Leaving home can prove a difficult task. You get comfortable in your warm, safe little bubble, surrounded by friends and family. The more time goes by, the easier it becomes to just stay put. Youthful exuberance, wanderlust, and need for adventure begin to fade as we settle into mundane routine and allow vices to take their grip. Not that there is anything wrong with home, wherever that may be. There is nothing more important than family and friends, and a sense of belonging is a wonderful and healthy thing. But it’s easy to get complacent and forget there is an entire world (and beyond) full of wonders stretching into the oblivion outside our hometown borders. Many has been the trip I’ve taken that began as a dream far in advance, only to turn into a stressful and anxious experience in the final hours before departure. My wife and parents would argue the latter is mainly due to my unenviable habit of procrastination, which I cannot deny plays a major role. But the other issue is that I know my bubble is about to burst, leaving me exposed to the world beyond… and that is exactly why I find traveling to be essential. Because who wants to live in a fucking bubble?
As I type this post from the comforts of our South African Airbnb, my belly is happily digesting a meal of ostrich skewers, green beans, and red wine. Later I may post a photo of an exotic coastline, famous landmark, or even some of Africa’s world renowned megafauna. But that’s just a hand picked snippet of the real story. The truth is, there’s nothing particularly special about my wife and I, or why we get to be on this amazing journey around our beautiful planet. A lot of hard work went into it, and much biding of time. I saved money for years, and Wendy worked hard to free herself from student loan debt. We worked, we saved, we waited, and we didn’t spend our money on needless crap. Well, most of the time at least. We’re here because we decided we wanted to be, and set the necessary steps in motion. There’s been a lot of planning and preparation, a few tearful goodbyes, and a couple grueling days of travel with many more to come. But once the bandaid is ripped off and you step on that plane, the invigoration of the unknown smacks you in the face and revitalizes you with new life. We know the countries to which we will travel, but the things we will see and experience, the people we will meet, and how our lives and perceptions of the world around us will be altered remains a mystery.
Our home now lies three days and an ocean behind us. So far we’ve crossed said ocean and a hemisphere, set foot on a new continent, and enjoyed a beautiful mid summer’s day in Cape Town. We’re adjusting to the culture and learning to drive on the left hand side of the road. After around thirty hours of travel, we crashed hard and slept for fifteen. To this point, we have a few meals and a day at the beach to show for ourselves. We have some excellent adventures planned in the days, weeks, and months ahead, but are happily taking things one day at a time. We hope you join us as our journey continues.
Devon