Backpacker becomes an economist

After learning that there would not be a public boat to Iquitos in the near future, we were left with some decisions to make. Namely, the big decision was "what do we do next?"

We saw this boat being built in Nuevo Rocafuerte.  This was never considered seriously.

After asking around town we had learned that a Peruvian guide had driven two Mexican tourists up from Iquitos to Pantoja a week and a half ago and was waiting in Pantoja until he had passengers to return to Iquitos. We were told that it could cost as much as $420 to go from Pantoja to Santa Clotilde, a town three days downriver that has daily boats to Iquitos.

We assumed that the next public passenger boat would be in Iquitos 15 days after the previous one had left. In this case, it would be 11 days from the day we arrived in Nuevo Rocafuerte. We know there is no schedule for these boats, but we assumed that this was the earliest that the next boat might arrive.

From here, we engaged in a detailed economic analysis to see whether it made more sense to pay the guide to take us to Santa Clotilde, to stay in Nuevo Rocafuerte or to pursue another option.

Begin analysis:

Boat cost from Pantoja to Santa Clotilde: $420

Hostel cost in Nuevo Rocafuerte: $10/ day * 11 days = $110
Jungle excursion budget allotment to be used for jungle adventure somewhere between Ecuador, Peru, Colombia or Brazil: $180
Utility of our time (note to potential employers: please don't take this as an idea as to our expected remuneration): a modest $20 / day  * 11 days = $220
Boat to Pantoja from Nuevo Rocafuerte: $50
Other expenses: $20

Total utility= $580

Our utility would decrease by $30 each day because of the hotel and overall utility costs that would decrease. Using these calculations, we reasoned that we would take up the driver on his offer to take us to Santa Clotilde as long as we would leave Nuevo Rocafuerte before Tuesday (June 5th). (We arrived in Nuevo Rocafuerte on May 31st).

Please critique our economics, but note that any time spent toward another conclusion is a sunk cost for us because we already made the decision to leave. This information, however, could benefit other backpackers in similar circumstances in the future.

Keep in mind that the information in the post is the extent of the information we had. We have since learned other details that might have allowed us to complete a more in-depth analysis of the situation, but the conclusion would have stayed the same.