The First Rule Of Travel

Thylacine

Sep 7, 20172 min read

The first rule of travel is you never talk about it. No wait … that’s fight club. The first rule of travel is you never mess with a Sicilian when death is on the line. No wait … that’s the second of the classic blunders. The first rule of travel is … stay flexible. Yes, that’s the one I was looking for.

I went to South Africa specifically to go cage diving with great white sharks. Was I afraid. Never! Six months ago, I booked 2 separate tours with 2 separate companies, just in case one got cancelled. Last week, I traveled 32 hours from Los Angeles to Cape Town (Yes! Thirty-two hours!). Three days ago, I readied myself to jump in the water and face down Jaws himself. My hands were steady and my eyes were fierce. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it! It seems Capetown hit a spot of foul weather and both tours were cancelled. I did bravely face down a pretty horrifying picture in the local art gallery though. Stay flexible.

By the time the shark trips were cancelled, I had already realized that I would not have enough time in Cape Town to do everything on offer. Cape town is sort of a mix between Laguna Beach and Portland, if you can picture that. So I made the most of my wide open schedule. I toured the town by foot and open top bus, I visited the aquarium, botanical gardens (incredible), and several museums, and I hired a driver for a full day tour to the Cape of Good Hope and Boulders Beach penguin colony. This tour was the highlight of my trip so far. I saw baboons, ostrich, penguins, an elan, some really cool lizards, and some amazing scenery

I arrived in Madagascar today. I’ll spend a night in Antanarivo and then head on tomorrow to Kirindy National Park in search of the elusive Fossa.

I hope everything is well with all of you!

Roy