We had been hoping to catch the train around the top of the Italian Adriatic Coast and cross over into Slovenia on our way to Croatia but it turned out that was much more difficult than we expected. Another issue was the continuing bad weather in Croatia. Since we were going there to do outdoorsy…
Category: 2016
Post SAS – Part I – Italy – Finally!
After 105 days on Semester at Sea, we said good-bye to our shipboard home and friends in Southampton, England. It was difficult to say goodbye to all our friends and our special home aboard the World Explorer. It was time to go back to reality…but not quite yet. We decided to take another month and…
Why SAS? Why have we gone again and again…and again?
As the end of our 3rd Semester at Sea (SAS) voyage nears, we keep reflecting on the question of why we keep returning to this program. There are so many ways to see the world – so why SAS? The main reason we chose SAS is because of the tight community – on this voyage…
Morocco – Second visit for us and a nice surprise!
Way back in 2009 when the boys were just 5 and 6, we visited Morocco during Ramadan and spent our time in Casablanca and Marrakech. The scorching weather and lack of food and water from sunrise to sunset due to Ramadan meant everyone in the country was a little cranky and inserted a slightly distorted…
Ghana – Life in a rural village!
Once again, Ghana stands out as one of our most memorable ports – this time because of Fredrick Benneh Frimpong and our 4 day homestay in Senase village. Fred is a 25 year old Ghanaian from Senase and currently finishing his studies in the US. He flew back to Ghana from San Francisco just for…
South Africa – A Pleasant Return but Troubling Undercurrents
After 5 nights and 4 full days of safari (and eating), we were ready to return to reality. We were tired of sitting in the safari jeeps and boats and just wanted to have our own schedule (when we did not need to get up at 5:30 a.m.) and get some exercise. Cape Town provided…
Botswana – Awesome Safari!!
From Victoria Falls, it was an easy 2-3 hour drive to Chobe Game Preserve in Botswana. We stayed at Chobe Game Lodge, which boasted all female guides and is the only lodge inside the game park. Botswana prides itself on restricting the hours the park is open and the number of visitors allowed in the…
Zimbabwe – Thundering Water, Collapsing Economy
After a fun-filled day at Dubai’s Atlantis Water Park, we took an overnight flight from Dubai to Zimbabwe via Qatar and Johannesburg. Our flight took us 6,000 miles south and we went from frolicking in the water park one afternoon to cruising alongside hippos and crocodiles on the Zambezi River the next. With only 3…
Dubai – Giant Buildings, Endless Shopping and Monsoon Rains
After recharging our batteries, we found ourselves on our way to a brief two day stopover in Dubai. It was one of those “since we are going to be in the area, we should stop in” kind of trips. There are limited options to get from India to Africa where we were rejoining the ship…
The Maldives
The Maldives – Paradise and a “Vacation from Traveling” After leaving the chaos of India, spending some time in the idyllic island setting of The Maldives was very appealing. While we do enjoy relaxing, the idea of the beach vacation to “veg” on the sand usually runs fairly counter to our travel instincts. In…