Adeline and Richard Vigourt went around the world with their two children, Louise and Martin, for 10 months. They came back two months early because of the global health crisis but they had time to visit a good part of the planet and they tell it in their blog. Adeline, the mom, answered our questions about this incredible family adventure

How did the idea of doing this world tour with your family come about?

Adeline Vigourt: "I've dreamed of going around the world since I was little and with my husband we travelled a lot before having our children. So when we had them, we immediately wanted to travel with them. And they took their first long-distance mail not even a year apart! It's really a family passion. And then we saw families who were traveling around the world and it made us want to. We said to ourselves: "It's time to go now, we've got to go, let's stop putting it off for one reason or another... So we left in mid-June 2019, but for ten months instead of twelve because we were repatriated because of the Covid when we were in South Africa. We returned to France in April 2020."

Why did you call your blog Chaloumar 360?

Adeline Vigourt: "It starts with the first names of our three children, Charlotte, Louise and Martin, and 360, because it represented a year's travel and also a circumnavigation of the Earth since we had left to travel around the five continents. My daughter Charlotte unfortunately passed away, but we wanted to include her in the name of our site. As for Louise and Martin, they were 9 and 6 years old at the time of our departure to go around the world. »

The children were immediately enthusiastic about the idea of going around the world?

Adeline Vigourt: "They've always liked to travel, to move and what they liked is that we always included them in the project. We really asked them what they wanted to see and discover because we wanted them to be able to realize their dreams during this trip. »

What was your itinerary?

Adeline Vigourt: "We started with ten days in the Galapagos. It started out very strong! It was sublime. Then we went to Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile, Easter Island, Polynesia, New Zealand and Australia, which we covered in a van. Then we went to Asia, we started with Myanmar, then Cambodia, the Philippines... Then we were to continue our journey in Africa, starting with South Africa, but we had to return home because of the Covid crisis. On average, we stayed three weeks in each destination, except Australia, where we stayed for two months. »

To move around in each country, how did you work?

Adeline Vigourt: "We took a lot of public transport, especially buses, and especially night buses, which we tested everywhere. We also took a few domestic flights and we also rented scooters and tuk-tuks in Asia. The goal was to live locally and integrate into the population. We realize that in ten months of travel we have seen extraordinary landscapes but what really remains are the encounters with the locals. And we really fed off the smiles of the people. »

Which encounters have marked you the most?

Adeline Vigourt: "There were plenty of them, but we had the most beautiful encounters in Ecuador. We went to see a community that is completely self-sufficient, we spent a day with them, prepared meals with them. And the exchanges were fantastic. »

Is traveling with children complicated?

Adeline Vigourt: "For us, it was never a problem to travel with children and we did it from a very young age. Obviously, we paid attention to the health aspects but we didn't have any particular difficulties. The children have a very great capacity to adapt. And at 6 and 9, they were very flexible, even when the food was very different, and they always liked these travel experiences in the end, even when it seemed a little bit obvious at first."

And what advice do you have for those who want to go around the world like you, after the health crisis of course?

Adeline Vigourt: "We took some rather radical decisions... We sold everything, our house, our business... My husband took a year's sabbatical and I resigned. And we left. And we never regretted it! The hardest thing is to make the decision in the end, and once the decision is made, it's easy! In the end, the right moment may never really come and it's up to us to provoke it. Since our return to France, we have been living in a furnished house that we rent in Toulouse and we travel to France with a motorhome that we bought on our return. But we hope to go on another trip abroad as soon as it is possible again, maybe in 2021! »

Listen to the entire interview in the podcast with Adeline Vigourt from the blog Chaloumar 360

To follow the adventures of this family around the world: https://chaloumar360.com