Sand – red, white, pink, beige and sometimes black gathers in hills, dunes and flat seas of uncountable grains of sand. The desert brings out different elements for each person experiencing it. For some it is merely desolation and lifelessness while for others it means adventure and beauty.

Yes, beauty. That is the last word many people associate with the desert, but for those who know, who grew up surrounded by it, the desert is a place of rare and unique beauty and a subtlety of life that is both bold and stubborn – a small spot of green on an otherwise red canvas, a quick sideways movement caught out of the corner of your eye, the drama of a mauve, orange and blue sky, and endless stars winking in the darkness.

Then there are human contributions from historic 4,000-year-old rock drawings; the stone rose city of Petra, the 2,000-year-old city carved from canyon walls; and the finest Egyptian antiquities.

Big Five’s newest President’s Pick features Jordan & Egypt Adventure of the Ancients. This 14-day adventure does not include the standard Nile cruise. Indeed, you explore the landscapes of the region close up and stay in historic properties, which includes a palace or two, as you travel through Jordan’s stunning rock and sand landscapes to Siwa Oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt.

The journey encompasses a singular combination of traditional Bedouin culture, distinctive wind-and-sand hewn formations and traditions that date back millennia. One of the most romantic and memorable experiences is the fabled Rose City of Petra at night. As good as Petra is by day, it is almost mystical by candlelight. This evening absorb the mystery of the Nabatean City by the glow of 1,150 candles as storytellers share both legends and history of this amazing site. You approach on foot, making your way through the softly lit passageway through the Siq, as a seemingly magical flute plays from the mountain tops above the gorge.

You also travel through a world of riches and grandeur as you discover what the world of the ancient kings and queens must have been like such as in the Valley of the Kings and Queens, where for nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BCE, tombs were constructed for the pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom, encompassing the 18th to the 20th Dynasties of Ancient Egypt.

This journey carries on the historic and cultural themes in the properties used, beginning in Jordan, where you spend the night in a traditional Bedouin-type camp with the option to stay in a Bedouin tent or a domed tent, called a Martin Tent because its views remind you of scenes from the movie.

From a tent to a palace? Yes, savor the experience of a night at the former Winter Palace in Luxor, built in 1886 by British explorers and perched on the Nile River amid luxuriant tropical gardens and ancient temples. Now, a five-star Sofitel luxury hotel, it was once a winter retreat for the Egyptian royal family and dignitaries, and where Agatha Christie wrote her famed 1937 novel Death on the Nile. Villa Belle Époque is a boutique hotel, founded in 1907 along the river’s east bank in a meticulously planned quarter that remains synonymous with privilege. It was here that wealthy, cosmopolitan Cairenes built their stately residences and sprawling gardens. The adventure also includes an exploration of an historic oasis and a luxurious eco lodge with a difference. Authentic and ecological, Adrere Amellal’s rooms have no electricity or telephone in these dwellings of kershef, a mix of earth, stone and salt water. The food comes exclusively from the hotel’s organic garden. The building is a labyrinth of corridors leading to terraces or sumptuous and elegant covered areas. The furniture and sofas are made of earth covered with white cushions, and each detail is carved and enhanced with white limestone.

The President’s Pick Jordan & Egypt Adventure of the Ancients is a journey rich filled with stories, legends, people and experiences that bring out the best of Jordan and Egypt.

Nina Boys is our guest blogger for the second time. Nina is an avid explorer and passionate traveler whose journeys have taken her across five continents to some of the world’s most beautiful natural and cultural wonders. She has served as a judge for the National Geographic World Legacy Awards, honoring the planet’s sustainable travel visionaries, and has a knack for finding unique travel experiences wherever she goes. She is known to seek out up-and-coming art scenes, local delicacies at street food stands around the world, and opportunities to scuba dive on vibrant coral reefs, all while blogging about her off-the-beaten path adventures for publications including Virtuoso.com, Huffington Post and Roads & Kingdoms.

 

Southeast Asia journeysWhoosh! A cloth-covered ball whizzes past my face, just grazing my cheek. Jolted, I spin around to a row of giggling young women wearing dazzling multi-hued outfits and ornate strands of sparkling coins that jangle as they teeter precariously on Crayola-colored heels. Completely absorbed by the festivities all around, I had inadvertently walked into the Hmong matchmaking game of pov pob around which their New Year celebrations revolve.

Originally from China, the Hmong (pronounced: mong) migrated to Laos during the 19th century and today are among the most prominent of the nation’s 49 government-recognized ethnic groups. Travelers often visit their villages spread throughout Laos’ lush northern hills on guided treks, but those looking for a truly authentic cultural experience can do no better than attending a Hmong New Year party where their unique traditions are on full display. Participants prepare all year for the multi-day celebrations that begin in individual villages before snowballing into larger parties where normally isolated communities gather to socialize, perform – and perhaps most importantly – court romantic partners outside of their own clans. One of the largest of these takes place in the outskirts of the nation’s former royal capital, Luang Prabang, which draws nearly 1,000 participants from across the region at the end of the twelfth lunar calendar month. Earlier that morning I watched the Mekong’s espresso-tinted currents swirl lazily past the majestic city – until the sharp horn of a truck full of locals ready to party snaps me back to reality. Summoned to join the caravan, I hop in the back as we set off along dusty roads leading to the city’s outer limits where a sparsely populated forest has been decked out with stages, carnival games, an impressive array of homemade photo booths, and numerous al fresco food stands. I beeline for the low plastic stools that all but guarantee a delicious meal in Laos and am not disappointed when a steaming bowl of aromatic noodles laced with lemongrass is ladled from the large metal cauldron simmering atop open flames and passed my way. The Hmong harvest season has just ended and the fruits of their labor can be savored in a variety of traditional dishes here, including the chili-spiked sausages sizzling on the grill beside me, just waiting to be paired with homemade rice whiskey or the beloved national Beerlao.

the HmongWhile the crowd continues to grow, the first of many performances featuring traditional dancers, musicians playing handcrafted khaen bamboo pipes, and beauty queens gets underway. Caught admiring all the women parading their finest decorative garb, which has been painstakingly sewed from colorful swaths of psychedelic patterns that vary according to region, a grinning patron leads me to a booth where I am motioned to try on the traditional garments for myself. Emerging in full Hmong regalia, I am crowned with a neon tasseled cap and encouraged to pose against fluorescent backdrops of sprawling countryside scenery complete with soaring eagles. While New Year is a time to honor ancestors, uphold cultural traditions and relax after a long work year, travelers are more than welcome to join in – especially if they’re up for an over-the-top photoshoot or two. But amid all the lighthearted fun, the most important New Year activity by far is the pov pob matchmaking game played primarily by adolescents looking for love. Standing in two parallel lines, impeccably-dressed singles shyly toss a cloth-covered ball back and forth in a courting ritual central to their way of life. Coupling within one’s own clan is prohibited, so these gatherings offer an important opportunity to meet potential suitors and future spouses through the casual icebreaker. Having accidentally found myself in the middle of one such mating match, I dodge yet another ball before ducking out of the line of fire and leaving them to it. After all, no respectful guest meddles with the time-honored tradition of Hmong speed dating.

 

Explore Laos as well as Cambodia on our Cambodia and Laos section for exceptional Southeast Asia journeys.

Australian Tours & Adventure

In honor of Easter, we thought we’d talk about eggs… Well, one egg anyway. You may be surprised to learn that the animal responsible for producing the largest egg is a shark. It is the whale shark, a carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The animal holds the egg inside its body until it hatches. The largest whale shark egg ever recorded measured 12 inches long, 5.5 inches wide and 3.5 inches thick.

The fish are also rather large. The species was first singled out in 1828 after one was harpooned in Table Bay, South Africa. Thought to be a whale, it was 4.6 m/15 ft long. The name, of course, refers to its size, which can be as large as some species of whale. Whale sharks have very large mouths that can be 1.5 m/4.9 ft wide, containing 300 to 350 rows of tiny teeth and are filter feeders, which is found in only two other sharks, the megamouth shark and the basking shark. They feed almost exclusively on plankton and small fishes and pose no threat to humans.

This fascinating species inhabits all tropical and warm-temperate seas of the planet. It is the largest non-cetacean animal alive today. The average size of an adult whale shark is estimated at 9.8 m/32 ft, weighing nine tons. Yes, that’s about 20,000 pounds, although several specimens have been reported at more than 18 m/59 ft long. The largest verified specimen was caught on November 11, 1949, near Baba Island, in Karachi, Pakistan. It was 12.65 m/41.5 ft long, and weighed some 21.5 tons/47,000 pounds with a girth of 7 m/23 ft.

Seasonal feeding aggregations occur at several coastal sites including South Africa, Saint Helena Island in the South Atlantic Ocean; Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti, Gladden Spit in Belize and Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia.

The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal kingdom, most notably being by far the largest living nonmammalian vertebrate. It is the sole member of the genus Rhincodon and the only extant member of the family Rhincodontidae.

Rarely found in waters below 21 °C/(70 °F, whale sharks’ lifespan is thought to be about 70 years. Some estimates from data collected in the field seem to suggest they may be able to live to a remarkably old age of 130 years.

As noted above, one of the best places to encounter these gentle giants is in Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef, where you have the opportunity to not only see whale sharks, but also meet them on their own terms – take a swim with them during our 14-day Wild Australia adventure.

Vietnam & Cambodia Tour

This seems a time when out-of-the-box creativity is sorely needed to solve some of our more intractable global problems. Cambodia, for example, is fighting to move away from poverty, but many families still struggle day by day to find food and safe water enough for their families and adequate shelter.

And HUSK is there to help, supported by the owners of Sojourn Boutique Villas. HUSK “works directly with communities to help improve the lives of Cambodian families. Our goals focus around the basics of providing access to safe water, livelihood opportunities, health, education and environment.”  

The directors are all volunteers and only local Khmer staff are paid by HUSK, which focuses on the basics – food, water and a safe place to stay.

That’s where the eco brinks come in.

Like so many impoverished countries, once outside the larger tourist areas, the problem of trash becomes obvious. Away from the main tourist parts of Siem Reap, rubbish collection is simply not available. Even when it is, families cannot always afford to take advantage of it. It doesn’t help that there is a serious lack of awareness or education about environmental issues.

The waste is left scattered around villages or in most cases burnt –both options are undesirable. Litter has become a major community health issue across Cambodia.

Enter eco bricks!

HUSK searched for a solid solution to the very real pollution problems caused by excessive rubbish. They discovered that plastic bottles (one of the biggest contributors) as well as other trash could be used as building materials. They set out to build the first bottle buildings from these ‘eco’ bricks in Cambodia.

The idea is to fill each bottle with ‘clean’ throwaway items such as straws, plastic bags and polystyrene trays to begin to create each eco brick. The bricks are then bound together with chicken wire before the entire construction is fixed with cement and painted. The end result is a building that looks to be made of actual bricks.

Brilliant – two birds, one brick!

So far, HUSK has used more than 100,000 bottles to create a medical center, three classrooms, an income generation workshop, a toilet block and fencing, while at the same time spreading this invaluable idea to other communities.

They have other projects focusing on education, safe water and more. As a visitor, you, too, can be a part of the solution with their Day in a Life project. You have the unique opportunity to step inside the shoes of a villager and share a day in their community. This adventure allows you to meet and interact with local people in a respectful and meaningful way, help your host family with a work project and share lunch with them.

Experience these special destinations in our new 15-day The Land, The People of Vietnam & Cambodia.

Australian Tour

Who doesn’t love a lighthouse? They recall the romance of ages past and simpler times. Some people enjoy the remoteness, others like the scenic locations.

The idea of lighting coastlines and harbors by fire to assist mariners dates back millennium. One of the early lighthouses is credited to Themistocles, c. 524–459 BCE, an Athenian politician and general, who established a lighthouse, which was a small stone column with a fire beacon at the harbor in Piraeus connected to Athens in the fifth century BCE.

In this day of GPS and satellites, the iconic symbol of the sea seems mostly relegated to the past. One estimate states that there are still more than 18,600 lighthouses worldwide, not all still in use and many are museums.

A rare rocky promontory on a sand island is home to one such lighthouse. Cape Moreton Lighthouse on the island of Moreton was the first lighthouse to be built in Queensland. It was constructed as a New South Wales light in 1857 before Queensland became a separate colony. It was built because of the increasing traffic to the northern coast. For a long time was the only light on 3,236 miles of coastline.

The entrance into Moreton Bay, near the island, is scattered with wrecks that attest the notoriousness of the bay. The tower was built using sandstone quarried on the island. The tower was added to in 1928. The original light source was oil wick, but it was converted in 1930 to pressurized acetylene gas. That was followed seven years later by a conversion to 240v electricity. Solar conversion took place in 1993.

The lighthouse sits on the northern point of Moreton Island. On the west side of the island is Tangalooma, which was the location of Queensland’s first and only whaling station from 1952 to 1962. Today, it serves as a small resort that serves mainly day trippers from Brisbane.

During our President’s Picks: Australia Down Under Canvas, you have the opportunity to take a ferry to Moreton Island to enjoy dolphin feeding or join in a 4WD tour of the island, which includes the lighthouse. You can also try sand tobogganing or simply relax at Tangalooma Resort.

Other happenings in this program include leisurely touring by bike of Brisbane, one of Australia’s oldest cities. It features more than 17 miles of scenic bicycle pathways surrounding the Brisbane River and city center. Explore Bamurru Plains, an extraordinary wilderness nestled on the coastal floodplains of the Mary River Delta just west of Kakadu National Park in Australia’s Northern Territory. Learn about Margaret River wine region as well as savoring a smorgasbord of great foods, boutique breweries and colorful arts and crafts galleries. In Bouddi National Park, take in an Indigenous Didgeridoo Smoking Ceremony and relish a guided tour hosted by traditional Aboriginal Elder.

Quite simply, the 15-day President’s Picks: Australia Down Under Canvas features enough activities from private cooking classes to a gourmet wine tour of the Hunter Valley Region, to kayaking and paddle boarding, to please almost any traveler to Australia.

 

P.S…. After one canceled flight, one schedule change and a forced over, Big Five’s pres is in LA, still trying to get to Australia. Maybe tonight, Ashish? Stay tuned for more of the big guy’s travel adventures.

Brazil Private Tour

Or, should I say a hidden gem? Actually, it is both. The name Chapada Diamantina can be translated as the Diamond Highlands.  It sits smack at the geographical center of the state Bahia, 249 miles from Salvador, Brazil.

If you love hiking through deep valleys and canyons, past stunning peaks, swimming in natural pools, then the isolated Chapada Diamantina National Park is clearly for you. Explore dramatic caves such as Lapa Doce.  Formed by an underground river, the cave system runs over 14 miles. Some of the chambers have 66-foot ceilings. Discover unique aquatic plants and fish in the river and the beautiful lake. Not far away is Pratinha’s crystal lake with opportunities to zip line or snorkel inside Pratinha Cave; and the impressive Devil’s Pool Waterfall beckons you to take a swim.

This seems like the perfect place to get lost for a time, but the trick is to find it. You’ll need to get out your GPS to discover its location – or just ask us.

The park is close to Salvador, yet few outside the area know about it. This was not always the case. The first inhabitants of these mountains were the indigenous Brazilians. It was not discovered by Europeans until the early 1700s. The Portuguese crown was aware of gold in the northern area of Chapada Diamantina so by 1720 the government had legalized gold mining, so the quest for more gold went on for two centuries. A mere 12 years later, the Portuguese discovered diamonds were in the mountains but they did not go after them for fear of Spain’s intervention.

In 1844, a gravel of diamonds was discovered near the town of Mucugê, which brought adventurers, cowboys and all manner of get-rich characters. Lençóis, Mucugê and Andaraí were the most important booming diamond cities.  But by the end of the century the diamond boom pretty much went bust along with these new towns.

But nature has given the region a second chance, having blessed these mountains with lavish waterfalls with countless cascades, where you can swim all year round in the many pools and falls because the sun is very strong both in summer and winter.  There are also opportunities to do some ziplining abd.

If you want to relax a bit, you can take a break in some of the small towns of Chapada such as Lençois, which offers museums, a variety of restaurants and art galleries. Every year between August and September there is a “City Festival” with concerts, expositions and parties.

You will want to make sure you set your GPS to find this still relatively unknown diamond. Begin your Brazil exploration here.

Note: As of June 17, 2019, Brazil will no longer require visas for U.S. and Canadian citizens.  

 

 

Vietnam Private Exploration

If helicopters make you nervous, and luxurious cars intimidate you, and the presidential suite scares your wallet, well then, you better stop here. This Vietnam Private Exploration probably isn’t for you. The seven-day journey is about discovering unique Vietnam in inimitable style with VIP airport services, fine dining at one of Hanoi’s finest French restaurants, luxe accommodations and more.

That doesn’t mean you’ll miss the everyday side of life in Vietnam. On the contrary, on your first early morning, you get a glimpse of people in the park at Hoan Kiem Lake as they perform their daily ritual practicing tai chi and aerobics. You can join the locals if you like before settling in with a cup of Vietnam’s distinctive ‘Egg coffee’.

Meet fascinating ‘outsiders’ who call Vietnam home such as French-born Réhahn, a noted photographer based in Hoi An. He is widely known for his portraits that “capture emotions and people’s souls.” He has a special interest in the heritage of Vietnam’s 54 indigenous tribes. As he visited the tribes of northern Vietnam, he saw these diverse cultures and understood how quickly these cultures were disappearing. In January 2017, he opened the Precious Heritage Art Gallery Museum, showcasing these ethnic groups traditions and heritage through their traditional costumes, dialects, rites and ancestral knowledge. Some of the traditional costumes were given to him by the chiefs of the tribal communities because they, too, can see that their lifestyles are slowly vanishing.

And for a truly singular encounter, meet Nguyen Hong My in his Hanoi home for tea and talk. As a young man at engineering college, Hong My was approached to take a test. That changed his life. He was sent to flight school in Russia. He returned one of only 120 qualified fighter pilots in the country. He took to the skies to defend his country. You have a rare opportunity to listen someone who was on the other side of our war with his country and gain a rare look at a different perspective. Spend time with him in his home looking through old photographs, books and testimonials. His war stories are fascinating, but his post-war story is possibly more so. Some 30 years later, he met two Americans – the US pilot that he shot down and the US pilot who shot him down! Remarkably, the three men are friends today.

Savor a private cooking class with the Academy Chef focusing on Hanoi cuisine. You are guided through the heart of the oldest and busiest market in Hoi An to gain insights into Vietnamese food found in the old quarter’s myriad of street stalls.

See Saigon from one of the classic rooftop bars in Saigon with panoramic views of this frenetic city while you sample an array of cocktails and delicious snacks and close out the day in your Presidential Suite.

From a five-star speedboat down the Saigon River to the infamous Cu Chi Tunnels, to a helicopter over serene Halong Bay with its towering limestone stacks, their bushy tops rarely seen from this perspective, to luxury vehicles in the larger cities, you will be pampered, Vietnamese style!

Even if you have been there before, Vietnam Private Exploration will make you rethink your ideas about what is possible in Southeast Asia.

We welcome Nina Boys as our guest blogger this week. Nina is an avid explorer and passionate traveler whose journeys have taken her across five continents to some of the world’s most beautiful natural and cultural wonders. Nina has served as a judge for the National Geographic World Legacy Awards, honoring the planet’s sustainable travel visionaries, and has a knack for finding unique travel experiences wherever she goes. She is known to seek out up-and-coming art scenes, local delicacies at street food stands around the world, and opportunities to scuba dive on vibrant coral reefs, all while blogging about her off-the-beaten path adventures for publications including Virtuoso.com, Huffington Post and Roads & Kingdoms.

 

The night is young, the air warm, and I am on a mission to find what is arguably the most famous restaurant in South America.  Strolling Lima’s hip Barranco neighborhood, I wind past vibrant street murals searching for ‘Casa Tupac’ – Virgilio Martínez’s new culinary complex that houses Central, his celebrated brainchild, and its sister establishments. Martínez has become one of the most highly sought-after chefs in the world since debuting Central’s Mater Elevations – an innovative tasting menu which takes diners on a voyage through Peru’s varying altitudes by creatively showcasing the indigenous ingredients native to each place.

Swinging open Casa Tupac’s heavy doors, I notice what looks like a small glass laboratory where botanical specimens hang organized by their scientific names. In my quest for gastronomic greatness, I have discovered the biological and cultural research center behind Martínez’s growing culinary empire. Enter Mater Iniciativa: the driving force behind what just may be the future of Peruvian cuisine.

The innovative project is led by Chef Martínez’s sister Malena, who travels throughout the elevations of Peru with a team of experts to collect, study and ultimately preserve the incredible diversity of plants that thrive within one of the four most megadiverse countries on earth. By digging deeply into Peru’s wild ecosystems, from the dense Amazon jungle to sweeping grasslands to the mighty Andes mountain range, Mater Iniciativa gains new knowledge on the nation’s natural and cultural diversity with help from the indigenous peoples who call the distinct regions home. In turn, the research shines an international spotlight on Peru’s many unique cultures and crops through scientific discovery, interactive conferences, and once at Central, thought-provoking fine dining. My next stop is Cusco, where beneath the beating midday sun of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, I watch patiently as local farmer Manuel digs deep in the fertile earth, pulling out gnarled tubers. He shakes off a film of soil to reveal rich shades of magenta and ochre while whispering to himself in Quechua, the mother tongue of the Inca. Andean culture, he explains, shares an ancient spiritual connection with pachamama, Mother Earth, and her many crops – including the sacred potatoes that have been grown here for millennia. I acknowledge his words with a solemn nod. We are, after all, in the epicenter of potato diversity, where over half of the world’s known varieties are found.

Corn is another important staple, which the Inca fermented into a beer known as chicha de jora, considered a bridge to the gods and used in sacred ceremonies. The sour corn libation is still popular in the Andres today and can be sampled at one of the region’s many chicherías – just be sure to pour some out for pachamama before imbibing.

Peru CusineMater Iniciativa has taken a special interest in the Sacred Valley’s agricultural legacy and their scientific explorations prompted Chef Martínez to open his second restaurant – Mil – high in its mystic hills, just outside the ancient ruins of Moray. In fact, guests dining at Mil literally look out over the spectacular ruins while enjoying dishes steeped in the region’s ancient history – some of which are cooked in an underground huatia oven dating back to the Inca Empire. In contrast to Central Restaurant’s forward-looking approach, Mil serves unique interpretations of ‘ancestral cuisines’ through a tasting menu that only utilizes ingredients found at its 11,500 foot elevation. The restaurant also shares strong ties with its neighboring communities, who introduced traditional agricultural practices to the onsite gardens where guests can also get their hands dirty harvesting potatoes before sitting down to a culinary journey back in time.

Once again in Lima, I head to Central’s more casual sister restaurant Kjolle – run by Chef Martínez’s wife, Pia León. Tucking into a savory quinoa tart topped with rainbow-hued ribbons of root vegetables from the Sacred Valley, I reach for a gin-based cocktail shaken with Amazonian cocona fruit and dusted with coca leaf powder. When the server asks how I am enjoying my meal, I pause to reflect on all the scientific and cultural research that has gone into it, and on the limitless possibilities that seem to exist in Peruvian cuisine. With an appetite stronger than my desire to translate such thoughts, I simply smile and reply “Es perfecto. Salud.”


To explore Peru’s amazing cuisine as well as it’s people, culture and history, start planning your own journey to Peru.

We human beings are part of a wonderous and diverse family…. The family of primates — Primat-, from primus: “prime, first rank”.  Primates arose 55–85 million years ago from small terrestrial mammals that adapted to living in the trees of tropical forests.

From the tiniest Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur, just over three and a half inches long and weighing an ounce, to the eastern gorilla, some as tall as six feet and weighing over 440 pounds, there are 300 or more primate species, including humans, making it the third most diverse order of mammals, after rodents and bats, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. And, remarkably, new primate species continue to be discovered. More than 25 new species were described in the first decade of the 2000’s, and 11 more since 2010.

The Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur is one of some 100 species of lemurs. Remarkably, they are native only to the island of Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are small, have a pointed snout, large eyes and a long tail.

On the other end of the size scale is the critically endangered gorilla, the largest living primate. Ground-dwelling, herbivores, the great apes inhabit only a small percentage of the forests of central Sub-Saharan Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorillas and the western gorillas (both critically endangered). They cover a wide range of elevations. The mountain gorilla inhabits the montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in altitude from 7,200 to 14,100 feet. Lowland gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level.

The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the chimpanzees and bonobos. The closest relatives of gorillas are the other two Homininae genera, chimpanzees and we humans, all having diverged from a common ancestor about seven million years ago. Human gene sequences differ only 1.6% on average from the sequences of corresponding gorilla genes.

With so much in common, we owe it to our animal companions on this planet to learn more about them. Our newest President’s Pick: On the Trail of Primates helps you explore the worlds of the lemurs of Madagascar and the mountain gorillas of Uganda. Travel into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its ecological importance. This primeval forest remains one of the most biologically diverse areas on Earth with some of the richest populations of trees, small mammals, birds, butterflies and reptiles. This is home to roughly half of the world’s population of the mountain gorillas. Those who have been lucky enough to spend time with these amazing animals in their natural habitat describe the encounter as one of the most profound experiences of their lives while others speak in terms of a spiritual experience. Whatever your reaction, you will be deeply moved by these gentle animals.

Then you travel on to the island of Madagascar for delightful encounters with a variety of lemurs including inquisitive groups of ring-tailed lemurs and the entertaining Verreaux sifaka as well as mouse, sportive and sifaka lemurs and a great variety of birds such as the malachite kingfisher, Lafresnayes and hook billed vangas, Verreauxs coua, crested and giant coua, scops owl and many others.

The 18-day President’s Pick: On the Trail of Primates journey introduces us to some of our closest relatives.

“The dynamics of Africa are always changing, evolving, and never more than in 2019,” states Ashish Sanghrajka. “The concept of the safari is expanding far beyond classic routes and activities to more authentic, personal and closer encounters. This program demonstrates that and represents the exciting new frontiers to be experienced in Africa.”

A hammam was a public steam bath. The original hammams were found in Arabia, and bathing became a central part of Roman life. But Turkey popularized the tradition by making hammams available to people of all statuses and introduced them to Europeans. Bath houses were especially popular in the Ottoman Empire.

These early spas were also found in ancient Greece and remain an important cultural ritual in Japan. It is possible that cultural exchange throughout the Mediterranean helped spread the concept of the hammam across several societies.

The hammam today, however, is not merely housing a giant public bath tub. It is a place for ritual bathing as well as for socializing. In some regions of the Middle East, important events are still celebrated at the local hammam. For example, brides often visit the hammam before their weddings. Private palaces and large homes also historically had hammams for their exclusive use.

The elegant spas we enjoy now are the grand descendants of those public bath houses. In the harried rush of modern life, they are probably even more sought out as refuges to relax, reenergize and temporarily escape outside pressures.

In addition to a menu of massage options, Morocco’s spas offer experiences focused on authentic hammam rituals and treatments in special, uniquely designed relaxation rooms. As part of the hammam, specialized herbal remedies have been created with traditionally cultivated organic plants used by Ouirgane villagers of the region. These organic plants are used in recipes for natural beauty products or for herbal teas that extend the benefits of the treatments. The goal is to promote local natural resources such as olives, argan oil and volcanic clay, while also preserving the environment, culture and traditions of the region.

Some spas present workshops where guests can learn about the therapeutic properties of aromatherapy; or explore the secrets of preparing ghassoul, a mineral only found in the rock strata beneath Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. You can attend a Henna Tattoo workshop and learn how to prepare a henna paste and make your own traditional tattoos.

We can help you add an old-world experience in an intriguing setting to your Morocco vacation.

Tokyo is one of the most iconic global cities. As the most populous metropolitan area on the earth, it sees to reveal almost endless variations of old meets new, ancient bumps up against ultra-modern. For those keen on all things futuristic, Tokyo may be your next adventure. Want to dine at a robot restaurant? Tokyo has it. How about a 60-foot unicorn? Yup, you can find it. Remote-control toilets? Of course.

You might want to add a ‘future day’ to your Japan itinerary.

When Tokyo ran out of space, they turned to the sea and created Odaiba, a man-made island created by massive landfills, featuring many hypermodern and strange buildings memorably described as the result of a preschooler’s architecture class. Among the exhibition pavilions, indoor shopping malls, game centers, cafes, restaurants, and surrealistic constructions of Odaiba, you never fail to be intrigued by the structures on this landfill that look to come from the distant future.

The Miraikan National Museum of Engineering Science and Innovation was developed on the island in Tokyo’s bay. Here, you experience interactive exhibits peopled with robots as well as exhibits that encompass apocalyptic scenarios, information technologies, biology and space exploration.

It shares the island with a remodeled 60-foot Unicorn Gundam statue that can be robotically switched between Unicorn Mode and Destroy Mode. Impressive and a bit intimidating.

Mega Web is a giant Toyota showroom that shows off all of Toyota’s latest models, car accessories and technologies. The Panasonic Center is a showroom for the latest products and technologies by the Panasonic Corporation. On display are the newest and most ultra-cool cameras, TVs, computers, videogames, home appliances and more.

On the mainland, Akihabara, Tokyo’s Electric Town, is famous for its hundreds of electronic shops selling an astonishing array of gadgets and gizmos and the electronic devices. Recently, Akihabara has become even more famous for its “Otaku” culture. Otaku is derived from the Japanese word for another house or another family; however, in modern Japanese slang it refers to young Japanese who are infatuated with all things anime, manga (comics), cosplay, gaming, or other aspects of Japanese culture.

If you are looking for a reason to explore futuristic Tokyo, the perfect excuse could be the globe’s most prestigious international athletic competition, the 2020 Olympic Summer Games. By all accounts, Tokyo is preparing to showcase its world-renowned technology!

Exploring the past or future, Japan has a wealth of both.

Well, 2018 was a busy year for us. We delved deeper in to family travel with our development of our exciting Kids Kouncil™ as we held our first three round-tables with our junior board members. With their help we are working on our first Kids Kouncil Approved™ adventure, which will debut soon.

Through the year, we launched three sustainable travel websites – Galapagos.com, Safaritours.com and Visibleasia.com to serve as an information resource for both you and your clients. This is an easy way to begin to explore the hot topic of sustainability in the destinations to which Big Five travels. The country listings tell you a bit about what’s going on, and each country is ranked.

The Spirit of Big Five added two new nonprofit projects in 2018. Awamaki is a project that helps women who are artisan textiles makers and weavers to learn how to run small businesses. In the Andean Mountains of Peru, women who had few opportunities to earn income and help support their families are now being empowered. The second project is the nonprofit Jetwing Youth Development Program (JYDP), which helps fund training for children of war in northern Sri Lanka. The Spirit of Big Five Foundation was attracted to this project because it offered hands-on help to young people in the area to encourage them to consider careers in the hospitality industry. For more about these projects, you can visit the Spirit of Big Five Foundation.

We also added Ethiopia to our list of destinations. This endlessly fascinating country offers ancient cultures, history, natural beauty and a variety of adventures. Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and the second-oldest official Christian nation in the world after Armenia. Its medieval rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and Gheralta, palaces and temples date back 3,000 years. It is home to the world’s fourth-holiest Islamic city as well as the oldest continuously occupied town south of the Sahara. Ethiopia also has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. As the country begins to return to the international stage, we at Big Five are thrilled to share our enthusiasm for this dynamic re-emerging destination.

And as we launch into 2019, our newest edition of our ever-popular Navigator Series® Edition IV books will be here shortly. Very soon now, you will be able to get your own copy. You can order your copy on our website under the Contact Us section or follow this link to fill out an order form.

We look forward to a year of fabulous adventures. And we wish you the very best as we head into 2019.

That is one designation for Alpha Fornacis, or as we say  — Alpha IVnacis. This binary star is approximately 46 light-years or 14 parsecs from our sun. A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common barycenter – the center of mass of two or more bodies that orbit each other. They often look to be one star to the unaided eye. Research over the last two centuries suggests that half or more of visible stars are part of multiple-star systems.

Alpha Fornacis A (one of the two stars that make up the binary star) has a stellar classification of F8IV, where the luminosity class IV indicates this is a subgiant star. It has 33% more mass than our own sun and is an estimated 2.9 billion years old. To reach this star from our planet would only take 46 years if we could travel close to the speed of light. But, there is always a but, using our current level of technology… well, the fastest receding spacecraft we have is Voyager 1, which has been operating for 41 years and 3 months as of December 5, 2018, is exiting the solar system at 62,000kmh or about 1/17,000 the speed of light. Voyager 1 would take a staggering 17,000 years to go just one lightyear. To travel 40 light years adds up to about 700,000 years.

Suffice it to say, we won’t be ordering pizza from Alpha Fornacis anytime soon. Fortunately, you will not have to wait nearly that long to be among the first to receive our newest and greatest What’s IV. Yes, I know, we are persistent. Take a chance. Be among the first to get whatever it is. Why not?

To pre-order your What’s IVCLICK HERE and enter your name and email address.

 

What do you say to one who began life with little, yet flourished to become someone very special? Happy birthday to one tough mom, Usha Sanghrajka. You may never have even heard of her because she shuns the spotlight. Much to her displeasure I’m sure, I would like to share a bit of insight into the backbone of our family and of this company.

My mom is the definition of a self-made woman. When she decides what the next step is, nothing stops her – even in the face of seemingly impossible odds. When we moved from Kenya to New York, my mother barely spoke or read English. She never had the option to go to college growing up because her family couldn’t afford it. She took odd jobs to help make ends meet while my father started the US office for Big Five. In addition to working, helping my father, caring for me and doing all the cooking and household jobs, she still found time to go to the home of a family friend to practice reading every day to teach herself to read and write in English.

Usha also taught herself accounting and how to use a GDS. She even went so far as to learn about database programing. I suspect the last part was showing off. Seriously, my mother is self-made in every respect, and today is the CFO of Big Five!

My mother is as spiritual as she is practical. When her mother fell ill, she rushed to Pune, India to be with her. She landed in Mumbai and was on the road to Pune when she received word that her mother had passed away. I asked her if she was ok. Her answer was simple, pure – she was at peace as was her mother. She had been talking to her mother during the entire journey home.

She is also an example of a force multiplier. To me, a true hero is someone who makes those around them better. Usha exemplifies that. No matter what was going on around her, she always made time for me. During grade school in New York, my parents couldn’t afford schools in the city, so I spend the week living with my great uncle in Huntington and the weekends in the city with my parents. I took the Long Island Railroad by myself when I was eight and nine. My mother was at the station to meet me with a smile every time. Even when six guys attempted to mug me in Penn Station, she told me to shake it off and move on.

When we could finally afford our own house in Huntington, my mother, who had not driven since we lived in Nairobi years earlier, had to relearn how to drive. Of course, she learned quickly and drove anything with wheels. At this point, she was working in the office with my father building the foundation of the Big Five you know today. After working day and night, often leaving for work before I got up and coming home after I had gone to bed, she still made sure my homework was done. She found time to help me when I was struggling and pushed me to succeed. That included hitting tennis balls with me when I needed practice serving for the school team. Usha had never touched a tennis ball before that.

She never once complained about any of it.

My mother has that special ability to cheer people on. Most of you know that I tend to be a bit accident prone. At last count, the number of scars top 100 and the stitches, torn muscles and broken bones likely approach that number. At each injury, she was there. When I was 14, she got a call from a stranger telling her that my hand was badly cut while I climbed a fence to play tennis. She met me at the hospital and she never even whimpered as I squeezed her hand so tightly while the nurse drowned the open wound in disinfectant. That same year as I walked home from school in New York, I had a knife put to my throat by someone who didn’t like the color of my skin. After finally telling my parents what had happened, my mother told me that I had to be better than that and I had to ignore the ignorance of others because they didn’t know who I was or what I had inside.

I was the first person in my immediate family to go to university, and I chose to go across country to Arizona. My mother encouraged me to go find my own identity, even if that was on the other side of the country. I did. Then, my mother received a second phone call from a stranger… this time from the University of Arizona medical center. Her son had collapsed on the street from dehydration and a possible heart issue and was taken to the ER. Of course, she worried but, by all accounts, she didn’t panic. She waited to see what was happening before coming out to see me. She never once let on that she was worried, nor did she insist I come home. She continued to encourage me to forge ahead. She never had a doubt that I was headed on my own path.

My mother is not just a great cheerleader, she has also followed her own path. She fell in love with yoga several years ago, so she decided to open the Yoga Center of Stuart to support yoga in her community.

I know I have been a handful at times, but my mother always had an uncanny sense about when it was time to push me along or knock me back down to size. She knew when to pick me up and when to let me fall.

Some of you may remember when I became emotional on stage a few years ago when Big Five won the Virtuoso Sustainable Tourism Leadership Award for the second time. You see, earlier that year, while on holiday in India, my mother was taken to hospital for an emergency procedure on her heart. I was on the other side of the world and finally began to understand how she must had felt so many times. And I wasn’t there to help her. Author Simon Sinek talks about higher purpose and what drives us internally. Well, she is one of my higher purposes. That award was for her; we were up on that stage because of her.

You will likely never meet my mother as she is a truly humble person who has no need of spotlights. If you are lucky enough to encounter her, please hug her for me!

Happy birthday, Mom, and thank you.

“’Purpose in life refers to a feeling that your life has direction and meaning, and your daily activities matter,” said lead researcher Eric Kim, a Ph.D. at the University of Michigan.

The mother gorilla, like females of most species, instinctively knows her purpose is the care and protection of her young.

Each of us begins each day with a purpose, which is revealed as day unfolds, whether that is to work, to care for family or to build something. Purpose is clear cut most of the time.

But we humans need more than that to get out of bed every morning to repeat what we did yesterday. Whether we realize it or not, each of us has a higher purpose, a divine thread that runs through our lives and sits at the core of our being. It is nothing less than our soul’s reason for existence, the job we are each here to do.

What is your higher purpose? When was the last time someone asked you that question? It can be a bit startling if it comes out of the blue.

At Big Five, we have understood for a long time that we are more than a luxury tour operator. We don’t sell trips like widgets.

As a team, we have over the years explored this topic, approaching it from many different angles. We have sought out what it means to each of us to do what we do. We have looked at what our individual higher purposes might be as we defined what that means to Big Five as well.

This higher purpose is an integral part of a person, never changing, regardless of the situation.

If you’d like to read more about of our individual higher purposes, visit This Link.  You’ll learn more soon…. very soon.

As difficult as it may be to wrap your head around this – the 2018 holiday season is nearly upon us. Hey, I’m just the messenger.

Remember back in the heat of July, you toyed with the idea of a delightful winter escape for you and your family? But then that same family, work and all manner of chores got in the way of further thought.

And now it’s mid-October. Egads! Just how much trouble are you in?

This is where spontaneity + open mindedness + flexibility equals = a fabulous getaway.

We have a few tips that might help you out. The first question is obviously “where?” If you do not have something specific in mind, consider trying our easy and fun Your Travel DNA website – yourtraveldna.com. Click on Find Your Travel DNA and select the responses that fit your personality and interests. Are you an Adrenaline Seeker or maybe a Foodie? You will get a list of destinations that encompass those interests. The bonus is that you may discover an idea for a totally new destination you had never considered before.

We made sure that the kids could participate, too, with DNA for Kids, where they select answers to a few questions and their country selections are revealed. These can be printed out or can be emailed to the person doing the trip planning.

The value of Your Travel DNA is that it can spur conversations among the entire family and may yield some interesting and unexpected results.

If you begin looking a month or two in advance, it will serve you to be flexible in the actual where and when. Have a few alternative ideas in case your first choice isn’t available. Okay, now you have a destination or maybe two in mind. The next step is to make sure the locale you’ve selected is in the right season for what you want to do. Journeys can be ruined if the weather is awful, the best sights are closed, and nothing is going on. Traveling at the wrong time even to the right place can ruin the best of intentions.

Make sure that you can get there and back. I know that sounds obvious, but you might be surprised by how many people attend to all the details but leave the flights for later. Most likely you will not be able to swim, bicycle or hike to your vacation spot, so make sure that you can get flights booked, or cabins reserved in the case of a cruise.

Once you have worked your magic and formed a plan – a location and an itinerary, don’t overthink or second guess your decisions. Again, flexibility can pay off big here. If you secure space on flights or ships you want, this is not the time to be hesitant. If you find it, grab it because it is more than likely to be gone by tomorrow.

So, are you ready? Visit This Link to see the destinations that currently have some space availability.

 

 

P.S. In case you are wondering, the climber is Karina, our Peru Country Manager and a very good sport.

 

 

 

As a newly appointed FTA board member, I was excited to hear the great feedback when Big Five Brand Manager Deborah Kilcollins returned from Family Travel Association Summit 2018 in Bermuda.

She met Erin Kirkland, who is all about family travel. Erin is an Alaska author, journalist and mother of two based in Anchorage. She has authored two books related to the subject and can be found at akonthego.com/blog/. But what peaked Deborah’s interest were her bookshelves.

When Erin arrived in Alaska, she soon realized that the only way to get around was by plane as roads are few and far between. Even a visit to the doctor or going to school could mean ride to the airport for a flight out. She also noted that Alaskan children are lacking some of the resources that other communities around the country had access to. Her website notes that “The Annie E. Casey Foundation reported in 2014 that 73% of Alaska 4th grade students are not proficient in reading; 64% of young children in Alaska are not attending preschool programs.” Even though some children may have electronic devises, they seldom read.

Kirkland was clearing out her own library of books that her children had outgrown. She wanted to see them go somewhere and not simply tossed out. She had a flash of an idea.

Why not put books in airports for kids and families? Read on the Fly is the result. This program is a reading and book distribution project that she launched in 2016 at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. She had a bookshelf built and installed and populated it with those books she removed from her own shelves. Since that time, Read on the Fly has gathered volunteers to help manage the project and has distributed some 10,000 books since the project began. Currently, Read On the Fly has 14 shelves in seven Alaska airports. Erin’s goal is to have a shelf, at least, in every Alaska airport – all 250.

“The project took on a life of its own,” Kirkland smiled. And the word spread. “Friends of friends and others came onboard and wanted to help.”

Erin Kirkland is just one of the nearly 200 participants who are involved in various aspects of the travel industry and include tour operators, suppliers, associations, travel agents, destination representatives and media who focus on family travel. They came together at the Fairmont Southhampton in Bermuda this week to attend the summit, which had panel discussions and workshops that dealt with topics ranging from “helping make travel affordable for families who don’t think they can afford it” to “emerging destinations for families” to “making travel accessible for families with special needs.”

This is the fourth summit put on by FTA, founded by Rainer Jenss, president. The sessions were well presented and motivating. But beyond that, I noticed a strong positive energy that seemed to pervade the conference. People were energized and eager to meet and share with each other.  Keynote speaker Gordon Hartman, founder of Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antionion, TX, shared his story about creating a park that welcomes everyone including those with special needs. Indeed, every special needs guest is admitted free. He and his wife Maggie developed this nonprofit 501(c)(3) after they realized how few parks and venues were user friendly for their daughter, Morgan, who has physical and cognitive challenges. These parents took on the task of making a very special place where everyone is welcome to play, make friends and laugh.

The caliber and passion of all those who attended this year’s FTA summit made this a rewarding and rich experience.

For more about FTA, you can contact Rainer Jenss, rainer@familytravel.org, or Ashish Sanghrajka, ashish@bigfive.com.

Africa at the turn of the 20th century was a bit like our Wild West and offered quite the adventure for the Danish Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (aka Isak Dinesen). She arrived in Kenya in 1913 to start a coffee plantation with her soon-to-be husband, Baron Bror Blixen-Finecke.

She later wrote about her life in Kenya in her famous book Out of Africa, which was published in 1934. The world she depicts is one of freedom from the confines of her homeland, where there was a wildness in the landscape and the animals but also, to a degree, in the people who came to this land, especially the European aristocrats. Yes, it was quite a different world when Chauvinism was often the norm.

Blixen settled near the Ngong Hills north of Nairobi,. And set about making a life. Immigrants came to raise cattle or grow coffee plants, with dreams of plantations, prosperity and plenty. But it was not an easy life for most, including Blixen. Help was often hard to find and conditions were harsh.

But there was another side, a more romantic picture of lavish garden parties, formal teas and spectacularly elegant dances. Big game hunting expeditions set out regularly from Nairobi to hunt the “Big Five” game (lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros) along with many other species including kudu, antelope, and hartebeest. The affluent visitor of that era would contract a safari outfitter to organize a custom-planned safari complete with White Hunter, menservants, gunbearers, porters, provisions, guns, tents and, later, cars and trucks. There were no limits on how many elephants, lions or other animals could be taken.

Some of these safaris were stuff of legends with massive tents sprawling across an acre, and supplied with generators, electric lights and vehicles that included zinc-lined trucks for the cold storage of food and beverages. At mealtime, there was no scrimping with a different vintage wine for each course. Extravagant menus were supplemented with imported delicacies from the likes of London’s Fortnum and Mason. When two such safaris met, the chefs would often compete to stage the most lavish banquet in the bush.

A century has passed since Blixen arrived in Kenya. And yesterday’s safaris have adapted to suit today’s travelers, chief among them – time. Few people can devote months exploring the African bush; and they would be ill-at-ease with such concepts as White Hunter and menservant.

While there are still some who hunt, they are decidedly the minority. Conservancies have replaced many former hunting preserves. Most of us just want to spend some time in the company of elephants, catch the eye of a Silverback Mountain Gorilla, or participate in an authentic encounter with Maasai village elders. We long for experiences that are both exciting and have the power to change our perspective. But they must also be sustainable – like the doctor’s creed … and with harm to none. That includes lands, animals, communities and cultures.

Yes, this is a different century and while we all still have work to do, we can present you with a safari that will be legendary. Consider the President’s Pick A Grand Safari in Africa that takes in Botswana, South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania.

Whether or not you believe in the concept of destiny, it certainly seems there are times in life when we are directed, overtly or subtly, to go someplace or be in some location. We may not always even understand why at the time. Where we travel is often dictated by our work, our passions, our family requirements or other factors.

But sometimes, just sometimes, it feels like chance, kismet, whimsy or some magical combination leads us to a life-enhancing experience in an unexpected place where extraordinary people and sights are put before us. Our friends may say, “Are you crazy?” “It’s not safe.” “Why would you go there?”

But frequently those are the times that leave us with indelible memories. I remember in detail standing on the Serengeti Plains at sunrise as I watched four hyenas take down a young gazelle. I turned away in the final moments to see a fly on the shoulder of my friend standing next to me. I could see the lines in its wings, I could feel the sun on my back and several lanky giraffes startled me as they ran past followed by slower moving antelope and zebra. All my senses were fully engaged in that moment.

Travel is about so much more than just going someplace. Even the simplest vacation to a new place can lead us to discoveries in ourselves, to new connections and to a broader understanding of our place in the world.

Since 1973, we at Big Five have expected no less of ourselves than to make it possible for our travelers to have these moments. To do this, we are constantly creating new tools and avenues to help you decide what is next for you.

If you want to continue to discover the magic the world has to offer, you can preorder your window into your personal travel destiny and CLICK HERE. Please, enter your name and email address.

Once my sister and I landed at Cairo’s airport and saw our names on the Big Five board, our faces brightened. We met Amir, a tall dark Egyptian with eyes like Omar Shariff. He took our passports while we sat and talked about how happy we were to finally be here. After just a few minutes, he was back with our visas and we got our bags. No lines, no waiting, nothing! It was flawless, fast and so easy. What a great way to start the trip.

The story of Egypt is written across the ages and carved in magnificent sandstone structures. For millennia, this land has had a powerful effect on all who have been drawn here. The fascination usually begins with the great pyramids of Giza and the stunning Sphinx.

I couldn’t stop thinking that I could be standing in the footprints of history. Marc Anthony once stood here, Alexander the Great stood here, Napoleon was here, and now me, standing feet away from these more than 4,000-year-old tombs.

History never tires of revealing itself, often in unexpected places. According to a CNN report, a newly uncovered sandstone statue of the sphinx, thought to date back 2,000 years, was discovered while crews worked to lower the groundwater level in an ancient temple. Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities stated on its Facebook page that the tiny sphinx, some 38 centimeters/15 inches tall, was found on the southeastern side of the Kom Ombo temple near the southern city of Aswan.

And still more discoveries wait beneath the centuries of sand. An ancient cemetery with 40 mummies was found in Minya, south of Cairo, and included jewelry, pottery and a gold mask that may date to 300 BCE.

Our Egyptologist drove us to see Dashur, which most tourists don’t visit as it is out of the way. But here were the first pyramids built more than 4,600 years ago. And, there were few other people around, allowing us to absorb these private moments with history.

Each journey into Egypt is personal – or should be, allowing for time and space to connect with the surroundings and the people. Avoiding the “been there, done that” crowd is paramount for us and for our guests. Without genuine connections, an adventure can become just another day.

We met this beautiful, young Egyptian woman, Farah, Big Five’s country manager who used to work for the United Nations in Cairo fighting for gender equality. We talked about Egyptian women’s strength. I couldn’t help but think about women like Cleopatra, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut, all boldly performing jobs meant for men. We walked through Cairo neighborhoods, far from tourist areas, where Egyptians live and work and go to school. That evening. we talked with some of them about the latest political, economic and social aspects of country. An unforgettable evening!

Egypt is awash with experiences beyond cold monuments. Café visits to exchange ideas with local people. A short distance from Cairo, Fayoum is one of the fascinating oasis and the oldest city in Egypt, founded 4,000 years BCE. El Qasr is one of Egypt’s most captivating medieval desert villages and features unique desert homes, dating from the 16th through the 19th centuries that have been completely or partially restored. The Black Desert and the White Desert wait in the Western Desert, where camping is allowed.

We felt as if we were in a movie, walking the paths of pharaohs and queens and others that until now we had only heard or read about. In the Valley of the Kings and Queens, there are many tombs but Big Five took us to those not included in the regular tours such as the King Tut and Nefertari tombs, which had recently been renovated, including the walls restored and alive with colors of gold, green, blue and red… nothing like what I thought a tomb would be. The Egyptologists who traveled with us along the way revealed to us an ancient world with abundant hieroglyphic puzzles, and with their help we were able to recognize many hieroglyphics ourselves!

We ended our cruise in Luxor, where we planned to stay one extra day. So glad we did. It is beautiful to walk around Luxor, with the Nile on one side and these incredible ancient temples such as Karnak on the other side. What a special way to finish our time in Egypt. By being there, surrounded by it and seeing it all first-hand, I felt like I was actually a part of history…. And, in a way, I am.

An August 2018 report from the UN’s latest Tourism Highlights Report noted Egypt as the fastest growing tourist destination in 2017, with a 55.1% growth in 2017 international arrivals. Discover your story in Egypt.

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