The age of exploration has a reputation as a brutal and bloody part of our history. For the most part, this reputation is largely deserved.

But there were explorers that did not use violence to fuel their expeditions. Here are 5 explorers, along with their inspiring stories.

1. Cabeza de Vaca

In 1528, 300 men landed in Florida. Over the next eight years, all were lost except Cabeza de Vaca and two others. They wandered thousands of miles across North America. Sometimes they starved. They were repeatedly taken prisoner by locals.

Cabeza de Vaca developed a great sympathy for the Native Americans he met along his journey. He traded between different tribes and claimed to be a healer. Along the way, he gained a large following that traveled with him.

Eventually, after reaching Mexico, Cabeza de Vaca found other Spaniards. By then, he was so changed that it was difficult for his countrymen to believe that he was Spanish. He was sent home – reaching Europe in 1537.

Later, he was made a governor and sent to South America to re-establish Buenos Aires after it had failed. His lack of success and his unusual sympathy for the natives fueled his enemies. He was arrested and sent back to Spain to be tried.

He was eventually cleared, but by that time his travels were over.

2. Ernest Shackleton

In 1909, Shackleton led an expedition that set the record for reaching the most southern latitude. This beat Robert Scott’s expedition several years earlier, of which Shackleton had been a member.

A couple years later, another explorer reached the pole. So, to reclaim his title, Shackleton decided to cross the entire continent, passing over the pole.

During his attempt, his ship was caught in the ice. He and his crew stayed with the ship. They hoped that it would eventually be released, but had to abandon it when the ice crushed the vessel. After a series of dangerous journeys by lifeboat, the crew was rescued with only three lives lost. Shackleton later published the adventure under the title South: The Endurance Expedition.

Shackleton once said, “Difficulties are just things to overcome, after all.”

3. Charles Marie de La Condamine

After seven years in the mountains of Peru and Ecuador, trying to measure a single degree of latitude, this French physicist explored the entire length of the Amazon basin.

Others had been to the Amazon region, but Condamine’s was the first scientific exploration. Condamine rafted the Amazon river from the Andes mountains to its mouth. He collected and investigated plants he found along the way that were unknown to European science.

After a 10 years journey, he returned to France a famous man.

4. Vitus Bering

Ordered in 1724 by Peter the Great to determine if North America was attached to Asia, Bering voyaged in the north Pacific and explored the furthest reaches of Russia.

He started by leading an expedition overland across Siberia. After hauling 72 tons of supplies (including cannon and anchors) across the continent, the expedition members built their ships on the coast. They explored the eastern edge of Asia, and reached the strait separating the two continents. However, Bering did not venture further; thus, he didn’t explore America. He returned to St. Petersburg in 1730.

He was later sent out again – this time to find America. After several years exploring Siberia, Bering’s expedition finished building new ships and set sail. The ships became separated in a storm. Bering’s ship sailed past Kodiak Island, and later became shipwrecked on another island (it was later named for him), where he died.

His remains were identified in 1991 by a team of archaeologists.

5. David Livingstone

At one time, Livingstone was Britain’s most famous African explorer. He spent decades wandering the continent, finding as many rivers, lakes, and mountains as he could.

His explorations were peaceful, but he did defend himself against hostile attack on at least one occasion. He was also critical of the Portuguese slave trading that he saw, even though this put him out of favor with the British royal family.

Livingstone also sought the source of the Nile. He disappeared into Africa and was not heard from for several years – until a New York newspaper hired Henry Morton Stanley to find him.

Stanley was successful, supposedly saying “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” at their first meeting. Livingstone and Stanley spent some time together before Stanley went back home and Livingstone continued his search.

Livingstone died, having failed in his search for the Nile’s source. His heart was buried in Africa and his body in Westminster Abbey.

He once said, “I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose.”

Any explorers we missed? Share your picks in the comments!

Community Connection

Who are some other travelers whose peaceful yet aspirational journeys you admire? Check out Ten Travels (and their Tales) that Made History, and then let us know your favorites!

Photo by Rileyroxx

When returning home from long trips abroad, I’m always surprised by how much has changed. Somehow, I seem to have a subconscious expectation that life was on pause – just waiting for me to come back and pick up where I left off.

Of course, that isn’t how it works.

I come back to find out that my circle of friends isn’t quite the same. Some people aren’t talking to each other anymore. Old couples have broken up, and new ones have formed. Old roommates have finished school and moved away.

Dealing with all this social upheaval can be confusing and emotionally draining. This is especially true when you are also readjusting in other ways, like relearning how to drive on the right side of the road.

Here are 6 ways to rekindle those friendships:

1. Work on your significant other first

If you went on your trip and left someone really important behind, you need to spend some quality time with him or her. Hopefully, you will both be overjoyed to see each other. But absence doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder.

If, for example, you’ve been studying abroad for the past year, things may seem awkward and distant until you get to know each other again.

Often, there can be a bit of resentment, buried and unspoken. You left! For a year!

Your friend or sweetheart won’t say it, but they might be wondering why you were the one traipsing around Europe while they kept to the routine back home. Even if you both agreed to the trip before you left, there were probably some times when they regretted letting you go.

Counteract any friction by planning small getaway trips for the two of you. A couple of weekend hiking trips can work wonders.

Check out a cultural exhibit at the museum. You can even rediscover your home town by researching it as if you were new to the area. Your friend will feel better about your travels after you include them in some smaller adventures.

2. Stay in touch with your new friends.

Make sure you get the e-mail addresses of friends who you met on the road. These are the people who will understand your reasons for traveling. Many of them have also made the choice to upset their lives and spend some time out in the world.

Send these travel buddies a message now and then. Share pictures from the trip. Find out where they are going next. Invite them to come visit you. Plan to visit them.

Even if you lost track of a few people back home while traveling, you will be busy enough keeping in touch with your new friends.

3. Don’t brag too much.

After returning from a year in Wales, I found it difficult to talk about anything other than my trip. Every conversation was an excuse to bring up another crazy story about my favorite Welsh pub.

Later, I realized that these stories didn’t matter much to my friends back home. They weren’t there. I learned to limit myself to mentioning my trip only when answering a direct question.

Unless they are travelers themselves, family and friends may not understand what your trip was all about. Some won’t want to hear about it. Some want only the one minute summary.

Some friends and family may be jealous, and others may think your journey was frivolous. Don’t worry about this too much, and don’t try to convince them to become enthusiastic about something in which they aren’t interested. Save the stories for those who really want to hear them.

4. Throw a party.

A great way to reconnect with friends back home is to invite everyone over to your place at once. This may seem like a splash of cold water, but a big party has several benefits.

A party gets you back in touch with many of your friends. This allows you to answer all
the inevitable questions at the same time instead of spread out over months. (Where is Wales anyway? Why don’t you have a British accent now?)

Plus, since the fiesta is explicitly a coming home party, you will be expected to talk about the trip and pass around photos.

This is your chance to share your enthusiasm. Get it all out of your system so that you don’t corner someone every week with an unwanted slideshow.

5. Don’t force it.

You don’t have to stay friends with everyone with whom you used to hang out. If you sense that someone isn’t very interested in spending time with you anymore, ask yourself how
much effort you honestly want to put forth.

Don’t feel bad if a few people have moved on without you. It happens. Most of us don’t socialize with all of the friends we once knew. (Think about all the high school friends who you don’t see anymore.)

Say “Hi” when you see old friends on the street, and don’t worry about growing apart. You are a different person now, and so are they.

Community Connection!

Have you just returned from a long trip? Are you dealing with reverse culture shock? You’re not the only one.

Get in touch with these travelers or join the discussion “Reverse Culture Shock Is A Bitch” in the Matador forums.

Happy Homecomings!

Photo by Orin Optiglot

The best memories of my recent trip to Ecuador come from the family in Quito that graciously opened their home to me.

After nearly two months of traveling, home-cooked meals and real beds with clean sheets were just what I needed. Plus, my host-family had lived in Quito for decades and were eager to share their city with me.

I had a deeper travel experience from watching how they lived, and I learned a lot about the city that you won’t find in guidebooks.

Staying with a host family can be such a great experience, it’s hard to know how to thank your hosts properly.

When you thank someone for letting you stay with them, make it more than a gesture. Staying in someone’s home while traveling can give you an intimate glimpse into how others live. Let them know how much it meant to you.

1. Earn Your Keep

Doing a few chores around the house or offering to do some of the cooking will always be appreciated.

Play to your strengths. If you’re a bit of a handyman, offer to fix their leaking faucet. If you’re tech-savvy, have a look at their aging computer.

Don’t make it too obvious, or your host will probably feel bad that their guest is doing housework. Be casual about it, don’t let them think of it as payment – and don’t break anything!

2. Quid Pro Quo

Return the favor by inviting your hosts to stay with you the next time they visit your part of the world. Make sure you leave them contact information that will still be good in a few years.

Then, if they do show up on your doorstep, do everything you can to make them feel as welcome as possible. Even if they never do make it to your neck of the woods, they will probably enjoy exchanging an occasional email.

If you enjoy playing the host, and want to make it into a regular thing, visit CouchSurfing. Sign up and start building your own network of international friends.

3. Share Your Memories

Most traveler’s carry a camera. Take a few group pictures with your hosts. When you develop those photos back home, make sure you send a few copies to your host family.

With most of us using digital cameras, the easiest (and cheapest) way to share photos is by e-mailing the files. However, mailing prints will probably be more appreciated.

Either print and mail them yourself, or upload the files to a website that will send the prints. I have used Winkflash, but there are many others.

4. Bring A Gift From Home

Gifts from your own hometown always go over well. Pack some small, nonbreakable gifts before leaving home. Find something that they are not likely to have where they live. On your last day with your host, give them something to remember you by.

Little flag pins or key-chains will work, but the best choice is something more personal. If you have a creative hobby, then give them a sample. Woodworkers, crafters, and other artists have many options.

5. Do Some Research

If you’re going to buy a gift locally, find out what items are considered appropriate in the culture you’re visiting. A certain color of flower may look great to you, but giving it out of the proper cultural context can be an insult to locals.

Some seemingly harmless gift items may be associated with funerals and death. Often guidebooks can give you advice on local taboos. Better yet, ask around the neighborhood market for ideas.

There might be other local customs regarding gifts. Make the effort to know these ahead of time. For example, if you know that in some cultures it’s polite to initially refuse a gift, you won’t be worried when your host turns down your gift the customary number of times.

Research helps here, but don’t worry so much about offending someone that you freeze up and become overly formal. As a foreign guest, you won’t be expected to know every little detail about local etiquette.

6. Treat Your Hosts

Take the family to a movie. Take them to a museum. Ask them which local restaurant is their favorite, and then make reservations.

Even though they may have constant access to the sights in their city, they probably don’t take advantage of them as often as they would like.

Something as simple as going to the bar where your host is a regular gives them a chance to show you off a little to their friends. Remember, you are just as exotic to the local as they are to you.

7. Don’t Overdo It

Expensive gifts and shameless gushing will only make your host uncomfortable. They are not expecting money or jewelry, and will turn them down.

Friendship, interesting conversation and the satisfaction of being a good host are what they really want, so keep smiling and always say thank you!

What are some ideas you’ve used to say thanks? Share in the comments!