A drive in the country when the sun peeked out…New photos…

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Cattle are found everywhere in the New Zealand countryside.

Living on an island such as New Zealand the weather is constantly in flux. What may start as a cool cloudy morning easily evolves into a few sunny hours, then clouding over later in the day. It’s during these sunny times we tend to run out for a drive for an hour or two to further investigate our surroundings.

We spotted this sign in the motorcycle park and got out of the car to check it out.

As many of our readers have heard from us over and again, I just don’t enjoy heading out on cloudy days.  Sorry about that. I can’t tell you how often we make plans to go explore and change those plans when the clouds roll in and raindrops begin to fall.

Although no racing was in action, it was fun to stumble upon this raceway in the countryside.

The fact that we’re always “somewhere,” where taking photos and exploring may be of great interest to us and our readers, we always feel we have plenty of time.

As time flies quickly, suddenly we have to move on and we often wonder if we shared enough photos during our stay. In many cases, we’re confident we’ve done so and can easily state an emphatic “yes.”

Lounging longhorn cattle with swishing tail.

At other times, we look back and think we could have gone out on more of those cloudy days to explore and take photos anyway. For now, here on the farm, we’re comfortable with the photos we’ve taken thus far. 

We chose to come to New Zealand to live on an alpaca farm. For the first time in either of our lives experiencing life on a farm surrounded by these and other amazing animals has been a real treasure. 

Another lounging longhorn sitting near his water supply in an old bathtub.

There’s no doubt in our minds that many other parts of New Zealand, including the South Island, have considerable scenery that we’d most certainly find appealing.

Yesterday, as we drove through the countryside, I asked Tom if he feels we should take four or five days and drive to the South Island, staying in hotels along the way.

A pretty farmhouse at the end of a long driveway.

Its almost a day’s drive and a ferry ride to the South Island, thus it a two day trip just getting there and back.  With more to see than we could possibly do in two or three more days, plus the expense we hadn’t budgeted for such a trip,

Tom reminded me with our upcoming five cruises in the South Pacific, one of which will sail to New Zealand’s South Island it makes more sense for us to wait and to see that area when our ship arrives at a few significant ports.

An usually shaped forest of evergreens.

I totally agreed. Neither of us has felt like going on a road trip, especially in the older rental car we rented when we arrived. Most rental car agencies don’t offer their newer cars for our online-booked lower priced long term rentals. 

These less costly cars have worked well for us. We have no complaints. When most travelers rent a car for a week or two the fees don’t seem too bad. When we book and pay for a three-month car rental contract plus often huge “holding fees” locked on our credit cards, it proves to be a relatively large layout in funds.

Often, when we walk out the door for a drive, the sky is totally clear.  Within a short period, everything changes.  By the end of yesterday’s drive, it was dark and cloudy.

Let’s face it, our lives are predicated by the budget.  We have no choice but to carefully monitor our spending.  After all, we’ve been on a “vacation/holiday” for 41 months. It costs a lot of money, which we must diligently monitor to ensure it never gets out of control. This could happen easily in a moment of weakness.

We rarely, if ever, say “Oh, let’s go for it,” when an expensive or an “out of budget” situation occurs. We pay off all of our credit cards at least as often as every two months, if not every month. By the first of April, we won’t owe a penny on any of our cards.  But, that won’t last for long.

With recent rains the hills and valleys are bright green again.

Then, we start booking and paying for vacation homes, cruises and flights, big chunks all at once, all on credit cards, the best and easiest way to pay.  At any given point, we know exactly where we are financial. For each expenditure whether it’s for a cruise, a night in a hotel between flights, or a trip to the farmers market, we log every penny. 

Luckily, I’m in the habit of entering all expenses within 24 hours of the time they incur while Tom’s great at getting receipts for everything since he pays when we’re out shopping. 

When we return ‘home” I place the receipts next to my laptop, converting the amounts paid from foreign monies to US dollars, writing the amounts on the receipts, and then, one by one, entering the expenditures into our spreadsheet in each of its many tabs (worksheets in Excel).

Flowers along the way.  Summer has ended here when yesterday was the first day of fall.

Its the close familiarity with “where we are” financially that definitely has a bearing on “where we’ll go” and “what we’ll spend.” Its only through this detailed diligence that we can continue on with peace of mind and…adequate funds to fully enjoy life in the process. 

As a result, we curtail some of our activities with expense in mind as I’m sure many of you do in managing your daily lives. The challenge is finding the best way to fill our days with activities we love and can easily afford, living life to the fullest.

We wish the same for each and every one of YOU!


Photo from one year ago today, March 22, 2015:

The final vestiges of the sunset over Kauai on Julie’s last night of her visit. We had a wonderful time together as she fell totally in love with Kauai. For more sunset photos, please click here.

Filling the last gap in our itinerary…

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Sun streaming through a dense cloud cover at sunset.

We prefer to have all gaps filled within a year of traveling to any specific location. With a gap between two Australian cruises from March 13, 2017 to April 22, 2017,  we’ve been chomping at the bit to find where we’ll stay while in Sydney, Australia.

Unfortunately, if we waited for sunny days, we’d have a few photos of the scenery surrounding us.

Sydney is a magical city with much to see and do. Having been to Sydney three times since June 2015, staying overnight in hotels twice, we easily fell in love with the city, the people, and the vast array of interesting things to see and do.

View of lake at Pukekura Park.

On many occasions, we’ve mentioned that we aren’t “city people” but from time to time a big city holds a certain amount of appeal that piques our curiosity and interest. Sydney is just that type of city.

The very fact of Sydney’s desirability to many tourists worldwide has contributed to the high cost of rentals both in the city and the surrounding areas, making it fall into the category of some of the most expensive vacation homes we’ve researched to date.

The beach in Opunake.

The only way we can justify the higher rents that will surely prove to be the highest we’ll have paid to date is to use public transportation during this 40 day period to avoid the high cost of a rental car, fuel, and parking. Plus, it appears to be easy to get around the city with considerable low-cost transportation options.

It was a cool, cloudy evening when we shot these photos of the sea.

Staying in a hotel is not a practical solution, although if we can’t pin down a reasonable scenario we may decide to stay in a hotel that has a kitchenette with a coffee maker and microwave. This worked for us when we stayed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in September 2014 for six days, giving us a feel for how we’d do without a full kitchen.

There are many cliffs along the shores in New Zealand.

There’s a big difference between six days and forty days but if we purchase roasted chicken two nights a week as we do now, pick up some healthy “to go” food another few nights a week, we’d eat out for the remainder.  It’s definitely doable, not unlike how we managed for another 11 days when we were in Honolulu, Hawaii in October 2014.

Of course, we’d prefer a vacation home, able to do laundry, cook our meals and overall keep the costs down.  Finding a vacation home that works is the challenge in Sydney as we’re now on a mission to wrap something up in the next few weeks before leaving New Zealand.

Visitors walking along the beach on a cool evening.

It’s a never-ending process, luckily one that we each continue to enjoy although more so when there are more options that stay within our budget. As we often mention, staying within our monthly/annual budget enables us to continue on as long as our health continues to be good.

The challenge always revolves around matching location, our particular needs, and desires, transportation options, availability of WiFi, and making the financial aspect work within the constraints we’ve established to continue this way of life with the least amount of stress.

As the sun peeked out, we stopped for another view of Mount Taranaki with cows on the hill.

In essence, limited the amount of stress in our lives is not only vital to our long-term health and well being but it greatly affects the level of enjoyment and enrichment of each and every experience.

We hope you have a low-stress day! 

Photo from one year ago today, March 19, 2015:

A year ago, a visitor was killed at this beach at the end of Anini Beach, a desirable beach only 15 minutes from Princeville. This was sad to see.  For more beach photos in Kauai, please click here.

The photos ops never cease in New Zealand…Traveling far not always required for maximum enjoyment…

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This “piece of art” in New Plymouth is playfully typical of Kiwi’s great sense of humor.

There’s no doubt if we traveled the day’s drive to reach the ferry to visit the South Island of New Zealand with a 3.5-hour ferry ride, we’d be in for a lot of surprises and amazing scenery. When we first arrived over five weeks ago, doing so had been a possibility.

We noticed ducks swimming in the waterway.

As we researched plans for the future, paying well in advance for upcoming cruises, airfare, hotels, and vacation homes, we came to the realization that the cost of traveling to the South Island didn’t fit our current budgetary guidelines.

This waterway runs through downtown New Plymouth with a small waterfall.

Having recently paid  NZ $5730, US $3800 for health insurance with a substantial tax bill upcoming on the US income tax day on April 15th, we’ve had to pick and choose what makes the most sense at this time.

As the ducks approached the waterway, they began to “go for it.”

We’re not unlike most people deciding on “vacations/holidays” as to when they make the most sense financially.  The round trip cost of the ferry to the South Island  $552, US $300. Add the cost of fuel, hotels, and meals on the road, we’d easily spend upwards of NZ $3011, US $2000 for a five-day getaway.

Even taking a minimum of five days with two full days of travel time getting to the South Island and back, leaving us only three days to travel which isn’t in essence enough time to visit the highlights.

It all happened so quickly I had no time to change the camera setting for better shots.

As always in our worldwide travels, we have to pick and choose what makes the most sense. Living entirely off our monthly income plus saving for pricey future plans such as Antarctica and South America, we aren’t able to do everything we find appealing.

We couldn’t stop laughing as we watched the ducks navigate the waterfall.

A part of the challenge for us is making all of our world travels work financially as well as encompassing our desires for vast experiences. So far, with as much world as we’ve seen to date, we’ve been confident with our decisions as to where we travel, our experiences,7 and upholding the maintenance of our carefully planned budget.

The area near the waterway.

We have no margin for unplanned/unbudgeted events, only emergencies that may arise from time to time.  Regardless of how good a “deal” we may receive on vacation home rentals, we still continue to have many other expenses in our travels. 

Calm waters out to sea in this area.

The fact that we’re always paying well in advance for future travels in large lump sums has had a bearing on what we choose to do in the interim. This strict adherence to our budget is the only way we can continue to travel the world.

In a way, it’s not unlike my strict dietary guidelines. If I didn’t follow this way of eating, always requiring a certain degree of self-control and sacrifice we wouldn’t be able to travel when I’d be subject to poor health. 

Elephant pained on side of the building in downtown New Plymouth.

It’s not a whole lot different with managing money…a certain degree of self-control and sacrifice is necessary.  Often we write that we don’t like to travel far from our current location with a substantial part of those reasons revolving around the fact that traveling costs more money. 

Paying for two places to “rest our heads” at night just doesn’t make a lot of sense to us on a regular basis, although on a rare special occasion we may choose to make an exception.

Walkway along the river in downtown New Plymouth.

As we continue to relish in every aspect of the beautiful expansive Taranaki Region, we feel comfortable being able to continually find interesting and appealing points of interest and experiences we freely embrace.

Thanks to all of our readers for sharing this continuing journey with us wherever we may be. Have a filled day engaged with the activities that work for you, for your health, well-being, and way of life.

Photo from one year ago today, February 25, 2015:

At first, the tree we saw at the Hawaii National Botanical Garden, one year ago, we thought this tree had been painted which would be ridiculous in the tropical garden. Upon closer inspection, I could hardly believe my eyes. It is a Rainbow Eucalyptus or Eucalyptus Deglupta For more photos, please click here.

Photos of the beautiful grounds…Pool…Booking dinner reservations…Outing today…Back tomorrow with photos…

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A bouquet of these scented flowers awaited our arrival.

It feels good to be settled in, unpacked, and becoming familiar with our surroundings. After posting today, we’ll be heading to the Arts Village, a local arts and crafts area with a variety of shops including a farmers market and grocery store. 

Right now, we need to fill in our grocery shopping when we weren’t able to find a number of important, although basic, food items necessary for our way of eating. Hopefully today, we’ll be able to pick up what we need.

Table and chairs on the veranda. 

We’ve arranged with the driver to pick us up today at noon. Again, we checked out car rentals in Pacific Harbor hoping to rent a car for a few days. At USD $80, FJD $171 a day, it’s just not worth it when the cost of the driver is less overall. 

We booked with the same tour company (by email) for today’s outing and Saturday night’s transport to a popular local restaurant. We’ll be back on Sunday with photos and details of our first dining out experience since the day of our travel anniversary on October 31st. Both of us are excited to be dining out after such a long haul. 

The veranda winds around the entire house.

Generally, dining out in Savusavu was tricky with few food options that worked for me. Here in Pacific Harbour, there are many resorts that welcome “outsiders” to dine in their restaurants whereby in Savusavu, the resorts were all-inclusive and less amenable to outsiders. 

We’ve always found resorts more able to accommodate my way of eating than local restaurants when they often have guests staying at their facility and must accommodate the religious and health preferences of many cultures.

These doors lead to the master bedroom, but with no screens, it’s unlikely we’ll use them.

As a result of this availability in Pacific Harbour, we’re thrilled to be able to dine out at least once a week if not more. By purchasing two roasted chickens each week we’ll only have to make the sides dishes to accompany them, resulting in making only four complete meals a week. Less cooking. Less ants. Life in the tropics.

In some countries and vacation homes with pools, we’ve noticed the pools aren’t regularly cleaned and may not have adequate filter systems. Dumping a dose of chlorine and sifting out a few leaves doesn’t indicate a thorough pool cleaning. 

Side view of the house.  The landscaping is lovely with many nice shrubs and flowering plants.

Having grown up in California with a pool and me designated as the “pool guy” I remember only too well the work required. Sure, that was many years ago and equipment has greatly improved.  Still, pool maintenance requires a pool service or homeowner dedicated to conscientious attention to detail. 

As a result of some pools not properly being cleaned regularly, we’ve avoided using them. Can you imagine the bacteria that lurk in stagnant pool water? When we arrived here the pool looked a little murky, mostly due to leaves and bugs floating on the service. 

Rearview of the house with the pool hidden behind the bushes. No fences are required to enclose pools in Fiji.

We wrote to Susan, the attentive owner asking as to the pool maintenance. Within five minutes of my inquiry, a pool guy appeared spending several hours tending to the pool, leaving it impeccable.

A short time later she replied assuring us that regular pool maintenance comes by a few times a week. I apologized for “jumping the gun” explaining the pool frustration in some prior vacation homes.

Front view of the house.

Today, the lawn maintenance person is here and the smell of fresh-cut grass is wafting through our senses, actually a pleasant smell. It amazing and actually quite wonderful that none of this work is up to us. We need only to make the bed, clean up after cooking and eating and do our laundry.

The washing machine is outdoors as shown in this photo with clotheslines and plenty of clothespins to handle however much we may have. After living in Savusavu I finally accepted the fact of how unimportant it is to do laundry daily when laundry was handled twice a week presenting no issues for us. We certainly have enough clothing to last three or four days. 

View of the pool and patio from the veranda.

In this house, there are enough bath towels and kitchen towels (including our own we carry with us) that we can make it several days without doing laundry. The hardest part is keeping the dish towels away from the house after use during food prep. 

The ants love the kitchen towels I use to wipe food off of my hands or clean up spills while cooking when attempting to keep the use of paper towels at a minimum for both ecological and financial reasons.

This roofed area is where the washer and clotheslines are located, perfect for drying clothes on rainy days.

As I sit here now in a relatively comfy leather chair, the overhead and two-floor fans cooling us while we enjoy the French press coffee Tom has meticulously made again today, we have the TV on in the background to Nat Geo Wild, with one interesting wildlife series after another. 

How enjoyable this is while I work frequently lifting my head to check out the story! I guess we’ve missed having a TV these past three months. When we return late in the day from our outing, we’ll turn on BBC world news, keeping us well abreast of what’s transpiring in the US and throughout the world. 

Another view of the pristine cleaned pool.

It’s important for us to see which countries may be unsuitable for future visits at this time while it’s saddening to see what’s transpiring throughout the world. We don’t watch any other programming when we have plenty of our own shows and movies to watch in the evenings. 

Tom was able to watch Sunday’s disappointing Minnesota Vikings game on the TV instead of the laptop using the HDMI cable.  Last night we watched two shows using the HDMI before heading to bed, The Blacklist (season 3) and Scandal (season 4). I use an app on my phone to track the last episodes we’ve watched for every series we’ve seen referring to it nightly to ensure we watch episodes in the correct order. Lots of record-keeping in this life.

A suitable deck area allows for sunning near the pool.

After logging many expenses and upcoming destinations into our Excel document with many worksheets, we’re entirely up-to-date. Now caught up, we need only to log expenses as they occur over this next month or, any other bookings we may make while here. 

Yesterday, we paid the balance for three months’ rent in New Zealand. In the next several weeks, we’ll pay the balance for the first stay in Bali. We’ve already paid the balance for our upcoming cruise in 28 days. 

Two comfortable chaise lounges await our use providing both sunny and shady areas.

At this point, we’re paid for rent, car, and cruises through April 15, 2016, including the upcoming flight and one-night hotel, stay in Sydney on January 4th, the cost of the cruise on January 5, 2016, the three-month rental car in New Zealand, the three month’s rent for the alpaca farm in New Zealand. 

All we left to pay during this time period (between now and April 15th) is for one more night’s hotel in Sydney, another cruise on April 16th from Sydney, and the rent for Bali. It’s comforting to know we’ve paid so much in advance although, at times, we cringe at the prospect of deposits paid for rentals well into the future.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with photos from today’s outing which we’re both excitedly anticipating. Please check back for more.  Happy day!

Photo from one year ago, December 8, 2014:

Our first whale sighting in Big Island, Hawaii, spotted by our grandson Jayden. Good eye, Jayden. And Nik spotted the first sea turtles. Guess “safari luck” is hereditary. We were having a fabulous time with the first of our family to arrive. For more details, please click here.

Today’s the day!…We’re on the move again!…Final expenses for Savusavu…

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A worker on the road after a grueling morning’s work headed home for lunch during the heat of the day to return to work later on for another shift in the fields. He had time to stop for a heartwarming “bula.”

Overall, did we like Savusavu, Fiji? We did. The accommodations were good barring a few glitches on our first night with the ants in the bed and the pillows which Mario promptly remedied the next day with a new mattress, pillows, and bedding. We lost one night’s sleep.

The ants continued to present a challenge, especially after rain, but we learned how to address them with frequent washing of every food surface. Still, they came, only not as many or as often. We never saw them in the bed again, only a few times in the bathroom. They walked on our laptops and chairs in the living room and often on our arms and legs. We flicked them off.

What can I say?  This was my favorite photo. It so bespeaks life in Fiji, the freedom of barnyard animals to roam, to thrive, and grow. The fact that we find barnyard animals so worthy of mention only enhances our experiences throughout the world

The mosquitos were always present requiring I use DEET repellent, the only product that seemed to work anytime I ventured outdoors. I didn’t go out as often as I’d have liked nor sat on the veranda as much as I’d have liked. We only saw a few flies, no snakes, and few, if any, dangerous insects. At night, we didn’t carry a flashlight to go to the bathroom in the dark.

Each week we stopped to say “bula” to our favorite vegetable vendor, a kindly lady who always picked out the very best produce for us.

The power was out for eight hours or more for three or four days always coming back on by 6:00 pm. The fridge quit working once and after a technician’s visit, it too was back on. We lost a few days of food.

We enjoyed visiting the Viodomo waterfall, requiring quite a hike through the rainforest.

It rained at least 40% of the days, if not more. We didn’t mind especially when it cooled down with the ocean breezes. The heat and humidity were bearable for us overall, with only a few tough days. The nights were always comfortable.

Rafts ready for fishing in the bay at the Vuodomo village.

At the beginning of our stay, the Internet issues were challenging until we finally purchased the two dongles which have provided us with a relatively good connection most of the time. We continued to purchase data every week at the Vodafone kiosk in the village. (The cost for the data is listed below).

Buying jewelry and other homemade crafts is popular with tourists from cruise ships and staying in local hotels and resorts.

The people were amazing, kind, friendly, and always warm and helpful wherever we’d go. The support staff here in Korovesi was wonderful, Usi, Vika, and Junior, always quick to smile and help in any manner. 

What a view of Savusavu Bay!

Mario and his wife Tatiana were helpful, gracious, and always “Johnny on the spot” with any issues which overall were few.  As usual, we didn’t ask for much, only those items mentioned here today plus a can opener, frying pan, a chaise lounge, and few light bulbs, all of which were promptly supplied.

The property was ideal for us; the right size, the right amenities and we easily made it befitting our needs. The views? Over the top. Based on where we sat in the living room we only had to pick up our heads 20 degrees to see the expanse of the ocean, Savusavu Bay, mountains, and passing cruise ships, sailboats, barges, and the boats of local fishermen.

These handmade rafts were used as income producers for the locals, selling produce, fish, and a variety of other products easily transported in the waterways.

We loved the sounds of the roosters crowing, the cows mooing, the baby goats baahing, the birds singing and the screeching of the huge bats at night, referred to as “flying squirrels” in the islands. The trees, the plants, and the flowers were a daily joy to behold ever-growing and changing before our eyes.

Shopping each week was a delightful experience as we came to know the vendors in the Farmer’s Market, grocery store, and Helen, from Fiji Meats supplying us with the finest organic, chemical-free foods the islands have to offer. 

The ferry at the Port of Savusavu ready for vehicles to people to travel to other islands.

We’ll miss the thick cream for our coffee, thick enough to require pushing it off the spoon, the perfect coffee, the streaky bacon (no nitrates) and the minced beef and pork and of course, Helen’s roasted chickens the best we’ve ever had which we’ve had the past two nights as we finished our leftover side dishes and veggies.

These gorgeous flowers are always blooming under the veranda.

As for the expenses for this entire period in Savusavu from September 8th to December 6, 2015, we were pleasantly surprised. Here’s the breakdown:

Rent:      USD $6,000, FJD $12,832
Airfare:   USD $2,758, FJD $5,899  (This total includes five flights to get us here from Cairns, Australia and back to Sydney, Australia).
Food:      USD $2,293, FJD $4,904  (includes all groceries and household supplies)
Dining:    USD $165, FJD $353
Taxi:       USD $393, FJD $841
Tips:       USD $200, FJD $428
Postage:  USD $213, FJD $456
ATM fees:USD $234 FJD $500
Vodafone USD $495, FJD $1,059

Grand Total*:  USD $12,751, FJD $27,271
Monthly Avg:  USD$  4,250, FJD $  9,090

* This total doesn’t include additional costs we incur for health insurance, prescriptions, luggage insurance, gifts for family, federal taxes, clothing, supplies, and digital equipment.  We keep those expenses up-to-date on a separate spreadsheet.

So there it is folks. Late this morning, we’ll arrive in Viti Levu after our one hour Sunday morning flight at 9:20 am and we’ll be greeted by a driver with a sign at the airport in Suva who’ll take us to the grocery store in Suva and then on the one hour drive to our final destination in Pacific Harbour. 

Every night, Badal stopped by at dinnertime to check out what’s on the menu.  We never failed to make him a plate with some delectable morsels.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with details of the trip, the shopping, and photos of our new home for the next 28 days. 

Be well.  Be happy.

Photo from one year ago today, December 6, 2014:

Numerous power poles located in the path of the lava flow have been covered in fire retardant materials to prevent the flow from destroying the power to the area which had worked well. As we worried that the lava was flowing in our direction, we continued to be fascinated by this natural event. Who has had an opportunity to see lava flowing in a lifetime? We felt fortunate for the experience as we prayed for the safety of the residents of Pahoa and our own.  Please click here for details.

Part One…Reviewing the criteria we established in March 22, 2012…Are we still on track?

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Fiji is lush, green, and beautiful. There are no snakes here and few biting insects other than mosquitoes. Flowers bloom year-round, views are breathtaking, products and services are reasonable and there’s free medical care for all locals and visitors. Sounds like an ideal country for retirement for those seeking a permanent location.

It’s raining again and although today we’ll return to the dentist for Tom’s abscess check, we’d hoped we could do some sightseeing. With fog, dense clouds, and rain, it doesn’t appear sightseeing will be on the agenda. 

We can’t deny we may be running out of photos as we wind down to less than three weeks remaining on this island of Vanua Levu. With limited photos, we must admit, writing a story each and every day can be challenging at times especially when we haven’t been out much.

With Tom on massive doses of antibiotics and the bad weather, we haven’t been out since shopping on Thursday. Laying low always seems like a good idea when one has a raging infection and trekking through a rainforest in the rain just didn’t seem like such a good idea. We’ll head out on the next sunny day.

The view from atop the hills in our area.

During quiet times such as these, we often read past posts getting a kick out of our thoughts and ideas from long ago. With today’s post as #1201 having begun posting on March 15, 2012, long before we left Minnesota, we’re often astounded by how we’ve changed in some ways and how we’ve stayed constant in others.

One post that Tom stumbled upon yesterday, caused both of us to laugh out loud over how little we’ve changed in the criteria we established 44 months ago when we wrote the post for  March 22, 2012.

Knowing many of our readers have joined us partway through our journey, having never read the earlier posts, we share this post again today. With each and every one of our past posts located under “previous posts” (click on the little black arrow) on the right side of the page, we realize many readers never read archives, not on our site nor any other site.

Too often, we’ve been sightseeing on rainy days. Photos are more appealing on sunny days.

Ours is a continuing story.  However, it may be picked up partway through.  We often provide links to past posts which may help the reader “catch up” to a degree. We rarely upload a prior post’s text as we’re doing today.  This won’t be a regular habit but, the content may be of interest to new readers who joined along the way.

Today, we’re copying and pasting the criteria we posted on March 22, 2012. All of the text copied will be in italics with comments at the end. If you recall this portion and prefer not to read it again, you call pass over all of the italicized portions to our comments at the end.

Here it is, a post from 44 months ago:

Our strict criteria, March 22, 2012:
 
 At the end of my last entry, I promised to explain the strict criteria we have established to ensure the financial goal of our world travel:  our total travel expenses would not exceed the expenses we would have incurred to live in a $1500 a month condo in Arizona or any tax-free state such as Florida or Nevada.  
 Using an Excel spreadsheet we listed the normal expenses we would experience in our new retirement lifestyle, entitled “Basic Living Expenses”  

  1. Rent or mortgage payment:  include association dues, if applicable
  2. Taxes: federal, state, and property, if applicable
  3. Groceries: to include specialty items for our restrictive organic, gluten-free, low carbohydrate, sugar-free, wheat, and grain-free way of eating.  All meals are homemade (no processed foods) utilizing grass-fed meat with organic produce, dairy, and eggs.
  4. Auto expenses: payment for a newer vehicle still under warranty, gas, maintenance, insurance
  5. Health: insurance premiums, co-pays, prescriptions, dental, vision, health club dues, alternative therapies, and supplements
  6. Other insurance
  7. Cable and Internet: including a few premium channels (we love Dexter, Homeland, Boardwalk Empire and Shameless)
  8. Cell phones: a smartphone with unlimited data
  9. Utilities: gas, electric, water, trash 
  10. Entertainment and dining out (carefully limited)
  11. Clothing, personal effects, toiletries, and grooming (all items discounted and purchased at the best possible price)
  12. Gifts: for family members/friends for birthdays/holidays, greeting cards, postage
  13. Publications: magazines, newspapers, online subscriptions
  14. Miscellaneous:  occasional purchase or replacement of household goods, donations, cash for incidentals
  15. Pet care: food, treats, toys, groomer, and vet (no pet now since we lost our WorldWideWillie last April) but we would have a new dog if we settled into a retirement lifestyle
  16. Banking fees; interest on credit cards, if applicable; 
  17. Savings
Upon keeping our costs as low as possible, in an effort to live a relatively conservative retirement lifestyle we had a total. Thus…

Criteria #1:  Do not have a permanent home!

With these numbers in mind, we created the next worksheet in our Excel workbook, entitled “Fixed Living Expenses” which were those we’d incur if we traveled but didn’t have a permanent home. Although we are not accountants nor possess a degree as such, we labeled the tabs that we felt best represented the analysis we chose to perform. These were expenses we’d have whether we were on a cruise, temporarily living in Spain, or on a safari in Africa that didn’t include travel expenses.
  1. Taxes: federal, state, and property, if applicable
  2. Groceries: to include specialty items for our restrictive organic, gluten-free, low carbohydrate, sugar-free, wheat, and grain-free way of eating. All meals are homemade (no processed foods) utilizing grass-fed meat and poultry with organic produce, dairy, and eggs.
  3. Health:  insurance premiums, co-pays, prescriptions, dental, vision, supplements 
  4. Other insurance 
  5. Cell phone (one between us):
  6. Clothing, personal effects, toiletries, and grooming (all items discounted and purchased at the best possible price)
  7. Gifts:  for family members/friends for birthdays/holidays, postage
  8. Banking fees;  interest on credit cards, if applicable
  9. Savings
Criteria #2:   Do not own cars!  (And resulting payments, depreciation, storage, insurance, gas and maintenance)

We will sell both of our cars before we step foot out of this country, instead, renting a car if necessary. While calculating our auto expense, considering the two payments, insurance, gas, and maintenance, the total was $1523 per month which more than covers all of our upcoming flights, trains, ferries, taxis, and rental cars (three of our credit cards provide free rental car insurance when the card is used for the rental car charges)!
Then we took the “Fixed Living Expenses” and created an “Average Daily Expense” which, no matter our travel expenses or living arrangements, would always be relevant numbers in our financial planning.

Criteria #3:   Do not stay in hotels other than a short term! How is it possible to travel without staying in hotels? Sleep in a tent?  Hardly!  Rent an RV?  Too expensive! Mooch off people you may know that life in exotic places? Never! Staying in a hotel requires the expense of meals in restaurants, tips, city, county, state, and local taxes, outrageously priced cocktails and beverages, and of course, the tempting “tourist trap” shops and services. 

Simple answer:  Only stay in houses, condos, townhouses, villas, apartments, and other such property owned, but not currently occupied, by private parties. Property owners are often anxious to rent their own homes and rental properties at reasonable rates knowing full well that the distraught economy and worldwide strife has tempered world travel.  We have found that we prefer to rent houses and villas as opposed to apartments, which are often noisy and offer fewer amenities.
Criteria #4:  Do not pay more than what we were willing to pay for rent in our chosen retirement community!  The above described $1500 month was the magic number that fit into our predetermined budget.  How is this possible? Only $1500 a month for a house? Yes, the gorgeous 17th century, totally renovated villa in Tuscany, Italy is $1400 a month! Yes, the amazing little beach house in Placencia, Belize is $1250 a month!  Yes, the charming house in the Kruger National Park in South Africa, surrounded by the free-roaming Big 5, is $1387 a month! We will share more of these astounding rentals as we continue here.
There is so much more to share including the remaining Criteria, how to calculate total expenses, why we have booked five cruises thus far with two more waiting to be posted.  How and why we have booked ahead 571 days from this coming Halloween, Tom’s retirement date. How we will experience the first 10 months of our adventure without ever stepping foot onto an airplane.  

Certainly, we have a “to-do” list that is daunting. Certainly, there is a degree of risk  Certainly, there is some blind faith that we are going to enjoy our new lives, free from all the familiar comforts that we have reveled in all these years. And most certainly, our love and devotion to one another will see us through all the challenges we encounter along the way.  

We have mutually agreed that if at any time, one of us is tired, bored, or tired of being on the move, we will stop and find “home’ wherever that we may be.
Through the mist and clouds…

It’s hard to believe that so little has changed in our criteria over these past almost four years since we began posting. Certainly, we could go back over there and see we’ve changed especially in the amount of rent we’re willing to pay. 

The most we’ve paid to date has been slightly over USD $3,000, FJD $6,488 a month in Morocco over a period of almost three months. Overall, our vacation home rent generally runs about 20% to 30% less than in Morocco.

Over time, we did adjust the budget’s annual estimates upwards to compensate for this increase although all other estimates and final numbers have fallen within the original budget. Each time we add a new location, we check transportation, entertainment, and food costs in order to be able to enter realistic estimates. 

As we incur each expense while living in each location, we keep a running tally of every last cent spent, entering it as final expenses at the end of the rental period which we always share here with our readers on the day or our departure.

Tomorrow, we’ll share the second portion of this post which we entered the next day and we’ll provide an update on the results of Tom’s dental appointment today after we discover if his infection is gone needing no further treatment or, treatment down the road.

Have a fulfilling day. Thanks to each and every one of our readers for being at our sides as we continue on.

 Photo from one year ago today, November 16, 2014:

Mike, the condo manager, explained the interesting story of the Milo tree, detailed in this post. 

Our three year anniversary…A special day out…Total expenses for three years of travel and lots more stats…Hold on to your seats!

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Us in Hawaii, one year ago. Tomorrow, we’ll post a new photo of us together from Namale Resort. Here’s a link to our two year anniversary.

This morning, we awoke simultaneously at 5:45, both of us saying “happy anniversary, lover!” It’s a special day for us. It’s the third year anniversary of our world travels, beginning on October 31, 2012, the day Tom retired and we left Minnesota to begin our journey.

The first few years we didn’t make much of a deal of the anniversary when we hit the road, leaving our lives in Minnesota behind, leaving behind all we knew and loved.

Our kids, now all in their 40’s had built their own lives with their families, filled with activities, their own traditions, fully embracing the hurried and at times, the frantic pace of life in the US. 

After working all of our lives and living that frenzied pace at times, we were ready to expand our horizons and step outside the “expected” box of retirement and old age. 

What contributed to our choosing this life evolved more from our mutual desire to do so than anything else. In many marriages, one may like the idea, but the other spouse wouldn’t consider it. With my renewed health beginning 11 months before we left, it was three months later until we even conceived of the idea. 

It was hard leaving everyone we love behind.  We didn’t take it lightly. We just did it differently than many Minnesotans who choose to escape the frigid winters and short, hot, humid summers.  Instead of buying a condo in Arizona or Florida as many retirees often do, seeing family once or twice a year, we chose to see the world, although the stretches between visits are further apart.

The kids and grandchildren visited us in Hawaii last December, a little over two years after we’d left and we’ll see them again in 19 months. They’re doing fine without us. A call on Skype is all it takes to see a smiling face and hear a familiar voice. 

Many ask, “When will this end and you move back to the US?” When one is happy and fulfilled, it’s a tough question to answer. Our answer is vague at this point, “When we have to (due to health) or when we want to.”  Neither of those scenarios is in front of us now as we enter into our fourth year.

Although not specifically an anniversary photo this was taken in January, 2013 in the days when we had lots of luggage. We believe we had a total of 17 pieces including several carry-on bags.  Now we have three checked bags and a two carry-on items each.

When we began this journey three years ago we made a pact: If one of us wants to stop traveling, the other will agree. Of course, if health becomes a serious issue we’re unable to address from abroad, we’d have no choice but to return to the US.  Perhaps, after a period of time and recovery, we can continue again.

However, part of the joy in our lives is the uncertainty of the distant future, an odd sensation for two people who liked to plan well into the future, especially me. And yet, I’m totally at ease moving every few weeks or months. 

Other than missing the people we love, we miss nothing in our old lives. Sure, a TV would be nice or AC on hot humid days but now, we see those as frills we easily live without. Getting dressed is easy each day: shorts and tee-shirt, or…tee shirt and shorts. Life is simple and uncomplicated.

We wish we’d taken more anniversary photos on years one and two but, often alone, we settle for what we can, often taking photos of ourselves individually or on occasion, asking a stranger. We’ll try to do better on future anniversaries. 

Tomorrow, we’ll definitely post a photo of us together after today’s upcoming celebration at Namale Resort where we requested an exception to allow “outsiders” to dine in their restaurant when it’s exclusively intended for “all-inclusive” guests only. 

Luckily, our offer of doing a story on Namale and today’s experience will be posted online tomorrow which results in great exposure for their resort to our worldwide readers. We’re appreciative of the opportunity to visit this world-famous resort.

Now, for the part most of today’s readers are anticipating…the numbers. Yesterday, after reviewing our spreadsheets with every facet of our travels, including all expenses and every aspect of our itinerary.

Tom at the beach at the Indian Ocean on our one year anniversary in 2013. Here’s a link to our one year anniversary.

Also, we’ve included the totals for each expense for “everyday” living with such items as medical, supplies, insurance, toiletries, groceries, data, clothing, dining out, entertainment, postage, miscellaneous fees, and on and on.

Many of you will be shocked when you read these numbers. Others may be pleasantly surprised. But, if any of our readers were to add up every last cent they spent in the past three years their numbers may not be whole lot different than ours.

I’ll lighten the shock of the total by sharing the 37 month total (we’ve included estimated costs for our remaining month here in Savusavu based on averages on our spending to date):

  • Monthly cost (37 months):  USD $6,880, FJD $14,772
  • Daily cost: USD $225, FJD $483:
  • Three year total (37 months): USD $254,572, FJD $546,582

The monthly total was higher than we’d originally estimated. But, when 12 family members came to Hawaii at our expense, our monthly averages increased exponentially. 

Into the future, we should be able to keep our monthly cost around the USD $6,000, FJD $12,882 thus reducing our daily total expense at USD $197, FJD $423, a number we feel comfortable to strive toward into the future.  As we peruse our budget, we see this is entirely likely once we’ve passed 2015. 

As for other numbers, here are a few facts we gathered from the past three years as well:

  •  21:  vacation homes we’ve rented
  •  56:  nights spent in hotels
  •  14:  flights we’ve taken (roundtrips count as two)
  •    1:  trains we’ve taken (the Eurostar, Paris to London)
  • 119: nights spent on a cruise ship
  •  11:  cruises we sailed
  •    7:  rental cars (total number rented, not number of days rented)
  • 16:   total months with a rental car (leaving 21 months using a driver)

None of the above surprised me based on the fact that I’ve been entering these numbers for over three years.  Tom was surprised at first at the grand totoal but as we discussed it further, he was easily able to see how it adds up.

Two years ago, on our one year anniversary on the beach at the Indian Ocean in Kenya.

None of these totals include deposits we’ve paid for future travel. Those numbers will be calculated into new totals for each year as the rentals, cruises, and expenses occur.

There it is, folks. Without storage and a permanent home in another location, its affordable for us to continue to travel the world. Never for a moment do we take from granted our ability to do this. Never for a moment do we take for granted the good fortune, safari luck, we’ve experienced in these first three years.

And most of all, never for a moment to we fail to appreciate each other’s bravery and determination to live a joyful life “outside the box” or our ongoing good health.

Thus, to my loving husband, I say “thank you” for this extraordinary experience. To our family and friends, “thank you” for accepting our decision to travel the world. And, of course, to all of our worldwide readers for “traveling along with us” from your comfy armchair, your ride on the bus, or with your morning coffee or tea at the kitchen table. We have loved sharing each day with all of you.

Photo from one year ago, October 31, 2014:

We didn’t make much of our deal about our two-year anniversary last year which we’ll share in tomorrow’s post for the one year ago photo. It’s a special milestone for us each year and for us, is deserving a bit of hoopla. For details from last year, please click here.

Sightseeing day!..Stop back tomorrow for photos!…Paying upcoming balances for cruises…Fares for seven upcoming cruises…

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The sign at Savusavu Hospital reads, “Harvest the Wellness Within You!,” a good motto to follow. Many Fijians suffer with diabetes with a diet rich in sugar and high amounts of starchy foods.

Cruises have become an integral aspect of our travels. It provides us with an opportunity to visit more countries and their points of interest than any other means of travel.

Also, as we’ve attempted to avoid the “big bus” experience with a preference for the six or eight-person van excursion, it’s given us a better opportunity to make new friends during a day’s outing and to see the sights with more ease and level of enjoyment.

On some cruises, we’ll continue to attend group excursions such as next year’s Mekong River cruise where all excursions are included in the cost and others, when safety in numbers may be advised.

As we look over our upcoming cruise list, we’re enthusiast over the wide range we’ve selected to ensure we’ll have seen most of the major cities in Australia, New Zealand and many islands.

Each cruise is unique in its own way, although there are a few repeated ports of call from cruise to cruise, locations we’ll have already visited, unavoidable when attempting to circumvent the huge continent of Australia and its surrounding islands. For an example, a few of these cruises, have the port city of Suva, Viti Levu, Fiji as a port of call.

The entrance to the hospital in Savusavu.

After four months in Fiji, we may not be interested in touring Suva when its a city we’ll be visiting biweekly for shopping when we move to Pacific Harbour, Fiji, located on the main island, an hour’s drive from the house we’re renting.

Nadi (pronounced “nan-dee” in the Fijian language), where the airport is located, won’t necessarily be on our radar either with its increased levels of crime and population as mentioned in yesterday’s post.

During those repeated ports of call, we may decide to stay onboard the ship to enjoy the glorious quiet while many passengers have gone ashore to board those big buses for excursions and shopping.

Following is the list of upcoming cruises, the number of days of the cruise  and dates for which we’re booked all the way into 2017:

 Sydney to Aukland            USD $4,771 14 1/5/2016 1/19/2016
 Sydney to Singapore         USD $3,869 14 4/16/2016 4/30/2016
 Sydney to Perth                 USD $4,557 16 10/31/2016 11/16/2016
 Hanoi to Ho Chi Min City  USD $6,597 15 7/8/2016 7/22/2016
 Singapore to Sydney         USD $4,144 14 10/31/2016    11/14/2016
 Sydney to Sydney              USD $4,820 12 3/1/2017 3/13/2017
 Sydney to Seattle              USD $5,995 24 4/22/2017 5/15/2017

It may seem that 2017 is a long time away, especially when we arrive in the US in May, 2017. But, its only 19 months from now until we land on US soil at the port of Seattle, Washington to make our way to Minnesota and Nevada to visit family and friends.

The total cost for all of the above cruises (for two, in select balcony cabins only) is USD $34,753, FJD $74,037, undoubtedly a huge chunk. Based on our budget, we tend to look at this total on an annualized and monthly basis which in doing so, averages at USD $1,819, FJD $3896 per month.

On a more remote island one may worry that their aren’t readily available medical services. We’re always pleased to discover hospitals, ambulances and adequate medical care in case of an emergency.

Based on having selected this vast number of cruises, we’ve been extra careful in selecting vacation homes, car rentals and general expenses to ensure “doing what we love” (cruising) doesn’t create any undue financial stress in going over our budget.  In no case, do any of these cruises result in a deficit impacting our quality of life.

Without a doubt booking this number of cruises has a bearing on the vacation homes we select. However, we tend to stay in a general range for each location based on our needs, practicality and budget. 

We don’t require a luxury four-bedroom house with a full staff, although at times, we’ve been fortunate (and will be so in the future) to have negotiated a price befitting our budget for such types of vacation rentals. 

Here in Vanua Levu, Fiji at USD $2,000, FJD $4,260 per month, we have all we need or want while we’re able to maintain our average monthly/annual cost to offset the cost of the cruises.

Yesterday, we paid the balance of USD $3,871, FJD $8247 of the first cruise on the above list, after paying a deposit of USD $900, FJD $1,917 when we booked it some time ago.

Its that very cruise that ends in Auckland, New Zealand on January 19, 2016 where we’ll stay for 89 days, renting a car in Auckland to drive to the north island city of New Plymouth where the farmhouse awaits us, again an affordable property.

Several emergency vehicles were on the hospital property. Locals don’t hesitate to call in an emergency and feel the local care is adequate for many conditions.

Typically, final payments for cruises are due 80 days before the departure dates. Vacations to Go (still our preferred cruise booking agency) keeps a credit card on file for us, using it automatically to make the payments when due. 

When booking multiple cruises such as the above, we consider the spacing and the dates the balances are due.  Our next cruise final payment won’t be due until January 23, 2016.

In most cases, we’ve paid the required USD $900, FJD $1,917 deposit at the time of booking the cruise with our preferred cabin number. If its a ship we’ve never sailed in the past, Tom reads reviews on cabin numbers in Cruise Critic and other resources while looking at the posted “deck plan” listed in the Vacations to Go website.  Selecting the right cabin is vital to a good experience (more on that later in a future post).

On certain cruises, we’re able to purchase “deposit vouchers” for USD $200, FJD $426, that can be used in place of paying the USD $900, FJD $1,917.  Why would we want to cruise line to be holding that sum of our money for these extended periods?  If we can pay a smaller deposit, it is preferred.

Of course, there’s always the added “bill” we get at the end of each cruise for any extras: Internet access, cocktails for Tom, specialty restaurants and a rare  purchase in the shops. 

Many times tips and alcoholic beverages are included in the fare when offered as a special promotion. We’ll share the inclusions and extras as we cruise on each of the above.

Then again, we often pay huge deposits on vacation homes booked way down the road. Its the nature of the beast, a constant outflow of cash paying for services well into the future.

In reality, its not unlike the lives of many of our worldwide readers who pay monthly for rent or mortgage payment, utilities and maintenance. The only difference for us is the fact that we pay for all of this well in advance. In Fiji, until January, when we depart from Sydney for the first listed cruise, our rent and airfare is already paid in full.  We continue to pay in advance for the many upcoming months and often, years.

As “they” say, “it all comes out in the wash.” It works for us.

Shortly, we’ll be heading out for the day with Rasnesh for photos of more beautiful scenery in Vanua Levu, ending up at the end of the day for our usual shopping: Vodafone kiosk, the pharmacy that has everything (one only need ask), the Farmer’s Market, New World Market and Fiji Meats where Helen has a order we placed awaiting our pickup. 

The sun was shining when we awoke but the clouds have rolled in as I write this. If it rains, we’re still going! Over the past few days, it’s been hot, hot, hot. The mozzies and ants are on a rampage after the weeks of rain but we’re handling them. Our Internet is working well. Lots more new photos coming soon. We’re feeling great and life is good.  Hope its the same for all of you!

Photo from one year ago today, October 22, 2014:

Tom was looking for the daily visit of sea turtles at the shoreline outside our condo in Maui. The skies had begun to clear and we looked forward to walks along the shore, whale watching  and hanging out at the pool. It was on this date a year ago, that I drove a car for the first time in two years. I was still the same awful driver I’ve always been! For more details, please click here.

Photos taken this morning…An early morning on another rainy day…A blazing year ago photo below!

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Breadfruit growing in the yard, a popular item in the islands. Here’s a good article on breadfruit. We’d love to try this which is the size of a grapefruit but, it contains 26 grams of carbohydrates and 11 grams of sugar in 1/4 of a fruit.

Cabin fever hasn’t set in yet. We’re good. The cool breezes, the sound of the rain pattering on the tile roof, the birds singing, and the contrast of colors in the bright green vegetation inspired me to take photos at 6:30 this morning.

Already showered and dressed after a 5:45 bolt out of bed, following Tom’s 5:30 rising, our day began on a bright note, as usual, rain or shine. With 70% to 90% rain expected over the five-day forecast, we keep our chins up, knowing eventually this will end. 

Part of us accepts the premise that nature needs the rain as we watch the vegetation bloom and brighten into a plethora of shades of color. Each rainy morning, we notice subtle differences as they escalate into a splash of colors some hardly recognizable to our eyes. Who’s to complain?

The kitchen towels never dried in the rain.  Today, we’ll hand these off to Usi with our dirty laundry and she’ll dry them.

When the sun shines again, we’ll begin to tackle the list of sites to see during our next outing with Ratnesh.  In the interim, we’ll continue our regular and highly entertaining visits to the village, rain, or shine. No doubt, it’s good to get out. 

Not having a rental car could be challenging for most long term travelers.  Somehow, we established a level of acceptance of this fact, that sometimes renting a car doesn’t work. In the case here, as we’ve mentioned in the past, a four wheel drive vehicle would be required. 

Such a vehicle is outrageously expensive in the long term on this small island, higher than the rent on the house. We were well aware of this when we booked this location when Mario had explained in an email that we’d have a great driver. We have no regrets now.

Ratnesh is comparable to having a personal tour guide. Having lived here all of his life, he’s educating us as we travel about, not only on local customs and lifestyle but also, on the scenery. Also, many rough roads are best avoided on one’s own, due to navigability issues. On our own we wouldn’t have had a clue as to which roads to avoid, driving beyond the Savusavu area.

The local ferry travels from Savusavu to Nadi in Viti Levu. It’s a long overnight trip arriving at 5 am.  Sleeping cabins are available for an additional cost.

We’ve had drivers in Belize, Kenya, South Africa, and Morocco. Not having a rental car in these countries never impeded our ability to embrace our surroundings and in most cases, enhanced it with the competency and knowledge of our drivers. 

How easily we recall Okee Dokee in South Africa, with whom we’ve stayed in touch as she prepares for her upcoming wedding. We happily watch for photos and the progression of her plans on Facebook and also write back and forth in email. We couldn’t be more thrilled for her!

The times we spent, the three of us, driving through Marloth Park and the surrounding areas will always remain as some of the favorite memories of our world travels. At times, we all laughed so hard, we cried. 

Our single chaise lounge is available for sunning when the suns appear.

Each week she and I traveled the long distance to Komatipoort to grocery shop and to purchase more data.  During those drives, we engaged in typical “girl talk” as well as stopping for wildlife photos. She’d help me find items at the market which often left us in fits of laughter.

Often, we stopped to check out the products offered by farmers and vendors who’d sit on a box on the side of the road for hours at a time. She’d purchase lychee nuts and I’d purchase avocados in a huge bag of 10, always more than I could eat which I shared with her and the household helpers. We’ll always remember those special times with Okee Dokee.

Each country we’ve visited has left us with special memories. We anticipate this will be the case as we continue on our journey. When perusing our itinerary this morning, I couldn’t fathom how quickly the time has passed and how soon we’ll be in New Zealand (in three months) and Bali (in less than seven months).

Having the experience of seeing so much of the South Pacific by the time we depart in 18 months, with six upcoming cruises a few of which will circumvent Australia, surely we’ll feel satisfied that we’ve had a good perspective of this part of the world.

A colorful little orange flower blooming on this white lily.

So much more of the world awaits us. Had we started this journey 20 years ago, we’d still have only been able to see a portion of what the world has to offer. The time we have left is in the hands of our higher power and the degree to which we can maintain a level of good health.

With our diligent budgeting, which we’ll continue to adjust for inflation and the value of the dollar throughout the world, we expect it will become more challenging to find affordable options in years to come. Rather than risk our financial stability, we’ll continually adjust our expectations accordingly.

For today as we sit back on yet another rainy day, we’ll resume our search to fulfill the one remaining gap in our schedule (39 days) over the next 18 months. From there, we’re watching for new cruise postings yet to appear, to take us back out to sea to continue on our chosen path.

Have a happy and fulfilling day!


Photo from one year ago today, October 13, 2014:

How can it be a full year ago that we took this photo in Waikiki Beach?  The time has flown. For more details as we wound down our time in Oahu, soon to move to Maui, please click here.

Upcoming payments for vacation homes and cruises…How much is the rent here in Vanua Levu and the upcoming rentals?

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Junior, the thoughtful head maintenance and landscaping guy on the property explained how he nurtures the orchids by adding coconuts as the ” parasitic” to enhance the growth of the orchids.  See photo below.

Yesterday, we paid the balance of the payment due for the next house, when we move to Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji in a little over two months.  The USD $1,800, FJD $3,919 was the balance due on a total rent for one month of USD $2800, FJD $6,096. 

At the time we booked the second house, we hesitated a little over the price, higher than the rent for the house here in Vanua Levu at USD $2,000, FJD $4,354 per month for a grand total of US $6,000, FJD $13,063 for the entire three month period.

Based on the fact that we stay in most locations longer than the average traveler’s one or two weeks, we’re often given a discounted rate.  Although the owner may not bring in as much income from our rental period, they can’t ever count on having the property rented 100% of the time.  Also, there are additional expenses accrued in the turnover process.

It wasn’t easy finding a good house at an affordable rate near the ocean yet far from the hustle and bustle of Nadi, the capital city.  Once we arrive we’ll rent a car for the 95 mile drive from the airport.


We posted this photo earlier when we weren’t sure of its species.  Yesterday, when Junior stopped by to see if we needed anything, he explained that he’d tied this coconut to the orchid tree which enhances the growth and beauty of the orchids via the nutrients of the coconut. 

With the house a short distance to a beach we can walk at our leisure with hotels on either end it will be quite different than this house in Savusavu where its impossible to walk on the beach in the mountainous region, although there are beaches in other areas.

Also, the house in Viti Levu it has a pool and patio furniture outside the living room door. The pool here, although adequate for swimming, has no space for lawn chairs or chaise lounges, making it less appealing for us.  There’s nothing like a swim in the pool followed up by a drying-off while sitting in a chaise basking in the sun for a short period.

Every location has its pluses and minuses and the minuses are often only a matter of perception and lifestyle.  Undoubtedly, we have peculiarities and preferences that may not matter to the next visitor.  In essence, this house in Savusavu is ideal for many travelers who prefer a quiet location.

As for upcoming payments due by the end of 2015, having just paid the above mentioned balance, we only have two more payments due:

1.  USD $3,871, FJD $8,428 – 14 day cruise on the Celebrity Solstice – Sydney to Auckland (Total fare USD $4771, FJD $10,387
2.  USD $4,616, FJD  $10,050 – 3 month (88 days) rental for the alpaca farm in New Zealand (Total rent USD $5,615, FJD $12,225)

Badal, Sewak’s dog has been visiting us almost every evening.  We’d love to give him affection but in the pouring rain he’s been quite a mess.  Once it clears we’ll happily spend time with him.  He lives entirely outdoors but is well fed and cared for.  With Sewak and his wife vegetarians, we wonder what Badal eats. 

The thought of only having to pay out USD $8,487, FJD $18,478 by December 31st gives us a little peace of mind.  Also, the way my little brain works inspires me to figure out the daily rental (per se for the cruise fare, too) for the above mentioned 14 days and 88 days, respectively, which translates to USD $83 a day for “rent.”  Not too bad by our standards.

Of course, once January arrives, we’ll have a ton of expenses to shell out for several upcoming cruises and rentals in 2016.  We’ll get back to those costs in the new year.  I can’t think about that now.  We’ve carefully budgeted all of these expenses resulting in no need for worry or concern.

The rent itself is only a part of the expenses we bear each month:  groceries, dining out, transportation (car rental and driver as applicable), airfare, excess baggage fees, entertainment, shipping fees, insurance for health and belongings in our possession and a glob of miscellaneous items as we continue to replenish supplies and products we regularly use.

Keeping track of these expenses in quite a task that only works without stress when handled as the expenses occur.  Letting them pile up, which we don’t do, would certainly be instrumental is causing angst and frustration. 

As the rains continue, flowers are blooming throughout the yard.

If our website and travel writing small business weren’t subject to a small (and I mean, small) write-off each year, we’d still keep track of every expense.  How easy expenses could get out of control, beyond one’s means, putting a fast end to the affordability of continuing on?

With our careful and diligent planning and documenting of every last expenditure, we’re always at ease knowing we can afford the next month, the next leg and the next year.  That type of worrying wouldn’t fit well into our motto of “stress free” living. 

As a result, we have no option but to be frugal by our own self-determined standards; avoiding wastefulness, not choosing luxury over peace of mind, selecting affordable rentals and at times, forgoing convenience.

Beautiful colors.

For example, we could have rented a four wheel drive vehicle while in Savusavu which is required to make it up this mountain from the main road.  The rental fees for such a vehicle made no sense at all.  Were such a vehicle available the monthly rental fee would be in excess of USD $3,000, FJD $6,531. 

With Ratnesh’s hourly rates at USD $13.78, FJD $30 for driving to sightsee as opposed to USD $9.19, FJD $20, for round trips to the village, we could use his services for three hours a day for USD $41, FJD $90 and still get nowhere near the cost of a monthly car rental.  Plus, Vanua Levu is a small relatively low population island, not warrantying that amount of travel by any stretch of the imagination.

Thus, a sensible decision was made, especially since we’d would have hardly used a rental during these past three rainy weeks.  As we’ve mentioned in the past, we don’t feel trapped having been without a car on many occasions either walking (where applicable) or utilizing the services of a taxi or driver as needed.

Bananas growing in the yard.

Are we “tightwads” in the truest sense of the word?  Not at all.  We purchase any food items our tastes so desire when cooking or dining out (where possible), we generously tip the support staff and driver at the end of each stay, we pay substantial shipping and excess baggage fees (now with less cringing) and, we continue to book balcony cabins on every cruise our hearts so desires. 

These expenditures certainly don’t fall into the category of “tightwad.”  For us, these “extras” are a way of life that contribute to the ease of travel and above all, the degree of enjoyment we glean as we continue on.

Keeping track of all of this seems to add an another element of pleasure, one that we derive from knowing where we stand and the accompanying peace of mind that comes with it. 

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Photo from one year ago today, September 29, 2014:

One year ago, we were fast approaching the Hawaiian Islands, where we lived for a total of eight months during which our family visited us on the Big Island.  Its hard to believe in a few days, we’ll be sharing photos of Honolulu when our cruise ended on October 5, 2014. Where has the time gone?  For more details, please click here.