Road Schooling

August 16, 2015

One of our top concerns through our travel planning (besides the stress of deciding what to do with our home, searching for good tenants, and securing a rental commitment that at least would cover the cost of our mortgage) was how do we insure that our kid’s education is on par with their grade level, without the structure of public school.  How would Dan and I fill the role of teachers, while still maintaining flexibility in our travel schedules, and keep our children’s studies inline with their classmates, so that they will be able to easily transition back into school upon our return?

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Working On The Road

August 13, 2015

As I have mentioned before, both Daniel and I are travel consultants. We both worked for Airtreks, an Internet travel company that specializes in around-the-world, multi-stop airfare, for the past 17 years. Our entire work day was spent planning trips for other people (including families), who are doing trips like ours.  Airtreks, was acquired by Bootsnall (a leading provider of RTW content, with its own online reservation system – Indie) almost 2 years ago. Our boss is a big supporter of “the travel dream”, and our fellow employees can and do work for our joint companies from around the globe. If we have the option to live abroad and continue to work for Airtreks, this is an opportunity that we would like to take advantage of, but not for the duration of our planned trip.

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Saying Goodbye To Oregon

August 7, 2015

As we drive through the pine forests of Central Oregon, sequestered in our air-conditioned car, I reflect on all the dear people we know, the open-armed hospitality we have been bestowed with, and the wonderful memories we are creating, layered upon the eight years of memories beneath.

Our last week in Portland was not all packing and scrubbing. We took breaks to dine alfresco in baked & parched backyards with friends, visit the sparkling lakes and powder-white dunes of the coast, outside of Florence, and connect to our bodies and minds with a final, centering yoga class.

The rushed goodbyes on Spokane St. made my heart beat a little too fast. We drove away somewhat stunned and flustered.  Did we forget anything? What exactly were we doing? How would the road unroll before us?…

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Solidifying Our Route

August 3, 2015

This title is a bit of a ha-ha, as truly confirming our route didn’t happen until we were ready to buy our tickets (in June 2015). However, this did not prevent us from giving a lot of thought to where we wanted to go, how long we wanted to spend in each country/ region, and when are the best times to visit.

Here was our initial list for a September 2015 departure:

  • Jordan, Israel, & Egypt – 1.5 months (Beginning Sept – mid Oct)
  • India – 2 months (mid Oct – mid Dec)
  • South Africa (and surrounding countries) – 2.5 months (mid Dec – end February)
  • Colombia & Ecuador – 2 months (March – April)
  • Central America (Panama or Costa Rica overland to Guatemala or Mexico) – 4 months (May – August)

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Overland Travel

July 27, 2015

How do we plan for overland travel?
We don’t!

Or to explain more clearly, we absolutely will do a LOT of overland travel, but there is no booking of buses, trains and automobiles at this stage in our travel planning. It is not until we hit the ground that we will be able to compare the costs of train, bus, or ferry tickets for 4 travelers, against car rentals or hiring drivers (i.e. within India).

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What Pace Do We Travel At?

July 24, 2015

The hardest part about planning a trip around-the-world is knowing how to edit your itinerary. The first time that I traveled around the world (about an 11 month journey in 1996), I started my planning with a long dream list of destinations. Thankfully, my limited budget kept me from being overly ambitious with numerous flights, and my initial research into where to go, also helped me to tailor down my stops. Despite all of my good intentions and thoughtful planning, I was way off in estimating how long to spend in each country. My original itinerary was for a 4-6 month journey through the South Pacific and Asia, ultimately ending in Turkey, where I would then plan the rest of my trip. I really believed that 2 weeks was sufficient and generous time to thoroughly explore a country. By the time I made it to Turkey, I had already been on the road for over 9 months. My 2 weeks in New Zealand, had been extended to 7, and my month in Australia ended up being a 3 month stay that ended when my visa ran out. I basically learned from that experience that I like to fully explore a country, not just tick off the biggest cities and a list of popular sites. 6 years after that trip, on a 13 month adventure, Dan and I once again found ourselves spending a lot longer in a region than we had intended. Our planned 3-4 month stay in South America, ultimately ended with an actual duration of 11 months, finally returning to the US on the last day of our ticket’s validity.

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