After a literal hiatus of about a year and a half for the Atlas Vagabonds, we are back, stronger than ever with a new and vital addition to our tribe- Tallulah Moon. That’s right, for those who missed it in real life or on the socials that consume our scrolling, ahem, ‘down’ time, I made another human! We are now a fortunate family of four!

‘Leaping Waters’ Whitrod: moon rising and building momentum in the calm before the storm! Image captured by photographer Kahdi Shah

Tallulah means “Leaping Waters” which is exactly how this girl entered the world. Born under a waxing moon and at home and in a calm pool of water, this little woman surprised us all by leaping from the womb “en caul” – with the amniotic sac still ballooning around her head like an astronaut in her own sea. As I brought her up out of the water and into my arms, her own water world still buoyantly danced around her sweet face and body. Our midwife gently pulled the caul up over her back and head. The pressure broke the waters. Her little ocean washed down over us, the there a sweet moon face was revealed!

It was a sublime birth and I feel incredibly lucky that it all went so well for both Tallulah and me. Rolling with that fortune, and the luck that surrounds her auspicious birth en caul, we have drawn up the draft for our next travel masterpiece- Atlas Vagabonds 2.0: Moon Rising!

In July this year (yep, under a waxing moon), the Atlas Vagabonds will dust off the passports, don the backpacks once more, and jet set for a new style of adventure- lifestyle immersion in foreign lands! It will be less vagabondy– in fact, we will find a home!  But it will be a new home, for about 3 months, in a new country each time.

Last time with young Atlas, we jumped through country and continent with relative ease.  He was tiny, definitely not a toddler, and there was one of him. We ate steak in Argentina, bathed with babes in Brazil, bounced around the USA, Mexico, Canada and Alaska before basking in the European summer and chasing the sun to Asia before heading home. But that was with ONE kid. We get it.

Atlas Vagabonds 1.0

2 adults: 1 baby

We got this! circa 2017

With two kids, there’s no way we want to move that fast. We still want to create wild memories of mat leave through new cultural experiences, but this time we’ll include a little routine and consistency- for the sanity of each human involved.

Our first home will be in Montreal, Canada. We hit this city up in 2017, and in only one week, it took our breath away with its summer buzz and social prowess. We knew we needed more, so we’re going back, this time with a 2 bed apartment to live in and an open invite to our friends, family and more than anyone, the generous people who hosted us across the globe in our first vagabond adventure.

2017 street life in Montreal

Comedy festivals

Our hood this year

For us it meant so much- not only to get a good night’s sleep in the comfort of homes in which we felt safe, but to have our travels so obviously enriched by those people with whom we chinked glasses, sat with on the couch and waxed evenings away. Across the planet, people showed us their home, their town, their culture and lifestyle. We are forever grateful for that, and since we’ve noticed it’s hard for folk to make it all the way to little old Darwin, Australia, we have an open door policy for all the good people out there who wanna hit up Montreal… and beyond!

So where’s beyond? Well after the Autumn leaves have fallen in Quebec and the visa waiver system has squeezed us out, we plan to head off to warmer climes in Nicaragua. Finn Atlas will have a chance to hone in on his Spanish skills and we will be united with an old mate from college who has been living the dream for 9 years, running his own surf and yoga retreat. Again, we will have a home to house our friends and rellies, so seriously, think about it. Surf. Yoga. Tropical Christmas and New Year. You know you want it, so message me! I’ll book you in 😉

While the rest of the design of this globetrot is indeed drafted out, we can’t give it all away in the first chapter! We really just wanted to give you a hook to come join us! The reality is, each step we take and the experiences we have in one place will influence the way we then move to the next. It will shape the direction we go in and the speed with which we get there. No doubt we will surprise and bewilder ourselves in equal measures. There is no denying that traveling with a child had it’s challenges in 2017. So let’s face it: traveling with two children will be crushing! But the in-between bits, the bits outside of airport security lines and the long haul flights…. well those are the gems that we seek and will find.

Stay with us. We’ll keep you posted.

Our tribe. Captured by brilliant photographer Kahdi Shah- google her!