Unai was born in Bolivia. Here she is three months old and traveling through Argentina.
Before we begin, we warn: this story can cause a lot of envy and a chronic desire to leave everything and do the same as its protagonists. a troupe did Barcelona-Australia by motorhome (with two girls) . another traveled seven years (yes, seven) on a bike (with two children) . In fact, one of her babies was born in Bolivia. others gave around the world in 550 days (with two children) . others toured Ecuador, Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica in seven months ... Crazy or not (what's life without a spark of crazy?), they dared to take a sabbatical. Leave jobs, take their offspring and leave: is what the documentary tells Traveling families, looking at the world with the eyes of a child , which (finally) is available on the internet (also under a Creative Commons license) .
A clarification: " We are not daddy's children nor do we come from wealthy families , we are very "normal", we were able to make the trip because we saved a little after working for many years, the cost is not so much the trip itself, but leaving work and the risk that it entails, and during the trip we give up luxuries and comforts that we do have here (we sleep in basic places, local transport, clothes and shoes, we spend almost nothing...), since luxury for us was already being able to be traveling ", points out Karina, the mother of one of these traveling families, who embarked on a route of no more and no less than 550 days, "with a one-way ticket to Malaysia and without a clear determined route", which she ended up taking them through 18 countries, between Asia and America.
"We published our book in March 2014, entitled 550 days, whose benefits we gave to a Cambodian Children's Hospital that we visited in Siem Reap (Angkhor Hospital for Children). It was an incredible experience, one of the strongest we have lived in our life and of what I am most proud of having done in my life ".
Karina and her daughter Abril with another family in North Vietnam.
But let's go back to the documentary: "The idea was born from the Meeting (Trobada) Families on the Road that we celebrate every year in May at a campsite in Tarragona. We had gathered some families with incredible travel experiences and many others with concerns and desire to travel, all that information and their inspiring experiences... they had to be captured in a documentary!", he tells us Max Lopez , alma mater of that great traveling website that is ** Familias en Ruta ** and instigator (and screenwriter) of all this.
Each family carried their own camera. Each one has its vicissitudes. We see them sleeping, with the damaged motorhome, on board buses, trains, pedaling, sharing with families from other cultures... Upon returning, Joan Escriu, from the ** production company Monsoonia **, conducted interviews and ordered the material that each family contributed to shape the story. "We open a crowdfunding to finance the documentary which turned out to be unsuccessful (we made some rookie mistakes) . After recovering we got up again and we decided to go ahead with the idea. Thanks to three sponsors and with our own contribution of funds, we were able to carry out the production. It had to be done...and it's there for anyone interested to enjoy!" says Max.
From Barcelona to Australia in a motorhome.
At the moment, those who have already seen it make very positive reviews. "We have received quite a few inquiries and contacts of families wanting to embark on fulfilling their traveling dreams . In fact, I know people around me who after seeing it He has bought the motorhome he dreamed of or has decided to carry out that trip through Asia that made him so excited. Be careful because this documentary moves you to live life intensely by spreading the traveling virus!", Points out this father traveler whose "first great trip was with our daughter when she was three years old . we toured Ecuador, Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica in seven months of a route slow travel, at our own pace . An unforgettable experience from which we came with two more children: a baby and the Familias en Ruta project".
Although in every trip, as in life, there are hard moments. " They robbed us in an oversight, it was in Nicaragua", recalls Max . "We were so happy that we overlooked some basic safety and precautionary rules. If we hadn't gotten confused, it wouldn't have happened. The event had a great impact on us, so much so that we decided return to Puerto Viejo to spend a whole month on its beaches renting a house by the beach that we couldn't afford here... and believe me when I tell you that that month has been one of the happiest of my life".
Max, Susagna and their eldest daughter.
The family of Myriam, Pau, Ernest and Ferran toured by public transport during six months South America from Tierra del Fuego to the Galapagos . "A quiet trip through Chile from south to north, which ended in the Galapagos Islands. Six months together, seven days a week, 24 hours a day . live with family no interference: no obligations, no work, no school, no rush... Time for us and for the people we met along the way. Definitely, there are experiences that mark a before and after in our lives. For us it was this trip" This teacher tells us.
And beware, because no one has said that children on the road do not study: "On our trip to 550 days following "classes" was very important , Y who does not learn in these wonderful settings? Bernat learned to add on the beaches of Malaysia, and April to read on our long trip", remembers Karina.
For Max, there are so many good memories, "the list could get boring. Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua They are wonderful countries, I would return without hesitation to each of them. Perhaps as the culminating moment of that trip I remember the hug that we gave the whole family in dreamlike natural pools on Chiquita beach in Puerto Viejo , just the day before going back to San José to take our return flight: we had been almost eight months sharing so many intense moments in family and we were all good We felt full and happy. I will never forget that moment".
Sonia, Antonio and their children in Machu Pichu.
And in the documentary process? "Except the essential financial part that every documentary requires everything else has been great. There are many hours of work, but the illusion is even greater and the effort has been well worth it. The best is certainly share it and receive the feed back of so many moms and dads wanting to go out and discover the world through the eyes of a child".
** [* HERE THE EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS AND COMMENTS BY ITS PROTAGONISTS OF THOSE TRIPS THAT MAKE US ENVY SO MUCH ]**
* You can watch the (wonderful, funny, inspiring) documentary Traveling Families, looking at the world the world with the eyes of a child right here:
Free camping in Ecuador.
Documentary poster.