“Spring is the most promising and prettiest season. Color, beauty, and fragrance befall nature and dominate our senses. Spring means a fresh start, a new chapter; a reset in the world. There is hope, there is a promise, there is a breath of fresh air. The days grow longer, with opportunity, quality time, and smiles. Anything seems possible again as new life emerges and with it our belief in positive changes on a personal or universal level.
I’d like to say, as a nomad for almost two decades, that I search for spring year-round. Mentally and metaphorically, definitely. But physically and geographically, this would be a lie. While we have occasionally and accidentally followed spring around the world, it is eternal summer that we pursue during our travels. Summer is not as elaborate as spring, but it is certainly inspired and encouraged by it.”
Author bio
Liesbet Collaert’s articles and photos have been published internationally. Born in Belgium, she has been a nomad since 2003 with no plans to settle anytime soon. Her love of travel, diversity, and animals is reflected in her lifestyle choices of sailing, RVing, and house and pet sitting. Liesbet calls herself a world citizen and currently lives “on the road” in North America with her husband and rescue dog. Follow her adventures at www.roamingabout.com and read her travel memoir Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary for a compelling, unique, intimate, and refreshingly honest account of life aboard a 35-foot sailboat in the tropics; the joys, the challenges; and anything in between.
Book blurb: Plunge
Tropical waters turn tumultuous in this travel memoir as a free-spirited woman jumps headfirst into a sailing adventure with a new man and his two dogs.
Join Liesbet as she faces a decision that sends her into a whirlwind of love, loss, and living in the moment. When she swaps life as she knows it for an uncertain future on a sailboat, she succumbs to seasickness and a growing desire to be alone.
Guided by impulsiveness and the joys of an alternative lifestyle, she must navigate personal storms, trouble with US immigration, adverse weather conditions, and doubts about her newfound love.
Does Liesbet find happiness? Will the dogs outlast the man? Or is this just another reality check on a dream to live at sea?
Have you ever wondered how life could be if you had made different choices? If you didn’t marry early, commit to a large loan for the house, focus on your career, or start a family?
Maybe you’re just curious about how a person thinking outside the box manages? A person without boundaries, striving to be flexible, happy, and free.
What you are about to read is how one such person follows her dreams, no, her intuition, and how she survives her naivety, life-altering twists, and a relationship in close quarters.
Plunge is a story of what happens when you go with the flow, when you have a bright idea – or thought you had one – and ride the waves of the unknown.
Purchase Links Plunge
For general info on my blog, including free chapters, reviews, and purchase links: https://www.roamingabout.com/about-plunge/
To buy on Amazon (universal link): https://amzn.to/3jZRrpm
For eBook versions worldwide: https://books2read.com/plungememoir
For paperback distributors worldwide: https://www.ingramspark.com/how-it-works/distribute
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/55848458-plunge-one-woman-s-pursuit-of-a-life-less-ordinary
Liesbet, I admire your sense of adventure. It takes courage to live as a nomad since 2003, you have understood what is important to you and followed your heart. Your photos express well your free life. Your life sounds very interesting. I wish you much success with your book.
*****
Allow me to add my book adventures with yours.
Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble
Valentina Expressions 
May 04, 2022 @ 12:18:40
Sounds like an exciting adventure. The real meaning of freedom.
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May 05, 2022 @ 03:46:26
Hi Sharon! Thank you for the visit. I often tell people that we are rich in time and freedom instead of rich in the financial sense. It’s all a trade-off. 🙂
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May 05, 2022 @ 05:53:23
Both things, time and freedom are very precious.
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May 04, 2022 @ 04:11:21
Wonderful, Valentina! I’m really enjoying spring this year. Thank you so much for featuring me this week. I wish you much enjoyment as the days get longer and warmer and more colorful? 🙂
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May 04, 2022 @ 04:33:36
I truly enjoyed featuring you and your book. You are an inspiration.
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May 05, 2022 @ 14:10:29
Oh, thank you, Valentina. That is very kind to say.
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May 04, 2022 @ 01:43:19
Valentina, that is quite an adventure post about Liesbet. I admire her for following her dreams, no matter where they took her, or with who accompanied her. An interesting alternate life, nicely presented. 📚🎶Christine
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May 04, 2022 @ 04:30:51
I totally agree with you Christine, she is very inspiring. Thanks for the visit.
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May 04, 2022 @ 14:10:43
Hi Christine!
Thank you for chiming in. Life on the road isn’t always easy, but the challenges are worth it. Although I do sometimes crave a bit more comfort. 🙂
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May 05, 2022 @ 00:33:32
Liesbet, comfort comes with challenges too. Especially home ownership. Maintenance, mortgage and taxes are costly. But, I know what you mean, life on the road is a lot of traveling and constant change. 📚🎶
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May 05, 2022 @ 03:44:58
Yes! And always being careful with water, hunting for internet to be able to work and stay in touch with loved ones, and dealing with a lot of uncertainty regarding where to sleep and where to shop. 🙂 Different challenges than owning a house and much cheaper to live, for sure.
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May 05, 2022 @ 05:51:52
I am sure you must get creative every day to find a new place to stay until your next destination.
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May 05, 2022 @ 14:12:14
We have a free app for that and usually picking a spot the same afternoon works out okay. Sometimes, when the description sounds a bit iffy, we pick a back-up spot. We always camp for free in the US, without facilities. It’s called boondocking or wild camping. We love it – to be in nature by ourselves. 🙂
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May 05, 2022 @ 15:31:22
You must be an expert after 20 years of roaming about.
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May 05, 2022 @ 06:08:31
Hopefully you are staying in one place with good weather for a few months, than moving on to another good weather place. Avoiding extreme cold or extreme hot. I should read more about your travels to understand your “free” lifestyle. Sounds interesting. 📚🎶 Christine
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May 05, 2022 @ 14:15:21
Yes, we “follow the birds” and migrate south each winter. These past 3.5 months, we explored the Baja California peninsula, Mexico, in our truck camper. In the past we’ve spent winters in Florida and the US Southwest.
And, previously when on our sailboat, we lived and sailed in the tropics year round. Now, we are heading north in the US again and are in the midst of a transition, switching camper, hopefully in Idaho. 🙂
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May 05, 2022 @ 17:00:41
A weather specific move around the US & Mexico! That sounds very smart. Sounds like a chosen lifestyle that fits you. High energy & sharp thinking to adapt to different environments and even cultures. Happy, safe, traveling! Thank you for the travel details. 📚🎶 Christine
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May 04, 2022 @ 00:21:24
Fantastic post from Liesbet. Yes, she’s a busy girl chasing spring and summer wherever she goes. Love the blooms of Mexico. ❤
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May 04, 2022 @ 00:38:00
I wished I had Liesbet’s courage to live a frugal life around the world. How wonderful it is to get to know her.
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May 04, 2022 @ 04:12:13
Thanks, dear Debby. Did you see some spring blooms in PV?
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May 04, 2022 @ 14:36:03
I saw many, except I’ve never been there and not seen beautiful blooms. Eternal spring? 🙂
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