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Some places we get to see the beauty, others the reality.
This is WorldTowning.
When we started WorldTowning and calling ourselves WorldTowners the idea was to have global experiences through concentrated and immersive exposure to the world’s cultures, mainly its people. Make friends, create memories and learn about the world..in the world… as a family.
And we did just that for many years.
Then Covid hit and our normal became isolation and lockdowns, a complete loss of everything we had come to love about our new lifestyle choice. Luckily, we had already built a substantial virtual community with all of you that we were able to strengthen during this period.
By the time Covid was slowing up and vaccines aided in keeping massive numbers of humans from dying we were knee-deep in boat learning, preparing to cross an ocean, and launching Avalon to university. Life was full and we were unable to just float seamlessly into our initial WorldTowning lifestyle.
This period was hard for our family, we missed in-person human contact with rich cultures. It was not until we sailed into Santa Marta in Colombia this past October that I finally felt like “we’re back” and we could hit the local culture hard again. Every part of my being ached for it.
I am writing to you today from the remote San Blas islands of Panama. Colombia came and went just like that and our big plans to immerse deeply in the food, people, activities, and sights never manifested. It broke my heart until Will said the following to me:
In some places we get to see the beauty, in others the reality.
I began to reflect.
Many years ago, when we were starting our 4th year of full-time travel we were a bit disappointed in our lack of ability to see and do everything on our list. It was then that we took stock of our life. We had created a travel lifestyle; we were not on a vacation and if we kept going at that pace something would be left by the wayside, possibly the travel lifestyle all together. As a result, we had to recognize that sometimes life stuff becomes the focus and wherever we are in the world takes a back seat.
This is what happened in Colombia. Life had to come before adventures. I was hugely disappointed as I had spent months waiting for deep immersion in Colombia. I had done my research and was ready to roll. Each week I would tell myself, next week will get better once this is off the list. A lot of the life “stuff” on our list were things that happen once in a lifetime, like Largo getting his wisdom teeth removed or us applying for our French Polynesia visa. And then others were weekly events in our business that could not be paused. But the final nail in the coffin was the boat work we decided to undertake. Some of which we did, most of which Will had to be a general contractor on because he was also working. Once we opened up pandora's box we knew we had to keep moving with the repairs that would make life in the South Pacific more fluid and doable.
Now here is where it gets interesting.
In our first several years as WorldTowners, we lived in Airbnbs for months at a time. We had very little engagement with locals from a repair/business standpoint, but tons of local friends. Our next adventure had us buying an RV and visiting every country in Europe. The RV clearly brought us more engagement with locals from a business standpoint with a handful of repairs. Next up was the boat and we all know about boats, something is always broken. Since we bought our boat in Europe we were already pretty familiar with the repair scenario. The tradesmen came to the boat, did their job, and went home. There was very little interaction on a personal level: no meals together, no sharing of family pics, drinks, nothing. Well, Colombia was a whole different story and one I am grateful for.
We were in Colombia for just under 90 days. Our first month was in Santa Marta and the remaining two were in Cartagena. During this time we had a constant stream of local tradesmen working on the boat. Some days were just one person, some days 5. The big project we undertook was upgrading our solar which right now is allowing us to be off the grid in San Blas for 3 months. It was so worth it.
During our 60 days in Cartagena we had two guys, Oscar and Ronnie who were consistently with us sometimes 6 days a week. We got to know them well. So well that Will has propositioned Oscar to do the crossing with us to French Polynesia. Both Oscar and Ronnie were dependable, considerate, and cognizant that we were both working while managing the boat upgrades, homeschooling, doctors/dentist surgeries, and much more. They became our family in Colombia and our connection to the local culture.
We learned about the average wage, the equivalent of $300 USD per month. Alarming. We learned about the best places to get a quick, yummy, and affordable meals right next to the marina. We learned about their families, their hobbies, and their experiences in life. This connection not only filled the void of less culture in Cartagena, but it left us feeling a deep understanding of the people who live in Cartagena.
Of course, the connection we developed with Oscar and Ronnie was only possible because Will and Largo are fluent Spanish speakers and I am más o menos (more or less). We were able to communicate with them, joke and share. We are not this fortunate in every country we visit, but Google Translate does wonders when all else fails.
In addition, Will is a great boss, co-worker, collaborator, or whatever you want to call it. As a result, people respect him and want to get to know him, which means sharing their culture in return. He had other work obligations during these 60 days, but when he could jump in and help, he did, plus he was available to answer any questions. Will always pays people their rate and never tries to cheat them, something we had come to know was very common for Americans passing through Cartagena. Oscar came in on a Sunday to help one boater before he left for Santa Marta and the boat owner tossed him a couple of bucks, not even his hourly rate before sailing off. I am sure he thought no one would know, but of course, Oscar is our friend and he reported what had happened to Will. Shame on that guy, he is coming to the Caribbean, beware.
So even though I did not get to eat the street food every day, visit the museums and take a cooking class we did still get a rich, cultural experience in a different way. A cultural experience that far exceeds what we might have gotten otherwise.
In some places we get to see the beauty, in others the reality.
Goal setting 2021 in France just a week before we took our first sailing lesson.
Happy New Year
Each January 1st we sit down as a family and share our health, personal and business goals with each other. We are a tad behind this year as we were sailing the last couple of days and catching up on work from our holiday break. Next week I will share my goals with all of you as I find it really fun to put it out there, plus you offer great tools to help me accomplish them. It takes a village.
What is your one big goal for 2023? Is it something you have always wanted to do?
I accomplish barely any of my goals from 2022, but I am not going to live in the past. A lot was still accomplished I just had not identified them as goals when I sat down to write it out last year. There will be some carry overs from from last year and the year before. This learning to sail, crossing an ocean, launching a teen and bringing our trips back from the Covid pause took a lot of our time and energy. I write about all that happened in 2022 here if you want to take a look.
This weeks vlog: Colombia
A vlog is live! Yes, we had a month long dry spell as there was a lot of life stuff happening, but we live to tell the tale. As such we are a bit behind. In this weeks vlog we celebrate Largo’s birthday, welcome our first WorkAway, get a/c (sort of) and have a big, bad, mud scrub in a volcano. Colombia does not disappoint.
One spot left on our Peru trip!
From March 2nd-March 9th we will be in Peru hosting a hiking and culture group trip. This adventure sold out in one week! We an individual who is looking to cancel and we are helping to fill her spot. Have you always wanted to see visit Machu Picchu? Now is your chance! We will hike for 4 days through the Andes mountains to arrive at Machu Picchu as the sun rises. But, the trip is more than that because before the magical hike we will meet-up in Cusco to learn its history, cook our very own Peruvian meal, explore natural dyeing techniques, create our own art piece and then do some massage pampering before we set off to hike.
For full details, pricing and an expanded itinerary click here. All discounts apply.
Where are we now?
The San Blas islands off the coast of Panama.
To learn more about us, our mission, and our business you can visit us at WorldTowning. To view our most recent group trip offerings head on over to WorldTowningvoyages.com. If you are interested in booking a coaching session to realize your travel dream, schedule it here. If you want to follow the travels of our WorldTowning family, you can find us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok
Hey Guys- Oscar and Ronnie sound amazing!! Solar?! A/C?!! You should definitely take Oscar with you on the voyage. I had to look up where you are because I was thinking of Bocas del Toro. Is there bioluminescence in San Blas?!