Entry #1: We’re Pressing Pause on Our Life to Travel Central America
After years of quietly planning, we’re saying ‘hasta luego’ to life in Cornwall and going off to travel as a family through Central America.
“What? How? Why?”
I know-these are questions even we’re still asking. It wasn’t a sudden decision, nor was it an easy one, but it is what feels like the right next move.
It started, as many big decisions do, with daydreaming and playful conversation. As if synched to a mutual craving, my wife and I started musing over the notion of taking a temporary pivot from the hustle and bustle. Many evenings were spent sitting in the backyard discussing what it might be like to step away and go explore fields unknown.
For us, two teachers and two primary school children, that ideally meant trading the classroom for cloud forests and hands-on experience. We’re an adventure family, so with its wild beauty and cultural richness, Central America was a slam dunk. Its ecological diversity and potential for connection to nature in particular ticks our boxes. So, we’re going for it: We’re putting our careers on hold, temporarily taking our children out of traditional education, and carving out time to create an enriching experience for our family.
We’ll set off at the end of this month and be gone for the better part of next year, where we’ll start in Guatemala, a country that’s long been in our hearts. From there, we’ll make our way through Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica, among other destinations. We have no rigid itinerary, no firm plans-just time, backpacks, and the hope to immerse ourselves in new surroundings. We plan to volunteer, contribute mindfully, develop language skills and be conscientious students of the world.
As a writer, I’m especially looking forward to exploring how the change in environment might influence creative output. Lord knows they’ll be plenty of stimulus.
Will it be easy? We’re under no such delusions, but it’ll certainly be exciting. Is this nuts? Abso-friggin-lutely, but we’re ready. And when we’re done, we’ll look forward to returning with a different lens on life, applying what we’ve learned to what had been put on pause.
I’ll be using this blog to share the journey—the highs, the hiccups, the lessons. So if you’re curious about what it’s like to step off the beaten path, come follow along.
Until next time…
Vaya Con Dios,
Tim