Taking a Gap Year

A family with 3 boys, traveling the South America, one backpack per person, no job. Was it relaxing? Terrifying? Life-changing? Read on to find out more.

Did you miss your chance to take a gap year while you were young? It’s not to late! A midlife gap year has many advantages.

Reflecting on our transcontinental journey is bittersweet. It makes me miss people and places. It also forces me to face that a change of scenery didn’t change the things about myself that I wish were different. That transformation takes a deeper, harder journey within.

This is a summary of our family gap year. Here we give an outline of our itinerary, our philosophy of travel, and what might lay beyond this special time.

Originally a newsletter post, I’ve expanded this edition with some more insights on the realities of traveling for a year with our family of five.

I reflect what it’s like turning forty on our year long family gap year in South America, and what Pink Floyd has to say about it.

After a year traveling to seven South American countries, we face one last border crossing — the one to our own home. So strange and yet so familiar.

We’ve been on the road for nearly a year and are starting to think about our return home. Here are some of the first things each family member wants to do when we cross the threshold and put our bags down.

Six months into our family gap year, I reflect on the things that have surprised me the most about long-term travel and how our family has adapted (or not).