EXPERIENCE
In her latest book, Carolina Amell set out on a journey to profile women from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, all united by one thing; a deep desire for adventure
AMANDA SPERAW: THE NOMADIC MAMA
‘Life would be so boring if everyone was the same’
My husband and I watched a YouTube documentary about a couple who renovated a school bus into a home in which they enjoyed all sorts of adventures. Afterwards, we lay in bed talking about how we wished we could do it – which turned into, ‘Maybe we can.’ A few weeks later, we bought a bus on an auction site and got to work. Our baby was just a couple of months old.
When we decided to jump into this way of life, we sold everything, including our house and car, and lived off those savings. We travelled all over the US from Key West to Olympic National Park in Washington. We had another baby along the way, and I’m now expecting our third.
We swam in crystal-clear oceans and rivers, relaxed in hot springs and climbed the Beehive Trail in Acadia National Park in Maine. We got to fully appreciate places we never would have visited had they not been along the way to somewhere else. I always hear, ‘I could never live the way you do,’ whether it be from a total stranger or a close family member. The truth is, we usually feel the same way about their lives, but life would be so boring if everyone was the same.
Maybe my babies won’t remember these adventures. Probably not – they are so very young. But maybe they are building their characters. Maybe it’s good they get more fresh air and less time on screens, and that an appreciation for discovery and exploration are becoming part of their beings.
BETHSHEBA BLANKEN: THE SLOW ADVENTURER
‘Moments in nature are where I feel most alive’
I was born to hippie parents on the tiny Caribbean island of Curaçao. My upbringing was minimalistic and connected with nature, so when we moved to a big city in the Netherlands, I struggled with fitting into ‘normal’ life. After university, I worked as a makeup artist, but quickly started to feel it wasn’t for me. I decided to quit and, three months later, said goodbye to my old life. I have been travelling slowly for more than four years and my life has changed completely. As soon as I got into the outdoors, I felt like I had come home.
Slow travel is more about the journey than the destination. It’s looking for richer, more meaningful experiences along the way, interacting with the place while you’re there, immersing yourself in the culture. Since I started this journey, I’ve lived in a van in Australia, driven across Vietnam on a motorcycle, learned to scuba dive in Thailand, climbed volcan
