Nomad Backpackers

Our time in St. Augustine was very enjoyable. Staying at the Pirate Hostel was definitely an experience. Justin and I were in a coed dorm with 4 bunk beds total (8 person capacity). Upon arrival we met Lewis from Liverpool, England. He had just began his backpack America plan by flying into Orlando the day before. His plans were to stay in the U.S for about 90 days, as long as his visa will last.

We were able to check out some of the usual St. Augustine sights. The most popular, Castillo de San Marcos, the original fort the Spaniards built upon creating the first town in America. I was most impressed at how much we were able to experience for FREE because of the Pirate Hostel.

Captain Conrad, the hostel owner helped us to park for FREE a few blocks away on a residential side (Riberia Street). We were also able to eat Pirate pancakes for FREE. Go to the St. Augustine Lighthouse for FREE. And the Farmer’s Market was FREE. Conrad gave me a couple FREE grapefruits picked off the tree behind the hostel. And my absolutely favorite FREE element of our time in St. Augustine was “The Old Trolley Tour”. A couple from Colorado that is biking from the Keys all the way north to Bar Harbor, and stopping in Boston for their daughters college graduation in May. They bought tickets ($21 per adult) the day before (good for 2 days), and they gave us their extra passes, since they were biking north continuing on their journey. Justin and I had a great time hopping on and off the trolley for FREE. We were educated about various parts of the city and learned a lot about the history. At one point, we even hopped off at the Sans Sebastian Winery for some FREE wine tasting.

What did we pay for?

The pirate hostel - $40 total with tax ($20 per coed dorm bed)

Castillo de San Marcos - $12 ($6 per adult for a one week pass)

Sangria at Taberna del Gallo - $10 ($5 per glass) an awesome 18th century authentic tavern, no electrical lights in the whole place (all candles) and one local, a 50-something year old woman even busted out with an old sea shanty (a pirate song).

Pizza - $13.25 at Pizzalley on St. George’s

Total - $75.25 - backpacking in America is the most expensive global locations to navigate.

Daily expenses depending on the region of the world can vary. The most expensive places to travel range from $65-125 a day. The middle range of regions will vary between $35-65 per day. And the lowest price range to travel within (developing countries) can range between $15-40 a day. These facts were all taken from The Rough Guide to First-Time Around the World.

Overall, it makes me really excited to see how many random FREE adventures we may participate in as we live as nomad backpackers. I know we will have to pay for stuff all the time, but our experiences in St. Augustine proved to us that with only minimal effort, we were able to receive a great deal from the generosity of others. It’s very inspiring and makes me want to have a generous spirit as well.

So what was the hostel like anyway?

Well, Saturday morning I woke up. And I made my way across the coed dorm to the bathroom. I suddenly noticed that two guys were cuddling in a lower bunk together. At that point I looked around and noticed that all the bunks that were empty (the day before it was Lewis, Justin, myself, and a guy in a tropical shirt), now had guys in all of them. Well, I ended up being the only woman in the coed dorm. But I felt safe because Justin was there.

As I was showering I realized I forgot soap. So, I ended up using a bar of Dove that I believe came all the way from England. I showered in my flip flops as (just in case) I don’t want foot fungus. Overall, it was a stretching experience. It was a reminder of how parts of backpacking will just suck. However, I am hoping that the gross bathrooms, smelly guys that snore, and all of the other unpleasant elements of hostels will be tolerable because of the experiences and adventures that traveling offer will offer.