Leather handicraft straight from the workshop on four wheels
Wandering through Iberian lands
PERU AND BOLIVIA – HOW TO PREPARE FOR A 4-MONTH TRAVEL WITH A BACKPACK
27/10/2021 1:20 PM
Less than a month ago, we had our little anniversary – we celebrated 5 years of full-time vanlife. We decided that it was time for the next stage of our journey and this time we change four wheels for two backpacks and set off to conquer South America, which has always been my greatest dream. We hope that you will accompany us in our adventures - let me remind you that you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook. I suspect that we will publish on IG more often, so if you are interested in a backpacker trip to Peru and Bolivia, be sure to follow our profiles on social media!
PRE-TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS - COVID
Our great journey begins literally in a few hours and before we set off, in today's article, we will briefly tell you what our preparations for a budget trip to another continent looked like. Where to start making such a big dream come true? First of all, due to the times we live in, it is worth starting with consulting the COVID-19 requirements in the country we are heading to. Peru, for example, requires a negative PCR test result up to 72 hours before boarding a plane in the country from which you fly out, regardless of whether you are vaccinated or not. We also need to fill out a special form. In addition, there is an obligation to wear masks throughout the country, two in public places and additionally with a visor in means of transport. Always check all information on government and airline websites, do not ask on FB or thematic forums because reliable and credible information come only from the source. We also contacted the Polish embassy in Lima and the Peruan one in Warsaw, where all our doubts were dispelled.
INSURANCE
In our opinion, the most important thing in any trip is insurance. Unfortunately, because we are not talking about a two-week vacation in one hotel, but a several-month trip around several countries, there is not much choice on the market for this type of trip. We were looking for something suitable and inexpensive for a long time and so we decided to upgrade the Revolut account from regular to Premium. In addition to some nice options, which I will write about below in the FINANCES category, the Premium account offers travel insurance. Is it good? We hope that we will not have to check it, but if we do, we will definitely share our experience with you.
FINANCES
Quite an important topic are the finances during such a long journey. We only take Revolut cards with us and some cash in dollars, which we will convert to local currency once we get to Peru. We always divide the cash into several parts so as not to have the whole thing in one place. Revolut is great in my opinion - I have been using it for a long time and it has proven itself not only in Morocco but also in Scandinavia and Poland. We can create several virtual currency accounts for free and pay in local currency. The exchange rate is always really favorable. If you choose a Premium or Metal account, for an additional fee, you have access to some really nice options - in addition to the previously mentioned travel insurance, among others, the limit of free monthly ATM withdrawals is increased. We will see how Revolut will do in South America because in Europe it was really doing great. Remember that in some countries there is no access to an ATM everywhere you go, sometimes foreign cards are not accepted – check it all this before leaving to plan the amount of cash you need to take with you.
VACCINATIONS
Before traveling, you must go to the Institute of Tropical Medicine (Department of Tropical Diseases). We live in the western part of the Spanish Andalusia and it is here that we went to the Institute of International Vaccination and two lovely ladies gave us all the information - they told us exactly what to watch out for, what we should not eat, what is the risk of malaria, how to behave when we get sick . We also got vaccinated against yellow fever (obligatory vaccination in Bolivia) and received a list of other recommended vaccinations that they had done in our local clinic. Among other things, we had to get vaccinated against hepatitis and tetanus (if you are not sure whether it is necessary in your case, we recommend you to analyze the level of antibodies - we did that). We assume that it is better to be safe than sorry, and besides, vaccinations will provide us with immunity for several years, so it is worth investing in them.
LUGGAGE
Since we are planning a trip with backpacks, we take very few things, so we don’t have to carry around useless stuff and that's why our luggage is truly minimalist. Long pants, short pants, underwear, three pairs of socks, several T-shirts, thermal underwear, fleece, softshell, rain jacket, pot set, full trekking shoes, trekking sandals and electronics. We take with us a drone, mobile phones, powerbank, chargers, cables - generally standard things.
We feel prepared for the journey and our adrenaline is slowly starting to jump. This entry was made before departure - if it turns out that we lacked something or that our preparations turned out not to be fully effective, we will certainly update the article after our return. We will not publish anything on the blog during the next 4 months, we will only be present on Instagram and Facebook. Keep your fingers crossed and don’t forget to follow us!