Twinsight 47 of 50: Experience the World

Cindy & Larry in Iguassu Falls, Brazil

Do you have a desire to see more of the world? Some days I'm completely satisfied to live our cozy little suburban life and have a business trip here and there that gets me out and about in the U.S. Other days, something piques my interest in experiencing life in parts of the world I have yet to see—visiting my great grandparents’ birthplaces in Iceland/Sweden/Norway, eating my way through Tuscany, worshipping with thousands of other Christians in Africa, taking in all the sights and smells of Beijing, skiing in the Alps, helping with a building project in Guatemala, walking where Jesus walked, running the beaches of Bora Bora, and the like. There’s a lot of world to see.

It feels challenging to fit travel into daily life right now—hard to find time to do the research, hard to justify the expense when we’re at the beginning of eight years of college expenses, hard to take a chunk of time off from work, and on and on.  I think there is a way, though, to have a travel mindset and be poised to take advantage of opportunities and good deals as they arise. But how do you live that out?

One couple who has done an amazing job of integrating adventurous travel into their lives is Cindy and Larry Pontinen. They grew up in Minnesota, and Cindy was Steve’s favorite babysitter when he was growing up. After they graduated from college, they got teaching jobs in an LA suburb and have been there ever since. They also owned a condo on Maui, and we’ve had the opportunity to stay with them in both places. They are a wonderful host and hostess! They each had long, impactful teaching careers, and are now retired. They have a passion for travel and have found a way to always be on a trip or planning the next one. I wanted to learn more about how they make that work so I asked Cindy the following questions, and thought you might be interested in her answers, too.

What got you interested in traveling?

For me, my mother was my inspiration. She always had a desire to see the world.  She always knew that when the last one left home (me), she would be able to afford to travel outside the U.S. and Canada.  For Larry, his desire to see the world came from his love of history.  He had always been an avid reader, and for him to be able to actually see many of the places he had read about was like a dream come true.  Because of our different perspectives, we also differ on our focus during our travels.  His is always to the historical and mine is primarily to the culture.  I am so interested in how people live. I think that interest comes from my mother's influence because she was such a people person.  Larry and I both love landscape and that must stem from our Minnesota roots.

The street coming to life one morning in Esna on the Nile River

What are your favorite places on earth?

Well, for the "ordinary," we would both have to say France.  We love France for its diversity.  Probably highest on our list for a place that is just fascinating, is so full of history, and has a culture that is so different from a western country is Egypt.  We both still remark that our recent trip to Egypt was by far the most educational trip we have taken.  We could repeat our itinerary because there’s just so much to learn about that country.

In Cairo

Do you travel on your own or with groups?
For many years, we gravitated to Europe and did all of our own planning, and we always rented a car to give us flexibility. That type of travel is really for people who are not worried about navigating a foreign country. We typically tried to cover areas we had not seen before, but we almost always ended our trips with a stay in Paris.

Now we have moved toward traveling with an organized tour because we are going to places that are not as well developed plus we are older! We talk with people to find out what their experiences have been with various tour companies, and then research to find out what itineraries the company has for the area we want to tour. We've preferred to travel with Overseas Adventure Travel because its groups are never larger than 16 people, and we feel we get the most value for our money. If at all possible, when planning a trip with an organized tour company, try to go into the start city several days earlier than the actual start of the tour. By going in early, you give yourself time to recover from the long flight and have time to see more of the city.

In Cuzco, Peru

Who are some of the friends you've made along the way?
Making friends while traveling started a long time ago when we returned from a trip to Germany in 1977. We connected with a young family from Germany, and through them, with another young family from France. We have all remained very good friends. We made another wonderful connection when we took our first organized tour in 2005. We met three couples from North Carolina and one from Arizona. We are now all friends and have all visited one another and traveled together numerous times since then. It is wonderful.

What's your number #1 tip for people who are interested in traveling more?
One of the most important factors to remember is that you must be flexible. As a couple, I see us always balancing each other in the hopes that both of us do not have a bad day on the same day!

An orphan from a small village school in Swaziland

Where are you going next?
We're always planning the next trip. We both hope that we will always be able to have a new and exciting destination on the horizon. That destination may very well be right here in North America, but it is always an anticipated adventure.

Thanks, Cindy and Larry! You inspire me and my family to expand our horizons and experience more of the world, and I appreciate your willingness to let me share your experiences and insights with others.

To follow this blog, click “follow” in the blue bar at the top, or key your email address into the long white space and click “submit.”