Our new reality

I realized today that I had not written on my travel blog in quite some time. My travel has been confined to the window and to the wall. 2020 was not a year of travel. It has been a hard year for the world and a hard one in particular for my country as it found us more divided than we have ever been. I know that it is hard to not see my friends and family face to face as we struggle through loss and heartache. I have buried friends this past year and watched my friends bury their parents or grandparents or children. I have said to many that 2020 brought me to my knees and then kept pushing me down and when I look outside my little world it seems to have done that all around me as well. I can only hope that the resilience and love that we have found in these hard times will continue to carry us forward as we hope for an end to the isolation and "social distancing". I hope that 2021 brings with it hope and unity and hugs. I know that my dreams of faraway places have often times carried me through some dark moments. I dreamed of the places I would go when Covid ended. I dreamed of the people I could visit and see in person and look in the eyes.

As I thought about this year I kept saying it wasn't what I thought it was going to be when I sat with the gorillas in Rwanda on New Years. It was supposed to be better. I have made a lot of jokes about it...that my birthday is the epiphany but this year it was the apocalypse. There were moments where I was reminded that I am blessed. But this morning as I was thinking about moving into the New Year and all the things that I have worked through I looked back and realized my perspective has been off. I always had the perspective I just wasn't applying it to the big picture. It wasn't sitting with the gorillas that was impactful to me. It was my entire trip to Africa. I forgot how I got to the gorillas. Herbert selected the most difficult group of gorillas to reach but the largest group for us to visit. We spent hours hiking to find them. I forgot that the hike to reach them was grueling. I have tried to put in words how difficult the hike was. I am not sure my words can even do it justice. It was steep, muddy and physically challenging. There were times we needed porters on each side of us to help us up a steep incline of mud. There were times we needed porters behind us so we didn't fall backwards. We were weaving in and out of bramble, trees and stinging nettle. I touched the stinging nettle and that was horribly painful. We needed walking sticks to assist us most of the way. We climbed on top of vines and under vines. We had to stop and wait until the trackers could locate the gorillas again because they were moving fast. We were hiking at 14,000 feet at the base of a volcano. I forgot that I had never experienced anything like it. When we finally got close to the gorillas and reached a clearing where we could relax it was almost three hours of tracking them. I couldn't believe what we had done to get to that point. I was in awe of myself and so proud. I knew my running had paid off. It was who I was with that mattered as well. I couldn’t imagine anyone else but Sue by my side for this adventure. We got our cameras ready and then we hiked the rest of the way without our packs and sat watching the gorillas for an hour. We were within 10 feet of them. I was finally using my camera with the big lens. That was amazing. So yes it was the gorillas but it was how I got there that made the impact and that much more amazing. It was the journey and the work I did and the reward. It was all of it. We went the next day to see another family but the hike was so much easier. It just didn't have the same feeling of accomplishment. I then thought about what I learned in Rwanda. I spent the week with Herbert listening to his childhood of the genocide and how his mother was killed by the neighbor but how they forgave. I was in awe of the people of Rwanda and how complex their history is but how they continually seek to forgive despite that in the 1990's friends were killing friends and the country smelled of death. I spent a lot of time in Rwanda reflecting on how my challenges have never been as difficult as those of the children of Rwanda. I spent New Years Day as an honored guest in Herbert's home. It was such an honor to be invited to his home and to be cherished that way. As I looked at the things I loved about Africa and the things that touched my soul it was the complicated and the complex. It was the story of the three legged leopard who chewed her leg off to save herself when the lions attacked her and she is still thriving and surviving despite the odds. It is the story of the lioness who is her own pride now that her brother was killed and we saw her hunting by herself for her four cubs. I have her picture hanging in my office because I felt like she was such a badass. It is so rare for a lioness to survive as a pride without a male. It is rare for a leopard to survive with three legs. It was seeing the people in Africa appreciate their lives in ways many of us forget to and the challenges they endure. It was me remembering that I am lucky to be able to travel and do the things that I do. It was joy and happiness of the people I met in Africa. There was one man in Zimbabwe that used to say when you asked how he was "Better than yesterday, but not as good as tomorrow. Every day keeps on getting better." The joy and happiness of the people of Africa was infectious. They just appreciate what they have. They were gracious to us despite most travelers expecting them to cater to our cultures and traditions rather than theirs. They are forever in my heart.

I have spent so much of 2020 being sad that the year wasn't the way it was supposed to be and I wasn't able to do the things I used to be able to do. This morning it was like puzzle pieces fitting into place. I realized my perspective has been all off. 2020 began not with me sitting with the gorillas but with the most grueling hike of my life to enjoy an accomplishment of sitting in awe of the gorillas. If you had told me I would have to do that hike, that I would be able to do that hike and I would be in awe of myself when I was done I would never have believed you. I need to look at 2020 through a different lens. I need to look at all that 2020 has brought into my life rather than what has been lost. The things and people that 2020 has given to me I would not give back for all of the pain that it took to get here. Herbert, Clement, Sinka, and John...those four are valuable beyond measure to me. The experiences and perspective of Africa, the finding of myself, the recalibration of my life, ...while it is much like that hike on that volcano in Rwanda it has been worth every stinging nettle, and every step...there were moments I had porters or others assisting me on that hike of 2020, but this year has given me so much.

I was then thinking of the quote:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” ~ President Theodore Roosevelt.

I am grateful for my perspective on 2020. I know who is in the arena with me. I know who matters in my life.

So take the time while we are still slowed down and appreciate those in your life...because the world will start up again and we will get busy again.

Travel is happening though. I had a client travel to Costa Rica and she had the most amazing trip. She raved about all of the precautions that they took in light of the pandemic. Africa began welcoming tourists in their Safaris in the fall. I have seen the videos and the pictures of the guides seeing the animals. Slowly travel is returning. Travel will not look the same but it will be back. The last blog I wrote I was hopeful that within a few months we could gather again and life would get back to "normal". I am not even sure what normal is anymore. I know that when it is time to gather again that we will cherish the hugs, we will cherish the gatherings, we will cherish those times we spend in person. I know I will. I still dream of where I will travel when I am set free from Zoom and the long commute from my bedroom to my office. I still cannot decide if it will be to some far off beach or some distant savannah in Africa, or some beautiful city in Italy or Ireland. I still cannot wait for the next stamp on my passport.

I just wanted you all to know I am thinking of you and I am here ready to plan your next adventure. We continue to stay on top of all of the restrictions, changes as covid forces changes in the travel industry. Today the challenge is helping travelers abroad figure out the testing requirements to enter the US starting January 26, 2021. In November it was navigating travel insurance requirements for each destination and cancelled flights due to covid. If you have never used a travel agent now is the time to think about changing that practice because it is an ever changing landscape....as the client all you have to do is sit back and let us figure it out for you. I thought I would include some pictures of the Elephants of Africa on this January day. Stay Safe and I hope to hug you all again soon!!!!