Children don’t need your presents, they need your presence

They say the best gift parents can give their children is their time. I so totally agree.

What would it take for you to spend more time with your child?

If your son was suddenly diagnosed with a serious illness and most likely wouldn’t live more than few weeks, would you endeavor to spend every moment with him? If a serious accident befell your daughter, would you find a way to be with her?

I … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (2)  | October 30, 2012
Category: Family Travel

Retirement, vagabonding style

The Wall Street Journal had a story titled, “The let’s sell our house and see the world retirement.” A couple, Lynn and Tim Martin, decided to ditch the stereotypical retirement lifestyle and hit the road.

Here’s how Lynn describes it:

In short, we’re senior gypsies. In early 2011 we sold our house in California and moved the few objects we wanted to keep … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (22)  | October 29, 2012
Category: Lifestyle Design, Senior Travel

Travel, by its very nature, is a ritual act of renewal

“The structure of tourism is basically identical to that of all ritual behavior: it first translates the tourist into a sacred world, then transforms/renews him, and finally returns him to normality. This other world is sacred because it is out of space and out of time. The normal rules are in abeyance (if not actually reversed), and replaced by [a] close and egalitarian ‘communitas.’ It is evident to the tourist that this exalted state is … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Travel, by its very nature, is a ritual act of renewal  | October 29, 2012
Category: Travel Quote of the Day

Vagabonding Field Report: Experiencing the luck of the Irish

    

Cost/day: $40/day

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?

With a pint of Guinness in hand, I listened to an old, Irish man play his guitar and sing folk songs about Ireland’s beautiful country side, fight for independence and love of drinking while the entire bar sang along. quick online loans. It … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | October 27, 2012
Category: Europe, General, Vagabonding Field Reports

When going back home, take it as a holiday

The only way to survive a 10 months post travel blues was fairly simple to me: I took it as a holiday.

Seriously. You may not have seen your folks and friends for several years, but this should not be a reason to freak out. The same goes for your friends; because pretty much, nothing has changed substantially. Except, possibly, yourself.

Yourself and not much else. You will see your town/city … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | October 25, 2012
Category: Notes from the collective travel mind, Vagabonding Advice, Vagabonding Life

Have you encountered ghosts?

A week from now is All Hallows Eve “vigil of All saints” or commonly known in North America as Halloween. The holiday’s roots are of pagan Celtic origin; but it seems to be spreading around the world in modern fashion. When I was young, it meant dressing up in a costume and walking around my small town neighborhood, knocking on doors and gathering more candy than I’d ever eat. On October 31st my three … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | October 25, 2012
Category: Europe, General, Languages and Culture, North America

Marshall McLuhan on the limitations of air travel

“With the plane the cities began to have the same slender relation to human needs that museums do. They became corridors of showcases echoing the departing forms of industrial assembly lines. The road is, then, used less and less for travel, and more and more for recreation. The traveler now turns to the airways, and thereby ceases to experience the act of traveling. As people used to say that an ocean liner might as well … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | October 22, 2012
Category: Travel Quote of the Day

Vagabonding Field Report: Visiting the Galapagos islands

Cost/day: $100 to $150 – There aren’t many cheap ways to see the Galapagos

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?

The Galapagos islands are full of some fascinating and beautiful animals. The most striking part of any trip to the Galapagos however, is how absolutely unafraid the animals are of humans. We walked … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Vagabonding Field Report: Visiting the Galapagos islands  | October 20, 2012
Category: South America, Vagabonding Field Reports