Acabamos de Comprar Los Boletos -- We Just Purchased The Tickets

---

Well - after much email communication to Exito Travel, searching other Travel Agencies, watching the airfares creep up, we decided it was time to take matters into our own hands and secure the tickets.

We originally thought about departing Oregon on January 3rd, 2010, but the airfares are particularly high during the holiday season. So, by pushing the dates out to January 9th, we were able to save over $40/ticket. We opted for travel insurance, which added about $51 to each ticket, so in the end we ended up spending just a little more than the quoted price, but we feel that travel insurance is essential with a trip like this.

We depart Portland, Oregon at 6:00 am on Saturday, January 9th. We will need to drive to Portland, from Bend on Friday, January 8th. For any of you who are familiar with the drive from Bend to Portland, it is not a trip made lightly in the winter time. First off, it is about 160 miles one way. Next, it is necessary to cross over a mountain pass. While the Oregon Department of Transportation does a fabulous job keeping the highway accessible and passable, it is not uncommon to encounter snow...lots and lots and lots of snow and generally nasty driving conditions during this time of year. And so, our adventure will begin right outside our back door when we leave on the 8th.

We will depart Lima, Peru on Thursday, April 29th. That flight will be an overnight flight and will put us back in Portland, Oregon on Friday, late morning, April 30th. I assume that we will spend that day and night in Portland, then work our way back to Bend the following day.

So much for the beginnings and the endings of the journey. Now, so much to pre-plan for the departure, and for all of the logistics while we are in South America.

Ah - It feels both invigorating and daunting, now that we have purchased our tickets. We still have much fundraising and securing of travel funds to do in these next few months.

---

Comments

[Connie]

Innoculations
Hi again, Did you find out what necessary innoculations you will need to get? I am in the process of boosting our medical insurance for the 4 months away. Connie

[farmgirl]

Well, the girl's pediatrician recommended everything on the U.S.A. CDC website, including the yellowfever and typhoid, but we're holding off on those. We're just doing the standard tetanus and Hep and making sure the girls are current on their other immunizations.