Our friends have asked frequently, “What’s been your best holiday?” and now Yellow Zebra Safari is asking the same question.  For a chance to win a Tanzanian Safari, they are asking entrants to write a travelblog about their best trip ever and submit it by October 31st.

My best trip ever has to be the one we are currently on.  Roughly two years ago, out of the clear blue, one evening my wife floated the idea that she was thinking of retiring soon. I had been downsized several years earlier and had found a second career as a USPS mailman, delivering junk mail and mountains of Amazon packages through terrible weather, while deftly avoiding ferocious Pomeranians.  The idea struck home. Okay! But, what would we do?

As a pair of seasoned citizens, we are not the typical demographic for a gap year/round the world trip, though our community is growing. We sold most of our belongings, put the rest into storage and hit the road. I write this from Olon, Ecuador, where we are practicing slow travel, a two-year journey around the world with the best travel partner, my wife.We’ve been on the road for more than 100 days now; previously, our longest trip was just shy of three weeks, with carry-on luggage only.  So, we felt fully prepared to tackle this challenge (insert wink here.)  Needless to say, there is a learning curve, but we have the right mind set.  In late October, we move north to Guatemala, followed by a cruise to Cuba. The first part of 2019 will see us in Europe, and after that, who knows? We’ve discussed heading to South Africa, then working our way north and through East Africa, trying to have as many big game safari experiences as possible.  This has been a dream of mine since I unwrapped my first National Geographic magazine and was enthralled by the spectacular images of the great migration across the Serengeti.  Winning this Tanzanian Safari experience by Yellow Zebra Safari would make this dream a reality.

Our earlier adventures have prepped us for mishaps. At a filling station in France, I put gasoline into the rental car’s diesel engine; in Italy, we were trapped in a parking area when our token would not raise the automatic exit gate; we have experienced canceled flights and missed connections which resulted in airport overnights on hard floors.  Trips to Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, Fiji, Turkey and Morocco have broadened our perspective; we view the world as global citizens, and take seriously our responsibilities as travelers and stewards of the planet.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

The first sentence of this quote from Mark Twain is the one most widely known.  We think the second line is more relevant today, since we really do share commonality with people the world over.

We are currently in the midst of our best holiday ever, a life changing/lifestyle change that will create lasting memories.

Great adventures to all,

Craig