When you take a leap and travel to other nations and explore other cultures, those experiences and memories will nurture you throughout your life.
In the early 1970s, I graduated from California State University in Long Beach with a degree in anthropology. My achievement didn’t motivate me to find a job, but it did spark my interest in other cultures.
My girlfriend Janice had been working while I was in school and she had saved some money. I also had a little money. So we decided to hop in my Volkswagen van — a very hip vehicle of choice in those days — and cross the border into Mexico.
But not before Janice’s parents asked, “When are you getting married?” To which Janice replied, “We’re not.”
My parents, on the other hand, were travelers. They understood that if you don’t take chances when you’re young, you never will.
Our plan was to stay gone for as long as we could and see as much as we could. We enjoyed our exploration of Mexico and continued down through Central America, as far as Panama. We left the van in Costa Rica, then flew down to South America and spent some time in Columbia and elsewhere.
Janice and I were together nearly 24 hours a day. All we had was each other. We discovered that we were great travel companions. We both relished meeting wonderful people from all over the world, and exploring ancient cultures in the Americas that most people don’t ever get to see.
It’s good that we got along so well, because we did face some dangerous situations — drunken policemen, prowlers beating on our van at night, and, in Peru, roads washed out by El Nino. We were young, but we knew that we were sometimes in a sort of Wild West situation.
You look back and say, Wow, that could have been disastrous. But the good people — amazing, generous, curious indigenous and international people — and adventures far outweighed the bad ones.
In fact, at least twice we almost decided to stay in Peru — a fascinating country, modern and primitive. And Buenos Aries was so European and cosmopolitan that we would have been very happy there, too. The Latin American people are fantastic.
About 10 months into our magical mystery tour, we realized it had to end sooner or later. We drove to the North American border, but didn’t have the heart to cross. So we camped out for a few weeks in Ensenada, Mexico.
Janice and I eventually married and held onto Central and South American by importing the work of the gifted artisans we discovered. Pottery, wrought iron, and other hand-crafted items. The business lasted for about 10 years.
Our plan was to work and then travel. It never did work out that way. And while we do take vacations — to Europe and Asian, for example — they are never long enough and we pay dearly for them when we return.
Travel is not a vacation, it is a leap of faith, a quest, a remarkable gift we give to ourselves, if we are brave enough.
For those who may be considering a life abroad, ask this simple question: If not now, when?
Bruce Kavin
Kater-Crafts Bookbinders
