When longterm traveling, you’ll find yourself in places all around the world during all seasons of the year. Sure, summertime is popular because the kids are on vacation and the weather is warm.. but over the years, we have grown a real affinity for traveling in the off-season.
Let us tell you why.
World travel exposes individuals to new countries, new cultures, and new languages. It’s all very exciting, but it can also be mildly terrifying – especially if you’re facing a language barrier. So we’re analyzing whether it’s actually necessary to learn the language of the country you’re about to visit.
We have been traveling now for more than five months, and we have been exposed to over 10 different languages on this trip, alone… across multiple situations and with various levels of fluency.
So is another language required for your trip? Let’s take a look.
Family are gathered, pies are baked, wine will soon flow, football is queued, and the bird is already releasing heavenly, succulent smells that will quickly infiltrate every corner of the house. By the end of the day, tummies will be stuffed, the room will be full of laughter and games, and eventually, we’ll all pass out in a food coma before our first holiday movie of the year.
Does this sound like your home on Thanksgiving Day?
For us, Thanksgiving has always been about family, food, and celebration. And while millions of Americans typically travel home for the holiday season, we’ve experienced the festivities abroad. So how do we celebrate when so far from home? And how has travel changed this American tradition for us?
One of the main attractions in Namibia is the enormous sand dunes. The tallest in Namibia and the world is Dune 7 located near Swakopmund. It is a whopping 383 meters (1,256 feet) tall. We missed this one to see big cats (a must – post coming soon!), so we climbed Big Daddy Dune instead at about 325m (1,000′). This choice was the best at the time and we have no regrets.
Continue reading “Climbing our First Sand Dune in Namibia – Big Daddy Dune”
We’re traipsing across Namibia this month with very little internet, so I’m afraid we don’t have a new post this week. We’ll try for next week, instead!
In the meantime, this photo can serve as evidence that we’re having a great time with the wildlife!
Happy Independence Day to our American readers!
We’ve been on the road for two weeks now, and our first leg is drawing to a close. We’ll be sharing more posts on the beautiful city of Cape Town and the many amazing activities to do while visiting, but first, we wanted to address safety.
Many people warned us against visiting South Africa. And while we took precautions, we still wound up victims. This is our story of being robbed in Cape Town, and how you can learn from our mistake.
Continue reading “We Were Robbed While Traveling – How You Can Learn from Our Mistake”
As we near our big departure (exactly two weeks from today!), we’re reflecting quite a bit on some of our past adventures. We’ve come a long way (figuratively and literally), and we can’t wait to see where we end up at the end of all this (will there be an end?). We’re crazy busy tying up final loose ends, so this week’s post will be short, but we wanted to share with you some of our favorite adventures from around the world… and perhaps tempt you to travel as well!
I’ve grown up accepting that the 9 to 5 is just how things are done. I never imagined that there could be another option. Sure, there’s the entrepreneurial track, but that’s just a different role in the same machine.
But times have changed, and there are completely new paths available. I have taken the leap, and I am leaving behind everything I’ve ever known.
Aaron and I love to travel (clearly). With so many trips to places near and far, we’re no strangers to packing bags. However, packing for a one- or two-week vacation is vastly different than preparing for a year or more overseas. We can no longer think in terms of packing enough to get us through every day of the trip; we have to focus instead on what we really need and what we’re willing to carry on our backs for fourteen months.
We’re three months from departure, and we’ve finally gotten these details mostly figured out. Read on to see what you should include for a long-term trip.
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This was the most unique dining experience I’ve ever had. I highly recommend this restaurant if you’re willing to try something new; it will change your outlook… pun intended!
