Living the Indiana Jones fantasy

TravelBlogs.com had an interview with Wade, a perpetual traveler.  He discusses strategies for how to travel as long as you want without going broke.

The most intriguing aspect for me was when he explained how to become an archaeologist.  Until now, I’d only heard of excavations where you have to pay to volunteer. Getting paid to do this stuff was a big revelation for me.  He gives more details about the nitty-gritty of fieldwork here.

The Archaeological Institute of America has a fieldwork search engine.  Each project’s profile has detailed information about the sponsoring organization, the expedition itself, and dates.  It’ll also tell you the room and board arrangements. This will give you a good idea of what the comfort level is, whether you’ll live in tents in the desert or stay in a cutting-edge research facility.

Earthwatch also runs a lot of expeditions, ranging from archaeology to the environment to wildlife preservation.  Those search engines are a lot of fun to browse through, sort of like those “Choose Your Own Adventure” children’s books, except for real.

Got any hot tips for getting into adventures?

Mayan ruins of Tikal in Guatemala