Meet the Nomads: Debra Corbeil

Whenever I get home from a trip, my friends would ask me if there were also women traveling the world. And to their disbelief, I'd always say yes, individual women of all ages, couples and families are also traveling and backpacking the world. Deb is one of them.

Deb and her husband Dave have been married for 12 years. Both of them have a strong passion for traveling. They've been to 5 continents discovering new ways in seeing the world. If you want to know more about Deb and her adventures, visit her at http://theplanetd.com/.

Below is Flip's short interview with Deb.

How did you discover your passion for travelling?

"I was a singer in my past life and was lucky enough to have some awesome gigs overseas. I sang on a cruise ship in Guam and in a nightclub in Japan. I sang in Florida and across Canada. It ignited a passion for travel at a young age and I couldn't wait to explore more. At that time, I was very interested in collecting stamps on my passport so that kept me motivated to keep on traveling. In time, the stamps became less important, but the want for travel never subsided."

What’s the most horrible experience that you’ve had on the road?

"My experience was during the Tour d'Afrique. A 12,000km cycling race from Cairo to Cape Town. I crashed and cut my leg. It wasn't a large cut, but it was the rainy season in Tanzania and it quickly became infected. By the next morning my leg had swelled up to twice the size. At first the tour doctor thought that I broke my leg, but after a trip to the hospital in a small village we found out that I had a serious infection. The antibiotics didn't take and it turned into cellulitis and the infection spread from my ankle to my hip. It was the most painful experience of my life and I was stuck camping outside in the rain with this terrible infection. I had to ride in a bumpy truck from Camp to Camp for 10 days until it finally healed. 2 Trips to the hospital, several different types of antibiotics and a lot of painkillers and I was finally able to ride my bike again. I was on antibiotics and painkillers until the end of the tour for another month and a half. I was miserable, depressed and in a lot of pain. If I knew just how serious cellulitus could be, I would have caught a flight to Cape Town for treatment, but instead I suffered. Luckily Dave was there to take care of me every step of the way."

What’s the most outstanding travel experience that you’ve ever had?

"Making it to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. We just climbed to Everest Base Camp last week, but it wasn't nearly as exciting as summiting Mount Kilimanjaro. It is a beautiful climb that takes 6 days. The summit push is one of the most difficult things I have done in my life, but it was also the most exhilarating experience of my life. It is not normal to experience a lot of pride in oneself, but when I finished that climb, I felt pretty proud of myself for going through with the challenge and conquering my fears."

What’s the biggest realization that you’ve got out of travelling?

"Just how lucky we are. When we travel, my heart seems to break on a regular basis for the struggles that other cultures and people of the world have to go through. I often ask myself, who up there chooses where people are going to be born. In Canada and many other developed countries, we are instantly born with a silver spoon in our mouths. We have the possibility for success. And we are given every opportunity to be the best that we can be. We are encouraged to have dreams and goals and we are taught that the sky is the limit.

In many countries, it is so difficult to climb out of poverty, people with disabilities have very little hope, women and children suffer and people have to work so hard. People suffer through war, famine, drought and disease. Many people suffer on a daily basis.

We have it so easy in Canada and Dave and I never take that for granted."

What keeps you going? What keeps you motivated?

"We keep each other motivated. The two of us are always inspiring each other to try new things. We mix it up to keep things interesting. We go on adventures, do some sightseeing, check out museums, eat good food and then relax on beaches. We never get bored.

We do get exhausted sometimes, but we have finally learned to slow down a bit and enjoy the days of doing nothing while we travel.

Running the travel blog has changed our motivations a lot now too. We have more of a purpose to our travels. We love writing and taking photographs as much as the travel. We have always heard of those people that love their jobs and would never quit even if they had the chance. Well, we are one of them now. We love traveling and writing about it and sharing our adventures with whoever wants to read about it. We are not only traveling for ourselves now, we are traveling with a purpose.

There are so many places in the world to see still and we don't want to stop until we can't go anymore."

This is a silly and hypothetical one. If you would be given a chance to travel with a popular person or a celebrity, who would it be and why?

"Definitely Angelina Jolie. I even loved her years ago when she wasn't as famous as now. I remember reading an article in Vanity Fair (or something like that) and she talked about how she stays up all night looking at her Atlas and maps trying to decide where to go next. She has been doing so much good in the world and I would love to tag along. Unlike so many other celebrities, I really don't think that she went into her aid work for attention. She started working with the UNCHR far before it became fashionable. Now everyone is copying her and she can't help it that the media is constantly following her around. I am a big fan."

Among the places that you’ve been to, which one fascinated you the most?

"Every country fascinates me in different ways. We were just talking about this with another traveler the other day. A big question that people ask is what if your favorite destination and that is impossible to answer too. I love different things about different places. And I have to say that many places have fascinated me.

Machu Picchu is fascinating because it was an entire civilization built high in the mountains, Tikal is amazing because giant pyramids jut out of the earth covered with dirt and vegetation. I am fascinated with the pinnacles of Borneo and wonder how these rock formations were formed in the middle of the Jungle. Sometimes cultures fascinate me with their strong beliefs and long standing traditions and other times Mother Nature fascinates me with her gift of creating beautiful landscapes and awe inspiring sites. When I travel, I am fascinated almost every day."

What's the best travel advice that you could give for a novice traveler like me?

"Do your research. Check out the places that you are interested in traveling to and find out what you want to see and then just go there and see it. Don't book a tour or a vacation package. You will save a lot of money and you will have a far more enriching experience. Just buy your ticket to the country of your choice, arm yourself with the information you have researched about sites, activities and adventure and start exploring. Stay flexible and open to anything and you will have an excellent time."

What do you think about yourself?

"What do I think about myself. I think I'm great!!! haha...just kidding. That is a tough question. As a traveler I am always an observer thinking about the experience. Well, I think that I am very emotional. When I see things, I have a difficult time turning off my feelings."

"ThePlanetd is a blog about the adventures of Dave and Deb. We love to show people that you don't have to be a world class athlete or extreme explorer to go out and have your own adventure of a lifetime. Dave and I are your average every day people that have decided to some extraordinary things in the eyes of others. But really anyone can do it and we love to share our trials and tribulations with the world. We love sharing our struggles and accomplishments and hope that people enjoy the truth and rawness that we tell our stories." - Deb