Becs’ Blog : Travel – a blessing or a curse?

As way of an introduction and to help contextualise the information that I will provide in this blog, I shall tell you a bit about me and my family and where our love of travel comes from. The main goal is to help anyone considering family travel by providing some of our observations about what it has been like for us.

If it gives one single family a springboard for an adventure of their own, it will have been worth it.

Is it a blessing or a curse?

To know me….?!

Although my husband, children, parents, brother and friends often curse me, I hope I am somewhere closer to the blessing end of the spectrum…most of the time! My weaknesses include concentrating on one thing at a time, talking too much, tidying, looking for things, over packing (life and suitcases) and general over indulgence.

But I WILL be there…. to the messy end, bringing encouragement and entertainment, if nothing else.

I like a challenge and I’m not afraid of trying new things….like travel blogging.

(Of course I’m a little bit scared…but that’s not going to stop me).

Is it a blessing or a curse…to travel?

I was lucky enough to travel extensively as a child through my Dad’s job and my mum’s adventurousness and general joie de vivre. I then started independently backpacking, with a trip to Nicaragua aged 18. It was a slightly hairy introduction, as at the time it had one of the world’s lowest predicted gross national products, but it was bold and life affirming, and as the British like to say, “character building!”

A trip to Malaysia and Thailand followed shortly after. This was with my fantastic friend that I met in our first week of University. She was much more worldly wise than me in many ways and allowed me to learn a lot more about budgeting and planning whilst sharing my enthusiasm for spontaneity and fun. When my husband and I met a few years later, a common love for travel was definitely something that drew us together and has been an important part of the glue that has bound us ever since.

Since then my husband and I have lived and worked in New Zealand, Australia and Wales. We have spent time travelling through countries such as Nepal, Tibet, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, the South Pacific Islands, Europe, Central America, and the U.S.A with our three children.

And there is so much left to explore.

Do we ever feel totally settled?…….No!

Do we ever stop assessing whether the life we lead is the best possible life that we could ever be happy with?…… No!

That is the blessing…and the curse that travel provides…..

But that’s the glory of foreign travel, as far as I am concerned. I don’t want to know what people are talking about. I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can’t read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can’t even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.
Bill Bryson

Is it a blessing or a curse…to travel?

It’s a freedom and a challenge. You get to be spontaneous and take chances. To use your intuition and make new friends with a fresh perspective.

But it can be hard. You only really get to truly know a person when you have travelled with them. The good, the bad and the ugly all become evident. You also never really know if you have enough money. If you do, you are probably not having enough fun. But, as we all know, you can’t take your money with you when your time is done.

We have a few tips about how to maximise your experience without having to spend more than is necessary, and how to use home swapping and renting your house to your advantage.

Sometimes there are tricky bits, and bits where you have to pretend to your children that what is happening is TOTALLY NORMAL and NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT and Mum and Dad have GOT IT ALL COVERED. Like eating grubs for tea, or experiencing an earthquake in the jungle, or being held hostage at the Chinese border.

It is all a blessing and a curse. But then so is living – isn’t it?!

Is it a blessing or a curse…to travel?

It’s a total joy and occasionally, a total nightmare. The wanderlust can be consuming. The feet keep getting itchier.

Do we leave our family and friends behind to start afresh when there is nothing wrong with the life that we live already?

Do we think that the grass is greener on the other side?

We do wonder all of this. When it rains a lot in the UK especially.

But our motivation for sharing stories and advice comes from what we have learnt through travel. It provides precious family time. Any adventure, trip, journey, little holiday or even day out can provide this.

Stop the clocks.

Stop all the messages.

Just stop.

Whilst actually moving just a bit.

Is it a blessing or a curse?

Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.
 Terry Pratchett.

So watch this space. We are about to embark on a fresh adventure – to Central America. As a family of five. I’m Becs, by the way, and we includes my husband Pete, and our three boys Big D, Middle S and Little C. And we are hopping on the Family Rhino blog to share our journeys, our experience, maybe some helpful tips and truths about family travel.

It seems that destiny called…

We may now live on opposite sides of the world, yet we remain connected by our shared love for travel and our friendship that transcends the distance. And now we are tackling this blogging project together.

Is it a blessing or a curse?

To travel is worth any cost or sacrifice. Elizabeth Gilbert, EAT PRAY LOVE.

See www.rebeccaryell.com for further info and advice on family travel adventures or email me on rebeccaryell123@gmail.com to be added to my mailing list

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