Page 36 - Life In Naples Magazine December 2014 Edition
P. 36
issues. Yet I have been challenged that the richness of travel is to step
outside our normal boundaries and engage in conversation to find new
friends with lives both very different and very similar to our own. I’ve had
philosophical discussions with my guide on Kilimanjaro, been fascinated
by political conversations with a former officer in the Tanzanian army,
and was humbled how a former Kenyan soccer player I’ve come to know
is using his fame to help teach children a better way of life. Truly, the
animals and vistas on safari are only one beautiful branch of Africa’s
magnificent tree.
THE MONOLITHIC MYTH
And that tree is huge. I’m sure you’ve met people who treat Africa like
a country instead of a continent. The standard Mercator map doesn’t help
as it distorts the fact that Africa is larger than the United States, China, www.napleszoo.org/travel.
India, Western Europe, and several other countries combined – practically If you are able to travel to Africa, it’s an experience that
speaking that means the beach-goers on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands will truly change you whether you’re a nature enthusiast or
were closer to Ebola than I was in East Africa. not. There’s truly something extraordinary about being with
And Africa’s people show greater diversity than the land itself speaking these creatures in their native lands and meeting the many
about two thousand languages in over 50 countries. Even the genetic diversity peoples who share our wondrous planet.
among humans on the continent is greater than anywhere else – meaning
people from China and Norway are more closely related than some people
in Africa are to each other.
NEW ADVENTURES
That’s also why we take safaris to more than one region. In 2015, we’re
offering trips to both East Africa as well as a new itinerary to Zambia,
Botswana, and South Africa. While the wildlife will be familiar to me, I look
forward to seeing Victoria Falls, hanging out with meerkats, and taking a
dugout canoe through the Okavango Delta as just a couple new memories
to treasure for a lifetime. You can find out more about both of these safaris at
36 Life in Naples | December 2014
outside our normal boundaries and engage in conversation to find new
friends with lives both very different and very similar to our own. I’ve had
philosophical discussions with my guide on Kilimanjaro, been fascinated
by political conversations with a former officer in the Tanzanian army,
and was humbled how a former Kenyan soccer player I’ve come to know
is using his fame to help teach children a better way of life. Truly, the
animals and vistas on safari are only one beautiful branch of Africa’s
magnificent tree.
THE MONOLITHIC MYTH
And that tree is huge. I’m sure you’ve met people who treat Africa like
a country instead of a continent. The standard Mercator map doesn’t help
as it distorts the fact that Africa is larger than the United States, China, www.napleszoo.org/travel.
India, Western Europe, and several other countries combined – practically If you are able to travel to Africa, it’s an experience that
speaking that means the beach-goers on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands will truly change you whether you’re a nature enthusiast or
were closer to Ebola than I was in East Africa. not. There’s truly something extraordinary about being with
And Africa’s people show greater diversity than the land itself speaking these creatures in their native lands and meeting the many
about two thousand languages in over 50 countries. Even the genetic diversity peoples who share our wondrous planet.
among humans on the continent is greater than anywhere else – meaning
people from China and Norway are more closely related than some people
in Africa are to each other.
NEW ADVENTURES
That’s also why we take safaris to more than one region. In 2015, we’re
offering trips to both East Africa as well as a new itinerary to Zambia,
Botswana, and South Africa. While the wildlife will be familiar to me, I look
forward to seeing Victoria Falls, hanging out with meerkats, and taking a
dugout canoe through the Okavango Delta as just a couple new memories
to treasure for a lifetime. You can find out more about both of these safaris at
36 Life in Naples | December 2014
