Category Pages For: LIVING Ideas

Special events and fun things to do

Gallipoli - Arrival
JUNE 2019: OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Turkey is the New Turkish Lira (I will refer to them as T$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = T$5.82. We are making our way slowly up the Mediterranean (Turquoise) Coast from Antalya to Istanbul. Our last stop was Canakkale: Finally, we go east to Istanbul (via Lapseki and Bandirma) … LAPSEKI: GETTING THERE: I believe that the local bus from Canakkale to Lapseki leaves from the Minibus Terminal located at the junction of Ataturk Cd and the riverside. I have seen it driving along the D200. Ooops! At 10:40am I […]

Canakkale to Istanbul – Turkey – (an ...

MAY 2019: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Turkey is the New Turkish Lira (I will refer to them as T$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = T$6. My brother (Paul) and I wanted to see some of Turkey’s most famous historical sites. My sister (Diane) and brother-in-law (Jeff) decided to join us half way through the trip to relax in a villa with a swimming pool. My brother (Paul) and I flew from London Stansted (England) to Izmir (Turkey) to do a 4 night Historical Sites Road Trip from Izmir to Kalkan […]

Izmir to Kalkan – Turkey – Historical ...

JANUARY 2019: Click here to read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: I flew from Bogota, Colombia to Mexico City and stayed a few nights. One day, I decided to make my own way to the famous Teotihuacan Pyramids … ABOUT THE PYRAMIDS: Teotihuacan is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of modern-day Mexico City. At its zenith, about the same time as the Roman Empire, Teotihuacan was the largest city in the Americas with a population of 125,000 or more … making it at least the sixth largest city in the world during this period. The city […]

Mexico – Teotihuacan Pyramids – Day Trip ...

DECEMBER 2018: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Peru is the Peruvian New SOL (I will refer to them as P$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = P$3.36. We (my sister Diane, my brother-in-law Jeff, and I) had completed our tour of Machu Picchu and The Sacred Valley. And, our tour of Lake Titicaca. We ended up in La Paz, Bolivia. It was, now, time to make our way back to Lima on Peru Hop … PERU HOP: We had already used Peru Hop to get from Cusco to La Paz. We paid US$219 each for […]

La Paz to Lima – Peru Hop ...

DECEMBER 2018: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Peru is the Peruvian New SOL (I will refer to them as P$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = P$3.36. The currency in Bolivia is the Boliviano (I will refer to them as B$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = B$6.90.  We (my sister Diane, my brother-in-law Jeff, and I) had just completed our tour of Machu Picchu and The Sacred Valley. It was time for us to head south to Lake Titicaca. We planned a 3 Island Tour from Puno, Peru and a Day Tour to Isla […]

Lake Titicaca – Peru & Bolivia – ...

DECEMBER 2018: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Peru is the Peruvian New SOL (I will refer to them as P$s). At the time of writing, US$1 = P$3.38. It is impossible to do Machu Picchu and The Sacred Valley cheaply. This experience is going to put a big hole in your pocket. CUSCO: We were using Cusco as our base. OUR ACCOMMODATION: There were 5 of us, so we decided to rent a 3 bedroom apartment: the Departamento Plaza San Pedro. We paid US$60 / night for 8 nights (US$480) plus a US$10 ‘Cleaning Fee’. It […]

Machu Picchu – Peru – And The ...

NOVEMBER 2018: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Bolivia is Bolivianos (BOB). I will refer to them as ‘B$s’. At the time of writing, US$1 = B$6.91. BOOKING MY TOUR: I booked my 4D/3N Uyuni Salt Flat Tour in Tupiza. Please read my post on Tupiza for more details on how to find a tour, tour prices, and general tips / information. I booked the Standard / ‘Classic’ Tour with Natural Adventures. This takes you south from Tupiza into the National Park. You go as far south as Laguna Verde near the Chilean border before turning […]

Salt Flats – Bolivia – Part 2 ...

OCTOBER 2018: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Ecuador is US$s. The Galapagos Islands were on my ‘Bucket List’. SUGGESTION: I strongly suggest that, if you can, you should bring your own snorkelling equipment. This will give you the freedom to explore on your own … as well as bring down the cost of some of your day trips. Before we continue, let me be clear: The Galapagos Islands are one of the 7 wonders of the modern world They know it They make you pay for it You are a captive market They have you […]

Galapagos – Ecuador – (How To Do) ...

JULY / AUGUST 2018: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: PLEASE NOTE: The currency in Ecuador is US$s. I had already been to Banos and Tena. From Tena, I had hoped to get into the Amazon and, perhaps, go even further north to Coca to get even deeper into the Amazon. I didn’t like Tena much. As a town, it is ‘drab’ and lacks ‘character’. And, alas, the weather was also too miserable (for us ‘wrinklies’ anyway) to get the best out of the day trips that Tena does offer … So, I turned my head south (to better weather) and […]

Central Highlands – Ecuador – A One ...

AUGUST 2017: OVERVIEW: I have already posted the GRANDPAcking Costs for Roatan. These demonstrate that GRANDPAckers cannot afford to LIVE on Roatan Island using our standard GRANDPAcking approach. However, it is such a unique destination that it is worth showing how GRANDPAckers CAN LIVE on Roatan on a GRANDPAcking budget with only a few ‘minor’ adjustments to lifestyle. In this post, I explain how… CROSS REFERENCES: Read Roatan – Honduras – Information for more detail. Read about Honduras Retirement Locations. Read about other Honduras Destinations and Travel Budgets. Read about GRANDPAcking Costs if you don’t know how to interpret my figures. SPREADSHEET SUMMARY: MY ACTUAL 1 PERSON GRANDPAcking COSTS: I did not live […]

Roatan – Honduras – LIVING on a ...

JULY 2017: OVERVIEW: I have already posted the GRANDPAcking Costs for Utila. These demonstrate that GRANDPAckers cannot afford to LIVE on Utila Island using our standard approach. However, it is such a unique destination that it is worth showing how GRANDPAckers CAN LIVE on Utila on a GRANDPAcking budget with only a few ‘minor’ adjustments to lifestyle. In this post, I explain how… CROSS REFERENCES: Read Utila – Honduras – Information for more detail. Read about Honduras Retirement Locations. Read about other Honduras Destinations and Travel Budgets. Read about GRANDPAcking Costs if you don’t know how to interpret my figures. SPREADSHEET SUMMARY: WHAT IT SHOULD COST 2 GRANDPAckers: Cost Of Existence […]

Utila – Honduras – LIVING on a ...

JANUARY 2017: Why not read our Retirement Reviews. OVERVIEW: It is recommended that, if you plan to live in or travel in Central America for any length of time, you should try and learn some Spanish. I had already done Spanish Immersion Classes in Tlaquepaque, Mexico. I did nine 1-on-1 classes (of 4 hours each). I started from zero but it was enough for me to survive the first few months in Mexico. But, I had one big problem: I could get them to understand me but, when they spoke back to me, I didn’t understand a word that they were […]

San Pedro – Guatemala – Information & ...