Out of Africa

This cruise is in our rear view mirror, but we have wonderful memories to take home. We’ve traveled 5188 nautical miles on Silver Shadow. South Side Story, the Silversea World Cruise 2023, is sailing from Sydney to Fort Lauderdale from 9 January 2023 until 28 May 2023. There are 250 world cruisers and, on this…

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The Game

We spent Easter weekend searching for big game at two private game reserves in South Africa. On Saturday, we left the dock at Richard’s Bay and drove about an hour and a half to Hluhluwe Private Reserve. Don’t ask me how to pronounce that name. It was massive and the terrain was not like the…

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Madagascar

I’ll just go ahead an admit to being a hopeless Pollyanna. I was expecting better in Madagascar; I was expecting a higher standard of living. Actually, we had dinner the other night with a couple and she said that she, too, was expecting something different in Madagascar. We decided that it was the Disney Effect.…

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A Conspiracy of Lemurs

Not too long ago, we heard a man say that he and his wife went to Madagascar for their honeymoon because she wanted to see the lemurs. Weird, I thought, but hey, to each her own, right? But if that’s your thing, you have to go to Madagascar because they can be found no other…

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The Chameleon Effect

I can’t believe I am saying this, but chameleons are fascinating and beautiful. I always thought of them as big lizards, but I have a new appreciation for them after seeing so many of them here in Madagascar. About half of the known species in the world can be found here. We had a lecture the…

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Les Bulldogues!

You might want to leave your surfboard and snorkel at home. Using them on Réunion Island (say it like this: “ray-union”) can be risky business. I know that sounds weird considering that we are talking about a beautiful serene tropical island, but it’s a fact. The island is a French overseas department about 420 miles…

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