Who is cautiontothewind?

We’re a family of four from Darwin, Australia. In early 2017, after over a decade in Darwin we decided it was time to shake things up a bit. So, we sold our house, quit our jobs, packed all our worldly possessions into storage and at the beginning of June set off for six months travelling through Central and South America.

We’re not exactly back packers (although both Jules and I are carrying backpacks), nor are we high-end travelers. We probably slot in somewhere slightly more pampered than the back packer i.e. where possible we’re staying in airbnb type apartments or family rooms in cheap hotels/hostels, rather than in mixed dorm rooms in backpacker hostels. We’re a little more cashed up than either of us were back in our earlier backpacking days around Europe a couple of decades ago, and this means we can do some of those extra activities and eat at some of those nicer places (or at least eat more regularly than we perhaps did back then).

Julia:

AKA – Jules; Jumie; Jumie J; Mumma.

Age – 41

Mark:

AKA – Watto; Dadda.

Age 41

Frankie:

AKA – Franster; The Frankst; Frankenfurter; Sausage.

Age – 9

Likes – sweet things; swimming; Flatty; movies; ipad; packaged and processed foods; kittens; nature and wildlife; the beach; street performers; eating out when/where there are others i.e. not too early!

Special Skill: Being able to hear a chip packet open anywhere within a 50m radius and know by the sound the brand, flavor and use by date of the chips.

Arlo:

AKA – Boo; Arlo Barlo; Boo Diddly; The Dear Leader.

Age – 7

Likes – fishing; skateboarding; swimming; meat; Big Gorilla; Mumma; ipad; movies; the beach; wrapping and unwrapping Mumma round his little fingers.

Special Skill: Ability to hypnotise Mumma and convince her to concede to his every desire.

Flatty:

AKA – Flatmeister; Flattus Maximus; Essence of Flatty.

Throughout her earlier years Flatty has gone through several identity crises, but has always managed to maintain a consistent connection with the family, and particularly with Frankie. Despite her busy home life, Flatty loved the bright lights and glamour of stage and film. At the height of her career she was frequently sought after for numerous roles as a body-double in some of Disney and Warner Brother’s more adult orientated productions, working with stars such as Bambi, Popeye and Elmer Fudd to name but a few. In recent times, Flatty still does the odd modelling engagement for the popular magazine Roadkill Monthly.

Big Gorilla:

AKA – Big G; The G-Man; The Gorilla Formerly Known As…

Despite being made in China, Big Gorilla holds a strong and resilient sense of association with African American culture and community. Believing himself to be an unverified relative of Kanye West, Big Gorilla delivers a daily American Idol winner’s acceptance speech to the bathroom mirror. A reputation for exceptional verbal abuse has developed over the 7+ years of association with the family – usually associated with time spent inside a backpack or when unwillingly used to test home-made base jumping equipment.  

Living in Darwin has meant that we annually make the pilgrimage east to see friends and family – that’s just part of the deal.  Darwin is also the gateway to Asia from Australia, and so we’ve also succumbed to the draw of exploring a few places on our doorstep. This, along with a trip to Europe about 5 years ago, has meant that Frankie and Arlo are fairly seasoned passengers having been introduced to it from an early age. But as we all know, traveling isn’t just about being able to sit in a plane or vehicle for hours on end without killing a sibling or being killed by a parent. Even so, at 9 & 7 Frankie and Arlo are pretty good at tolerating the waits, down-time, seemingly aimless walking, strange foods, foreign languages, stomach upsets, lugging of bags, uncomfortable boat/bus/plane/tram/train/taxi/tuktuk rides and occasionally exasperated parents. A successful adaptation has been the development of superior negotiation skills to secure a promise of icecream and/or soft drink, despite our frequent declarations that we are putting strict sanctions on this type of food.

Whether navigating an air, train or bus terminal; a busy boat wharf; or exploring a new city on foot, the inclusion of kids in the party often adds a new spice to these standard travel ingredients. Firstly, the kids walk at a pace that, once spotted, gives any street hawker, seller, hustler, taxi driver, pickpocket, promoter, corrupt official or general street thug enough time to identify, scout, recruit, rehearse, refine and execute their plan of attack – whatever that may be.

For example, when standing outside a museum in Santiago’s CBD trying to disassociate ourselves from the squads of other blatant tourists and a weather-beaten old man appears around a corner dragging a recalcitrant llama we know we must tighten into a defensive formation. Clearly the llama, all bedraggled with saddle, brightly coloured dress cloths, plaited and decorated mini-dreads and gold earrings and bells needs to join a stronger union. However, trying to deflect requests for my third born child in exchange for a photo opportunity of my first and second borns in the saddle of this fashionably confused beast while the kids are excitedly whooping, tugging on our sleeves and promising to clean their teeth when asked (after an icecream) if they can pleeeaaasssssssse sit on the back of the funny rug with legs. The weather-beaten man sees all this. So do his friends also controlling industrially exploited animals. He’s gleefully taking it in and hardening his resolve not to budge far from his initial asking price because this chubby white man and his wife will definitely give in to the demands of the mini ones – history says it is so.

We’re getting better though. The kids are learning that they are highly likely to encounter many more llamas around the next corners and so if we say ‘not this time’ there generally will be another opportunity in the near future. As parents, we’re also realizing that for some things it’s just easier to relent and allow them to get it out of their system (maybe this is our problem with the icecream??).