TWO DRIFTERS, OFF TO SEE THE WORLD

They could be no more different from us. They are younger, in their 40s vs us in our 70s. They have been together longer, for two and a half decades vs our one. But they are, like us, in Mazatlan for three months this winter. We met for late lunch at Molcajete Loco in Old Mazatlan. The connection was immediate and 2 pm became 6 pm quickly. So I decided that you should also meet this very interesting couple, Jerry and Fiona, owners of the blog A Couple of Drifters.

Their traveling style is so like how we were during our RVing days. You see, to drift means to be carried slowly by a current; to cruise is to travel smoothly at a moderate or economical speed without a precise destination, for pleasure. We simply use different terms. They started with their Van Life until they sold the van, much like our RV Life until we sold the RV.  But we started much later, in our 60s, and our travel styles are so different now. They continue to drift, sans van, while we have shifted to slower and more planned travels from a base as soon as we reached our 70s. 

Once it presented itself, they seized on the opportunity for long term budget travel, believing that “nobody knows what the future holds so now is the time to undertake this journey whilst we are young(ish) and healthy.” Here are their answers to our “tracking down” questions:

1. Where have you been and how long has it been since you started this lifestyle?

beach camping in Baja

We started this lifestyle back in 2013, traveling for all of one year, hitchhiking from Portland, Maine across the U.S. through Mexico and all seven Central American countries, and back. We returned to Portland to work, save, and tie up loose ends. This current journey began in September 2017 and we've driven the length of the Baja peninsula twice—beach camping along the way plus house-sits in the US southwest.

2. How did you come up with your long term travel budget?

$15 each per day is the least amount we came up with to keep us on the road for as long as possible from our savings and retirement investments. We keep a detailed account of every penny that we spend in our Financial Times, a small notebook where we keep track of all daily expenses no matter how minuscule. An analysis of our 2019 entries revealed this breakdown: Transportation-45%, Food & Drinks-35%. Accommodation-7%, Digital Expense: 8%, Others-5%. As we sold the van towards the end of last year and moved into our apartment in Mazatlan, accommodation has risen to 30% of our budget and transportation is near zero.

3. What are your secrets in staying on budget when you travel?

We always look for the cheapest accommodation possible—hotels not hostels (they are no longer the best budget option), especially in Mexico and Central America. We walk for hours all over town looking for the cheapest place and, depending on where we are, we happily haggle the price of a room.

their apartment in Mazatlan

For example, here in Mazatlan, we are in a small one-bedroom apartment in a duplex at the residential neighborhood of Centro Historico, just a couple of blocks away from the Malecon. With cable, wi-fi, and a shared washer and dryer, it is just $5 each per day. We also do a lot of house-sitting, which has been a fantastic way to save money on lodging. Every now and then we'll take an overnight bus, not great for sleeping but kills two birds with one stone.

In terms of food, we try to share plates as often as possible. We eat one meal a day and snack the rest of the day with bread rolls. We choose unadorned, local establishments where there is a set menu and very few (if any) tourists. We also eat a lot of street food. We keep heating elements for boiling water when we don't have access to a cooker. They are perfect for making soups, tea, and coffee.

Transportation expenses are kept to a minimum because we walk a lot and never take taxis or ubers.  Jerry was able to do all the repairs to our van when we had one. We only had to buy the parts. For greater distances, we hitchhike as much as possible. When we do take buses, we always opt for the cheapest bus, which typically means a longer travel time due to frequent stops and no air conditioning, etc. This may also mean a standard seat for two adults will cozily hold 4, not an inch of space left open anywhere on the bus. Often, humans and livestock all share the same space.

If we need to replace any clothing we buy it at second-hand shops/markets and we carry a sewing kit. We also rely on free wi-fi, have no data plan, nor a cellphone. We also do shower laundry. Yes, just as it sounds, we do our laundry while we shower.

4. When and why did you shift from the van life to long term budget travel?

Little Elvis

Selling the van was all part of the original plan. Somehow we just ended up living the van life and house-sitting for longer than we thought we would initially. We sold "Little Elvis" (our van) the beginning of November 2019. We're glad we experienced van life but we are happier without our own wheels.

5. Are there any risks in maintaining your lifestyle?

There are more risks with our lifestyle but we have not encountered any of them yet. When hitchhiking we try to get our lifts while there is still daylight but we have had overnight lifts which turned out fine. We always try to get dropped off at truck stops, that way if we don't have any luck getting another lift to continue, we have a great place to pass the hours until it is time to put our thumbs out once again. Truck stops are open 24 hours a day and we have been treated with nothing but kindness from staff as we quietly wait for dawn.

As far as healthcare is concerned, we've both been very ill on the road, but have never needed medical attention. The best care is to live healthily and prevent major illnesses.

Fiona, leading the hitchhiking

6. How many of your years together have been spent in a home base and drifting?

We’ve been together 24 years as of February 15, 2020. Twenty and a half of those years have been in various home bases: Boston, MA, Birmingham, UK, Albuquerque, NM, Seattle, WA and Portland, ME. So, only three and a half years have been spent traveling as a “Couple of Drifters.”

7.  Which is better in sustaining or even enriching your relationship?

Over 24 years we've done the home base, van life and the current long term budget travel of hotels/hitchhiking/sub-leasing. We really don't find much difference. However, when we were at a home base, we were both working full time so we were not around each other 24/7. This is a key difference. Van life is also different. It was so cramped. “Little Elvis” had a whopping 26" x 28" of clear space. It meant having to communicate about everything. Every last little detail has to be thrashed out together. There's a lot of bickering and just as much compromising. We cannot deny that spending 24/7 together leads you to get on each other's last nerves. Don't be fooled by the idealistic shots that you see on Instagram of gorgeous couples looking perfectly quaffed and staring at each other adoringly. The reality is very different.

they lived at the upper floor of this house in Portland, Maine 

8. Then, what is your secret in staying together in each lifestyle?

The secret is in sharing responsibilities and knowing what they are. After 24 years we each kind of know our own strengths. As two individuals, we complement each other so that together we are like one fully functioning human. For example, with regard to our blog, there was a natural distribution of responsibilities. Jerry takes care of the technical aspects and Instagram, Fiona deals with other social media and marketing. We take turns writing posts. Other secrets are talking about things, listening to each other, and getting mad, sulking, calming down, and finally talking things through. The way we travel is different and can be quite intense. Sometimes, we feel the need to set ourselves down somewhere for a while and just relax. But, ultimately, what is most special about traveling as a couple is that you both share a strong common bond. You can look at each other and know that you are the only ones who can truly understand that moment from your travels that you may now be retelling others.

As you can see, it is right to call them drifters. And it is even more right to call them a couple steadfast in their hope that they can sustain this lifestyle forever or at least as long as they can. Fiona wants to go everywhere and Jerry doesn't have a list. Soon, they will return to New Mexico for another house-sit. Then, they go back to Mexico to resume their drift farther south, past Central America, perhaps into South America. 

Find out how interesting Jerry and Fiona's journeys are as they go on their long-term budget travels. You'll see why the Mayor of Albuquerque, NM shared their post, 
Unique Things to Do in Albuquerque, on his Fb page. The song, "Moon River" captures their spirit precisely: "Two drifters, off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see."

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