Prep Work and Equipment

Thus far, we've come up with a tentative packing list for the three of us.  Below is the list.  Obviously, we don't all need to bring every single item (i.e. toilet paper) but hopefully we'll be able to squeeze it all into the car (we'll see; I'll update when we actually do a packing trial run)
    
      Things to Pack

I did a massive amount of research on countries that require/don't require visas and all the additional information one would need to get into the country.  Here is list of places I researched.

     Countries that Don't Require a Visa

     Countries Requiring Visas

CAMERA and LENSES

I bought two cameras for this journey, one for underwater diving, and the other for landscapes etc.  Along with that I got a few lenses, an external flash and two tripods.

I went with the Sony NEX-3 for the compactness and reasonable price relative to other DLSRs.  After a few months playing with it, I've come to love it.  When I began thinking of the different styles of photography I wanted to do on this trip, (namely landscapes and macro) I realized the 18-55mm standard lens wasn't going to cut it.  For landscapes, I got the 16mm wide angle lens with the ultra-wide adapter, while for my macro-ish or photos I wouldn't be able to get near enough to, I went with the 55-210mm telephoto lens.

For underwater photography I'm bringing the DX-GE5 by Sea & Sea, a  12 megapixel waterproof digital camera with housing that allows the camera to go to 180 ft.   

FINANCES

For extended trips abroad where wages are variable if existent, it becomes incredibly important to have your money work for you.  The right credit cards, savings or checking accounts, even holding money market accounts or buying short term bonds can help you extend the buying power of each dollar.

CREDIT-- When choosing the right credit card for you, it's important to take into consideration a few variables.  How much APR is charged?  What kind of rewards program is offered?  Is there an annual fee?  Is there a foreign transaction fee and if so how much?  For APR I've seen between 7%-20% so depending on your credit score, try to get as low an interest as possible.  Many if not most credit companies offer 0% APR your introductory year.  As for rewards, I've seen a 1%-2%  rewards rate (1 mile / 2 mile per dollar) and cash back features- the better the rewards, the more money you could possibly save in the future for every dollar spent today.  Annual fees can be an annoyance; however, it is up to you to decide if the say $59 annual cost is lower than the benefits outlined.  Lastly, foreign transaction fees are a huge burden at 3% so for every hundred dollars spent you are spending an additional $3.  Attempt to get as low a percentage as possible if not zero  When deciding the right card for you, nerdwallet is an excellent online resource.

CHECKING AND SAVINGS--  This particular subject threw me for a loop.  First let us address yield.  Most commercial banks right now are not offering much in terms of APY on high-yield checking or saving accounts, most being between .1%-.5%, set in tiers depending on the amount you hold with them.  (Charles Schwab, Chase, etc)  Only through many phone calls and web browsing did I find companies that offered yield toward 1%.  As of writing this, Barclays offers 1%, American Express .85%, and Capital One 1% the first year only (their checking account actually performs better than their savings with this first year account holder yield).  Once you've decided on the latter, the next thing we look at is if the bank offers ATM reimbursements.  You don't want to spend $3-$4 every time you need cash.  Charles Schwab currently does offer ATM reimbursements but as we have seen their APY is atrocious.  What you can do is open two accounts with separate institutions and link them.  For example, a Charles Schwab checking account can be linked to an American Express savings account allowing you to earn that .85% yield while seamlessly integrating ATM reimbursement.

SHORT TERM BONDS--  Short term bonds are the way to go if able.  Your money remains liquid like above and you can possibly earn 2%-3%.  Setting something like this up however I would
recommend talking to a financial advisor.  



VEHICLE SUPPLIES (LATIN AMERICA)

The vehicle we will be taking is a 2003 Chevy Cavalier Sedan-

It isn't ideal but thanks to the help of one of my best friends, Johnathan Garcia, and with a few modifications, it will be fine although I wish the ground clearance was better. 

First we decided to upgrade the headlights to HIDs for safety and fastened the license plates with square screws because the odds are slim that anyone has this particular size square head (If someone wants to steal it they are gong to need to take the bumper too)-

Also we ended up tinting the windows with 20%--

INSURANCE

Medical--I went back and forth about whether to get insurance, where to buy it, how much to get etc.  As with many other people I spoke to, normally you just get your insurance through your employer, so I had never really had to think about it.

The easiest one to find, I think was World Nomad, because it can be found through Lonely Planet, which everyone will go to at some point when planning a big trip.  When I put in my personal 

criteria, it gave me 2 options (Regular and Explorer), one a touch under $1,000, one a touch over $1000.  I then went to the Web for more resources.  Insuremytrip.com was awesome, because you can compare several at a time, like Kayak.com.  However, from independent searching I found one 

called Atlas, which I thought was great, but I couldn't figure out how to get included on the Insuremytrip.com list to compare to others.  In the end, I narrowed it down to three options: World Nomad (only because I had heard it referenced so often), Patriot Travel Medical Insurance, and Atlas Travel Insurance.  I called a broker from Insuremytrip who assured me that the three I had chosen were very similar, just had different algorithms for determining price which could lead to the $500+ difference in prices.  So, in the end, I went with Atlas, who charged a lump sum of $544, with adventure sports included, AND they are one of the only ones that cover as much on dental!

Auto--For this road trip through Latin America we were forced to get two policies:  one for Mexico and the other for Central and South America. This does not include countries such as Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Colombia where the purchase of their compulsory liability is mandatory in order to enter the country.  I chose Sanborn's and for both policies, Mexico for 32 days and Central and South America for five months which totaled $720 dollars.  

LIST OF HOSTELS

Here is a list of the hostels we have been USING--

BORDER COSTS

COSTS you can expect to incur when traveling across borders--

VEHICLE SHIPPING ACROSS THE DARIAN GAP 

(LATIN AMERICA)

COMPANY--

We used the only roll on / roll off company in Panama City because it was drastically cheaper than the others sometimes by a thousand dollars.  CANAL SHIPPING SERVICES, S.A.  Sales Executive Jooliet Mancia

On the Colombian side we used the company ASERCOL, S.A.

LENGTH OF TIME from departing to delivering and where--

The car departed from Manzanillo, Panama on 20 July 13 and was delivered in Cartagena, Colombia on 29 July 13

COSTS--

It cost $ 1,075.25 D in initial shipping costs and another $ 585,000 COP upon delivery

AUTO INSURANCE (COLOMBIA)--

The reason I am emphasizing auto insurance in Colombia is due to the nature of crossing the border from the North.  Because of the Darian Gap, you cannot cross into Colombia from Panama so figuring out how to get the mandatory auto insurance in Colombia could be precarious.  After getting turned away from a few businesses, we found SEGUROS DEL ESTADO S.R. in Cartagena that would offer us the cheapest deal for the shortest period of time- 2 months.

COMMON AUTO PROBLEMS TRAVELING--

The most common problem traveling through the mountains of Latin America are the brakes but I am providing the following Worksheet of common problems and possible COSTS incurred.

TRAVEL LOGS with locations and relative costs--
            Dive Log
            Surf Log

PLANNING MACHU PICCHU was difficult with the small amount of time we had available in Cusco thus access to viable information leading up to the trip to Machu Picchu to make a decision.  When you arrive in Cusco, you will see tour offices on every street by the handful and it is daunting when searching for the right trip.  We only had an afternoon to plan this trip so we got stuck going with the first tour office we went into, so after, I made a list of all the prices and talked to some other travelers to compare.  In total, we spent 250 USD for a one day, two night trip to Machu Picchu covering transportation and rooms.  Other travelers with different tour offices seemed to pay similar prices, but here is the break down for your knowledge...

   Train tickets from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes were 55 USD and 70 USD through Inca Rail.  Peru Rail exists as a competitor but only offer similar pricing.
    Bus tickets from Aguas Calientes up to Machu Picchu cost 18.50 USD for a round trip, so if you want to cut corners with cost, you could easily walk it.
    Machu Picchu and Mountana entrance ticket itself cost 50.50 USD for the day.

This totals out at 194 USD, so the rest was spent on our room in Aguas Calientes, transportation to Ollantaytambo and back and the rest, their profits.  Profits seem to be negligible so getting a tour office to make these plans for you seems reasonable, but again if you want to make things slightly cheaper, you can definitely make these plans on your own to attempt to do so.  Other than the option I have made available here, there are other options to get to Machu Picchu i.e. multiple day hiking treks.  I only spoke to one person regarding such and he quoted me 250 USD as well, but these prices vary greatly and can get expensive to do the Inca Trail and other hikes.