Decisions, Decisions

Hello, everyone!  I sincerely apologize for my lack of updates as I have had very little time or internet to get anything done!  I will post more details with photos and videos later -- in the meantime, please visit my Instagram page for some fun photo collages.  To quickly catch you up on the last two months... I was on a whirlwind of a trip through the Middle East (5 countries in just 11 days... UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait) and then went immediately to Africa to start my 42-day overland safari from Nairobi to Cape Town.  We went through 8 different countries in Eastern and Southern Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa), the whole time camping with sleeping bags and tents under the stars of the African bush.  In my opinion overlanding is the best way for first-timers to get a taste of Africa and then you can always come back to the places you want to spend more time in or missed.  For me that would definitely include gorilla tracking in Uganda and Rwanda, which I unfortunately missed on this trip.  After the safari ended I spent five completely nonstop crazy busy days in Cape Town before flying to Johannesburg.  From there I rented a car and drove down to Lesotho this past weekend and am now back in Jo'burg trying to decide what to do, where to go next...

My main goal for this year is to see as much of Africa as possible and to reach 100 countries/7 continents before turning 30.  I have basically reached my 80th country now and have a little over two months to see the remaining 20... that is really hectic!  I have managed to do all the countries so far on this trip with no visa or a visa upon arrival.  However, on this next leg of my trip to West Africa I was supposed to get my visas not just prior to arrival but actually before leaving the States.  I thought I could get the visas at the consulates here in Jo'burg, but when I went there they said I need to be a resident of South Africa in order to get it here.  I have already bought my flight from Johannesburg to Lagos, Nigeria for next Wednesday, August 26th, but still have no visa.  My plan was to take a bus from Lagos to Accra and stop in Benin and Togo, which are on the way.  All of those countries require visas prior to arrival, however, and the visas cost upwards of $160+ each.  I have been dealing with so many embassies, consulates, high commissions, border officials... so much red tape and bureaucracy that it's wearing me out quickly.

The main reason I decided to come to Africa this year was to go to a wedding in Ghana for an old friend from university.  I wanted a reason/excuse to travel to the continent I'd been putting off for a long time, half-jokingly saying I was waiting to come here with my husband.  Well, I was tired of waiting so I was looking for another reason to go and this was it...

But now it looks like everything is up in the air.  Nigeria and Ghana are both being impossible to work with and won't budget with the visas.  I would have just said screw it and gone to Europe or Asia instead... but now my cousin from Canada whom I haven't seen in 15 years has just bought her flights to Ghana to be my +1 at the wedding and to catch up.  I don't want to bail on her or my friend, so I'm in a really sticky spot.  Flying to Europe would be much cheaper and there are about 8-10 countries that I could easily do visa-free to get closer to my goal of 100.  If I fly to West Africa, there are no cheap flights out of there till much later in September so I would lose a lot of time and most likely not achieve my goal.  My other option is going to Asia to meet up with Simon, a Lithuanian boy I met on safari...

Decisions, decisions.



If anyone has any advice, ideas, recommendations, suggestions, or any input at all, I'm completely open.  I need to make this decision quickly because the clock is running and time is of the essence...

Seven By 30: Antarctica Officially Booked

I am one step closer to making "Seven Continents By 30" a reality!  I have officially put down a nonrefundable deposit and booked my Antarctica trip for November!  After doing months of research I decided to go with the Ortelius Basecamp Voyage operated by the Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions.  I booked through an agent in the UK called Antarctica Bound, who have been really helpful and informative through this whole process.

Going to the white continent is not cheap nor for the faint-hearted.  If you are active, adventurous, and want to make the most of your expedition down south then the Ortelius Basecamp is the voyage for you.  The least expensive cabin on any vessel to Antarctica, no matter what the company or ship, is at least $5500-6000 USD.  This is usually for a triple or quadruple cabin with bunkbeds and they room you with random members of the same sex.  Twin rooms and singles are upwards of $10,000+.  Other than zodiac landings not many activities are offered on most ships, and all activities are at an additional cost -- kayaking alone is an extra whopping $895.  The Ortelius and Plancius basecamp expeditions, however, include all activities in the price... kayaking, mountaineering, snowshoeing, overnight camping on the ice, you name it.  They even offer polar scuba diving, but this requires having 20 or more logged drysuit dives and bringing your own equipment.  You definitely get the most bang for your buck with this one!

Some of the other vessels might be a bit more luxurious and have a jacuzzi or spa, but when it comes to outdoor activities and spending more time with Mother Nature, the Ortelius and Plancius are unmatched!  Who wants to be cooped up on the ship when you are in Antarctica, anyway?!  You can bet I will be doing every single activity and making the most of my once-in-a-lifetime experience on the seventh continent.  Who knows when I'll be able to go back again!