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2 The foregoing covers boat travel along the coast I think. When you stop at the smaller coast towns such as Paita, Pacasmayo, Mollendo,Iquique, Antafogasta, Coquimbo,etc., on the west coast you won't find much in the was of attractive hotels, but you can always get some sort of accomodations, even if in the smallest ^[[towns]]you have to live in a boarding house or pension.In the larger towns there are fair hotels. Even in the [[strikethrough]]larger[[/strikethrough]]hotels in the larger cities it seems to me that $7.00 a day ought to cover living expenses. This figure was given me by a travel bureau here and appears about right. On the east coast I did less steamer travel than on the West coast but the expense will be the same approximately while the steamer service is better. Of course travel is much more expensive than before the war but for all that the figure you mentioned to me $200 to $300 per month strikes me as about right and for the sort of work you are going to do collecting it is probable that the lower figure will be enough as you will not be in the big cities much. these figures of course do not include salary. You will find English pounds the universal money, that is the gold pound and not the pound note. It is always advisable to figure on expenses being higher than you estimate. It is highly important to have a passport and above all to get letters in Washington from the ambassadors and ministers of the South American countries, addressed to the officials of their countries, addressed to the officials of their countries, asking them to give you every help in your important mission. They are invaluable. And [strikethrough]]aft[[/strikethrough]]after you get down there,use them to get letters from an official of and in the country is more valuable than from one in the United States. But don!t make a special trip to the capitals of the countries to get them unless real convenient. You will want to know Spanish, though English will do. But you can learn Spanish on the way down as it is very easy to learn, as it has regular rules for pronucnciation. It seems to me you should be able to do some very valuable work down there and the trip appears to be perfectly feasible. There is just one thing. You had better ask the Pan AMerican Union if there are about as many steamers running along the coast as there were before the war ast the shipping industry is none too prosperous nowadays. If there is anything else you wish to know please let me know and I will try to give it prompter attention. Sincerely, [[signed]]Rudolf[[/signed]] ^[[P.S. Would you stop anytime in the ports you touch or is one day enough for your work? Makes no difference, just a matter of interest. R.]]
