I am at Seattle Airport, waiting for my flight on Icelandair, leaving at 4:30 PM. It has been a seamless journey so far -- no canceled flights, I had a row all to myself from LAX. The only snag is that I got a special bank account to use on my trips through Capitol One -- they don't charge for foreign transactions -- and I left it at home. Thankfully I brought my Credit Union ATM card, so I won't have a repeat of what happened in Cairo! I feel rather dumb. I put it in a special pouch I was going to wear around my neck and, this morning, decided to leave that behind. Aggh!!

On Saturday I am joining a group of women for a knitting course, learning to make mittens in the Icelandic style. It lasts for 4 days and we will also get a chance to go to a local craft fair and visit the Craft Museum. A couple of English ladies have reached out and want to have dinner on Friday night! We will be meeting at Icelandic Fish and Chips -- they have a page on Facebook and a web site. Check it out!



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Back to Africa

Elaine and me in Cape Town, South Africa


Elaine and I decided to extend our trip with a 3 day stay in Cape Town, South Africa. It was a great idea. We were still with OAT , although we were in a smaller group . Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities I've seen: beautiful coastline and Table Mountain looking over it all. We went up to the top of Table Mountain in an ariel cable car that revolved to take in the whole view. Once on top, there were several walkways and the opportunity to see the little Dassies, small rodents whose closest relative is the elephant(!).

Dassie!

Coming back down the mountain we passed a group of baboons hanging out at a picnic area, but we steered clear. The guide told us that a baboon bite is more dangerous than a venomous snake bite -- the baboons will bite then twist, tearing muscle. There were a lot of stupid tourists coming close to take photos, but we all stayed in the van.

The next stop was along the coast to view the jackass penguins. I love penguins and these were no exception. Everyone had to stay on the elevated walkway so as not to disturb the natural habitat. I watched the penguins stop to look at the people, who had stopped to look at the penguins. I wonder who had the most fun...

We also visited a township. Townships were created back in the old Apartheid days, as places to live for the non-white population. Many people still live there and they conduct tours, though I felt very uncomfortable going through some of the homes. The guide said they open their houses so you can see how they live, but it seemed very intrusive to me. At that time, several families shared a home with a communal kitchen and eating area. There was an area of bigger, single occupancy homes that the guide called "Beverly Hills", and there were some areas not so nice -- cardboard huts with no running water. One lady was selling beaded necklaces from her hut and, of course, I bought a few. (At the end of the trip, our guide said, of all the tours he had led, no one had bought as much as I did. I told him I couldn't resist the beauty of all I saw...)

I'm shopping!

That was my last trip with OAT. I had found another group, Explore, that Estelle recommended and now I was committed to taking at least one big trip a year.

Traveling = me

Me in London, England, 1976

I have never written down my travel history. I know which countries and cities I've visited, but I don't remember when or in what order. I've been trying to go back to put places into some order, but I still have gaps! I thought it was important to figure this out, because each trip has had something new to teach me. There have been many experiences that have brought me to this place -- travel is what makes me me.

It took me a lot of time and trouble to figure out how to travel in a way it fit my life. I knew I only had a few weeks every year because of my job. I also had to schedule trips that guaranteed that I would be home on a certain date because of my job. I knew I liked to discover places on my own, but I also knew I enjoyed meeting like-minded people and liked having transportation and hotels booked for me for part of my trip. Being a single woman, I was a bit leery of going out alone at night in some places and traveling with a group opened up a lot more opportunities to discover the night life, an essential part of many cities!

The OAT group was a good beginning, but didn't really work for me. Through Estelle, I found the companies I have traveled with ever since that African trip. They are based in Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They limit the group to 15 or fewer and the people are from many different countries and encompass all ages. Because of these trips, I have good friends all over the world, and, because of email and Facebook, have kept in contact with most of them.

I have read a lot of books and blogs written by "nomads", people who travel full time, most of them making a living from writing about their travels (some more successful than others). I have been tempted by that life, but I don't have that much courage. I also have wonderful friends and a fabulous sister, who I would miss very much. So, I have become a nomad, part time, until I have the opportunity and the means to make traveling a larger part of my life. It works for me very well for now, but I dream of having the freedom to stay somewhere open ended, not having to return on a specific date. And, in a few years, I will.

Africa? Really?

Elaine, me and a cheetah

This is how I got to Africa. My friend, Elaine, called me one afternoon. She had just gotten a brochure from OAT. "They have a great trip to Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa! I showed it to John (her husband) and he said, "Why don't you ask MaryJo??"

Of course, I said yes! Elaine and I had already traveled together on a baseball tour (we are both big fans) and I knew it would be perfect. We would be there in winter here, which is summer there, as we were traveling to the Southern Hemisphere. We booked the flight so we would have a lay over in Manhattan. Elaine had gotten tickets to "The Lion King" on Broadway. Very fitting, we thought. There was the complication of being in the snow in Manhattan and the heat in Zimbabwe, but we brought hats and scarves to be abandoned at the airport. The show was impressive and we were ready to get on the plane the next day.

As we started to land, I felt a thrill as I looked out the window -- I was flying over Africa! About to land! The tour itinerary was mostly in the jungles, staying in National Parks and going out everyday to try to see the big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino. I never saw a rhino or a leopard in the wild, but saw plenty of other animals -- wildebeests, hippos, giraffe and zebra.

I had started to work in sound effects recording by then and wished I'd brought some kind of recorder. One night in Botswana, we were in the furthest tent from the camp and the nightly activity sounded amazing! Lions, hyenas and some poor animal (maybe) getting caught -- crazy...

Broken down Jeep getting rescued

Another night the group went out in 2 jeeps to possibly see the nocturnal activity in the park. The jeeps at the camps were not all that reliable and would break down on a regular basis. We got stuck in the middle of nowhere and we all got out to push to jump start the engine. The third time this happened, as we all jumped out, lightening hit. I glanced over and saw a herd of impala watching us, as if to say, "What a bunch of idiots!" It was decided to head back to camp. The engine almost died a few more times, but the driver got us back just as the rain started to pour. Elaine and I headed straight for the bar, still soaking wet, to fortify our nerves, Elaine with a beer and me with a tall glass of Amarula, a strawberry flavored liqueur also known as "elephant juice.

Yum!


The group was somewhat the same as the trip to India. Mostly older people who wanted comfort. (One morning, in the middle of the jungle, a woman remarked, "I guess I'll never get a soft boiled egg....")

The "kitchen" at camp

We ended the trip with a extended stay in Cape Town. More on Africa next time.

More on India

Ellen and me in India



I was overwhelmed by India,even though I was limited to what I saw from the bus and where the tour was scheduled to stop. It was all so beautiful, so ancient. I thought, what did the British first think when they got here and saw the ornate buildings, forts and temples? Were they as amazed as I was?

Pushkar Fair (photo by Ellen G.)


I was changed during that trip. I was smitten by the place -- in love, I guess -- and so, so hungry for more. I talked to my friend, Estelle, when I returned, telling her about how frustrating it was not to be able to explore on my own, to eat in the little cafes and poke around local stores and markets we passed on the bus. She was the one to tell me about the various tour groups she had discovered that allowed for a lot of free time and appealed to a wider clientele. They were based in other countries, England, Australia, Canada, and, although they were also small groups, the age range was much more varied. In the US, it seems like people travel around the world when they get out of college or when they retire. In other countries, everyone travels, no matter the age or the economic situation. She told me about an English company, Explore, where she'd booked a lot of her trips. That led me to the local tour broker, Adventure Center, in northern California, but more about them later.

My next adventure started with a call from my friend, Elaine. We had been roommates when I was hired to work as a costumer for the Los Angeles Olympic committee in 1984. It was an invitation to join her on a trip to Africa. That story tomorrow...

More is not enough

India is an explosion to all your senses. The colors of the clothing, buildings, sign posts are all bright, gorgeous jewel tones. The smells are intoxicating, spicy, smoky, full of flavor. The heat is intense, but not unbearable. You either love or hate India. As my friend, Estelle, put it, "In India, more is not less, more is not enough!"

I arrived around midnight in New Delhi. Outside the airport were hundreds of people waiting for travelers. They were illuminated by strong orange city lights -- kind of eerie. We were met by our guide and taken by bus to our hotel. The group was mostly made up of retired couples from around the US -- Texas, New York, Ohio. I met a single woman who would end up being a good friend (we keep in touch still), Ellen. She and I would end up being paired up for most experiences.

The hotel was very modern and very Western. Ellen and I wanted to take a stroll around the neighborhood, but were discouraged by the guide. The rest of the tour was much the same. I did get to see the highlights of India, the Taj Mahal, the Ganges, Jaipur and we got to go to the Pushkar Camel Fair, an annual event with Ferris Wheels, acrobats and stalls selling everything from cooking pots to puppets. The mornings were early ("Call time, 5 AM?"), but I saw a lot of sights. I knew, however, that was not really the way I wanted to travel.

India was a life changing experience for me. I came home a different person, not so caught up in the problems of daily life or interpersonal squabbles. I had a kind of peace from being in a place so immersed in spirituality. It was my own experience, I know, and I also know I was ready for it.

Starting off

I have always had a passion for travel. When I was a kid, reading "Mary Poppins" and listening to "My Fair Lady", I had a burning desire to see England -- of course, loving the Beatles didn't hurt that at all!

I finally got to England when I was in my 20's. It did not disappoint. I saw most of the things I had dreamed about, but, more importantly, it flipped a switch that has been driving me ever since -- the passion and joy in seeing new places, new cultures and meeting people whose life experience was so different, yet so similar to mine. I was working full time by then, only getting, at most, two weeks of vacation a year. I dreamed of a career in travel and sought out airline jobs and looked at being a travel agent. Nothing came of that, but I continued to travel.

At first, I stuck to Europe. I went back to England a few times, spent some time in Paris, Amsterdam and Germany. I signed up for a summer course to learn German in Salzburg, Austria (I had taken German in high school and college). It was my first time staying in one place for a couple of weeks and I loved it. I took an extra week off of work to do this so I could travel through Germany and back to England before going home. It was exhilarating traveling on my own; before this I had taken group tours, leery of traveling "without a net" in a foreign country. My German was good enough to book the train and converse with my landlady at the hotel in Cologne, and my confidence bloomed.

In a few years, I decided I wanted to see India. I loved the cuisine, the beautiful saris and wanted to experience something vastly removed from my own culture. I was still wary of traveling on my own, especially in a place where I didn't know the language or the customs. I called my friend, Estelle, who had traveled extensively through India, China, Africa and Papua New Guinea, for advice. "Eat only foods that are baked, boiled or in a peel" and "Drink bottled water" were her messages. I found a group called "Overseas Adventure Travel", an American company that specialized in small groups (16 or less) and traveled to the more exotic locals.

Tomorrow, my adventure in India.