Viva la Vida Travel with Carmen Schaffer

I can't say that I'm a seasoned traveler but I can say that I am a passionate dreamer of travels to be had. One of my favorite journey's was  to Costa Rica while on a 2 month study abroad program while in college.  I stepped off of the airplane, met the family I was to live with for the next 2 months and took every moment from then on as it came to me. My fellow students and I traveled around Costa Rica on literally a dime and a smile. We ate black beans and rice, chicken, and cabbage salad daily. We walked miles in our Birkenstock sandals while feeling none the less like tourists. We went where the locals were and we immersed ourselves in the Tico culture.  One of the biggest selling points to me ( and it sounds odd to say) but I LOVED answering the "Como estas?" ( how are you?) question with the ever popular Tico response, "Pura vida!", which translates to pure life. Yes, this is how Ticos answer most "how are you's?" and this is how ...

Welcome to my blog! For years I have thrown myself into my social work career and realized that as much as I loved helping people get out of tough spots in their lives I was reaching my saturation point. My all time passion has been travel. It started when I'd go to Wyoming and visit family. I am from North Dakota so the mountains of Wyoming were mind boggling as was the culture of that state. My passion was fueled even more with a trip to France when I was 16 that turned me into a much different person. My eyes were opened to the WORLD, to cultures other than my own, to new languages and the excitement of exploring more of this world became even greater. After many years of stifling my passion because of life's demands and because I neglected my true calling, I've started a career in travel. Now, you may say, " If you love travel so much then why plan it for others and not for yourself?" The fact of the matter is this, I love talking about new places, I love pl...