At last! Our new upcoming, updated 669 day ITINERARY!!! Especially exciting news for Jess!!!

It’s easy to spend lazy afternoons lounging on the cabana. Here’s the link to this fabulous vacation rental.

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

Muddy white horse getting a bath in the river.

• With my 70th birthday in 16 months (no, Mom, I’m not wishing my life away!), Tom decided to surprise me with a new plan, after the Antarctica cruise ends on February 8, 2018, we’re heading back to Africa! 

  My 70th birthday is on February 20, 2018 and hopefully, we’ll be celebrating at Jabula Lodge in Marloth Park, South Africa, with all of our friends whom we’ve stayed in close touch since our departure on February 28, 2014, a full four years ago.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

No words can describe my surprise and excitement when Tom sprung this happy news on me as we swam in the pool.  Sure, he knew I was chomping at the bit to return to both our human and animal friends in Marloth Park but I’d expected it would be several years out. 

Was he motivated by the fact that many of our vaccinations are good for ten years and by then, we’ll be into the sixth year of world travel when we were originally inoculated in the US in 2012, shortly before we began our journey?  Or perhaps he was motivated by the reality that we aren’t getting any younger and this long journey can be challenging, especially arriving from South America.

What a fabulous villa this has been in Sumbersari, Bail.  Note Tom’s head in lower right as he lounges on the sofa out of the sun while I finish the post at the dining table.

Not only did we long to return to Africa to stay in Marloth Park, living in the bush with wildlife surrounding us, we’d yet to see the gorillas in Rwanda, cruise on the Zambezi River and see the largest waterfalls in the world, Victoria Falls by none other than a helicopter.  As we pieced together today’s itinerary, it all became a reality. I’m so excited!

Each time I’ve brought up this topic in our future travels conversations, Tom said he’d be delighted to return although we still had a lot of world to see.  Long ago, we agreed that all decisions we make must be unanimous.  We’ve followed that edict to the letter. 

This has to have been our favorite dinner time view.

Now, he’s come my way on this topic when he too realizes, we may not be able to do this forever.  Although I didn’t nag him on the subject (I don’t nag), he knew my heart longed for Africa one more time.  Many who’ve visited the continent feel this same affinity to returning someday.  Knowing he’s now as enthused as I am, makes my heart sing.  Thank you, my dear husband, lover, travel companion and friend!

Speaking of birthdays and life’s milestones, Tom 65th birthday will be spent the day we arrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 23, 2017, another special day to celebrate.  I’m certain we’ll have no trouble making the event celebratory in Buenos Aires!

As you peruse this itinerary, you may wonder…Is this the end of our travels which at that point, as stated above, which will be only a few months shy of six years from the onset of our world travels?  As we’ve stated in many posts over these years, health will always be the determining factor.

High tide view from the villa’s second story veranda.

We’d anticipated that “getting tired of it” would be as crucial a reason to end this year’s long journey as for any health reasons.  As time has marched on and we’ve became more and more adapted to this peculiar way of life, this reason would no longer be an issue for either of us. 

When we first began, we made a pact that if one of us wants to stop, we would.  Now, that prospect is somewhat of a joke.  Every so often we ask one another the question, “Are you tired of this yet?’ 

Invariably, we laugh at the preposterousness of the question.  It would be comparable to one asking, “Are you tired of being happy yet?” 

There are many unknowns in this world we live in, risks and dangers we can hardly bear to imagine.  But, as always, we continue on with love and hope in our hearts and minds, in awe and humbled by the world around us, and always longing for more.

Dog on the paved road.

With the kindest of good intentions, many often wish us, “Have a nice holiday!  Enjoy your vacation!” to which we always say a simple, “thank you.”  We look at one another with crinkly eyes twinkling, as wide smiles spread across our faces while these unspoken words spin simultaneously through our minds, “This is no holiday or vacation.  This is our lives! 

Its not always profound.  Its not always exciting.  Often, its challenging and frustrating.  At times, we have no choice other than to adapt to our surroundings, making the best of what may be excruciatingly difficult for a period of time. 

Isn’t that how life is for all of us?  We’re all longing for fulfillment in one form or another whether its for today, tomorrow or the future yet to come.

May you find life fulfilling, now and always.

Photo from one year ago today, October 14, 2015:

Cars and trucks could easily fit inside the ferry in Savusavu, Fiji.  Prices vary by weight as shown here at the ferry company’s website.  For more details, please click here.