Feature
. with Okotoks couple and National Geographic Travellers of The Year for 2014, Dalene & Peter Heck
Q. In 2009. you both moved from your Okotoks, Alberta home, boarding a plane for South America and haven’t looked back.What motivated you to make such a move?
A1. We had always talked about doing long- term travel, but as you might expect, fear and endless "what ifs" had always held us back. And then in 2007, a series of tragic events forced us to think about the fragility of life, and what we wanted most out of our own. The answer was to sell everything and embark on the life of our dreams, we could no longer come up with any logical reasons not to! Since then, we haven't looked back.
Q. When the trip first began, did you imagine you would still be on the road 5 years later?
A2. When we started out we really had no clue what would happen, and especially could have never anticipated that we would still be going five years later! But we learned in the first year that our thirst for travel is clearly insatiable, and now that we've managed to create location-independent businesses to continue funding our lifestyle, we can travel the world with much more ease and we have no end in sight.
Q.What has been the hardest part of adjusting to a life of constant travel? And the best part?
A3. The hardest (but most rewarding) part of adjusting to this lifestyle is getting used to living with what we can carry. It means cycling through a slim wardrobe and needing to replace things often, but at the same time it taught us that we really don't need much at all. The best part has been the impact on our marriage - being together 24/7 also took some heavy adjustment in the beginning, but now we are happier than we ever thought possible.
12 Bridge – lethbridge’s lifestyle magazine
Hecktic Travellers Dalene and Peter Heck - Ephesus Turkey.
Q. You were named National Geographic Travellers of the Year for 2014, was that something you would have ever expected? Has anything changed since then?
A4. Never in a million years could we have anticipated such an incredible honour from National Geographic! We are still in a bit of shock that it happened, but completely overjoyed nonetheless. It has caused some subtle changes - we admittedly aren't pursuing much with this "badge of honour" considering that we are in love with our life as is - but it has opened up some opportunities and helped us sharpen our focus for our blog and our upcoming travels.
Q. If you could impart one piece of wisdom to our readers from your adventures, what would it be?
A5. We have so many people who send us emails saying "we would love to do what you are doing, BUT..." and our answer is
Catch up with Dalene & Peter on their blog
hecktictravels.com
always this: there will always be a million excuses NOT to do what you want, but you just have to make the leap. Whether it's into travel, starting a new business, moving to a new city, or whatever - when you really think hard about the fragility of life, it's a wonder that we all aren't doing more to pursue our dreams. We had a lot of doubts in the beginning too, but knew that taking the chance would be something we would never
regret. And we were right!B
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