It started reasonably enough. Theres a cool waterfall near Santa Rita a small town near Copan and you would really like to see it he said to me. We will walk in the water some. It is a fairly easy hike. But I nearly wrecked my knees at the national park near Gracias I said because of all the climbing and descending. This is nothing like that he said. I was convinced. Tomorrow we woul

Wednesday 12.5.2010 day 210Farm visitToday we went to the local library and printed out our travel claim forms and photocopied our recepts and checked our emails.Then in the afternoon we went on a farm tour of a local dairy farm that has over 200 head of cows. On the way there we saw a few ground hogs. They all live in a 400 ft barn were they have room to lie down or stand up. They are milked twi

We are In Aguas Calientes the town below Machu Picchu waiting for a late train tonight. We got up at 430 to see the sun rise over Machu Picchu so its a long day...but a truly spectacular one. Machu Pichu is huge and so well preserved it is amazing that it was lost in the jungle for hundreds of years before being discovered in 1911. We arrived in Peru on Tuesday and spent the fir

After breakfast I chilled at the hostel ahead of my sandboarding trip at 3pm. I was on Facebook when I noticed that Louis and Ben the guys I'd seen in Rio and Bariloche were also in San Pedro De Atacama so around midday I headed towards their hostel after getting in contact with them. As I walked past an internet caf I spotted the two of them in there as well as Leila the girl who was ori

So we arrived back safely in Seville after Fes and jumped in the car to head for Salema our next stop in Portugal. Salema was... a disappointment to say the least. The accommodation we booked turned out to be a huge letdown. Not only was the woman we had to deal Fatima a nightmare we called her an hour before we were to arrive only to be told to call her in a half hour at which time she tol

Being a whisper away from the Pacific Ocean we thought it would be rude not to pop along to Las Penitas to have a quick paddle. So off we trundled on a quick and easy bus journey to stay at Hostel Oasis right on the beach.Land based Las Penitas was VERY sleepy it turns out that May is itrsquos quietest month. The sea however didnrsquot disappoint. Renowned for itrsquos waves and severa

Greetings from Miatas in Moab. Itrsquos been a fun time so far. Last number I heard I expect to hear a final total at tonightrsquos dinner is somewhere around 280 Miatas zooming around the red rocks of Moab.A young guy in the campground asked me what was going on as I drove out yesterday afternoon. There are Miatas everywhere you turn.I went on a run up Utah 128 along the Colorado River w

This morning we had our usual breakfast of breads cereal what we have fondly called egg soup yogurt cheeses and meats. I will say the breads with the dark chocolate sticks baked in them have become my favorite. Larry and mom took their stash for lunch. Thank goodness I still have some snacks from home to tide me over. The prices are ridiculous here. A tiny cup of coffee costs 300 euros

Hey everyone did i scare you with that last entry do you think i have gone mad I havent heard back so figure i must have freaked you out. send me a message let me know what is going on out there how is life in the other world I head to Lima LA and Vancouver starting at 6pm Sunday til the equivalent of 4pm Monday and could use some info. Had any other volcanos I should know about Hav

Our bus ride from Vienna lasted only 3 hours before arriving in Budapest. We walked toward the center of the city toward our hostel from the bus station. After about an hour walk we arrived at an old building bearing our hostelrsquos name. The hostel was not the entire building however as we noticed the hostel name was next to one of the numbers on the call box. It was getting dark and whe

Hej igenNu r jag tillbaks efter par veckor icke skrivande har inte haft en sekund ver s fr skylla p det. Hr r allt kalas som det har varit hela min vistelse p Ireland. Min nedrking fr hemresan har brjat och mina tankar r redan i Lund med allt som vntar dr innan sommar lovet vntar. Jag avslutade fr tv veckorsedan min praktik p St Josephs Ward som var en kirurgis avdelning med

On the way to Florence we stopped to have some wine tasting in the beautiful Tuscan hills. It was such a peaceful area. Would have been nice to relax in a BB for a few days We enjoyed a lesson on how they make Chianti and visited the dungeons of the castle where they store the wine. It was such a pretty vineyard and winery. We then sampled a few wines which were accompanied by delicious cheese

While in Cusco I enrolled in Amuata Spanish School. Made many friends there and also studied at their minischool in the Sacred Valley. Just 15 of us stayed for a week in the beautiful village of Taray near Pisac. Apart from school we went to see the Inca system of lsquocircular crop testingrsquo at Moray and also the Salt Mines of Maras. Went down to Ollantaytambo the best surviving e

After our stint is Paris we headed straight for Lyon a smaller city of about 400 000 I'm not checking any of my facts so they're probably wrong. The train to Lyon only takes 2 hours and train travel is something I've grown very fond of. The TGVs train de grand vitesse which pretty much means very fast train that's a lazy name go at about 3400kmph so that's a fair distance. Lyon was a

some additional pictures i wasn't able to upload the panoramas properly...but you can still view them. They'll just look small.

Friday 7.5.2010 day 205A day at the resortToday we spent a day at the resort as it was raining.

A fun Friday night for Alysson the other longterm volunteer and I included ice cream popcorn and a movie We watched Food Inc a documentary about the U.S. food system. But more than that it touches on so many issues that affect the U.S. and the world health manipulation in the government immigration human rights workers rights disparity between rich and poor the interconnectedness

Saturday 8.5.2010 day 206Moving from Collingwood to CobdenToday we checked out of our Collingwood resort and drove 6 hours to our Cobden resort. It was a lovely drive though the country and it rained or snowed most of the day. We drove though Algonquin Provincial Park. The park is 7724 square km and has more than 400 animal species including moose black bears and beavers. We did not see any bear

he Amazon rain forest is the largest tropical forest on Earth covering about 7 million square Km 1.7 billion sq acres. I went to Manu National Park 3.7 million sq acres the most biologically diverse region of the Amazon. The region has over 1000 species of birds more than 200 species of mammals 13 species of monkey a great variety of butterflies and 15000 species of flowering plants

World Art – Santiago, Chile, Photo by Peacocks

You began your travels at an early age. You continued to travel until real life intervened – meaning fell in love, got married, bought a house, had children and worked for a living. It may not have happened in quite that order (for some) but the end result remained the same. Travel was relegated to family vacations and work-related trips to here or there. Regardless, a nagging little voice kept tapping you on the shoulder, “Take a year off. Travel. See the world. Bring the family. Just do it!” And, so it went for lisa Shusterman.

About The Author(s):

Yes, the family thought her mad – at first. Little did they know how sane an idea it would prove to be…

lisa Shusterman is a writer who, along with her husband Marty Greenwell and twin daughters, Siena and Avocet, set a course to places unknown. In lisa’s mind, when her daughters would be nine years old (the age she herself had started traveling), a yearlong journey around the world was a necessity. Yes, the family thought her mad – at first. Little did they know how sane an idea it would prove to be…

Swimming with Dolphins

In 2008, the Shusterman-Greenwell family embarked on a yearlong exploration of the world. They rented out their home, stored their cars, packed their bags and bid farewell to family and friends. But, I’m starting in the middle of the story so let me backtrack a bit. The real tale began in 2005 with the idea. Over the next 2.5 years, the groundwork was laid, lists after lists were compiled, decisions made, same decisions altered, sanity questioned and a dream was turning into a reality.

The Review:

Indeed, the Shusterman-Greenwell family did make their dream a reality and spent a year visiting 40 cities in 17 countries. Lisa has now written about their endeavor in Around the World in Easy Ways: A Guide to Planning Long-Term Travel With or Without Your Kids. It is a detailed account of their own planning strategies, the pitfalls, the positives, the unexpected. From money to schooling issues to “just going with the flow”, lisa has touched upon them all. (Okay, the only thing I found missing was traveling with pets. Kids are not pets. Nice try.)

Spanish Class

While reading this book, I did find certain topics/areas to be repetitive. At first, I found it a bit annoying. The more I read, the more I put myself in the same position of planning such an adventure. I came to realize that repetition is not a bad thing when so many issues need to be addressed. There is always some overlap between transportation and budget or accommodation and budget or food and budget or, well – you get the point. I finally accepted that each topic, as independent as they may appear, are still an integral part of the whole and some things just need repeating.

The book is also interspersed with entries from their original blog: One World – One Trip. All four family members contributed to the site while on the road. These additions definitely make Around the World in Easy Ways a family affair. Not only is it an informative book but also a fun read. I recommend it for anyone considering long-term travel with or without children. (Pets not included.)

Buy now: Around the World in Easy Ways: A Guide to Planning Long-Term Travel With or Without Your Kids

Editor’s notes: This article contains affiliate links. The book was also received compliments of the author for review.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. |
Around the World in Easy Ways: A Guide to Planning Long-Term Travel With or Without Your Kids. |
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Post categories: Book Reviews
Post tags: cultural experiences, family travel, long-term travel, Round the world, travel with kids, travel writing, trip planning