Skype. FaceTime. International phone plans. Options are good in this day in age for keeping in contact with our family and friends. With the miracles of a wifi connection, just yesterday, we FaceTime-d our parents and some friends. There was free public wifi in the Larcomar entertainment complex, so we were able to show our parents the coast and surrounding scenery of Miraflores. Then, we FaceTime-d our friends who happened to be getting dinner ready, so we talked for almost an hour while they cooked in their kitchen...just as if we came over to hang out. So cool!
Also, as long as there is good wifi connection, we've been able to use our Skype phone credits to make necessary calls, which is a whole lot cheaper than having to use our AT&T international roaming plan. With Skype, we've made contact with most of the airlines to confirm flights (no online check-ins available), check our voicemails everyday, discuss billing issues regarding home expenses, etc. After being on the road for 2-months, we've only recharged our Skype account once for $10. Can't beat that.
Yesterday was the first time we had to actually use our AT&T international roaming plan to connect with Star Peru Airlines to confirm our flights to Cusco. After trying several phone numbers published for Star Peru using Skype, we recognized that Skype phone has difficulty connecting to a toll-free number, and the other published number was a fax line. We finally located the local Star Peru number, and successfully connected. The automated voice in Spanish came on, not having a clue as to the menu options. Mike pressed "0" on the chance that this would get him to a live person...and it did, who started speaking in Spanish. But, when asked if she spoke English, she said "yes" - music to our ears! We were able to confirm our flights.
Skype came in very handy recently when we had to make many phone calls to our banks after recognizing unauthorized charges. We've been very diligent about checking our credit card and bank statements almost daily. We use VPN on top of the existing wifi for encryption, then we access our financial statements. As a result, we've been able to catch these unauthorized charges while still in processing.
Of course, wifi also helps to keep this blog up-to-date and post photos along the way! The ability to do online research on our next destinations, lodging, and transportation alone, have been invaluable.
As you may have guessed, wifi has been somewhat of a priority item for us, everywhere we go. It's not just for entertainment, but also for travel planning and to be able to manage the home front while we are away. As Akiko says, "[If I had to choose] I'd rather have wifi than a hot shower."
