Roamers Report #17 may 30, 2025

Dear Fellow Travel Enthusiasts,

Welcome to the 17th installment of the Roamers' Report!

When we last checked in, we had just wrapped up our time in Peru and were soaking in the magic of the Galápagos Islands. What an unforgettable experience that was—those of you who’ve been know exactly what I mean. After three incredible weeks exploring three of the main islands, we boarded a flight to our final country: Panama.

We had originally planned to spend our first few days in Panama City, but due to growing protests and political unrest, we opted for a quieter path. We headed straight to Santa Fe—a four-hour bus ride into the mountains—and settled into a beautiful home surrounded by nature. The house belongs to Janet and John Hitchens, fellow members of People Like Us, an international home exchange network we've been part of for a few years. While they're enjoying summer in their home state of Michigan, we’ve been lucky enough to enjoy their serene second home in Panama.

Most of our days here have been delightfully simple: hiking, cooking, playing board games, and just relaxing. We've also taken a few short trips to nearby properties owned by Janet and John, including a jungle cabin and a beach house on the Caribbean side—both peaceful and wonderfully off the beaten path.

Now, with less than a month until we return home, we’re feeling a mix of emotions. We’re excited to reunite with Everest (our dog!) and see our friends again, but we also know that this chapter of slow, intentional living is coming to a close. When we return, both Francesca and I will be diving into new, demanding jobs, and the kids will be back in school, surrounded by friends, sports, and activities. Life will move quickly again. It will be beautiful in new ways, of course—but this rare stretch of time, with minimal work (for me) and none (for Francesca), focused entirely on family, may never come again.

(More on how we're really feeling about all of this in the Truth Serum section below.)

(An overview of the countries and cities we've been since the last newsletter and an update on where we are currently)

Here are some pics from the amazing Galapagos Islands, but you can click here to see more in our blog posts. I have also posted some initial pics of our Panama experience.  

Santa Cruz was fun for our intro to the Galapagos.  The main town of Puerto Ayora is charming, albeit a bit touristy.  Immediately walking around town you can see many of the incredible bird and marine life like the ubiquitous marine iguanas, sealions basking on park benches, black and white tip reef sharks swimming in the shallows, pelicans and firgate birds soaring over head and the bright red/orange sally lightfoot crabs leaping over the lava rocks. 

Since we didn't have a kitchen in our place we at out some at nice restaurants, but mostly at the $3 meal of the day places on cheap restaurant road. 

We also learned a lot about Charles Darwin's reseach at the Charles Darwin Research and Education Center and took a walk to Tortuga Bay Beach along the Galapagos National Park walkway.  

On our last day there Ryan, Finley and I went to Las Grietas ("the cracks") a dramatic series of volcanic crevices filled with clear, cool water. 

We spent about a week on Isabela Island, a decidely less touristy island.  Although it is one of the main islands in the Galapagos (indeed, it is the largest in the archipeligo), it is not as built up and you definitely see much more of the local population integrated among the tourists.  For example, our hotel was right next to the town community center where there would be nightly throngs of locals playing volleyball, skateboarding, soccer and having picnics and gatherings. 

We did a lot of self guided adventures including a bike ride to the tortoise breeding center and the tragic Wall of Tears - a well built by prisoners in the 1940s and 50s - and some snorkeling and beaching.  

But we did take one paid excursion to Los Tuneles - the most popular leaving from Isabela Island - where we swam with sharks, giant sea turtles and saw the world famous blue footed booies.  

We also visited two active volcanoes - Sierra Negra on horseback and Chico on foot.  Chico last erupted in 1979 and Sierra Negra as recent as 2018. 

Since the Galapagos archegeligo was created entirely by volcanic eruptions it was interesting to see and hear how these land masses were formed, the different kinds of lava that spewed forth and the lava tubes they left behind.  You can tell the age of the volcanoes based on the amount of vegeatation on them and the color of the rock.

On a side note, while it often rains or drizzles on the south side of Sierra Negra (as it did for us) the kids thoroughly enjoyed their wet ride.  They have done a few horseback rides both back home and while traveling, but this was the first one that allowed them to control their own horses - not the typical one horse is trained to follow the one in front.  In fact, our guide often rode way in front with Ryan, while the rest of us jockeyed for position behind.

Of all the islands we visited, San Cristóbal is definitely my favorite.  While they are all amazing in their own right, Santa Cruz is a bit too touristy and not a lot of exiting tour options, Isabela, has some great tours like Los Tuneles, but it's a bit too undeveloped for my taste.  San Cristobal is the perfect blend of built up - it has a very charming, but small, main street on the waterfront and some amazing tours like the 360 tour around the island featuring incredible marine life like the funky hammerhead shark.  And of course, the San Cristobal sunsets are second to none. 

The 360° Tour offers a comprehensive, full-day adventure that circles the island, showcasing its diverse landscapes and rich marine life. Itinerary highlights include Kicker Rock (where you can see hammerhead sharks if you are fortunate), Cerro Brujo, Bahia Sardina, Punta Pitt and Bahia Rosa Blanca where you can swim with giant Galapagos sea turtles, white and black tip reef sharks and spotted eagle rays. 

Leaving on a jet plane.....

(Hopefully humorous stories about real events that happened to us on our trip)

Two new Travel Stories for your reading pleasure.  One called Aquaman: Swimming with Sharks! inspired by our snorkeling trips in the Galapagos and another pure fiction piece called The Traveling Guitar. 

AQUAMAN: SWIMMING WITH SHARKS

I always thought Aquaman was a fictional character—until we went snorkeling in the Galápagos and discovered that my family and I might actually qualify for honorary membership in his underwater Justice League. Now, I’m not saying I can talk to fish, but I will say a sea lion definitely tried to initiate a game of underwater tag. I lost. Badly.

The Galápagos Islands had been on our bucket list for years, and we finally made it happen. What sets these islands apart—aside from the surreal landscapes and Darwinian street cred—is the wildlife. Not just the volume of it, but the audacity. The animals here don’t flee from you. They stare at you like you’re the weird one. Which, let’s be honest, you probably are—flapping around in rented flippers and a foggy mask like a caffeinated manatee. (Click here to read the full travel story).

THE TRAVELING GUITAR

“All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go, I’m standing here outside your door…”
A voice—considerably less tuneful than John Denver’s—carried into the warm, smoky night.

Faces around the campfire flickered amber in the firelight. Some nodded along. Others joined in, murmuring or belting out lyrics with varying degrees of accuracy. A few, emboldened by one too many Singha beers, sang in full-throated, joyful abandon.

Frank strummed his narrow Martin backpacker guitar, his constant companion through months of travel across Southeast Asia. He was now deep in the jungles of northern Thailand, staying in a Karen village with a group of twelve other tourists on a three-day trek.

“Leaving on a Jet Plane” wasn’t his go-to song—especially not back home in Bend, Oregon, where he preferred the likes of Arlo Guthrie and Harry Chapin—but he knew his audience. Mostly Europeans, plus a couple of Aussies. This song was karaoke canon across Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, all places he’d passed through recently, and he knew it would land.  (Click here to read the full travel story).

In case you missed the previous Travel Stories, here is a link to the archive.

Travel Stories 

(Many of you may not care about the home schooling portion of this, but since it's ostensibly the reason we are doing this, I will provide a brief update during these Newsletters.)

Our homeschooling adventure is coming to a rapid close.  Official classes for Pathways Charter, the school that the kids have been registered with during our trip, conclude on Friday, May 30th and school officially ends on June 6th.  We plan to stop their online academic lessons (ie the Math, English Language Arts and Science online tools they have been using) on May 30th and have them work on one final Trip Reflections essay until June 6th.  Then they will officially be on summer break for our last two weeks in Panama. 

They all recently took an assessment test with Rennaissance Testing - that is administered by Pathways Charter - and they all did incredibly well.  Both Finley and Ryan are reading several grades above their grade levels (I'm not bragging, I'm just saying...) and Austen is tracking right where she should be, which is great given her recent Dup15q syndrome diagnosis which results in learning disabilities.  We couldn't be more pleased given our pre-trip concern that the kids would fall behind if we took them out of traditional school for a year. 

That said, Francesca and I are VERY excited to hand them back to their "real teachers" in August as it was not an easy task to guide them through the curriculum this year. 

(Blog Posts Published since the last newsletter - in case you missed them on social media)

Galapagos: San Cristobal Island 

Galapagos: Isabela Island 

Pozos & Playas Galapagos 

Galapagos: Tortoise Breeding Center & Wall of Tears Bikeride 

Galapagos: Los Tuneles Tour 

Galapagos: Santa Cruz Island 

A RAREC Opportunity: Volunteering in the Amazon 

(A dose of truth about some of the things that did not go according to plan or worries that we've had about the trip)

With less than a month until we return home, we’re feeling a mix of emotions. We’re excited to reunite with Everest (our dog!) and see our friends again, but we also know that this chapter of slow, intentional living is coming to a close. When we return, both Francesca and I will be diving into new, demanding jobs, and the kids will be back in school, surrounded by friends, sports, and activities. Life will move quickly again. It will be beautiful in new ways, of course—but this rare stretch of time, with minimal work (for me) and none (for Francesca), focused entirely on family, may never come again.

Francesca and I were recently looking back at our photos from Crete, Greece - the first stop on our worldschooling adventure - and got overwhelmed with emotions.  Thinking back on our time there when the whole concept was new and exciting and now being less than a month before it all ends is bittersweet for sure. 

I'm sure (at least I think I am) that once we are settled back in to life in NorCal we'll slide right back into our daily routines and we'll be fine, but we will always have this adventure to look back on, so many shared family stories and a closer family bond.

Here are our Cultural Observations post for countries we have visited for at least one month.  A caveat as you read these, they are not all "cultural" in the typical sense of the word and none are meant to be taken in a negative light, but merely just some observations from an observant family of travelers. 

Cultural Observations of Nepal 

Indonesia Cultural Observations 

Vietnam Cultural Observations 

Philippines Cultural Observations 

Thailand Cultural Observations 

Morocco Cultural Observations 

Spain Cultural Observations 

Bosnia Cultural Observations 

Greece Cultural Observations 

(I'm a little reluctant about this section because this trip is supposed to be more about quality and experience than sheer quantity, but I find stats like this interesting nonetheless) 

I am getting a bit more comfortable with keeping the trip stats.  As time goes by and the stats grow, it is getting fun to track the various cities we've been to and the modes of transport we've taken, etc. 

Here is a quick list of countries we've been to so far on this trip. They are places we have stayed overnight for at least one night. The bold ones are places we've lived in for an extended period of time (over 3 weeks). 

• United States

• United Kingdom

• Greece

• Croatia

• Bosnia and Hercegovina

• Slovenia

• Austria

• Italy

• Spain

• Portugal

• Morocco

• Romania

• Thailand

• Philippines

• Taiwan

• Hong Kong

• Vietnam

• Indonesia

• Nepal

• Peru

• Ecuador (Galapagos)

• Panama

Here is the link to the full trip stats page.

Thanks for joining us on our journey. I have tried to keep to my self imposed routine of sending a Roamers' Report every 2 weeks, but it hasn't always worked out that way. But I do post more regularly on social media (mostly FB, but some Instagram too) so if you want more real time updates please follow our Five Tickets to Roam FB page .

Regards,

The Roamers - Dan, Francesca, Ryan, Austen & Finley