I’ve arrived in Luxor. Today I was planning on visiting the Luxor and Karnak Temples. Instead I spent the entire day in my room sleeping. I felt horrible this morning. The cough I had gotten in Alexandria came back with a vengeance and to 20 hour days in a row wiped me out. Outside of …
Today was a pretty good day. I went diving in the ruins of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was the most unique dive I’ve ever done on many different levels: it was the coldest dive I’ve ever done at 15C (59F), the shallowest dive I’ve …
Click to view As you know, earlier this year I sailed from Cape Town to Morocco with G Adventures on the M/S Expedition. I’ve just published my photo essay from the trip and it is one of my best ever. Click to View my West Africa Photo Essay
In 2010 I had the pleasure of visiting South Africa as a guest of South Africa tourism. I visited the remote Kimberly Region in the North West Province, Cape Town and areas around Johannesburg. I was able to do and see many incredible things including: a live capture on a game farm, get in the …
As I have mentioned many times, and will probably mention many times more, travel makes you perceive a place differently after you’ve been there. (Please read my 2009 essay on Travel and Tragedy and the corresponding quote from Adam Smith.) Last week there were riots and political protests in Tunisia and I watched the events …
My friend and author, Francis Tapon, has been traveling around Africa for the past year. While I was sailing up the west coast of Africa this year, he had been traveling across similar territory by land. Given how different our trips were, I thought it would be interesting for Francis to compare his observations about …
Great Pyramids and Sphinx The very fist list of wonders created by Herodotus in the 5th Century BC had the pyramids on the list. In 2,500 years, not much has changed. The Great Pyramids and the Giza Complex are still one of the most impressive sights in the world. The pyramids are from the Upper …
During my most recent visit to South Africa, I was able to do something I had always wanted to do: swim with great white sharks. Yes, I’m talking about Jaws. Carcharodon carcharias. Ferocious man-eater of the deep. The world’s most efficient killing machines. Whitey. Chewy. The Warden. The Landlord. The man in the grey suit. …
I’ve arrived in Alexandria. My first reaction is that I like it a lot more than Cairo. It isn’t as busy, dirty or crowded. Also, I have yet to have anyone “welcome” me to Egypt and try to sell me crap. I’m staying about 2 blocks from the Mediterranean Sea, in a hotel which would …