( I lost my original, complete list of pre-trip expenses, so I'm sure I missed some things below. There's guesswork, too. )

River, pre-trip expenses: returning stuff by UPS: 90 (I suppose I should call this post-trip)

plastic tubs: 35

Ophelia: 350 (purchase, license, transport, commission, - sale)

Minneapolis to the Mexican border, I spent about $2500. (Including about $200 phone, and $632 motel)

< I can't remember how I came up with this figure, but it seems short>.

Latin America, pre-trip expenses: trip insurance: 291 (plus another 219 boost later)

shots: 250

malaria, diarrhea: 100

baggage by UPS: 53

guidebooks: 80

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days (in country)

official rate (from oanda.com)

my rate ( after the bank, visa, ATMs, and money changers got their shares)

local spent (local currency actually spent)

$ spent (total dollars spent at my rate)

$ trans (buses, boats, and cabs between destinations (but not cabs or buses tooling around cities))

$ other (food,water,internet,phone,cabs,city bus,admissions,beggars,buskers,incidentals,fees,bribes, etc.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Notable Items, on the books above:

Guatemala: 40 tikal, 33 xmas call, 27 cab to border

Nicaragua: 103 flight to corn islands (not counting flight, $34/day)

Costa Rica: 77 corcovado park fee, including 16 lodging (not counting fee part, $ 47/day)

Panama: 96 flight over darien gap (not counting flight, $ 58/day)

Ecuador: 200-300 jungle tour (months after, I see this omission, and can't remember the cost. )

Peru: 44 tour-bike-convent, 28 colca tourist tic, 12 unused bus ticket fiasco

Bolivia: 705 two bike tours, tiwanaku, pampas, jungle, and jeep tour (without these extras, and fudging for food and lodging, bolivia would be about $42/day). Transport sorts thus: 328 pricey (two flights, cab to trailhead, jeep to border), 83 everything else. Lodging figure includes six bucks each for all the tour nights. 135 visa fee on entry.

Argentina: 182 for park fee, bike rental, and two whaling voyages. $85/day without these extras.

Paraguay: 65 visa. $38/day without this.

Items bought on the road, but not on the books above:

Guatemala: 101 school

Honduras: 28 donation

Ecuador: 70 more guidebooks, 33 flip flops

Bolivia: 450 face repair

Chile: 43 dominican republic guidebook, 129 shoes

Argentina: 24 cane

<<<<<< With everything above added up, plus the $882 flight, the foreign part of the trip came in at $16,547, call it an even $17,000. Add the river trip and New Orleans and Laredo for a total of maybe $20,000. With food and bodily maintenance accounted for (as a guy has to eat wherever he is), traveling as I have done cost me about as much as maintaining my apartment, utilities, and car would have. >>>>>

I have yet to see if my travel insurance will cover me for my face repair.

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( It took a year of tail-chasing, but my face was at last covered. - Ed., June, ’13)