Published newspaper story about us…

The health club is impressive on the Epic.

Photo of a photo of the Norwegian Epic on its maiden voyage in 2010.

Here is the actual article, which I wrote based on their request, submitted about a month ago.  I didn’t realize until yesterday that it had been published.

A bar and sitting area.

This story doesn’t include our most recent travels.  Below is the link to the newspaper and the story:

By Jess Lyman | Posted:
Thursday, April 4, 2013 3:12 pm
Editor’s note: Earlier this year, Jess and Tom Lyman, formerly of Chanhassen, headed out on a worldwide travel adventure with no set end date in mind. We’ve kept track of them via their travel blog. This week Jess emailed a commentary on how they’re doing so far, three months into the first leg of their travel. Content to stay home, cooking great meals, visiting with family and friends, spending our requisite lounging time in front of the TV lost in mindless drivel, we were no different than the
average baby boomer population. Whatever possessed us to sell it all, leaving family, friends and a comfortable familiar life behind escapes us. Now, as we sit on our veranda, less than 20 feet from the Caribbean Sea, the constant calming sound of the sea as background music to our ears.

We left it all. On Jan. 3, 2013, and we boarded the Celebrity Century in San Diego, Calif., on our way through the Panama Canal, to begin a 5- to 10-year long journey that, at this point, knows no end.Health providing, we’ll continue on until we don’t want to any more, until we tire of hauling our luggage, or until we feel a compelling desire to stay put. When this journey began we made a pact; if one of us wants to stop, we will. Plain and simple. We’ll find a place to live for a year or more until we decide on a more permanent home or, perhaps staying put for awhile, we may be ready to begin anew, back to our life
on the move. There’s no need to decide now.

In January 2012, we began our research, deciding to document our discoveries in a blog for our family and friends with the intent that everyone would always know where we are at any given time. Much to our surprise, our blog, www.WorldWideWaftage.com has continued to grow attracting readers all over the world. With over 40,000
visits to our blog thus far, we anticipate it will continue to grow as we progress further along in our travels.
Since leaving the United States on Jan. 3, 2013, its readership has quadrupled! For the past two months since Jan. 29 with two cruises behind us, we landed by ship in Belize City, Belize, in Central America, formerly known as British Honduras, a charming, behind-the-times-digitally, English speaking country of over 350,000, rooted in history, with mixed cultures including Mayan, Creole, Mestizo, Africa, East India, Syrian and Lebanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Mennonites, Korean and the
local Garifuna.

After a four-hour treacherous drive south on the renowned Hummingbird Highway, we arrived for a one-week stay in a cottage on the beach, later to move to the exquisite Laru Beya Resort in the cozy town of Placencia, a narrow, roughly 20-mile long peninsula. Known for its white sand beaches, relaxed lifestyle, exquisite vegetation, and adventure activities geared for the not-so-faint-of heart, Placencia’s quaint little village offers an eclectic selection of restaurants, diners, shops and small grocery stores.

Accommodating a special diet
Twenty months ago in an effort to improve our health, we embarked on a strict low-carb, wheat-free, grain-free, starch-free and sugar-free diet. Tom subsequently lost 45 pounds and for the first time in 20 years, I am pain free. Had we not taken this drastic step, it would have been impossible for us to travel to this extent. Unable to find foods we took for granted in the U.S, we’ve learned to eat differently taking advantage of the local grass-fed meat, free-range chicken and eggs and organic vegetables. We’ve adapted.

What’s next?
Plans after April 9, when we are scheduled to leave Belize? We’re off on six cruises over the next two months, including a trans-Atlantic cruise to Barcelona on April 20. On May 5, we’ll be traveling through the Suez Canal to see the Great Pyramids, Giza and the Sphinx ending in Dubai for a two week stint in the 95-story second tallest residential tower in the world, overlooking Palm Jumeira, the renowned man-made island on the coast of Dubai.

This upcoming summer we’ve rented a 17th century stone villa in Tuscany until Aug. 31 when we’ll fly to Kenya for a three-month stay in an ocean-front house in Diani Beach. After a few safaris to see the Great Migration, we’ll fly to South Africa to live on the edge of Kruger National Park where the animals roam free around the house we’ve rented.

This week we booked a two-and-a-half-month stay in a small palace with a full staff in Marrakesh, Morocco, on our way out of Africa for March 1 to May 15, 2014. The song, the “Marrakesh Express” is spinning through our heads as we’re unable to wipe the smiles off of our faces. We’re very grateful.

Yes, it goes on and on. A dream we never knew we had, a vision for spending the “golden years,” cherishingevery moment, living in the moment and anticipating the next moment to come. So far, life is good on the move.
For daily updates on the
Lymans’ travels visit their blog at www.WorldWideWaftage.com.

Check out the price of Absolute Vodka in the duty-free shop.  We brought one bottle of Cognac which wasn’t confiscated much to our surprise.

During the day today we met an amazing couple from the US, now living in France, Puerto Rico, California and New York, world travelers like us.  Sharing our stories and motivation for stepping outside the box was refreshing and exciting. 

One of the many dining areas below the massive crystal chandelier.

Tomorrow night, the four of us will dine together in the Manhattan Dining Room where we dined last night, having met another enjoyable group of passengers.  The food was mediocre, the companionship…divine!