Viva la Vida Travel with Carmen Schaffer

I like to say that somehow my career in travel has been one that had been laid out before me well before I knew it. Dating back to my younger years when I was enamored with the idea of traveling to China and working side by side with the ladies in the rice paddies or when a new immigrant student would grace our classroom, I couldn't move in fast enough to learn all about them and be their friend; I knew that experiencing other cultures  was integral  to my over all well - being. So, here I am:  forging my way in the travel industry, competing with big box online suppliers, and carving out a name for myself that will resonate with travelers as being their first choice in travel planning and support. Planning travel is more than just a paycheck for me. It's a way of being. It's away of channeling my love for other cultures and countries into other peoples lives. It's a way of living vicariously through other's travel joys when I myself am not able to travel. Trave...

Every great travel experience is almost always followed by a wicked post-travel hang over of sorts. You know the kind,  where you wake up thinking the sea is outside your doorstep or in my case, that howler monkeys are outside my tent. Your mind is flitting with amazing experiences that no one but you had. Your eyes see the world different. Your heart feels fuller yet in some ways, feels emptier~ maybe due to the longing of what was your existence just a few short days ago. Never the less, a post travel hangover is brutal. I'm coming off of a week of amazing experiences in Costa Rica with the Dreamsea Surf camp in Tamarindo. I spent a week "glamping" ( glamorous camping)in the forest with a tribe of people who came from all walks of life. 20 somethings wandered around in yoga pants and bikini tops while muscle clad young men did pull ups in the mango tree and in the distance, the sweet sounds of someone playing the acoustic guitar and singing to himself in the distan...

Here we are in 2015. We've got a whole new year of life to do with what we wish, that's a pretty big thing to think about; a full year ready and waiting for us to craft it up as we desire. What will you do with your time? Will you work towards that promotion at work that will afford you more money to buy what you want but less time to do what you want? Will you move into that bigger house to accommodate all of your stuff? Will you go back to school and/or finally make that career shift? Will you learn another language? Will you save up for that new ride you've been dreaming up? Will you travel? What will you do??? When we think about what we do with our time and how it impacts us for better or worse, I think we'd find that most of us spend a fair amount of time doing fluffy things, you know, things that are fairly shallow, things that don't leave the world or ourselves better. Maybe a better way to say that is that we simply exist. I think tha...

Dear Men, I know that you work hard to provide for your families. I understand that you carry an enormous amount of responsibility on your shoulders when it comes to creating a financially comfortable life for yourself and your family.Maybe you're in a dead-end job or perhaps it's an unfulfilling job that you have settled for simply because it pays the bills. Maybe you've lost all contact with your guy friends because you've been busy working and changing diapers and buying mini-vans. Maybe you've lost your mojo, maybe you feel like a machine, a slave to the career. Maybe your marriage feels empty. Maybe you lost the connection with your wife because she can't seem to connect to the machine you've become. Maybe you're snapping at your children out of frustration of all that you've given up and feel sad about but don't seem to really know why. Maybe you feel like you simply "sold out"and maybe you have lost yourself. Maybe, just mayb...

I used to think of myself as a fairly adventurous traveler until I came across some travelers who took adventure to a whole new level. Let's take Alison Levine who is the team captain of the First American Women's Everest Hiking Expedition. I was lucky enough to hear her speak ever so passionately about the expeditions she took to the summit of Mt. Everest not once but TWICE. She shared photographs of the treacherous journey through snow and wind storms in subzero temperatures while traversing over glacial canyons on what looked like an extended ladder. While I was merely sitting in my chair listening to her, I felt as though I could easily have a panic attack just looking at some of the challenges she faced. As I listened to Alison and her inspiring story of perseverance, endurance and sheer passion to succeed, I got to thinking about what adventure means to me, because I can guarantee you it is NOT climbing to the summit of Mt. Everest.  I often post about taking adventures...

Part of what I love about traveling is learning about the people and culture of the destination and what makes them tick and stand out from the rest of the world. It fascinates me to discover that in a world of mass consumerism and egocentricity that there are still those out there who  are seemingly untouched by the commercialized world that we all live in yet thrive in ways unimaginable to most. This is her paradise. While hiking with our Ecoturismo Sierra Norte guides in the mountains that surround the beautiful town of Latuvi, Oaxaca, Mexico, we were introduced to a group of women. These women  supported themselves by growing and harvesting fruits and vegetables and then prepared them to sell for profit. We met "las senoras" in an apple orchard where they were harvesting apples with long poles that had 2 liter bottles of soda that were rigged up perfectly for pulling apples off of the trees. We tried our hands at harvesting apples and after a few good attempts and m...

Today I was interviewed by a college student who considered me to be a person who is living her passion. Needless to say, I was humbled that she considered me as "that" person. I've always considered  travel in any form as an integral part of my life. Dating back to the days of my youth in Grand Forks, North Dakota, when I befriended the refugee kids from Cambodia and Pakistan, intrigued by their culture and struggles. My "passion" for everything global came from a place deep inside of me that yearned to understand other cultures and traditions. It came from a place that craved something different ~ something profound. As a little girl, I fantasized of working the rice paddies of China ~ I longed to feel the authenticity of their culture. The feeling of "oneness" yet embracing our differences. At a very young age, I realized and felt the power of connecting with other cultures and have craved it and pursued it throughout my life. Sometimes we don...