It’s been almost exactly year since Teha’s Travels commenced! In fact, my very first post was on July 7, 2017, written as I was on my way to my first trip (which was an amazing vespa tour in Madrid). I’m actually still in close touch with my friends from that tour group, despite the fact that it was only a five day trip and it’s now a year later. It’s amazing, really, to think about all the people who have touched my life in incredibly profound ways over the past year. People who I didn’t know a year ago and will now know for the rest of my life. And also some people who I will likely never see again but will also never forget.
Throughout the course of my travels I’ve been asked a lot of questions, both about my thought process and the logistics behind ‘taking the plunge’ (which is exactly what it felt like). Earlier this year a British reporter asked me a series of questions for a piece she was working on. [I wonder if that was ever published, actually? I should follow-up.] Anyways, I thought she did a nice job at covering what I’m asked most frequently and I wanted to share my answers:
1. When did you decide to take a career break, and why?
I’d been working for a large consulting firm for ten years and for about a year was increasingly feeling that I wanted a change. In addition to changing jobs, I was thinking I might want to move from Washington, DC, where I’ve lived since college. But while working I didn’t feel like I was in the right head space to make those big decisions. In my gut I knew I needed a break from it all in order to step back and figure out what was next. As context, over the course of ten years with my last company I often had to be encouraged to take vacation time and at times lost vacation time that I didn’t use (and in the U.S. we don’t get a ton of vacation in the first place!). In fact, I had taken only one vacation that was longer than one week, and that was a two week break when my sister got married in Europe. I brought my work laptop home every single night and was tethered to work pretty much all the time.
I knew change would be good for me but as I contemplated what that would be, I was wary of jumping right into something else. I sensed I had lost perspective and knew I had to gain it back in order to live a more balanced and healthy life. Finally, after tossing the idea ’round for months, last June I made the decision to quit. It was probably the most difficult decision I’ve ever made. I voluntarily gave up something safe, stable, and predictable for something completely unknown. And even now, not knowing the ending yet, I can say it was also the best decision I ever made!
2. How did you go about planning your break: how far did you plan ahead, how did you raise money etc.? – did you leave your job completely or take a sabbatical?
I wish I could say I had it all planned out but that’s just not how I operate. To me, it was important to have a few key things in-place: the savings to survive for a period of time and a general travel plan. The idea of traveling by myself for months was daunting and at first that held me back from deciding to do this. I was very excited when I discovered a company called Flash Pack, that specializes in solo adventure travel for people in their 30s and 40s, and have taken six of their trips so far (with three more planned!). These trips have been great as I’ve gotten to meet and travel with so many wonderful people and to incredible places- including several places that I wouldn’t feel comfortable traveling to by myself. I’ve also made friends from all over the world and have visited several of them during my travels. This was a perk I didn’t plan on and it turned out that having a flexible approach to my travels has been a huge benefit as I’ve been able to adjust when I learn about a new place (or person) I want to visit.
3. Were you worried at any point that taking a break would put you on the back foot in terms of career progression; or did you recognise that it would actually enhance it?
Before I made the decision I did worry if it was career-suicide to quit without another job lined up and to have a gap of time in my resume when applying for a job again. I sought advice from smart people, including the CEO of my previous company where I had worked for 6 years and a senior HR representative at my current company at the time, who was also a mentor. Of the several people I confided in about my potential plan and my concerns, they all said the same thing. They all said it was the perfect time in my career to take this break and something they wished they had done at my age. Knowing my skills and my work ethic, they assured me that it would not be difficult to find another job when I wanted to (I’m hoping they are right!). In regards to the employment gap on my resume, I was told that employers these days don’t necessarily see that as a bad thing, and are more likely to respect the decision to take time off and travel. Deep down I think it’s something everyone wants to do or wishes they had done, and there is a certain amount of respect (and sometimes envy!) for those who have.
4. What did it feel like when you woke up on the first morning of your break?
This is a great question, as I honestly had no idea how I would feel after I made the decision to quit. I knew it would go one of two ways- I would wake up, freak-out, and curl up into a ball, missing the routine and safety of the life I had given up. Or I would jump out of bed and pull out my suitcase, feeling liberated and excited for the adventures that laid ahead. I felt like it could really have gone either way and I can’t even tell you how relieved I was when it was the latter! I woke up feeling like a HUGE weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I had an annual girls trip planned for that weekend and I remember reaching for my phone several times, to check my work email. It took a long time to get out of that habit. I also dreamt about work for a while, sometimes stress dreams about deadlines or projects. But the big thing I noticed that weekend was how much more present I felt and how much more ALIVE! It was clear to me then that I had made the right decision.
5. Were you daunted at all at the prospect of free time – or did it just represent delicious opportunity?
I think I answered some of this in the last question, but, yes, I was extremely daunted at first. To help provide some initial structure, I planned the next few months and included some travel, as a test run of sorts. It was summer and I had two weeks of an annual family vacation planned (the first year I would be going for the whole two weeks AND wouldn’t be checking in with work everyday) as well as a week I’d committed to volunteer at a summer camp for children who have experienced the death of a parent or sibling. I also signed up for my first Flash Pack tour (a Vespa tour in Madrid!) and added on some solo travels in Spain afterwards. I also spent some time at home, getting ready for more extensive travels at the beginning of September. This worked out perfectly as I was able to have a relaxing summer, reconnect with family and friends (as well as myself), and ease into the next phase.
5. How did you plan your time off in order to make the most of it? – where have you travelled to so far? [This answer is as of February, 2018]
The Flash Pack trips really helped me to make the most of my travels. On the first day of September, I left for Italy where I met up with a friend I had met on the Spain Flash Pack tour. She was also taking a break from work and we explored Rome, Venice, and Florence together. We then embarked on the Flash Pack tour to Croatia together (which we had actually signed up for separately!). I then continued on to France where I explored Marseille and then visited friends in Dijon. From there I returned to Italy, this time hiking in beautiful Cinque Terra and spent a few days in Milan. From there, I went on to my next FP trip to Morocco! From there I flew into Madrid, and explored more of Spain, heading up to coastal San Sebastián (where it rained but I still had fun!) I then went to Portugal where I met up with two friends from home, on a trip we had planned well before I’d decided to quit. I went from there to a FP tour of India and Nepal and then back to DC for a week. This was all over the course of two months and I appreciated the time home to rejuvenate, catch up with friends, and re-pack. Next, I did a FP tour of Chile, and headed directly on yet another FP tour of Vietnam and Cambodia. I then met up with a friend who lives Malaysia and spent a few days in Thailand before visiting a FP friend in London. I spent Christmas stateside with family and friends and then just took off on my latest junket last week. I’ve been to Stockholm, Brussels, and Prague and am currently headed (literally on the train now!) to meet up with a FP friend in Vienna. Then I’ll be going to Salzburg, Finland, London, Ireland, and on to a FP trip to Myanmar. Along the course of this six week junket I’ll be either visiting or traveling with nine friends I’ve met in various tours!
6. What’s the reaction of your friends and family been – has it mostly been positive/do people wish they could do the same?
When I decided to do this I was nervous that people would judge me and think I was being irresponsible. But the reaction I’ve gotten from literally everyone has been the exact opposite! Those who know me well have been incredibly encouraging and supportive- I suspect they all knew it would be good for me to take a break from working. But reactions from everyone from friends, mentors, former co-workers, and several extremely successful business people (some complete strangers) have been positive. Yes, I think many people wish they could do the same but instead of being bitter they have wanted to “live vicariously” through my travels. I was told this so many times that I decided to start a blog chronicling my travels as well as a dedicated Instagram account (@tehastravels). I did this just for my family and friends but have been shocked at the number of complete strangers who now follow me and encourage me along the way! In fact, soon after I began my travels I received this comment on my blog: “I don’t know you, you don’t know me. Saw your post from a mutual friend and wanted to follow. You have not disappointed. Look forward to your posts every day. I see a book in the works; your humor, suggestions and photos are wonderful. You represent a lot of women who ‘wanted to’ but never did. Be safe and keep it coming. Fondly, a 73 year old female vicarious traveler.” It made my day and I’ve continued to receive similar feedback that has been a tremendous source of inspiration.
7. Have you noticed any difference in your stress levels and overall wellbeing since taking the break?
Yes! This break has really changed the way I view the world and what is important in life. I’m a laid back person by nature but while caught up in a corporate hamster wheel I found myself getting stressed about things that were just not important at the end of the day. Now I find myself able to see what is important, both for me and even more broadly speaking. I was once in a daily work routine that I thrived on but it was very limiting. The value of my days were based on what I had accomplished, regardless of if what I had accomplished really mattered. Now I take the days as they come, make the most of them, and appreciate them for what they are, which allows me to treat my mind and body well and in a much more organic way.
8. What’s been the most surprising thing you’ve learnt from taking a career break that you perhaps didn’t expect?
While I was seeking to gain perspective during this break, I don’t think I realized quite how much of it I would be gaining. I’ve had the opportunity to experience and really immerse myself in different cultures around the world. I’ve also come to really appreciate cultural differences and also the remarkable similarities that we all have as human beings. I truly believe that most people are good people at their core and want the same general things in life, although these things are often reflected quite differently in different cultures. I feel like we tend to focus on differences between people and cultures instead of the similarities and this is a key contributor to much of the hatred and racism that plagues our society. I believe that if more people could travel more and actually get to know each other more, some of these divides would be broken down. Of course an open mind is necessary for this to happen as well!
9. Do you think the experience has helped broaden your horizons and gain perspective on life? I think I answered this.
10. Is there any financial tips you’d give to someone thinking of taking a career break (as this can often be the biggest barrier)?
I was raised to understand the value of a dollar and was eager to start working as soon as I could. At first it was raking neighbors’ leaves or shoveling snow for a few dollars an hour (I was a bargain)! I feel lucky that my parents instilled these values in me and I’ve carried them throughout my life, always making an effort to save money. I think it’s because I value working hard and making a living, l that I was still able to take a break from it. I never lived above my means and have been able to differentiate between what I want and need. And also those times when something is so important that the cost should not play a factor at all. When saving, I always found it helpful to have a portion of my paycheck automatically put into a savings account, so I would never see it and would almost forget it was there. I also think it’s important to approach saving in small chunks- a savings goal may seem insurmountable and not even worth trying for, but if broken down into a certain amount of money every two weeks or month, you can get there with time. Professionally speaking, and especially as a female, I think it’s so important to know your worth and believe in yourself enough to have difficult conversations about salary. Too often I see females making less than their male counter-parts, and partially because they aren’t asking for what they deserve. It’s easy to stay in your same job and rely on a small annual increase but true gains are made by pushing yourself to add more value, prove that value, and ask for the compensation that you fairly deserve. Lastly, when looking to take a break and travel, I think it’s important to recalibrate your spending. For example, I cancelled my cable, even though it would be nice to watch TV when I’m home every few months. I make coffee in the mornings now and can’t tell you the last time I was at a Starbucks. And while traveling, I try to resist going into “vacation mode” all the time, avoiding the mentality where you splurge on things you wouldn’t normally, just because you aren’t at home. This is not to say I’m depriving myself by any means, but I’m thoughtful about how I spend my money, knowing I have a limited amount of it.
11. What would you say to someone who’s thinking of taking a break but scared of taking their foot off the gas/falling off the career ladder?
I would tell someone considering a career break to not let fear hold them back. Yes, you need to make sure the timing works for you, both career-wise and financially. But, beyond that, we are all only on this earth for a short time, during which we only have so many opportunities to explore it. I will say that of the many older, more experienced, and successful people I’ve sought advice from about this, not one of them said they wished they’d worked more. Not one. Yet, several of them said they’d wished they’d taken breaks to explore and go on adventures that were impossible once they retired and had bad knees.
Also, we don’t live in a society where you work for one company for 30 years. Things are different now and to have just a few jobs or even just a few careers is now the exception, not the norm. Employers want to hire people who are naturally curious and not afraid to take calculated risks, both in their professional and personal lives. So please don’t let fear of how taking a break will be perceived keep you from doing it!
There were lucky 13 of us in the group and despite the fact that many of us were coming from the DC area, we seemed to all be on different flights, at different times, and with different connections. I’m pretty sure we had every flight of the day covered. However, while texting the group during my layover in Fort Lauderdale, I realized that two of “us” (Linda and Han) were at the Chili’s just down from the Margaritaville where I had hunkered down. And it was a pleasant surprise to learn that we were on the same flight for final leg of our journey (on a tiny propeller plane that was about 100 degrees- but at least we had each other)! Han was obviously thrilled (cue his happy face!) that he could sit next to Linda and I as we blabbed away, catching up on life.
We also participated in the most bizarre turtle race betting process EVER (okay, I have no other turtle race betting process to compare it to but I stand firm in my supposition). Basically, how it works is everyone gets a piece of paper with a 1, 2, or 3 on it and you can win a prize (cash money!) if your turtle wins. But there are only 3 turtles and we have multiple pieces of paper in circulation for each number…so there must be a lot of winners? Like most things that seem too good to be true, it was (funny how I’m such an eternal optimist but I still believe in that saying). Anyways, first was the main event, the turtle dash, and it lasted about 30 seconds- those turtles have some wheels!
Then, those who had the number of the winning turtle (including lucky me!) got to line up in a loooong line and, one-by-one, tell the microphone wielding gent (who looks not dissimilar to a square dance officiant) their name and select a number from a board. Next step: lining up AGAIN, to see the same guy and this time trade your number for a key with that number on it. THEN, the real excitement starts as (with square dance enthusiasm) the officiant hypes up each person’s attempt to use their key to open magic mystery treasure chest that could (but everyone heard does) contain $500! I’d grown completely sick of this by now and had zero intention of joining a third looooong line (fool me twice…). Despite being a quitter I enjoyed watching everyone else get in line AGAIN and then finally get to the front and turn their key soooo expectedly, only to realize that (spoiler alert) they actually do not have the key that opens the magic treasure chest!! Awww, shucks! Huge blow. Every.single.time. I also saw that some ‘randomly’ selected contestants (it seemed anyone who attempted a rapport with the officiant) were offered a consolation prize in exchange for forfeiting their turn of the key. Over and over again I watched every person who was given this offer say “no way” to the consolation prize option! Really?? Again, I’m not a cynical person but something just seemed off with the whole operation. I got distracted socializing (story of my life) and later turned around to see the final line was at its end. I alerted Han (another cynical hold-out) and we both shrugged and jumped behind the few people left waiting with their keys. Thanks to much cheering by our friends and rapport-making by us, we were both given the opportunity to re-affirm our belief that WE had the winning key and that we did NOT want the consolation prize we were being offered. So, to sum it up, Han won a tank-top, I won a $20 gift certificate and nobody else there won anything, because nobody’s key worked. That’s right, over the course of hours of lines and dozens keys, not ONE of them worked (not even Han and I’s, which they tried anyways in hopes we’d be proven the ultimate, risk-averse fools). All in all it was the silliest contest ever- they should have just had the turtles race a few more times and called it a day. But as the person leaving with $20, and a new tank-top (a gift from Han), who am I to complain?
It was SOOOO much fun!!! It reminded me a lot of the snowmobiling that I’d enjoyed in Finland (which is odd if you think about the two things I’m comparing) but once you get going fast on the jet ski and focus on following the wake of the person in front you, it feels a lot like zooming through a path in the snow. And almost just as exhilarating! Due to an ominous lightning storm (I did my very best big girl face to try to ignore it) we couldn’t circle the entire island as planned, but I was quite happy keeping my jet-ski full throttle (at a whole 40 mph) and doing donuts in the Gulf, with a few stops to cool off in the water.
That night we enjoyed a birthday dinner of sorts and some cavorting around town. Cavorting can cover a large swath in Key West and, while we were mostly well-behaved, every morning we enjoyed sharing stories about the interesting people we’d met and (sometimes even more interesting) things we’d seen.
The next morning was brunch at a Key West must-see restaurant, 
We then meandered around the colorful, music infused streets for a while (some may have napped), and took in the must-see sights.
My towel-boyfriend, Pedro even made the trip, and was actually very popular!
At one point I thought maybe missing my flight and having such a great day was a SIGN that I should live in Key West! It does seem to take a special breed to be a Key West transplant and there’s not a lot of people who know me who question that, if nothing else, a special breed I am! Maybe someday in the future. But for now, the SIGN and all, it was back to DC for more unpacking and re-packing…stay tuned!
At least they put me up in the Sheraton which is located just a tunnel away from the terminal. There I joined a room full of other Lufthansa passengers in a large conference room for our comp’d dinner of turkey and mashed potatoes. Kind of like Thanksgiving, and many people looked about as happy to be there as they would at their disfunctional family’s holiday dinner tables. Unfortunately I was faced with another snafu the next morning as we were delayed leaving Frankfurt and I missed my connection in Munich. Argh!!! I had a five hour wait for the next flight and took out the trusty old iPad to troubleshoot how I would get to THE DOLOMITES, having missed the one bus of the day. I mean, I could always rent a car. But I hate driving. But… it’s THE DOLOMITES!! And your options are veeeerrrry limited. Here’s what I saw of Munich- it looks lovely and I’ll have to go back under different circumstances. 
I FINALLY landed and set out to claim my rental car, dragging a lil’ bit from my 36+ hour journey at this point. The kind woman at Thrifty must have noticed I wasn’t exactly in the jolliest of moods and upgraded me from Bare Bones Fiat to Pimped Out Audi (to be referred to as POA from this point forward). Here she is: 
My mood buoyed slightly… I was off with a sweet ride! The two-hour drive to Cortina was beautiful, despite increasing patches of fog and rain as I got deeper into the mountains (on mostly winding two-lane roads). 
I checked into my accommodation and the proprietor pointed out the four restaurants I could choose from. He said they all close at 9pm as it’s a “sleepy mountain town” this time of year. Hmmm… based on Trip Advisor, I’d thought Cortina had more going on than this? And where were those mountains I was supposed to be able to see from my window?
The rain was really coming down now and it was already 8 p.m. so I motored to the closest restaurant, a pizzeria next door. There were only a few tables occupied and I was seated at a table next to another solo diner, a gent who looked about my age. I wasn’t sure how to sit as I thought facing him directly would be kind of awkward, almost like were at the same table, but with my back to him seemed rude. I compromised and sat at kind of an angle, half-facing him (which in hindsight was probably more awkward than either of the alternatives). I got bored pretty quickly sitting there by myself (and with no phone decoy) and soon we made eye contact and a conversation naturally commenced. Okay, okay I’ll be honest, chances are that I was the one who struck up the conversation… I don’t exactly have a healthy fear of chatting with strangers (as reported in the British rag, The Daily Mail, 
I caught up on some correspondence and other life administrivia that has fallen by the way-side and thank goodness for my Cortina boyfriend, as I would have really gone bonkers without Christoph (both for his company and validation that I’m not a total idiot for making this mistake). He had scoped out the adorable ski town during his time there, and toured me to his favorite spots (of the handful that were open). 
Gotta love an iPad selfie attempt! Christoph also speaks ‘nerd’ so we geeked out discussing things like China’s advances in the innovation arena and how this impacts their global positioning. The next morning brought some sunlight (!!!) and I could actually see the mountains that I would not be hiking. 
No matter, I hopped in my POA and headed to my ultimate destination- the mythical Ortesei. I spent the next 2.5 hours driving through winding mountain passes…it was INCREDIBLE! And included some extremely variable (and equally beautiful) scenery.
For the first time in my life I LOVED driving… a LOT. I think I figured out that my problem with driving in the past is that I’ve been operating average-to-below-average cars and have had average-to-below-average-views, AND have had to deal with pesky things…like stoplights and speed limits. Driving POA through THE DOLOMITES is a different experience entirely. 
It also occurred to me that when I’d booked my hotel in Ortesei I’d assumed there were only a few available because they were all full of hikers like myself, but I now suspected it was prolly because they were also still closed. And… I was correct. It was just salt in the wound when I learned that the mountains in Ortesei were opening for hiking the VERY day I was leaving. Of course they were! Regardless, I loved the family owned mountain lodge where I stayed. The views were totes amaze and they even had some footpaths where I could fake-hike. I was a happy camper.
It was pretty spectacular as far as fake hiking goes and I zoomed off for hours, happy to be moving after days of sitting (something I do not handle well). More views: 
After fake-hiking for much of the day, I took POA out for a spin in the mountains. That’s right… a drive just to drive, with no destination. Driver’s ed was the last time I did that! Then I was off to the airport, not sad it was 3.5 hours away and I savored my final moments with POA. As I drove I reflected on how my Dolomites experience had not been what I’d envisioned at the outset but it had definitely been an adventure and, all in all, one I really enjoyed! I got to make a few new friends, take in some incredible beauty, and, of course, there’s my new love affair with driving. I was glad the many snafus throughout the course of the journey hadn’t kept me from maintaining a (mostly) positive outlook and being open to whatever experiences presented themselves, as they were pretty cool ones! Next up… gobble, gobble!
And my tour group crew stuck around for the late night showing that evening, to be rewarded with the elephant act.
And, I’m sure they’ll all have a grand time on the second leg… I just don’t want to hear about it! (#earmuffs) Where I’m headed next is still a smidge of a mystery, even to me, so there’s a lot to stay tuned for!
I admit I was a smidge embarrassed showing up to the camping trip with my rollerboard suitcase and not a smidge of camping gear but the group kindly outfitted me with anything I might need. There was so much gear that we barely fit! 
And, not being the most experienced camper, even some things I didn’t know that I needed- such as the stake you put in the ground to hold your wine glass while sitting in your camping chair. What a novel idea! 
I learned quickly that Jamie and her friends are the consummate camping hosts – they are not fooling around. Jamie’s boyfriend Eric and his friend, Hennie, met in the Navy years ago and you can tell by the military precision they bring to the camping experience. They really think of everything! Hennie even had a kitchen gazebo that includes a solar powered refrigerator. I’ll be honest that I thought of camping food as either those freeze dried meals they sell at REI or spearing a hot dog with a stick and roasting it over a fire, so I wasn’t really sure what the kitchen would be used for. Little did I know what culinary delights my consummate camping hosts had in store for me! You may recall that on my South Africa tour we were treated to a traditional South African “braai,” which is their version of a BBQ (or ‘cook-out’ as we say in Massachusetts) and it’s also a verb for the act of grilling as well as the name of the grill device. 
Btw, there are no propane tanks involved in this process and the food is cooked over flame. Eric was Braai Master and was in charge of seasoning and cooking delicious meat items at every meal. I swear the chicken he made one night is the best chicken I have EVER had in my life. My mom is always up for a cooking challenge so I’m thinking of passing along the recipe to see if she can even come close. Sans braai I’m pretty sure it’s impossible, though, and I hate to set her up for failure. Here’s Braai Master in action: 
Eric’s skills did not stop with the chicken- we had pork, beef, sausages, crawfish (same as lobster but with no claws), BACON, and even sides such as cous cous. 
It occurred to me how much more of an adventurous eater my travels had made me (the Mopane worm included!) and I remembered that when I embarked on my first Flash Pack tour (last July) I listed in my profile that I didn’t eat red meat. Now the guides of my tours look confused when they see that notation on their spreadsheet as I’m gnawing on a rib right in front of them. Hennie also brought a cooking tool called a potjie, which is essentially a Dutch oven on three legs that is used as an outdoor crockpot, and made a delicious beef stew (called potjiekos) that included dumplings he’d made from scratch in the kitchen gazebo. I kid you not. 
Now I had also envisioned camping as taking place in the woods and was soooo pleasantly surprised that our accommodations overlooked the beautiful, rocky coastline of the Western Cape (as they call it.) It was absolutely stunning, and was punctuated by breathing in the fresh sea air and lulling to sleep to the sound of the waves crashing. 
So, I’m a big fan of having ambient noise in the background while sleeping and have an old fashioned “sound machine” at home that I’ve had since I was a little (don’t mock me, that’s been done already). When traveling I discovered the White Noise app on my phone and I have worked hard to find the perfectly pitched noise among the options (it’s called “brown noise,” if you’re interested). Nothing will ever compare to nature’s white noise, though.
You may have noticed that I did not list fish as one of our many braai delicacies and this was not for lack of trying. Jamie and Eric have pretty official-like fishing rods and we tried our luck from the rocks, using fresh mussels as bait. Jamie caught a rockfish right away (that we threw back) …and THEN (after catching a few rocks and thinking I had snared “the big one”) I reeled in a real-live fish! 
Some kiddos and their dad’s (our campsite neighbors) had joined us to view the fishing at this point. We all watched in anticipation as I reeled in what would hopefully be dinner. 
And then we all looked (with a combination of intrigue and horror) at the most ghastly Creature of the Sea any of us have ever seen! We agreed it was actually the ugliest fish alive- some kind of bottom feeder with creepy teeth. 
Back to the sea you go! We’ll stick with meat, thanks very much.
My favorite part of the camping trip, though, was sitting around the fire talking with the group and new friends we met at the campground. 
It was fascinating to learn more about South Africa and the locals’ perspectives on their history, the current political climate and the culture in general. From what I gathered the government can be summed up in one word- corrupt. All the South Africans I met agreed that it was a very good thing that Jacob Zuma was finally forced out as President (having remained in power through countless charges of crimes including corruption and rape, and nine votes of no confidence by Parliament… it was finally his own party who drove him out.) And while people don’t seem totally psyched about the new guy (Cyril Ramaphosa) their relief is palpable that at least Zuma is gone and there is a glimmer of hope for the future. For his part, Ramaphosa has vowed to tackle the government’s corruption issues, so that’s something, in as at least it’s admitting the issues exist. And with the nation’s economy in the tanker and a 30% unemployment rate the stakes are high as the nation seeks to project stability and encourage investment dollars. Interesting times here in South Africa and a lot of questions about what the future will bring.
We honed in on a mother and son leopard duo during our first game drive and were lucky to be able to follow them in the subsequent drives. We even saw them on “a killing spree” that included a rabbit the mama leopard offed just inches away from us, and we then watched her take it up a tree to store it! Minutes later a dead impala (kind of like a smaller deer) was discovered stored in another tree! Then an antelope corpse was found… all the work of the leopards. You could tell by looking at them that their bellies were very full. 
We had a scare on one game drive as we were observing our leopard friends hanging out in the impala-storage tree, munching on their kill, when out of nowhere a mean male leopard pounced into the tree!! The more experienced mother took that as her cue to exit the tree but the cub freaked out and ran out to the end of a limb, where he perched nervously- not knowing what to do. The poor little guy was so scared he defecated from out on the limb! The male leopard proceeded to go at it, gnawing away at the impala, and in the process attracted several feisty hyenas who stood below seeking scraps (they even eat the bones– apparently hyenas eat anything.) Meanwhile, the mother leopard crouched in the tall grass observing the scene. The game drive ended before we could see the outcome of the scary scene but Geoff said the cub would “probably be okay” if he chilled out on his limb for a bit and waited for mean male leopard to leave. We were DYING to know what had happened and were extremely relieved on the next morning’s drive when we saw mother and son cruising around together, seemingly unscathed. Phew! We’d definitely grown attached.
I was very lucky to have Katy as my safari-mate as (in addition to being a lot of fun) she has a real camera and takes great pictures AND she has insane animal tracking skills. I swear the lodge wanted to hire her. To be fair, they seemed to think the two of us had brought crazy-luck to their game drives as every one we were on was phenomenal! We were also told our game drives had unusual and unprecedented sightings- such as the leopard serial killing spree. Katy, though, is a human pair of binoculars. She could spot anything, no matter how far away AND correctly ID the animal. It was uncanny. Of course, at times the animals were so scarily close that a legally blind person could probably have made them out. 
We said good-bye to our new friends (the amazing staff) at the Safari Lodge- Geoff, Tanya, Jade, and Johann and moved onward to our next destination… Zimbabwe! Specifically, Victoria Falls which is the largest waterfall in the world and one of the seven natural wonders. As background, the Falls border the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe and apparently views are great on both sides…but we were headed to the larger viewing area in Zim. So, my first inkling that something was ‘administratively awry ‘ was when going through immigration to leave South Africa. As the officer stamped my passport she commented something about not having any blank pages. Hmmm… was this possible?? I checked. Indeed it was. How did that happen?? Katy informed me that we needed to get a visa in Zambia, a joint visa that would allow us out of Zambia and then into Zimbabwe. Hmmm… I wondered where they would stick the visa?
Then the gravity of the situation sunk in and I did something I rarely do… I started to cry. The officer seemed pleased to see that I was appropriately concerned and told me he was going to break the law and could get fired and added that he has a family support. No guilt trip there. He then proceeded to slap the visa on top of a full page of passport stamps. Our driver seemed as relieved (as was I) and he informed me about 15 times that I’m the ‘luckiest girl on the planet.’ And, I honestly did feel that way!
Our chopper also cruised over the surrounding savannah where we (thanks to Katy Hawk Eyes) saw groups of giraffes, elephants, zebra, and even a buffalo. 
Next we headed to the gorge area of the falls, which is also stunning. We zip-lined across the gorge, to make sure we were taking in the views from all angles. 
Our Falls viewing trifecta concluded with a tour on foot. Our guide, Musa, led us through the rain forest to 14 look-out points while explaining the history of the falls and sharing other fun facts. Here’s one for you: the water that goes over the falls in 3.5 days is the amount of water New York City uses in a year. Mucho agua! Our safari luck extended to Falls viewing and we had a beautiful rainbow backdrop for almost the entire hike. You can’t photoshop this stuff! That night we went to “the Boma” drum show for a dinner experience, where we were adorned in sarongs and given drums to participate in the show. 
Among the buffet food options was a station serving Mopani worms, which are a thing people eat in Southern Africa apparently. We also learned they give you a certificate if you eat one…so that decided it! (at what age does a certificate stop working as an incentive to do something?) It actually wasn’t bad and tasted sort of like chicken. It was a fantastic last night, punctuating a fantastic five days. Many thanks to Katy for planning such a fun trip!
A few hours later Katy and I had to say a hasty goodbye in the airport, as I was led to another back office after being denied check-in to our flight… for not having enough blank pages in my passport. Huuuuge bummer. In the back office it became clear that South African Air was not going to bend the rules, even a smidge. I was also informed that South Africa immigration had started imposing fines of $2,500 when someone arrives without two blank pages on their passport (unclear why you need two blank pages for one stamp)…. and that the fines went to the individual gate agents who checked you in, so it was personal. At that point, I stopped asking nicely for them to bend the rules. I was told my options were to buy a ticket to the U.S. (no thanks) or fly to Zimbabwe’s capitol city, Harare, to see what the U.S. embassy could do to help. I figured I’d first try another airline and hoped that maybe British Airways wouldn’t be such sticklers, so I purchased another (thankfully refundable) ticket to Cape Town… and was denied access once again. At least they’re consistent! To Harare I go… I guess. For a split second I wondered if I’d be in Zimbabwe for life. 
I landed in Harare and realized I had a few problems. The first being that my phone did not work on their network and there was no WiFi in the airport. I had called the embassy from the ticket office before my flight and they’d told me to call back when I landed. The second issue was transport… Zimbabwe is having a currency crisis and they only accept either U.S. dollars or their black market money, neither of which I had to pay for a cab. Big sigh. Talk about feeling stuck! I wandered into a random airline office in the tiny airport and asked if I could use their phone to call the embassy. Unfortunately their landline phone only allows calls to cell phones. Random. Lucky for me there were two gents in the office buying a ticket and one of them offered me his cell phone. He even purchased more data so I could make the call! After several attempts I got through to the embassy and was told they were closing and to come in at 8 am the next day for a temporary emergency passport. I felt a little bit better having a plan. Upon hearing my transport quandary the two guys offered to drive me to my hotel. They were THE NICEST men and I learned on the drive they are both pastors. 
The pastors were supposed to travel that day but their trip had been cancelled at the last minute. They told me they thought the reason it was cancelled was so that they could be there to meet me and help me out. I was not arguing with this logic and was extremely grateful. They asked me my thoughts on Trump (as most people do when I meet them during my travels.) They then informed me that Zimbabweans are big Trump supporters- which surprised me. The reason is purely religious, as Trump has been vocal about being a Christian and with his anti-Islam sentiments. Since Hilary was not vocal about these things, it’s assumed she is not a Christian and supports the spread of radical Islam (they also believe Obama is Muslim.) The pastors said that before the election there were entire church sermons devoted to praying that Trump win the election. Go figure.
We stopped a few times during the drive to snap photos at various look-outs and made one very important stop, at an establishment called Ronnie’s Sex shop. 
This place is really a find, and as you can see, in the middle of nowhere. As lore would have it, Ronnie had just a regular little shop/bar and one night his friend got drunk and decided to play a prank on good ol’ Ronster… a prank that involved a can of red paint. And… business boomed after that! It reminds me of that time when some of my classmates repelled off the roof of my high school to remove some choice letters from the the side of the building… transforming Beverly High School into Beer High School. Unlike Ronnie’s, unfortunately we weren’t able to get t-shirts to reflect the new name. 
We got to meet Ronnie and he was exactly as one might expect the sole proprietor of Ronnie’s sex shop to be, drinking a beer in the middle of the bar area that has people’s bras, underwear and t-shirts hanging from the ceiling and walls. Cheers to Ronnie and his business acumen… and moving on.
We arrived at our beautiful accommodations in Oudtshoorn just as a spectacular sunrise was starting and we enjoyed it with glasses of more delicious South African wine. 
The next morning was an early bell to go observe meerkats waking up in their natural environment. I’ll be honest (as I always am- for the good or bad) that I didn’t think I knew what a meerkat was before this trip… but then was reminded of Timon from the Lion King. It was super cool to see the little critters emerge out of their burrows one by one as the sun rose and interact with each other, while scanning for danger and marking their territories for the day. 
As an aside, they sleep in different burrows every night so the “meerkat guy” (who narrated the experience and was quite the character) has a team of people who run around the savannah every day figuring out where the little cuties are burrowing that night. Here’s Meerkat Dundy in action: 
We then moved on to our next adventure… swimming with the seals. I admit I was a smidge skeptical of this activity- for two reasons. One is that I didn’t think of seals as particular friendly mammals who necessarily want me swimming with them. I wondered if this would be forced like an exhibit at Sea World. The second reason is the more obvious one- the potential for seals as shark bait. I put both of these concerns out of my head, however, in true Teha’s Travels style, and tried to go into the activity with an open mind and positive attitude. And… I loved it! We took a speed boat way out to an area where there are “rafts” of seals (that’s what you call a group of seals- who knew?!). We then plunged in (literally) in our snorkeling gear. I admit I had a minor freak-out at first, as seals were everywhere- swimming underneath me, next to me, etc. I quickly calmed down, though, as I learned that they are actually very friendly and playful (think Flipper, but a seal) and we had a blast swimming amongst them!
And, I swear that one approached me to give me a high-five with his fin! 
After some beach time, we moved on to our accommodations for the next three nights- a beautiful spot called Hog Hollow. My roommate, the Fabulous Claudia from Toronto, and I were surprised and thrilled to wake-up the next morning with some monkey friends greeting us- like a wake-up call! 
We the headed to the beach for a surfing lesson that we were all very excited for and did not disappoint. 
This was my third time surfing and I was glad I loved it as much as the first two times… although I am slightly confused that in the three lessons I’ve had I’ve been taught three different ways to stand up on the board. Maybe different countries differ on their approaches? Next time I’m just going to freestyle it, I’ve decided. It was lucky for us that our guide, Jamie, is also a professional photographer in her spare time and took photos from the shore. She even made it look like I knew what I was doing! 
Our post-surfing lunch was a traditional South African “braai” (pronounced bry) which is basically a delicious outdoor BBQ. We enjoyed a delectable sampling of sausages, chicken, grilled veggies and salads. I was told by the braai-guy that in a “real braii” it’s all red meats and chicken is the salad, but we were quite happy with our menu (especially the vegetarian in our group.) 
The next day was one I’d been nervously anticipating for much of the trip, or at least since I’d agreed to participate in an optional activity… bungee jumping 600 feet off of a bridge (at a place where its claim to fame is being “the world’s highest bungee bridge jump.”) Yup, it’s pretty freakin’ high.
I was SOOOO nervous for this but something in me knew I’d regret it if I didn’t do it. Throughout the trip me and my fellow jumpers (Christina, Courtney and Hannah) had been referring to future activities on the trip as “pre-bungee” and “post-bungee,” implying that we may not be around to enjoy the latter with the group (they may have been joking with this but part of me wasn’t). Here’s our before pic:
Nevertheless we signed our lives away (literally) and made the long trek out to the bridge. There was some signage on the trail that made me laugh….this warning seemed like the least of my concerns at that moment. 
I went last and was so impressed watching my friends make the plunge and especially as each was pullyed back up to the bridge with huge smiles on their faces saying they wanted to do it again. I assumed they were putting on a happy face for me. Here’s the jump prep, where I’m clearly trying not to look behind the guy I’m talking to: 
Courtney had a Go-Pro that we were all able to use and the video of my jump pretty much says it all!
We then swung by an elephant sanctuary where we got to interact with and feed the majestic animals who we’d be seeing a lot of in their natural habitats in the days to come. 
Here’s Claudia and I inspecting their brushing:
And this is a male elephant, believe it or not 😂
That night kicked off a trifecta of birthday celebrations for our group… how lucky we had not one but THREE birthdays to celebrate, and in a row! Jacy was our first birthday queen, followed by Julie and Hannah. So many excuses to eat cake and we even discovered a shooter called the “birthday cake shot” that we taught various bartenders to make (it was only fair that each of the birthday girls should have them on their special day). Here are the lovely ladies we celebrated: 
We were off “on safari” the next day, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. Our destination was the Addo Elephant Park where we stayed at an amazing safari lodge called the Kuzuko Lodge. The way the safari thing works (this was news to me) is that you stay in a game reserve that is fenced in with electric fences, at a lodge (that is fenced in within the reserve) and you go out on three hour guided “game drives” two times a day (in pretty rad safari vehicles). 
The game drives take place early in the morning and around dusk as those are the times the animals are most likely to be out and about (they smartly lay low during the hottest time of day.) It was SUCH a cool experience! 
It felt surreal to be observing elephants, lions, ostrich, giraffes, buffalo, etc. in their natural environments (don’t worry, photos below) and I enjoyed learning more about them from the very knowledgeable guides. And I had a LOT to learn. This was evident when I decided to use the lodge business center to create “Safari Bingo” cards for some friendly safari competition. There were nine squares on the template so I included the “Big 5” of African safaris (elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo) and tossed in four more animals. The safari ranger loved the idea of the game (they may keep doing it!) but was quite amused to see I’d included a tiger as one of the animals. Whoopsie… guess they don’t exactly exist in the wild on the African continent. I feel like maybe I knew this but forgot? Alas, the next game drive I had revised cards to distribute (the ranger was kindly my Bingo consultant this time) and Hannah, the birthday girl that day, was the victor! 
We were told we were lucky to see a lot of lion activity on our game drives and even got to see them just after having made two “kills” of large prey… the circle of life, indeed. 
It was fascinating to watch the animals interact with each other and the various dynamics between different species and even within the same species (the “dominant” male lion, Sylvester, for example, clearly ruled the lion roost. I totally get where the King of the Jungle title comes from.) 
It was also interesting to learn about the survival instincts of different species and see them in action. It occurred to me how much time and energy human beings spend fighting our own instincts and how much easier life would be if we were able to trust our guts more. Noted. 
After two exciting days of safari-ing we bade farewell to our many four-legged friend and headed back to civilization for (sniff, sniff) our final night together in the beach town of Port Elizabeth. The group had become so tight during our two week adventure that it would not be a lie to say many tears were shed during our good-byes (don’t worry friends, I won’t name names… too many to name.) 
To give you an idea of how amazing and diverse this group was- there were two guys on the trip, and they really could not have been more different. Matt hales from Birmingham, England and is self-employed as a farmer. Neerav is of Indian descent and works in the finance industry in NYC. Yet they share the commonality of being two of the nicest and funniest guys I’ve met, and they quickly became best buds. Actually, pretty much the whole group became best buds! 
Fortunately by the end of the trip I’d managed to nail down some short-term plans for after the tour (you may recall at the outset of the trip I had none… and no return ticket). Luckily of my new tour friends, Katy, had planned an add-on trip to see a few more sites in and around South Africa and she kindly agreed when I invited myself to join her. Then our tour guide, Jamie, has a birthday camping trip near Cape Town planned with a bunch of her friends, that I also invited myself to join. Phew, things to do! And I do realize I’m lucky they were both too polite to say no to me. Stay tuned for safari phase 2, up next!