Unexpected costs of slow travel
If you are slow traveling - even if you check a bag - there will inevitably be things ‘missing’ from your rental that either you really do need or just make your life a bit better. These are items that you will end up purchasing with the knowledge that you will likely be leaving them behind when you leave.
The vast majority of the items that are repeat purchases for us are in the kitchen - so much so that we typically bring along a bit of kitchen gear with us. This consists of wooden spatula, wooden spoon, coffee filter, food scale, cloth napkins, shaker bottle for protein shakes, travel espresso machine, some spices, and nice knife. Yes, we check a bag largely because of wanting an actual usable knife. We have read that you cannot bring this on a cruise, and since we have our first coming up, we will have to remember to leave it back with family. Once we get our gear slimmed down a bit, we may be able to travel carryon only…but not yet.
The last airBNB we were at in Panama City, Panama had a very well stocked kitchen - the one we are in now is not well stocked at all. So much so, we are going out again to get a couple must have things - think colander and tongs. Oddly enough we just left our wooden tongs back in storage thinking we wouldn’t need them. While we do try and use local rental companies for month+ rentals, the minimums here seem to be 4-6 months and many buildings have a minimum of 45 days. One thing I have noticed is that if the kitchen is well stocked, they tend to show you the draws and pots/pans - if not, assume it is limited.
So far on this trip I have purchased a yoga mat (almost always buy one for month or more stays). I typically bring along a ball roller for facia release and some sort of workout bands. This time around I also brought my travel TRX set up. Since we were planning to rent a small storage locker for our two week return to the U.S. and refresh of a few things, we just left it there with all the typical kitchen items.
This airBNB, while being less worn down, is definitely not as stocked. There were no shower items - not even tiny bottles to get started. The water kettle didn’t work (wrong plug) and the electric can opener (who uses those…) was bent - we did ask the owner to replace those since they were existing items.
Other things we have/will be purchasing: colander, tongs, place mats, wooden cutting board, coffee cup (large), shower scrubby, window squeegee, dish cloths, strainer (thought we could use that as a colander, but doesn’t do the job), pillow, beach towels, two blankets for the bed (oddly only came with a sheet), and a small table for me to work from. Subtracting out the colander, tongs, and place mats - the total cost was less than $100.
I was able to find a small table for $30 and it is the perfect height and size to work from. The dining table just didn’t quite work - that is something to consider when looking at rentals without a dedicated work station. Though I have had numerous with just crappy set ups. Since we will be here for 2.5 months and our next rental is in this same building, I decided getting a table was worth it - even if we leave it after this 2.5 month stay.
There is a little discount mall down the road from here and very convenient. Sometimes, thankfully not this one, we have been forced to buy pots and pans - largely because the ones in the kitchens are very old and/or flaking the nonstick coating. A few scratches here and there (while not great) isn’t something we worry about really at our age - but having the right types of pans and at least one larger one for pasta is a must. There do seem to be many nice (and very affordable) options for kitchen gear at the Riba grocery stores and/or local malls. Items are much less expensive than the U.S.
