Today we begin our homeward journey. If all goes as planned, it'll involve three countries, three planes, two vans, one bus, zero beds, and about 24 hours of travel. Based on our travel from the U.S. to Guatemala and our stuttering attempts to get to Ecuador we don't expect everything to go smoothly, but we do assume we'll be able to survive whatever gauntlet we encounter.
We're bringing home the same two checked bags and five carry-ons we've toted around for three months on the road. The souvenirs we're bringing home can't take up much room. Here are twelve lasting ones that take no room at all:
1. The Sound of the Shore
Day and night, we've listened to waves crashing on the beach for seven weeks. We'll miss the real thing, but will play this soothing "noise machine" in our heads for months to come.
2. Sunset Images
Sunsets must be one of the universal images of beauty. We've never tired of turning our eyes westward over the Pacific in the evenings. The peaceful, steady retreat of our favorite star is at once reassuring and mesmerizing.
3. Love of a Dog
With a cat as the queen of our New Hampshire home for the past 9 years, it's unexpected that we fell for a dog in Ecuador. Parting today is difficult for us and perhaps at least a little disappointing to our four-legged friend.
4. A Bug for Action Sports
Already lovers of skiing, biking, and anything that makes their mom nervous, our boys have now dabbled in new sports like surfing and paragliding. Can't help but wonder if rides in fast boats, pick-up truck beds, and cable cars don't also add fuel to the fire of extreme adventure burning in our family.
5. Mental Postcards
We can fill a virtual scrapbook with mental postcards from some must-see places in Latin America. The Middle of the World. Click. The procession during Lent in colonial Antigua. Snap. View of Quito's Old Town from the belfry of the Basilica. Click. The volcanic panorama afforded by expansive Lake Atitlan. Snap. Vibrant colors from the markets of Guatemala. Click. Even as these mental postcards might blur a little over time, the personal stories behind them will endure.
6. Familiarity with Spanish
Shelly and I have achieved enough competence in Spanish to venture about Latin America without the need of a phrasebook. That we use only present tense verbs hasn't seemed to hinder our ability to navigate public transportation, shop for basics, order from menus, and have simple conversations with new acquaintances.
The boys seem more guarded about their abilities but it's with pleasure that Shelly and I listen to them have entire conversations with each other in Spanish. They don't realize how much they've absorbed through exposure. We hope this is a souvenir they'll appreciate as they grow.
7. The Warmth of the People of San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala
Though our Latin American experience has been one of what some call slow travel, we have encountered hundreds of people from public servants to shopkeepers to friends to professionals. In our experience, the people of San Pedro were the warmest to us. Our slowly developing language skills were tolerated. Despite the low economic strata of nearly all whom we met in San Pedro, we felt neither begrudged nor superior for the coincidence of our birth in a first world nation. In short, of the local people we've met in our travels we felt the most mutual genuineness with our warm friends in San Pedro.
8. Friendship with the Garcia Family
Many of you have already read our detailed account of our Guatemalan host family and know that we are lucky to have a special bond with them. We've stayed in touch with Mayda since leaving and know that we'll be back to visit her family some day. Our relationship with this family has helped us gain a special insight into Mayan culture and the challenges of modern Guatemalan living. Hopefully an ongoing relationship with Mayda and Mauricio will elevate our understanding to a dynamic, four-dimensional view.
9. Appreciation for the Comforts of Home
There might be nothing quite like being sick in a foreign land to help a traveler appreciate the comforts of home. At any given moment the specific comfort topping the list might be abundant hot water or better plumbing or access to familiar foods. Hard to tell how long that appreciation will last, but with a plan to spend several of the next months camping we might continue to appreciate what we don't have.
10. A Chill Pill
One of travel's gifts is perspective. When we think of the stresses that filled our minds back home we sometimes realize the relative luxury of having "first world problems." We have never had to stress over finding enough wood to cook the day's tortillas.
Similarly, we can see how hyper-vigilant we are about safety in the U.S.. Industries seem built on marketing fear--especially related to children. Though some may find us neglectful, it hasn't been hard to get used to riding in vehicles without car seats for the kids (or seats at all some times). We've ridden bikes without helmets (gasp!). We'll abide by the laws of the land when we return home, but as a general rule common sense seems a better place to start.
11. Insatiable Curiosity
Another of travel's gifts is an expanding worldview. By participating in other cultures, our family has learned how some people live differently than we do. But more importantly, we fly home knowing that we've only scratched the surfaces of cultural and geographic diversity. Which begs the question: What else haven't we experienced?
We're fortunate to have amassed a collection of souvenirs that we'll cherish for years to come. Perhaps the one we'll cherish most is the last:
12. Family Confidence
At the onset of our travels, we expected that lots of time together experiencing cool things would be valuable to the strength of our nuclear family. What we've found even more fortifying has been handling adversity. Though not fun at the time, events like our missed flight to Ecuador and our crazy arrival in Guatemala tested the mettle of our family and showed us that we can still thrive in tough situations. It gives us the feeling that together, we can do anything.
