This was truly a remarkable trip. We traveled over 27,000 miles by air, seeing ten countries on three continents. We saw some incredible things, the great Pyramid at Giza, which had been the world’s largest manmade structure for over 2500 years, until the Eiffel Tower was completed, the world’s oldest wooden building, the world’s largest wooden building, the 2nd largest public square in the world, one of world’s largest buddha’s, and some of the world’s most beautiful mosques.
Equally as important as what we saw, was what we learned about our world. We saw great poverty, and learned that one out of six human beings in the world lives on less than one dollar a day, and in their lifetime will travel less than 5 miles from where they were born. This statistic just emphasized how fortunate we are. We learned that globalization has been going on for centuries, as ideas and religions have spread through trade. And we came to understand the popularity of Islam, which is the world’s most successful religion as measured by growth rate.
But the single most important thing we learned came from our encounters with people. It was the warm welcome of all the locals that we met that will stay with us forever. We found that humans, as opposed to their governments, and despite enormous differences in history, culture and religion, all have common goals, dreams, desires and fears. Whether it be providing for your family, providing hospitality to strangers, fear of the unknown, pride in one’s history, hopes to provide better times for the next generation, or establishing a relationship with a deity, or deities, people everywhere have far more in common with each other than their governments are willing to admit.
Many people were fascinated by the affluent nature of the trip. While we would agree that the trip was a true luxury, and we recognize that the manner in which we traveled was beyond anything that we had experienced before, that was not what we have come to consider as the greatest gift we received.. The true delight of the trip was being able to spend nearly a month with Neal’s mother and stepfather, Carole and J. Experiencing the wonders of the world with them was priceless.
For most people, taking a month off is not possible, and for that we are very fortunate. Having the time to explore the world with a group of people we had never met before is like having the luxury of going back to college. Learning from such incredible lecturing scholars is something many people never experience. Having the time to learn things each day, and then discuss what we discovered without the need to rush home to do something was a true luxury.
Coming home at Thanksgiving time, we realized once again just how much we have to be thankful for. We were taught that we should always be citizens of the world who are willing to learn from each other, laugh with each other, and find joy in each other. We hope that this account has enabled you to share some of our adventures and observations.
In closing, we will leave you with an old Mongolian proverb which sums up our experience. "Seeing something once is worth more than hearing about it a hundred times."
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Galapagos Islands
This was the perfect end to our trip, after seeing some of the world’s oldest and most impressive architecture, learning about different religions, political systems and cultures, we were ready for a lesson in natural history. Upon arrival, we were greeted by sea lions as we took what would become one of our modes of transportation, a zodiac ride, to our home for the next three nights, the Galapagos Legend. This was a ship that held up to 100 guests, and only our group had run of the ship. Getting our sea legs, we were delighted to find that our luggage did, in fact, fit in the rooms that were much more spacious than we had feared. It is amazing how much stuff you accumulate when away for a month!
We had two very full days learning about the birds and animals of the Galapagos, as well as its history and Darwin’s expedition. On land, the animals we observed included iguana’s, sea lions, crabs, snakes, an owl, and birds such as the blue footed boobie. Our fellow travelers were divided into three camps: those who laughed at every mention of the word boobies, those who found no humor in the word, and those who thought it was sophomoric to laugh, but laughed the hardest of all. You can guess which group we were in.
We also had some amazing experiences snorkeling with giant sea turtles, the sea lions, the sea iguana’s, starfish, and a seven foot sand shark. Luckily, only the sea turtle decided to chase Jane, not the shark that was oblivious to our presence, several yards below us. As usual, Jane was the one pushing to go in the water as often as possible, and we were lucky to have one of our new friends, Alec, join us on every venture. We considered ourselves the three musketeers of the water. Seeing the sea life was incredible, from fish to mammals. The variety of star fish was beyond anything that we had ever seen before.
We finally had some time to relax on the boat, despite that fact that we did everything on the schedule. Spending time with our new friends was very special, and bonds were formed that we hope will stay strong for many years to come. Of course, the pisco sour drinks that even Jane enjoyed on board might have helped along the relaxation process, too.
One of the things that we will never forget from our trip was the time that we sat in silence with some of our new friends taking in the grandeur of the islands, and the majesty of the birds and animals. Seeing the beauty before us made us marvel that because of the incredible protections that are in place to preserve the islands, we were seeing what Darwin had seen. We hope that it will be there in that state for many generations to come.
We had two very full days learning about the birds and animals of the Galapagos, as well as its history and Darwin’s expedition. On land, the animals we observed included iguana’s, sea lions, crabs, snakes, an owl, and birds such as the blue footed boobie. Our fellow travelers were divided into three camps: those who laughed at every mention of the word boobies, those who found no humor in the word, and those who thought it was sophomoric to laugh, but laughed the hardest of all. You can guess which group we were in.
We also had some amazing experiences snorkeling with giant sea turtles, the sea lions, the sea iguana’s, starfish, and a seven foot sand shark. Luckily, only the sea turtle decided to chase Jane, not the shark that was oblivious to our presence, several yards below us. As usual, Jane was the one pushing to go in the water as often as possible, and we were lucky to have one of our new friends, Alec, join us on every venture. We considered ourselves the three musketeers of the water. Seeing the sea life was incredible, from fish to mammals. The variety of star fish was beyond anything that we had ever seen before.
We finally had some time to relax on the boat, despite that fact that we did everything on the schedule. Spending time with our new friends was very special, and bonds were formed that we hope will stay strong for many years to come. Of course, the pisco sour drinks that even Jane enjoyed on board might have helped along the relaxation process, too.
One of the things that we will never forget from our trip was the time that we sat in silence with some of our new friends taking in the grandeur of the islands, and the majesty of the birds and animals. Seeing the beauty before us made us marvel that because of the incredible protections that are in place to preserve the islands, we were seeing what Darwin had seen. We hope that it will be there in that state for many generations to come.
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