Vectis Birder
Itchy feet
As I have already mentioned on the forum elsewhere I am off back to Ecuador later this year to do voluntary/trainee bird guiding and, if I can, teaching English (doing the course in Portsmouth in September) for a few months.
I am after some general info as I am hoping to not just travel in Ecuador but also Peru and other South American countries.
My main concern is the usual - dosh. I have a small income of the equivalent of $320 a month (that's after all the usual boring stuff, bank loan, etc, has been accounted for) so how much do I need to live on (food and lodging is taken care of), roughly? Would that be enough? Just a rough idea, as I know it's a case of how long is a piece of string and all that - sticking around the same area, yes it would, but there's no point being in an area for months and not going further afield.
Secondly, how easy is travel around the continent? I'd use ground transport mostly, if possible, because of the cost of flying.
One more thing, how costly is it to obtain anti-malaria medication, etc, there or is this best sorted here in the UK beforehand, such as I did before going to Ecuador the first time?
I'm hoping to go maybe November/December time, but it may be sooner if I can accumulate funds. This might well involve selling my new car and settling the debt on that (not entirely sure if getting rid of the car is such a good thing because I'll need it when I eventually make my way back to Britain - but it would give me an additional $170 a month), then using the remaining money as I can't stick my job at B&Q for much longer!
I'm learning Spanish and that's coming along quite well.
If anyone can think of any good advice, I'd love to hear from you.
Cheers
VB
I am after some general info as I am hoping to not just travel in Ecuador but also Peru and other South American countries.
My main concern is the usual - dosh. I have a small income of the equivalent of $320 a month (that's after all the usual boring stuff, bank loan, etc, has been accounted for) so how much do I need to live on (food and lodging is taken care of), roughly? Would that be enough? Just a rough idea, as I know it's a case of how long is a piece of string and all that - sticking around the same area, yes it would, but there's no point being in an area for months and not going further afield.
Secondly, how easy is travel around the continent? I'd use ground transport mostly, if possible, because of the cost of flying.
One more thing, how costly is it to obtain anti-malaria medication, etc, there or is this best sorted here in the UK beforehand, such as I did before going to Ecuador the first time?
I'm hoping to go maybe November/December time, but it may be sooner if I can accumulate funds. This might well involve selling my new car and settling the debt on that (not entirely sure if getting rid of the car is such a good thing because I'll need it when I eventually make my way back to Britain - but it would give me an additional $170 a month), then using the remaining money as I can't stick my job at B&Q for much longer!
I'm learning Spanish and that's coming along quite well.
If anyone can think of any good advice, I'd love to hear from you.
Cheers
VB