In February 2015, we visited only one new country: Chile, but we went back to Argentina for a few days. From Patagonia, we traveled to Easter Island, after returning to the mainland. We traveled by bus to Mendoza, to try out Argentinian wines in addition to the food we already tried. After returning to Santiago, and trying out lots of Chilean food, we flew north to San Pedro. From there, we crossed into Bolivia.
The overview below lists the expenses in Chile and Argentina. For Argentina, the expenses during our three day stay this month are added to last months’ overview, as this gives the full picture of the expenses. For Bolivia, where we spent the last three days in February, we will cover all expenses in next months’ recap.
The Good
- Chilean Patagonia is expensive, yet we were able to make up for this by bringing all our groceries to Easter Island and not spending much there.
- Last month we spent a little too much in Argentina, yet in Mendoza we were able to lower the gap to only 36$.
The Bad
- We spent a lot on taxis in Chile - around 100$. The taxis were state of the art, and since the Santiago airport is not connected with public transport we had to, yet it is still a large expense.
- In Argentina, we changed a little bit too much on the black market which we had to change back. We changed with another traveler, but still lost a bit on it (6$).
A detailed list of expenses per country is listed below. The amounts per person are based on our two-person journey. Flights are listed separately (and are not included in the countries’ budget) as we booked these in advance.
Flights
- Punta Arenas to Santiago: $439 ($220 pp) on Sky Airline,
- Santiago to Easter Island (return): $895 ($447.50 pp) on LAN Airlines,
- Santiago to Calama: $211 ($105.50 pp) on LAN Airlines.
Chile
- Days: 21,
- Budget: $2,520 ($60 pppd),
- Expenses: $2,373 ($56.50 pppd).
Argentina
- Days: 3,
- Budget: $360 ($60 pppd),
- Expenses: $288 ($48 pppd).
Total (January & February): * Days: 15, * Budget: $1,800 ($60 pppd), * Expenses: $1,836 ($61 pppd).
Next Month
From Chile, we crossed into Bolivia at the end of February, which is where we will stay for two weeks. After, it is onwards to Peru and Ecuador. Highlight of Ecuador will without a doubt be our visit to Galapagos Islands. On April 1st, we will leave Ecuador for Colombia.
