We feel that we are doing this not just for ourselves but also as an example for everyone who wants more freedom in his or her life. We’re demonstrating by our actions that taking what appeared to be a big risk has had enormous payoffs in terms of our overall well being and happiness.
In practical terms living in hotel rooms or rented apartments all the time means that wherever we are is home to us for however long we choose to live there. Being together 24/7 has its own challenges and rewards: the longer we’re on the road the faster we’ve become at getting over the minor snits and upsets that seem to be part of life. “Life’s too short” has become our mantra for a variety of reasons: too short to keep on worrying about money, too short not to take risks, too short to miss out on seeing the best there is to see in the world, and too short to waste on petty arguments and disagreements. And we’ve learned that home is an internal experience, not an external place.
We often have to get up very early to catch a plane or a train or a bus to get to our next destination, or to go and see some early morning marvel like the steam rising from the geysers of Tatio in northern Chile that can only be seen at dawn. In the past if we had to get up very early it would seem like a hardship, something we could and would grumble about, and then feel tired and exhausted just from the doing of it. Now it is just part of what we do. Set the alarm for 4:00 or 5:00, set an intention to wake up with the alarm, and when it goes off just get up, get washed and dressed, eat a little something, and get ready to enjoy another amazing day.
After our travels in South America we go to Cyprus for two months, courtesy of Don’s oldest school friend, who has offered us the use of his villa there. After that we’ll spend a few months “housekeeping” back in our hometown of Vancouver, and then go back to Australia for a while. After that who knows? Something or somewhere will grab our attention and off we’ll go. People sometimes ask us when we’ll stop, or if we’re looking for a place to “settle”. We literally have no idea how long we’ll continue to travel, and no, we’re not looking for a place to stop. We trust The Mystery to let us know when, if ever, that time will be. Until then we’ll continue on our merry way.
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It's so great to read about your experiences here. Even though I read Don & Alison's blog a lot, it's funny how a little jolt ran through me when I got to the end of "things we've seen and done." And I as all "I remember that post about riding a boat under the falls in Argentina." As if in some way I had experienced it with you. :)
Oh I remember that post *and* that boat ride! It was pretty exciting. Good to hear you felt as you'd experienced it too!
What a marvelous inspirational couple Don & Allison are. I've been following their blog now for close to a years. A better travelog cannot be found. A better inspirational site cannot be found. They are a treat to read. So happy to see them featured here.
Thanks so much Paulette for your wonderful compliments!
Hi Don and Allison,
I am incredibly excited to read about your travels. I am a 70 years young woman and although I spent summers in Europe and Israel when I finished my first and second years of teaching, it's been almost 50 years that I really traveled. I have wanted to spend a year in Europe for many years, but financially couldn't do it. I was going to try to spend a month in Nice this summer, but it would be a strain financially as well as psychologically. I always had the fear that if I wait, I might become sick and not be able to do it. When I came upon your story and blog, I was hit with the light. What I will do is to wait till next May, save my money and really spend the year. Thanks for an incredibly inspiring story~~
Hi Leni, Don and I were delighted to read your comment, and very excited for you. You must feel wonderfully free to have finally made the decision and set an intention in place. Don't let anything talk you out of it! "Life's too short!" I can't recommend enough to write, over the next year particularly, when you get disheartened or doubtful - just get all that out on paper so you can be free of it. And then as you write further the good stuff starts to come. I wish you much courage and much joy. You're doing the right thing. Blessings and happy travels.
Alison
Hello There, I hope you are well. My husband and I are returning to Brazil for a visit and then going to Ecuador. I have been reading your Ecuador posts. Can you please tell me what cruise ship you were on? Any suggestions or hints? We will be in Galapagos late October and early November. Thank you so much. Jamie
Hi Jamie - The ship is Galapagos Legend, run by Klein Tours. I was going to put a link to their website in the blog post but it appears to have been hacked by something Russian. Hopefully they will discover it soon and fix the problem.
We paid just over $4000 each (including airfare from Quito) and booked through http://www.galapagosislands.com
If you Google Klein Tours you’ll get a link to their website, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it. It went to something Russian and I had to shut down the computer. Other than that it doesn’t seem to have done any harm. Fingers crossed. This was nearly 2 months ago so maybe it's okay now. galapagosislands.com is fine and offers many alternatives for tours of the islands, including those run by Klein Tours.
One thing we loved about going in March is the water is really warm at that time of the year so we didn't need wetsuits for swimming. You can Google for best times re climate and water temp. Also our ship provided wetsuits at extra cost. I don't know if this would be available on smaller boats.
Suggestions/hints - depends on how 'rough' you're okay with, and how seaworthy you are. We chose the biggest ship available because we wanted something stable. You can go by yacht with only 16 people if you want to. We did have some 'hanging around' time with the change of passengers mid cruise (each segment with the Legend is a 4 day cruise) but we were okay with that.
Hope all this helps
Cheers, Alison
Hello Alison,
I'm hoping to visit Tiru in the next 3 weeks or so and stay for up to 3 months. I really appreciate the time you've taken in your blog to introduce us to the sites and sounds there and I'm very excited to be going :)
You mentioned that you had some friends Bhakti and Ram who helped you find an apartment and the like. Are you comfortable providing their contact information or could you direct me to others who may share the same credibility and could help me locate an apartment comparable to the one you and Don had?
Any direction would be appreciated.
Thanks again for your insights. I hope you're feeling well :)
ps. I posted a comparable request to you a week ago or so but I can't find where I posted it to see if there was a reply. Sorry if I've duplicated :)
Jamie Ans
Orillia, Ontario
Hi Jamie, I will email our friends and see if they would comfortable with me sending you their email address. I'll let you know.
I haven't received any other request from you so that's a bit of a mystery.
Anyway I'll email you to let you know what our friends say. (Your email address comes to me with your comment)
Hope you have a wonderful time in Tiru.
Alison