Home Page

This evening we sat by the fireplace with a hot cup of chocolate wearing sweaters and winter coats. Two days ago we skinny dipped in a river pool surrounded by palm trees. That just goes to show how quickly you can move from one climate to another in Ecuador.
-Matt & Liuan
Ecuador Road Trip Journal – Week 2: Through the Sierra
When I woke up I heard my mom and dad saying swear words. I was confused. Why were they saying swear words?
-Oliver
My Altitude Experience at the Border of Bolivia
My heart melted. I sat at his side and wrapped my arms around him. “It’s not your fault you feel sick. We’ll make something work.” I was out of ideas.
-Matt
Sickness and Unpreparedness Upend Plans at Bolivian Border
We don’t want to rush around checking top sights off a list. We want to stay long enough in a place to feel part of it, to understand it better. 
-Liuan
Normalcy, Time-Crunch, Homeschooling Blues, and Dreaming
It's a privileged soul that gets to hop off the treadmill at some point in their life.
-Matt

How We Nearly Failed to Extend Our Tourist Visa in Brazil
When we're in a foreign country speaking a language we've only learned through an app watching a child sucking in air for dear life. Somehow, even here, something or someone was supporting me.
-Liuan

A Lost Wallet, an Asthma Attack, and a Forgotten Pillow
I’ve been wondering for a long time, really since college, what other ways are there to live?
-Liuan

Travel As Pilgrimage: Reflections on the Name of our Blog
I see our gap year as a chance to give our children a “world class” education.  The complexity, the wonders—and sometimes the injustices and tragedies—of the world cannot be taught in a way that is truly grasped with a book and a pull-down map.
-Matt
An Awkward Conversation: Why a Gap Year with the Kids?
Perhaps it is enough to be welcomed in a place and spend our money, allowing villagers to decide for themselves what they want to share with us from the gems of their everyday existence.
-Liuan
When You’re the First Tourist in a Remote Chinese Village 
Slowing down doesn't mean that you stop having goals or ambitions. It means you open up space to reflect and ensure that those goals and ambitions are meaningful, properly balanced, and not running roughshod over your health and relationships. 
-Matt
The Slow Camino Philosophy: A blog…and a way of life.

Slow Camino Logo - responsible tourism and family travel

Learning Life’s Lessons Through Travel

NEVER MISS A POST!

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to get our latest posts delivered to your inbox.

See Past Newsletters

Slow Camino

Hosted on Substack

Latest Posts

About us

WHO ARE WE?

We are a family of five that travels at every opportunity. We are currently back home after taking a family gap year that we ended in July 2023. We spent all of the time in South and Central America. 

WHAT IS SLOW CAMINO?

Slow Camino is a personal writing project that lets our readers and loved ones know where we are, where we’ve been, and what we are learning along the way.

We cover a smorgasbord of topics all loosely related to travel. Some of our favorite topics to write about include traveling with kids, stories and misadventures, and how the way we travel impacts the local community and environment

See where we’ve been…

Go To Map

Instagram Feed

Topics

Destinations

We share what we know about the places we’ve visited.

Stories

Artfully written experiences, reflections and misadventures.

Responsible Travel

How to travel in a way that respects the local community and the environment.

Financial Calculator

Saving up for the trip of a lifetime? This is a tool we developed and use regularly to project our future savings.

Preparations

Let us guide you through the finances and practicalities of long term trave.

Travel With Kids

Bringing children along for the ride can be both rewarding and frustrating. We provide our insights and lessons learned.