We spent the whole month of January in Miraflores, Lima house sitting for two adorable doggos! It was good to be off the road for a while. We were able to take care of things best done in a big city. Staying in one place we were able to develop a daily and weekly routine. We had access to a wide variety of groceries and well-equipped kitchen. We cooked some of our favorite foods we had been missing. We got to experience Lima as a temporary local and visit lots of different places in the city. And the dogs! So sweet!
(All pictures are click to enlarge)
Expenses
* A few notes about these expenses. Because Spanish classes are not a “normal” travel expense, I am presenting this expense separately from the total of everything else. In the past, I report exactly what actually comes out of my bank account each month, but since we may book one or two months of accommodations, transportation, or Spanish classes ahead of time, I’m now reporting not when I spent the money but what month the money was spent on.
Learning Spanish: $0
Everything Else: $1,988.77
The Grand Total: $1,988.77
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Learning Spanish
$0
We went to two different intercambios (language exchanges) in Lima. They were mostly either lightly attended or didn’t focus on speaking Spanish enough. It was a bit of a disappointment. But we often had our own intercambios on the streets of Lima. Almost everyone we met addressed us in Spanish and we were able to have short conversations. We took tours conducted entirely in Spanish and were able to understand most of what was said. We went to a free movie night in a park and watched an animation in Spanish. At the apartment we watched movies in Spanish on Netflix. At museums, we read as much Spanish as we could until we tired of reading. We learned a lot about Perú and Lima.
But we still struggle with understanding what many people are saying in casual settings. On the bus we just do what everyone else does. Greg finally asked a cashier at a grocery store what they always say when we are next in line (“boleto o factura” – factura is a receipt for businesses, boleto is a receipt for individuals).
We are so much better, though. We are getting there.
Communication
– Phone, $46.56
Since we finally realized that we can make phone calls on my Google Voice account for free, Greg’s US phone plan with Google Fi, has come down to $26.23. He will continue to keep it in order to retain his phone number and to text with friends.
We now have a new Peruvian phone plan. In Ecuador, we signed up for a multi-country phone plan that covered Ecuador, Colombia, Perú, and Boliva with the phone company Claro. We weren’t able to use our US credit card to pay for the plan online so we returned to the Claro store and paid cash for 4 months in advance. The plan worked seamlessly when we crossed into Ecuador. In Lima, we went to another Claro store to pay for some more months. It isn’t possible to pay for an Ecuadorian phone plan at a Peruvian Claro store. We ended having to get a new phone plan. We were charged 1 sol (26¢) to initiate the plan and assured that we could pay with my credit card through their app. We still had a credit on our Ecuadorian plan, which we have lost. A couple of weeks later, when the plan’s bill came due, we found out that once again, we couldn’t pay through the app. We ended up back at the Claro store and were able to use a credit card in person, $20.07.
Consumables
– Groceries, $640.34
Wow! We spent a lot on groceries in January. This is close to double what we paid in December ($346.97) traveling through Perú!
I’ve been putting some thought into why this might be. Groceries in general might be pricier in Lima – especially in the upscale Miraflores area. We had access to more expensive, specialty foods, like tempeh and tofu. We have been trying to eat healthier, so unlike when we were traveling in small towns, in Lima we had a bigger variety of healthier (and expensive) options. Our main go-to grocery store added a 3% surcharge to non-Peruvian credit card purchases. We ate more – and often bought snacks which we don’t usually do when we are on the go, traveling. We bought a lot of water. Some Airbnbs we have stayed at have provided water, but at our house sit we had to provide all of our own water. And water seemed a tad pricier in Lima. Finally, the bigger expense in January compared to December could be due to bad record-keeping – who knows?
Being in one place for so long was great for cooking and buying groceries. We could buy food for more than a few days. We had an oven and were able to make casseroles. Finding a grocery store that carried tempeh (a soybean meat substitute) meant I could make my favorite lasagna recipe. We experimented with making things that would be easier to recreate on the road with foods that are easier to find like lentil tacos. We tried new fruits to add to our morning breakfast. Dragon fruit will be added to our diet. Lucama is tasty but has a weird texture. We will continue to eat it but only the ice cream version of it. And after 50-something years, Greg retried Inca Kola. We were told that the best version of the soft drink was in glass bottles. It tasted like cream soda.
Towards the end of our stay in Lima, I had to start being creative to reduce our food supplies. I had a big bag of oatmeal and some maple syrup so I found a recipe for oatmeal pancakes. Super easy and tasty. We could have these again!
– Cleaning/Paper Products, $25.06
We paid $6.18 for 12 rolls of toilet paper, $3.74 for a roll of aluminum foil, and $15.14 for a package of laundry detergent sheets. I ordered the laundry detergent sheets on Amazon and had them sent to our Trusted House Sitter host in the US. She is bringing them back for us.
– Medicine Cabinet, $158.88
Medicine Cabinet stuff is expensive in Perú! We bought normal stuff like toothpaste and shampoo at expected prices. Luckily, there is a Dolarcity in Miraflores and we were able to buy cheap reading glasses. But stuff like supplements, contact lens eye drops, contact lens cleaner, and denture cleaning tablets were super expensive. And unlike in the US, many of these things (contact lens cleaner, for example) were only available behind the counter of a pharmacy.
We never figured out where to buy shoe inserts, but suspect that they are only sold at podiatrists. Our old ones are going to have to last the next 4 months.
Entertainment
– Drinks and Eating Out, $417.05
Of course, we ate out a lot. But the most we paid for any one meal for the two of us was $43.07. This was a language exchange venue, so there was some extra drinking to relax and get the Spanish flowing. Our meals and drinking out cost as little as $7.14 for lunch (with tip), but generally ran between $20 and $30.
– Museums/Attractions/Music, $58.49
We paid to visit 6 different museums and historical sites. At several places, Greg received a senior discount!
Health
– Dentist, $333.83
Greg lost a crown sometime in November before we left Ecuador. While we were in Miraflores he made 4 visits to the dentist to get it fixed. On that first visit, he was told that he had an infection in another tooth. Apparently, when you have a root canal, you can’t rely on pain to tell you that you have a problem in your mouth. He had the infected tooth pulled, and the crown replaced ($308.10). $25.73 more was spent on pain meds and antibiotics.
Personal
– Clothes, $31.84
I bought a new hat and each of us bought new T-shirts. And although I didn’t need them, I bought a new pair of alpaca wool gloves. My old pair, although still functional, have some strands of yarn starting to unravel. And at $6.65, I couldn’t pass up a deal.
– Gear, $46.51
Greg rented a guitar for 3 weeks for $31.95. Then he broke a string and paid $10.59 for a new set. It was all worth it. Greg has been without a guitar since December 2023.
I replaced the change purse I lost in Chachapoyas, for $3.97. The new change purse has a shoestring tied to it and is tethered to my camera bag.
– Subscriptions, $36.41
Our subscriptions this month are for Abode Photoshop, Netflix, and Michael Fox’s (A freelance filmmaker, journalist, podcaster, and musician reporting from the road in Latin America) Patreon account.
Traveling Life
– Storage
We pay $76 for a storage locker back in the US.
– Accommodations, $30.00
Our only accommodations expense was our annual fee for Boondockers Welcome. Boondockers Welcome is a service we used to use to find private places to stay in our van when we were traveling in North America. Although we don’t have a van anymore, we may in the future, so I’m hanging on to the subscription for one more year at the grandfathered-in price of $30.
Why no other expense? We spent the whole month house-sitting, taking care of two dogs in exchange for lodging. This is our second house sit in South America. We find most of our house-sitting gigs through a service called Trusted House Sitters. Learn more about THS here.
I wish I could show you pictures of how nice our house sit in Lima was. It was a two story penthouse apartment. It was huge. Three bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths. It had a picture window that overlooked the street below. The kitchen was well-equipped. It had a workable oven. We made lasagna, a casserole of enchiladas, stuffed cannoli, pizza, baked french fries, and granola bars! Upstairs was a nice patio where we spent our mornings with the dogs eating breakfast. We had a washer AND dryer! A house cleaner came twice a week and a gardener came weekly to tend to the numerous plants on the balcony and the upstairs patios. We were 2 1/2 blocks from the Malecón and the Larcomar mall. We could walk to almost anywhere in Miraflores and Barranco. And buses were within a 1 to 3-block walk. There were different major grocery stores in walking distance. And a health food store!
The dogs were so sweet! They were a joy to hang out with!
– Transportation, $83.01
On January 1, we took a boat, a tuk-tuk, a combi, and an Uber to arrive at our house sit in Lima. After that we relied on Ubers and buses to get around Lima. But mostly we used our feet.
Ubers were convenient when we wanted to get somewhere fast. We also used Uber Pet to take the dogs on an excursion outside to another nearby city, Callao. The bus took us to Centro Historico and Museo Larco. We spent a lot of time walking in Miraflores and Barranco.
Usually, I like to compare the price of transportation to what the cost of transportation would be if we had our own vehicle. But honestly, we wouldn’t have driven in Lima even if we had our own vehicle.
So I’m going to save myself all that adding up miles and say $83.01 is not bad for a month in Lima.
Right Now
As I write this we are in Caral, Perú, about a 4-hour drive north of Lima, near the coast. We just visited a 5000-year-old ruins site today. Tomorrow we are off to Huaraz, Perú in the Andes. We will leave at 7 am, catch a combi to Supe and from Supe another combi or bus to Barranca where we hope to find a bus to Huaraz. Our host at the hostel we are currently staying has volunteered to go with us to Barranca (he has to go there anyway). We just spent the evening having a lively conversation with him in Spanish. He speaks slowly and annunciates well. We could understand from 95 to 100% of what he said! It has been an amazing experience. We are ready for more adventure.
To see all of our expense reports, click here.
If you are interested in reading other expense reports from nomads who really know how to live cheaply while still having a good time, check out the blog from our friends Mark, Liesbet, and Maya who are traveling in their truck camper in South America at Roaming About.
If you are interested in becoming a Trusted Housesitter or having a Trusted Housesitter take care of your pet, use our link for 25% off!
A great adventure and great photos. The food looks good and the dogs are very cute.
You stayed under $2,000 for the month. Perfect! And that includes a high grocery bill and dentist visits. I’m glad Greg got that taken care of! Yeah, the food prices. I think they were high because you probably went to those modern and awesome supermarkets in Miraflores. I forgot their name. They reminded us of Whole Foods in the US. I think we only bought bread there and shopped for veggies and such elsewhere. They are attractive and possibly addictive, though. 🙂
The dogs look really cute and easy. Such a joy to be comfortable and take care of animals. The smiles on your faces tell me you had a great time in Lima. And, blue skies and lots of activities. Yeah… I could live there – but only in Miraflores or Barranco – for a while as well.
You didn’t buy – or find – new leggings? Enjoy the Cordillera Blanca!!