TRAVEL INTERVIEW: JASON AND ARACELY OF 2 BACKPACKERS

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Jason and Aracely Travel

Jason and Aracely at Bolivia Highlands

TRAVEL INTERVIEW: JASON AND ARACELY OF 2 BACKPACKERS

Jason and Aracely of 2 BackPackers spent several months planning and preparing for a year-long world trip and then carried out their bold plans in 2090-2010 by adventuring all over Central and South America. They returned to the US late last year where they continue posting stories, photos, travel tips, advice and videos of their year of world explorations. Recently I interviewed Jason about their adventures and their very successful travel blog.

1. You mention on your website that it was a casual conversation in March, 2009 that lead to your year-long backpacking travels through Latin America. I had a similar experience that prompted me to travel around the world. I’m so curious: what was that conversation? Was it a challenge? Some friends pointing out how much you loved backpacking adventures? Someone mentioning other world travelers?

There were four of us sitting at the table having lunch in New York City’s Theatre District.  One of the girls that was a friend of our friend talked about her recent backpacking trip in Nepal for a month.  We all gave the usual response of, “Wow, that’s awesome.  I would love to do that.”  Aracely and I chimed in with, “Then why don’t we ever do it?”  The discussion carried on with Aracely and I gradually getting more excited about actually doing something like this.  At that time we had not decided on how long, but it was the start of the process to travel long term.

Jason And Aracely of 2 Backpackers

Jason and Aracely with drying chili peppers at Cachi, Argentina

2. You 2 did a lot of thorough trip preparations- financial, medical, packing, sorting and selling possessions- to make sure you were ready for your big trip. Once the big day actually arrived that you set out on your adventures, how did you feel? Were you completely confident and excited? nervous, scared? or?

 

We had scheduled our trip to begin after vacation with each of our families.  That made the transition a little less dramatic since we would already be away from home and we got to spend a lot of time with them before departing.  I think we were nervous but excited and proud at the same time.  Many others we have talked to describe the same feeling.  Actually getting on that plane to leave means you did it, you accomplished the most difficult part of the trip.

We wanted to travel for a year and didn’t have a lot of money.  That limited us to SE Asia or Central and South America.  Originally, we had planned on traveling in Latin America for 6 months and then 6 months in SE Asia.  But after realizing we preferred slow travel, we decided to stay in Latin America.  The advantage for us in Latin America is the fact that Aracely is Ecuadorian and speaks fluent Spanish.  Guatemala was the first foreign country to us.  Mexico didn’t seem that far.  I had been to Mexico for business and it just didn’t seem that new for us.

Colombia for their wonderful, bustling, modern cities.

Peru for being so affordable and offering so much.  We enjoyed our extended stay in Lima. The whole country is great for hikers and the ruins are historically fascinating to us.

Guatemala will always be special because it was our first country and we made our first friends on the road.  It’s a country that will surprise you and one I would recommend to get your feet wet at backpacking. Aracely really enjoyed seeing more of Ecuador. She got to see the natural beauty of her country.

I wasn’t a fan of the big cities in El Salvador.  El Salvador had small towns like Alegría and Juayúa that were gems, but the big cities like Santa Ana, turned me off.

Uyuni, Bolivia was a city that was in desperate need of government improvement.  Located at the Salar de Uyuni, it’s an absolute mess.  Trash lines the streets and covers the towns surrounding plains.  Schools look run down, roads are damaged and graffiti invades the plaza. This is sad and confusing because the Uyuni Salt Flats bring in an incredible amount of tourism revenue.

Yes, we did spend every single day and night together for over 11 months.  I think it’s fine and healthy to spend some time apart during your travels.  We spoke with other travelers that were spending 2 weeks apart to explore different cities.  But I, Jason, prefer to be with someone all the time.  I don’t enjoy traveling alone and honestly wouldn’t do it.  With Aracely there by my side I am more likely to go explore.  And luckily, we got along great and are now married.

Jason And Aracely of 2 Backpackers

Horseback Riding – Tupiza, Bolivia

7. You budgeted $1000 US per month for adventures! That’s fantastic. What adventures did you do? Did you stay at some plush resorts, go scuba diving, bungee jump? Was $1000/ month enough or would you have preferred to have more? Was there anything you missed because of lack of money?

Adventure is a big part of our travel preferences.  Every time we arrive at a location, we find out what hike we can do.  Nature is best explored that way.  The $1000 included adventure and transportation, sometimes split evenly, sometimes more on transportation.  Towards the end of the trip our transportation expenses rose considerably due to some flight purchases.  Adventure  included multi-day hikes, city tours, hang-gliding, Machu Picchu, Bolivia Salt Flats, car rentals for weeks at a time, a boat ride from Panama to Colombia.  We typically choose budget tours and hiking that included camping.  For example, in Patagonia the range of accommodation is tremendous.  You can spend thousands or just a hundred.  If there was something we really wanted to do, we made sure we did it.

Initially we received a lot of praise for the site’s design and being early adopters of travel video. As time has progressed, our design is no longer the only one out there with video and photography as the headline.  Social media and SEO best practices have helped us gain traffic and rank.  It’s easier to focus on these areas of business when you aren’t traveling daily.  Everyone asks, “When you return home does your traffic drop?”  The answer to that is no.  When we came home I, Jason, was able to focus my energy on the blog and increase traffic.

The website was set up before we began traveling, but we didn’t create much content.  Most of our time was spent on the design and learning about CSS and all that techie stuff.

During the trip we posted a photo every day from our adventures, articles and an occasional video.  Video was going to be our main focus, but editing and uploading them from the road proved to be a great challenge. Now we post photo essays which are a collection of our best photos from specific locations.  We have only posted videos for the first two countries we have visited and with over 50 episodes left, it’s our priority for our followers.

It’s a challenge.  We always have itchy feet.  We didn’t return to New Jersey but rather Miami to live with Aracely’s family.  This area is new to us so we have explored the Florida Keys and several state parks.  We recently returned from a San Antonio, Texas press tour that was an incredible experience.  My job is the blog and continuing to search for travel opportunities.  We have personal commitments for the next few years that will prevent us from long term travel, but look for us to continue on weekend adventure and week long excursions.

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Thanks Jason for telling us all about your 1-year adventure and the development of your successful travel blog!! I look forward to your trip videos and your upcoming excursions.  cheers, Lash

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