Travel E-mails
An archive of e-mails from my Centeral/South America trip.5/10/2006
Zac, Zac, He's a panamaniac!
Remember that old lego song "Zac, Zac, he´s a legomaniac"? Well I do. Half of my freaking childhood was tormented by that blasted commercial tune... Ever since that day I pleged to hunt down ANY legomaniac by the name of Zac, Zach, Zak, Zack, or any name with a similar sound... wait... no I didn´t, I´m just trying to make this e-mail interesting. Enough of that textual rampage; it´s enough that you have to endure the REAL stories, let alone rants on fictious events devised by a savage heat-crazed mind.
Moving right along, Here I am, in Panama. Panama City to be exact... and I´m stumped. I came here hoping to catch a quick and cheap flight to Peru, so that I could hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, then head through bolivia to Brazil... BUT I am really stuck on whether I can do this or not... First off, the hostel that I had reserved in Rio de Janerio tells me now that they mis-posted their prices for a few hours, which happened to be the hours that I made the booking, and now they are asking for $36 USD per night, and not $15... As it stands, I am down to about $4000 CDN, or roughly $3250 USD... The flight would cost me $450 for a return flight to Lima, Peru... meaning I have to bus about 4000 km to get to Rio, then 4000 back to get to my flight... all of this for Carnival, the biggest party in the world... Plus, in Peru, I would want to hike the Inca Trail, another $250... meaning between transportion and the trail, it would cost about $850-900 USD... If I do want to skip the whole winter (Which I REALLY do want to do), then I have to make it another 3 months... meaning I would have $2350 for 3 months to spend on: Carnival, bussing from panama to canada, food, drink, and accomidations..... I have a backup-fund waiting for me, but it´s intended for "getting started" in canada... So, there´s my predicament. I don´t know what to do... do I go just to peru? if so, why not just make that jump to Brazil, I´d be in the region... So, if I head to south america at all, I HAVE to hit carnival, that´s simply a matter of human deacency... But this is an action that I can hardly afford... unless I cut the vacation short, sleep on beaches and eat rice and beans, or find a job simply to sustain myself longer down here..... The OTHER alternative is: Skip South America entirely. Make this a Centeral-America only adventure... There is a LOT to do here, and already I´ve had to cut several destinations due to time/cash restraints of my projected agenda... If I stayed here I could hit all the spots that I want to, and REALLY explore centeral america... finish it off in a sence... Plus I would save that $900 for things like scuba diving, spanish classes, and white water rafting etc... That money would go a long way here...
Well, sorry for the blathering on about finances and uncertainty, but at present, I have to figure this shizzle out-- That´s why I´m in panama at this time.. to fly, but I don´t know if I am going to head south, and that descision is currently the biggest yet of my travels... I mean really, do I need to do 2 continents in 1 trip? Isn´t that a bit much? I meet people daily who have been traveling for months, even years... have been to europe, asia, and the americas in one jaunt... I don´t know how they can do it.. already I am beginning to miss friends and family.
Anyhow, that is my state as it stands... Undecided in a major point of descision... Each option has it´s ups and downs, and weighed against eachother, each is equally appealing... My real question is the question that lingers on EVERY other traveler´s mind at times like this.. "Will I get another chance" -- The uncertainty of whether this is your last oppertunity to make the trip.. You never know what might happen in life, I could go home and settle down, go to school, get married and have a kid... I could get hit by a truck tomorrow and be paralized for life... If there was certainty in life, such descisions as these would be taken in stride, but life is an uncertain thing, we can never know for sure what the future holds.. Making such descitions as these difficult. Carnival would ROCK to go to, and Peru would be incredible, I´ve heard nothing but good reviews... But I also love Centeral America, and if I have money on my mind all the time I´m down south, will I truly be able to enjoy it? Ín Rio, if I go, I will likley be locking my things up in a hostel or somewhere, carrying only a toothbrush, clothes, a hammock, and a disposable camera... sleeping on the beaches with nothing worth stealing to save a penny (or 3600 pennies per night to be exact (even more in canadian pennies)).
Whoa... how did this e-mail get so big? Damn you all for letting me write so long! I have thinking to do! Plans to plan! Drinks to Drink...uhh.... and so on.
Anyhow, Get back to me with your opinions. I´m sooooooo stuck on what to do that all I can do is keep on writing in hope that somehow I´ll write my way to an answer... which explains how long this e-mail is getting... growing by the letter... just watch it! Whoa! Bigger and bigger... ha ha ha ha ha! Suckers, all reading my ongoing rant on how long this rant is going on! Take THAT! Pow!
Damn, I REALLY need to stop this.
Zac
p.s. suckers.
Moving right along, Here I am, in Panama. Panama City to be exact... and I´m stumped. I came here hoping to catch a quick and cheap flight to Peru, so that I could hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, then head through bolivia to Brazil... BUT I am really stuck on whether I can do this or not... First off, the hostel that I had reserved in Rio de Janerio tells me now that they mis-posted their prices for a few hours, which happened to be the hours that I made the booking, and now they are asking for $36 USD per night, and not $15... As it stands, I am down to about $4000 CDN, or roughly $3250 USD... The flight would cost me $450 for a return flight to Lima, Peru... meaning I have to bus about 4000 km to get to Rio, then 4000 back to get to my flight... all of this for Carnival, the biggest party in the world... Plus, in Peru, I would want to hike the Inca Trail, another $250... meaning between transportion and the trail, it would cost about $850-900 USD... If I do want to skip the whole winter (Which I REALLY do want to do), then I have to make it another 3 months... meaning I would have $2350 for 3 months to spend on: Carnival, bussing from panama to canada, food, drink, and accomidations..... I have a backup-fund waiting for me, but it´s intended for "getting started" in canada... So, there´s my predicament. I don´t know what to do... do I go just to peru? if so, why not just make that jump to Brazil, I´d be in the region... So, if I head to south america at all, I HAVE to hit carnival, that´s simply a matter of human deacency... But this is an action that I can hardly afford... unless I cut the vacation short, sleep on beaches and eat rice and beans, or find a job simply to sustain myself longer down here..... The OTHER alternative is: Skip South America entirely. Make this a Centeral-America only adventure... There is a LOT to do here, and already I´ve had to cut several destinations due to time/cash restraints of my projected agenda... If I stayed here I could hit all the spots that I want to, and REALLY explore centeral america... finish it off in a sence... Plus I would save that $900 for things like scuba diving, spanish classes, and white water rafting etc... That money would go a long way here...
Well, sorry for the blathering on about finances and uncertainty, but at present, I have to figure this shizzle out-- That´s why I´m in panama at this time.. to fly, but I don´t know if I am going to head south, and that descision is currently the biggest yet of my travels... I mean really, do I need to do 2 continents in 1 trip? Isn´t that a bit much? I meet people daily who have been traveling for months, even years... have been to europe, asia, and the americas in one jaunt... I don´t know how they can do it.. already I am beginning to miss friends and family.
Anyhow, that is my state as it stands... Undecided in a major point of descision... Each option has it´s ups and downs, and weighed against eachother, each is equally appealing... My real question is the question that lingers on EVERY other traveler´s mind at times like this.. "Will I get another chance" -- The uncertainty of whether this is your last oppertunity to make the trip.. You never know what might happen in life, I could go home and settle down, go to school, get married and have a kid... I could get hit by a truck tomorrow and be paralized for life... If there was certainty in life, such descisions as these would be taken in stride, but life is an uncertain thing, we can never know for sure what the future holds.. Making such descitions as these difficult. Carnival would ROCK to go to, and Peru would be incredible, I´ve heard nothing but good reviews... But I also love Centeral America, and if I have money on my mind all the time I´m down south, will I truly be able to enjoy it? Ín Rio, if I go, I will likley be locking my things up in a hostel or somewhere, carrying only a toothbrush, clothes, a hammock, and a disposable camera... sleeping on the beaches with nothing worth stealing to save a penny (or 3600 pennies per night to be exact (even more in canadian pennies)).
Whoa... how did this e-mail get so big? Damn you all for letting me write so long! I have thinking to do! Plans to plan! Drinks to Drink...uhh.... and so on.
Anyhow, Get back to me with your opinions. I´m sooooooo stuck on what to do that all I can do is keep on writing in hope that somehow I´ll write my way to an answer... which explains how long this e-mail is getting... growing by the letter... just watch it! Whoa! Bigger and bigger... ha ha ha ha ha! Suckers, all reading my ongoing rant on how long this rant is going on! Take THAT! Pow!
Damn, I REALLY need to stop this.
Zac
p.s. suckers.
# 1:06 PM 
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