There is a lot of paperwork and research involved. First, you have to determine which countries require a visa and depending on how long you plan on staying, what the cost will be. Second, you have to see what types of vaccinations are not only required for entry into those countries, but are also very strongly recommended. Third, we will also obviously need health insurance. This all requires a lot of paperwork, and is a huge logistical undertaking due to time frames and validity limitations. As a result, many of the visa applications must be done in person at the embassy of the country we are wishing to enter in a neighboring country. All of this amounts to thousands of dollars, and this does not even include all of the paperwork that the vehicle will require.
As far as our wheels go, we need international driver’s licenses, and also paperwork showing that we do not intend to sell the vehicle while in a particular country. Sort of like a passport for the car. Auto insurance is also necessary and for a trip like this, you can’t really go down to the local Titan office and apply, as the risks and potential liability are a lot different than simply obtaining ordinary insurance coverage.
This is only really the tip of the iceberg. When you investigate one aspect of the planning necessary for the trip, you come away with about 20 others things that also now need consideration and attention. I feel like we are making some real progress, albeit slow progress. We now have a general estimate of some of our major costs and coincidently, how much blood we need to sell in order to have sufficient funds in our bank account.
Steve B
