Contact My Style The Lifestyle Project About Me Work With Me Travels

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Our Backpacking Route Through Central America

where to backpack in central america
Original photo source
(UPDATE: Check out the revised route here!)

After months of thinking about travel and saving all our money, we're six weeks out from backpacking through Central America and I couldn't be more excited. I literally woke up this morning thinking about Little Corn Island in Nicaragua with a smile on my face. 

There's a lot of change going on in my life right now with finding new tenants, packing, painting, and moving out of our apartment. Thanks to my different schedule I've still been able to delve into planning the logistics of our trip, staying up late into the night until my neck cramps from being hunched over my travel research. Sometimes I get carried away and really go into the details, like finding out which bus companies offer which routes (Tica and Hedman Alas pop up frequently) and how much things cost ($5 USD for lunch or dinner is the norm). I can't help but feel the excitement build as our departure date grows nearer.

For my husband and I, this will be our first time travelling long-term together. We’ve had a bunch of conversations to make sure we’re on the same page when it comes to travel style, budgeting, and the “feel” of the trip that we’re going for. I naturally like to be the planner so over the weekend I really got into our itinerary (which got the thumbs up from M).


Our Criteria

  • We want to travel to all seven countries in Central America (Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama)
  • Length of travel: 3 - 3.5 months. We’ll purchase our return tickets on the road and see how we feel
  • Even though we're backpacking and keeping to a budget, we’re still travelling as a couple and prefer private rooms when available
  • We’d rather splurge on our activities than luxurious accommodations
  • We’d prefer to support local guesthouses and companies
  • We like museums, ruins, and volcanoes but we’re not obsessed about seeing, touring, or climbing them all
  • We'll travel by bus and boat throughout the area
  • Accommodations average $25 USD per night for private room and hot water bathroom
  • Daily spending average $30 USD per person per day

Thursday, November 21, 2013

How To Take a Good Passport Photo

With the holidays right around the corner, lots of us are getting ready to travel so we can spend quality time with our family and friends. If, like mine, your family is spread out over a country or two, that usually means pulling out your passport and getting ready to hop on a plane.

Especially when you're flying to another country, it's important not to let your passport get within six months of its expiry date (some countries refuse to allow entry after this point). If you're coming up on that date, time to queue up at your local passport office and get that sucker renewed! Before you tackle your to-do list, though, let's take a minute to talk about one of the most important parts of your passport, aside from those prized visa stamps -- the photo! 

How many times have you cringed when handing over your passport because the photo is less than flattering? I remember my first "adult" passport, from 16 - 21 years old, my photo was awful. Just terrible. Hair in a slicked back ponytail. Unflattering makeup. The angry look of death which is apparently my natural resting face. With my second photo (pictured below), I overcompensated with too much lipstick and blush. Now that I'm on my third passport I've learned how to pick up my game and today I'm spilling my secrets! 

tips-for-taking-a-good-passport-photo-female

Here are my top three tips for how to take a good passport photo:


Tuesday, November 19, 2013

To Ring or Not to Ring

Our backpacking trip to Central America is getting closer every day and my brain is spinning with all the items I’m trying to keep track of on my pre-travel to do list. With our trip now six weeks away, one of the little details that’s come up lately is the issue of whether or not to travel with our wedding rings. 

At this time last year we were counting down the days to our honeymoon in Jamaica. Since we were going to a Sandals all-inclusive, we figured that the resort would be secure enough that we didn’t have to worry about being robbed or anything like that and we could safely walk around with our rings on.

wedding-ring-photography
Our wedding rings. Photo courtesy of Dave and Charlotte

09 10