The Barefoot Nomad

Charles and I started traveling together back in 2003, when it was just the two of us with backpacks, a loose itinerary, and a whole lot of enthusiasm for seeing the world. Since then, we’ve explored more than 40 countries together, built a travel business, and spent nearly 18 years traveling with our two kids.

Of course, travel looks a little different when you hav...

We’ve tested a few larger BLUETTI power stations over the years, and they’ve been useful when we wanted serious backup power. The tradeoff is pretty obvious, though. Bigger batteries take up more room, weigh more, and aren’t necessarily something you casually grab on the way out the door.

That’s what made the BLUETTI Elite 100 Mini interesting to us.

I...

After years of travel, we’ve learned one thing for sure: something unexpected will happen eventually.

We’ve dealt with cancelled flights, lost luggage, buses that were supposedly air conditioned but very definitely were not, and even accidentally overstaying a visa.

Some travel problems are annoying. Others can get expensive or stressful pretty quickly.

This post is sponsored by Preply. We were given access to the platform to try it for ourselves, but all opinions and experiences here are our own.

I’ve been trying to learn Spanish, on and off, for years. And when I say trying, I mean I’ve done a little bit of everything.

I’ve used language apps, taken formal classes, memorized vocabulary, and pic...

After more than 20 years of travel, Charles and I have spent a lot more time outside Canada than the average vacation allows.

We spent about five months in Australia, months at a time in other countries, and long enough in places like Spain, Portugal and Costa Rica to settle into some pretty ordinary routines.

We’ve rented apartments, bought groceries, wor...