like spending time with my family, but, you know… I miss my friends. School’s a challenge, when we’re not driving I just want to explore and do stuff, or I’m too tired. My computer is broken I have share. I like that we have starlink! We’ve had some really great adventures & seen amazing stuff. My fav was the Acetenango Volcano hike & riding scooters. I can see why people love to travel by motorbike. I like sleeping in the roof top tent, I like my space. I don’t like waking up early. The mosquitoes & no see-em’s like me, I’m covered in bites! I’ve seen lots of really pretty birds and lots of very skinny underfed animals, mostly dogs. Cold showers took a little getting used to, not my favourite. My brother can be really annoying, but I guess he’s ok, sometimes. I like to put my music on & tune out or read a book. “

“Travelling is amazing, I’m very lucky”

Tim, 55

The first three months has gone by fast, we’ve covered a lot of ground. I like driving through the different countries, seeing how they change and how people live so simply, with so little. The state of the roads is a good indicator of the state of the country. These months has given me an appreciation for my own life. Am grateful the truck is running smoothly. Maintaining focus while driving is a constant, there isn’t a lot of room for error as the roads are busy & often narrow. It gets tiring, the kids like winding up in the last hour of the drive when I need it least. I feel the responsibility in my hands it’s a 10 tonne truck. Am grateful for Mario & Wenke to be bringing out parts from Germany and look forwards to having a beer with them again.

Driving down through the USA was a bit of a blur. I had fun checking out the National Parks. Mexico was also a fast blast, but we met some nice people. Antigua, Guatemala was my favourite place. Enjoyed the overnight volcano hike & spending time with our new friends. I enjoy hiking & exploring new places. I don’t like cold showers at all. My favourite place to camp was in Antigua, Guatemala & Monte Verde, Costa Rica.”

“Border crossings are an event, all the same procedures, but there isn’t any logic on how things happen. Have to just be relaxed, follow instructions & find humour in it. I don’t like the heat & humidity of the coast, the invisible bugs are just destroying me. I’m hoping the shipping out of Panama goes smoothly, I’m excited to get to Colombia.”

The experiences, while challenging at times, are unforgettable—and we wouldn’t have it any other way. 100 days down, 600 to go…