The challenges of traveling as a family

Those who we've met along the way have often said to us: "wow, so your life is a permanent vacation," but truthfully, that's definitely not the case, we are living our lives throughout this trip, this is our lifestyle. There's a huge difference, because when you go away on vacation (as it usually happens), you get to forget about everything and you leave behind: your problems, your job, the things you have to do or don't have to do, shopping, etc. However, to live your life while you travel the world, is just that, to live life like that. The worries remain with you, the shopping you must also do, you must also work and keep your job, and to that you must add the fact that you're not in your own home, with your 'stuff', with a comfortable space to cook your meals, where to get dressed and comfortable with your given set of routines.

Blas, waiting to go to school.

That was the turning point, that moment when we made this, our lifestyle. The kind of lifestyle that allows us to do 'world-schooling,' because we are firm believers that the world is the best school out there for our children, it provides us with the chance to meet the locals and the tourists, and as we meet them we feel like we're family, it's clear that those friends we've had since forever will always be those friends we've had since forever, and then there are also the new friends who will be the new friends we've met, those friends who travel along with us, the adventure friends, the friends from 'that beach', and the like. Because each one of our friendships has welcomed us as family, and they embraced us with loving arms, something that we sometimes need so much when we're far away from those friends we've always known.

We feel that the routines our life currently offers are just laid out differently; but we definitely do have our set of routines. Perhaps I shouldn't use the term 'routine' because the truth is that each day is uniquely different; I should call them 'rituals', yes, 'rituals' is a term I like better.

The best friends, great talk.

Leaving our routines, leaving everything behind, going out to meet the world and whatever else that's out there, easy? not at all. I've spent nights wondering if we did the right thing, because for instance when we get sick all we really want is to get under the covers of our bed, or whenever we have a disagreement as a couple we have to be quick to resolve it. We have nobody to give us advise as to what to do, where or how to do it. When we're traveling, we carry everything we have inside with us and even more, because everything manifests more deeply, in a bigger and more genuine way in many ways, there's no time to hide behind a long face and there's not time for uncertainties; everything becomes crystal clear by being together.

So it isn't easy. but I think that's exactly what challenges us each day to remain active, thinking, we're challenged to appreciate everything in a deeper and different way, it makes us realize that we're here today but we really don't know if that will be the case tomorrow, it challenges us 'to be present in the present moment.'

One of the few photos of the four together. A funny chaos.

We could give so many excuses to postpone doing the things that we're afraid of. The fears will always be there, but they change as we go through life; therefore we must face them one by one, realizing that perhaps they won't dissipate quickly but if we allow our fears to paralyze us, then we probably wouldn't be here today.

The other night I was thinking about that time when Artur and I went away on vacation for ten days, just the two of us, we left the children behind with their grandmothers. Blas was still a baby, but we really needed that time to ourselves. We had a lot of debt to pay, and I had just gotten a really good gig that was going to enable me to pay off all the debt we had and have our 10 day vacation paid for. I finished that project and off we went. During that vacation, we met Martin, who ended up being the person to kind of 'push' us out into this adventure, he's like an angel to us.

We had such a wonderful time, but upon our return I got the horrible news that I would not be paid for the project I had worked to complete. Not one cent. Things had somehow gone wrong, and I wouldn't get a cent for all the effort I had put into getting that job completed by the deadline I had been given. I felt desperate. We had so much debt to pay, and now there'd be no money coming in, the money we had though would pay off all the debt we had. We had to apply for a loan and live through that bitter moment in life. And all that got me into thinking, if we hadn't been on that trip, we'd definitely not be here today. I believe in fate, absolutely. Sometimes we have to help it, and at other times, it just happens.