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Sellers Round-the-World Trip

December 2022 - May 2023
A 148-day adventure by Heather, Brian, Katie & Maddie Read more
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  • Sellers Round-the-World Trip
    111
    Day 23

    Baños de Aqua Santa

    January 21, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    We are currently in a smaller Ecuadorian town called Baños de Aqua Santa, in a valley surrounded by lush green mountains and volcanoes (dormant fortunately!). It’s beautiful here and the people have been extremely kind and genuine.

    We’ve loved it here! Our hotel is awesome, food outstanding (anyone want a tomahawk steak? Arepas? Empanadas with chocolate and banana? 🥰) and we have all stepped out of our comfort zones!! We have been so impressed with all the new activities and foods the girls are trying.

    In the last two days, we have gone to a local thermal bath/pool house. The girls jumped right in and had a blast. We’ve gone on two very small but extremely high up cable cars across a very wide and deep valley with a river very far below us. They rocked it. We went right next to an enormous waterfall. They then proceeded to do the “flight of the condor” - where we strapped into a secure swing and we got launched off a ramp that swung over the edge of a cliff!! Have I mentioned the rivers and valleys way below us? The girls and I went on “The Beauty” which forced me to hold in a few choice words. I thought it felt huge. However, Brian, chose “The Beast” which was much bigger. He didn’t hold in his choice words🤣! So much fun!

    I wouldn’t be surprised if Maddie wants to move up to the “Beast” soon. You can hear her in the video scream “This is awesome!” ❤️

    Today we are taking it easy. Katie has yet another cold. We also have the girls math tutor, Alex, today via zoom. Worldschooling has been an interesting and challenging yet rewarding experience so far. The girls are learning so much about these various cultures. I’m still scrambling trying to figure how to help them learn without using up an entire travel pack for all their school supplies.

    We are currently packing, getting ready to head to Cuenca tomorrow, where we’ll be staying for a week. It’s a colonial town about 7 hours south of here and is supposed to be a great place to stay awhile and also explore! I’m planning on taking the girls to get a traditional spiritual cleansing with egg (!) at a local market in Cuenca. Should be exciting!

    Hope you are all having a great weekend!    Read more

  • Sellers Round-the-World Trip
    Day 29

    BINGO in Cuenca, Ecuador

    January 27, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    Yep, we feel like we’ve won the jackpot here in Cuenca. We’re staying right near the center of town (which is up at around 8400 feet) - with almost daily festivals, hearing music till late outside as well as the bells of the old cathedral next our hotel ring at 6:37 am 72 times in a row. We have seen amazing Incan ruins in town and also experienced a spiritual purification at the local market, with very strong smelling flowers and liquid/oils and a raw egg being rubbed on us. And then both girls won $8 at an expat hangout bingo day! Who says what a “typical” Ecuadorian experience while traveling should be - right?

    One of the dilemmas while traveling with kids for this amount of time and moving around so much is that they miss their friends back home and at their age, friends are their whole world. So before coming to Cuenca, I joined a Facebook group for expats (no- we’re not moving - there is just a huge expat community here because it’s awesome and super cheap with good healthcare, and I needed some info). I wrote to some expat families and one American family that lives in Cuenca responded (yay!), telling us about Bingo at a sports bar in town - which has turned into a wonderful new friendship and connection point for all of us. We have played bingo, gone to their house, and hung out at a local park with them. The kids had a blast - and so did us grownups!

    We’re more than halfway through our week in Cuenca. Who knew that Ecuador would be so amazing and diverse in its landscape and overall feel! On Sunday, we head to Cajas National Park and then Guayaquil, our jumping off point to the Galapagos! We get to finally see Jenny (Brian’s sis) on Monday and spend a week together in the Galapagos! Yay! Let the adventures continue! Hope you are all happy, healthy, and safe! ❤️    Read more

  • Sellers Round-the-World Trip
    1111
    Day 34

    Galapagos now please!

    February 1, 2023 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    After our wonderful week in Cuenca, Ecuador, we took an all day harrowing car ride to the city of Guayaquil, our last mainland stop before our flight to Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos. The day included Cajas National Park (a national park up at 14000 feet where we hiked in beautiful mountains pushed up by techtonic plates, with clear blue lagoons nestled within). This was followed by 3 hours of driving along the side of the Andes mountains as we descending back to sea level.

    During this time, we encountered a fairly recent enormous land slide (7 months ago) that took out the main road (already fairly treacherous looking) and basically required the roads be rerouted along a very steep and narrow slope with no guardrail. To boot, add in the crazy fog, rain that leaked through on to Brian’s and my heads in the car and I’ll just say I was questioning my choices for all of us in the subsequent hour or two. In addition to all of that, apparently Guayaquil is a big cartel hub and the news was filled with assasination footage captured on security cameras.

    After a quick flight from Guayaquil to Santa Cruz Island, our next leg of our adventure awaited! 💕

    —————

    What was the 4 Sellers traveling …is now 5. Meeting up with auntie Gigi has been such an easy transition (for us at least - she has to put up with a lot more than we do)!

    Oh Santa Cruz, Galapagos - similar to your wild and diverse landscape, we have been enamored by the unreal wildlife! We’ve seen marine iguanas swimming between us at Tortuga Bay, sea lions chillin on benches sleeping, 10-20 black tipped reef sharks right next to the pier, giant tortoises fighting for dominance (check out the picture Katie took!), and enormous pelicans diving into the water right next to us to eat some delicious fish.

    There is so much to see and learn - Charles Darwin was here about 200 years ago, studying adaptation and natural selection: How the iguanas now swim like sea lions, the birds have adapted their beaks to better survive the varying landscape, and giant tortoises can raise up their legs and necks and now have the ability to eat leaves higher up on bushes, similar to the idea behind the giraffe’s neck.

    The girls have loved seeing all these incredible animals and landscapes. I’ve never seen their faces with so many surprised “O” shaped mouth expressions with all the animals everywhere! It’s been fun to watch through their eyes!

    We’ve loved Santa Cruz Island but I am really looking forward to our next stop: San Cristobal island, the oldest inhabited Galapagos island, tomorrow for our last bit of Ecuadorian and South American adventure! Two hour boat ride first thing in the morning - I’ve heard it can be really choppy so we’ll see how it goes!    Read more

  • Sellers Round-the-World Trip
    11
    Day 41

    Goodbye and thank you Galapagos!

    February 8, 2023 in Ecuador

    If someone had asked me a couple months ago whether I would be willing to jump into the ocean knowing I may see hammerhead sharks swimming near by - it would respond With a HECK NO! And guess what - we ALL did it!

    San Cristobal island is the oldest Galapagos Island and has exceeded our expectations!Seriously EVERY SINGLE DAY has been a new adventure.

    -We went snorkeling at the famous Kicker Rock where we saw hammerheads, sea lions, sea turtles, and loads of fish in water so deep, you couldn’t see the bottom. It was Katie’s favorite (she was crazy brave because it was intimidating!)!! Then there was Maddie - who We could barely keep contained on the surface - she kept saying “can I please dive down?!!” We wouldn’t be surprised if a PADI scuba diving class is in her future.

    -We got to JUMP into the middle of the ocean when a pod of dolphins were swimming by our boat.

    -We got to really spend amazing family time with Jenny which was almost unreal because of our location!

    -We finally got to see the election results for the country after weeks of rallies and parades and friendly Brian got to meet the new leader of San Cristobal and take a selfie with him.

    -We watched the sunset on multiple days with sea lions just chilling nearby on the beach. We even saw one roll down the beach all the way to the water 🤣

    - Yesterday we decided that we would “try” one last beach called Loberia that we could snorkel at - Oh my gosh - it was the most amazing experience I think any of us have had. Swimming alongside sea lions and sea turtles in shallow safe waters…we swam next to them! It was so amazing!!!❤️

    Maddie says the Galapagos is like a place you could only see in a movie and that Rupert (the baby sea lion thst the girls named that came up to Maddie when we first arrived) was her favorite.

    Katie says she loved the snorkeling at Kicker Rock with all the wildlife. Amazing!

    Off to LA - in the middle of a 29 hours of travel time with less than an hour of sleep. We’re all exhausted so hopefully this post makes some sense! We had to say goodbye to Jenny this morning, which was sad, but we’re hoping we can convince her to join us on another leg of this trip!    Read more

  • Sellers Round-the-World Trip
    Day 51

    Goin’ Back to Cali

    February 18, 2023 in the United States

    Did you know that it’s about $1,000 cheaper (per ticket!) to fly from Ecuador to Australia if you go 3,000 miles out of the way and go through Los Angeles? 🤷🏻‍♂️

    We didn’t either, but we do now! (The catch is that it takes you 4 flights and 30 HOURS to travel that 3,000 miles, but… $4,000 is $4,000.)

    I (Brian) was a little worried that coming BACK to the USA for 11 days in the middle of an around-the-world adventure might “take us out” of our travel frame of mind, but Heather assured me that it’d be a good thing to do.

    As usual, she was right, and it’s been such a GREAT 11 days here with friends and family.

    We spent five days in Hermosa Beach with close friends Weddle, Lisa, and baby Everleigh, and it was so good to get to meet little Everleigh and really catch up for the first time since before COVID.

    Being in LA also let us see some of Heather’s best friends, Nat and Dani, and spend some good time with them and their families in Irvine and Agoura Hills.

    Then it was on to Heather’s dad’s new house in Santa Ynez, up in the hills about 30 minutes from Santa Barbara. Seeing them and spending time with most of Heather’s side of the family, including the girls’ uncles, aunt, and cousins… and two more kids 2 years old and younger… was so good for all of us.

    I also got to see my great McGuire Programme friends in Santa Barbara, Dave and Maria, and it was really good to talk about all things overcoming-stuttering and reset some goals for myself there.

    So now… we’re standing in line to board the plane to go to Sydney, Australia, via Auckland, NZ. 20 more hours of total travel and the biggest time shift any of us have ever experienced await!

    Two weeks in Australia, including Sydney, Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, and then a couple days in Brisbane before heading BACK to the Northern Hemisphere and visiting Thailand.

    Catch you Down Under! 🤙🏻    Read more

  • Sellers Round-the-World Trip
    1213
    Day 56

    Sydney in 36 hours

    February 23, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    Planning a 6 month round-the-world trip actually requires a lot of …well…planning. Something I’m not generally great at doing and have been waiting for the day when I realize - oops I booked the wrong flight; oops I forgot to have gotten a hostel/hotel for the right day so we’re shelterless, etc. but thankfully - I’m not quite there yet!

    That said, scheduling only 36 hours in a large city like Sydney after traveling for 20+ hours with huge time zone change/ jet lag (16 hours ahead of EST) and then hopping on a plane that requires us getting up at 430 am - not the best move. That said, we did it! Maddie and Katie rocked it! I, on the other hand, well you can see the picture Brian took of me in our hotel. 🤣

    After 36 hours, we are back at Sydney airport and are on our way to Cairns, Australia, the jumping off point to the Great Barrier reef.

    A couple of key points here:
    1) When I originally planned this trip, the Galapagos and Ecuador were NOT part of the plan. We never planned to go to the Galapagos AND the Great Barrier Reef. We were supposed to be spending 3 weeks in the mountains of Peru but the impeachment of Peru’s president and subsequent violent protests changed our itinerary and here we are…

    2) Originally I thought we could drive up or take a bus to Cairns from Sydney - only to quickly realize Australia is about the size of the US and that Cairns is 1500 miles away. Moving around daily or every few days is exhausting and thus, I made the decision to fly. We have to be in a stable place to do home/world school every day - which other than getting from place to place and immersing ourselves in the cultures, is our main priority. We’ll be up in Cairns for a week and a half our so - Finally staying put for a bit (relaxed sigh).

    Sydney was quick but wonderful for all of us. I don’t know how to describe our experience - we all felt the city was like a more relaxed version of New York. Tall buildings but not so tall. Lots of people but not so many people. People seemed calm, happy even though it’s bustling. Amazing food with tucked away chic food courts tucked between or along the bottom level of buildings. Amazing gardens (royal botanic and Chinese Friendship Gardens high on my “adore and want to sit here all day and revel in its splendor” list) and parks. Sydney Opera House - stunning! So all in all - it’s been great for us while being completely exhausted.

    We’re almost a third of the way through this trip - how is that possible? I’m so grateful for every experience and watching all of this through the eyes of Maddie and Katie is just the best. There is awe, apprehension, appreciation, wonder…and also an attempt to try Vegemite about 10 minutes ago. I don’t think this family will ever be spreading that on our toast in the morning. 🥴

    Looking forward to the next part of this trip - and what adventures await. I’m pretty sure at some point you’ll see a post starting with “OOPS - I forgot to…(fill in the blank)” but we’re not there yet thankfully!

    Our best wishes and love headed to all of you and your families!! ❤️❤️

    The Sellers Fam
    Next stop: Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef!    Read more

  • Sellers Round-the-World Trip
    Day 65

    Great Barrier Reef - Good Grief!

    March 4, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    We have spent almost a week up here in Cairns, near the Great Barrier Reef in north eastern Australia in Queensland. We intentionally spent a week in one hotel to try to provide stability for the kids. What we adults have now fully learned is that the solution (like there is just one!) is not just about staying in one place - it’s about connection. The girls miss home. They miss friends. They miss our pets. They miss their grandmas that aren’t with us anymore. We are still all grieving- but that is part of this journey for us. So it’s probably been the toughest week emotionally for everyone.

    That said, The great barrier reef was amazing - I can’t even begin to compare it to the Galapagos. It’s like night and day. Going underwater in crystal clear water, swimming amongst the myriad of vibrant fish of varying shapes and sizes; The live flowing coral and enormous clams - that breathe and flow with the current. It’s like a dream. Watching Maddie dive down deep and turn around and wave at us; watching Katie overcome her fears asking to dive down as well and then saying how fun it was when she breeches the surface. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.

    I don’t even think the kids recognize how much they have grown in the last two months. I think there is healing there too, very slowly, for all of us. But we miss our moms so much.

    Some of our highlights this past week:
    - Fitzroy island: snorkeling straight off the beach and being absolutely blown away and stunned with having our first unexpected exposure to the amazing underwater world of the Great Barrier reef.

    - Manu the cockatoo: apparently a very notoriously dumb male cockatoo had a crush on me. He liked all of us girls but then took a particular liking to me and sought me out while at a wildlife center. Not sure if this is a high point or something to be proud of but it was hilarious. (Check out long but ultimately silly video)

    - Moore Reef: learning to wear a stinger suit and snorkel in a stunning setting - amazing

    -mentioning to an Aussie about the heavy rains they have here (torrential is the first word that comes to mind) and having him say “If the rain doesn’t bounce 3 feet off the ground, then it’s not REALLY rain. Welcome to the tropics!” 🙃

    -seeing the girls giggling and playing together even after the many epic arguments this week.

    Some low points:

    -katie has learned that she is very allergic to something INSIDE (most likely molds) just about everywhere in Cairns, finally prompting an urgent care visit yesterday with her and another “Welcome to the tropics!” Comment from the very nice doctor. 🤣

    -homesickness-it is the real deal this week. Girls are feeling it full force this week. We have to learn to navigate this and I’m glad we are together and talking about it.

    ————————

    Katie’s 11th birthday is this Monday! On her bday, we’ll be hopping on a 24 hour train down to Brisbane and then will prepare to leave for Thailand! We’ve been watching some YouTube videos on how to say hi and thank you in Thai - getting ready!

    Love to you all!

    Next stop: Brisbane, Australia by train and then Bangkok, Thailand!    Read more

  • Sellers Round-the-World Trip
    Day 69

    Goodbye Australia!

    March 8, 2023 in Australia

    We are currently in Brisbane, Australia getting prepared to hop on yet another red eye to Bangkok via Singapore.

    Our last few days have been travel and adventure filled - we took an overnight train (25 hour) with sleeper seats (hallelujah because I cannot sleep on planes, cars, or in any mode of transportation requiring sitting mostly upright) from Queensland to Brisbane! This train was a highlight for me for two reasons: 1) it was Katie’s 11th birthday! 🥳 and 2) I got 25 hours of mommy alone time - in my own little cubicle style area! I slept well and It was heavenly!

    Brisbane has been lovely - all along the river that runs through town (aptly named Brisbane River) are public lagoon style pools, shops, and mostly lush green space and gardens. We’ve enjoyed it.

    Our last stop today before our red eye to Thailand was at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Maddie is doing a research project on koalas right now so this was a perfect last stop. The koalas were adorable; they love eucalyptus (live in the trees and eat the leaves); and cool factoid: if you ever get a koala stuck in your pool (!), you should throw a large rope in to help them climb out! This is definitely not something you hear in the US! We also got to feed lots of kangaroos!

    Thank you Australia for your hospitality, beauty, and awesome accents.

    We’re excited to be on our way to Thailand where just by chance, some of our friends, the Mladinichs, will be in Bangkok at exactly the same time as us! So we’re going to hang out with some friends!! Yay!

    Next 2 weeks: Thailand. Bangkok, Surat Thani, and Koh Samui.

    Then Nepal!

    May you all be happy, healthy and safe! ❤️ from our family to yours!
    ——————

    “Happiness is not something readymade; it comes from your own actions.” - Dalai Lama    Read more

  • Sellers Round-the-World Trip
    Day 69

    Bangkok - Fun, Friends, and Sweat!

    March 8, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 95 °F

    Brian and I had both been to Bangkok before so we were curious about how this leg of our journey would be for the 4 of us. We once again took a red eye flight from Australia coupled with layover for 4 hours in the middle of the night in Singapore making us all extremely tired and grouchy. Most exciting way to start a new and more challenging section of this journey when everyone is homesick already I personally think. 🙂

    Bangkok is hot - not an “oh I could use a bit of air conditioner hot” - it’s a “sweat running down your back till your pant legs are wet because we have to wear appropriate attire to the Grand Palace and temples” type of hot. Fortunately Bangkok also included friend time - new and old.

    We happened to be in town at the same time as friends we haven’t seen since before the kids were born, the Mladinichs. They were visiting some of their buddies in Thailand - so we made some new friends as well, experienced amazing Thai hospitality - all sweating it out together! Adults got to hang out at night eating the most amazing Thai food while the kids played in an amazing pool in their neighborhood. Connection is so important - and it nourished all of us - body and soul.

    The Grand Palace and temples were amazing though. The enormous Reclining Buddha always makes me shake my head in awe; the vibrant colors and ornate design of the temples leave me speechless - while sweating a lot. We were happy to see the kids experiencing all of it!

    Just for reference - in Bangkok we stayed at a hostel in the city that cost about 25 US dollars per night. Our bathroom was a small combo of shower and toilet where you had to close the lid of the toilet while you showered to keep the seat dry so you can later pee without slipping right off. School work and tutoring was done on the bed - we all adjust as we go!

    And once again with my wonderful planning, we are taking a 7 am flight to Surat Thani to go to an elephant sanctuary - which means we had to get up 345 am to catch a taxi to the airport. At some point I’ll learn!

    Next up: elephant hills sanctuary. (Shh - we’re here right now - I’m behind on posting. Yesterday we spent time and fed elephants and it was AMAZING!!!) - will do that post soon.

    ❤️

    Sent from my iPhone    Read more

  • Sellers Round-the-World Trip
    111
    Day 73

    Elephant Hills - Surat Thani, Thailand

    March 12, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 91 °F

    I’m literally staring at the screen not sure what to write - another moment of awe as I reflect on yet another amazing part of this trip.

    We spent 4 nights at Elephant Hills Elephant Sanctuary in Surat Thani, Thailand. This was a decadent treat - beautiful landscapes, interacting with and feeding beautiful Asian Elephants, amazing Thai food (getting our spice on), luxury tent, jumping off a huge traditional Burmese junk boat into salty Indian ocean water, and connecting with a phenomenal group of different people from all over the world.

    I didn’t realize how elephants were used for labor here - including transportation of large trees that have been knocked down, tourism - elephant rides, circus style shows, etc. Elephant Hills rescues these work elephants and gives them a wonderful life in the countryside of Surat Thani. Some things we did:

    Day 1- canoeing and learning about and feeding the elephants.

    Day 2- kayaking in the mangroves and jumping from the second level of a large boat into a very salty river that connects to the Indian Ocean.

    Day 3 - rode a long tail boat out to a floating camp where we spent the day swimming in and relaxing along a 100 meter deep lake surrounded by high gumdrop shaped mountains that reminded me of Guilin, China. Stunning - oh and then there were the huge fish we swam with 🐟 🙃

    Day 4 - school work, packing, a ginormous spider (huntsman spider right outside our tent) and a day traveling to Koh Samui - girls are going to try Muay Thai fighting today!!

    Hope you are all well! Be safe.

    Next stop: we’ll be in Koh Samui until Monday - one night back in Bangkok - and then Kathmandu Nepal!!    Read more

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