Dear Advisor Partners,
Every adventure I partake in leads to some entertaining dispatches, and each episode has a wow moment that makes your jaw drop. Part One of this particular dispatch had us up close to baby wildebeest in the Serengeti and a special moment when Big Five celebrated our 50th anniversary. I recorded a video while on safari, right where it all began in East Africa. Part Two was a special moment, as the WOW moment here was not what I expected. Of course, the visit to Lentorre was to take center stage. However, that was not the only highlight. We now share Part III of our East Africa Dispatch, the final chapter of this adventure. Leaving the Rift Valley, we headed north to Loisaba Conservancy, a place I often visit.
Two of the guides here are close friends; one I met later in Nairobi, while he was on holiday, and the other, Lenny, whom I reconnected with after so long. Brown, as he is affectionately called, is a legend in Loisaba, and the two of us were thick as thieves. As you watch this week’s video, pay attention to the end, Lenny may have just inadvertently starred in the latest Land Rover commercial because, well, they still use the venerable Defenders up here, my favorite Go Anywhere 4×4. This was where the safari slowed down, where the benefit of conservancy life took over. There were no crowds of safari vehicles, as you see in the well-known reserves. There were no Nairobi safari do-it-your-selfers, here it was just us, the animals, and the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises anyone could ask for. The highlight here, however, was not just that. It was something that was the first for any safari company in the north – a day trip by air to the only organized community elephant rescue sanctuary in Kenya. You can access Reteti from camps like Sarara, which is great, however, Big Five guests staying anywhere in or around the Northern Rangelands Trust can get here by air as a day trip. Now I have been to Reteti many times, and know how powerful it is, so the amazing advisors on the safari went along with our ops manager James from the Nairobi office. When a Nairobi resident who has been all over Kenya comes back with his jaw on the floor, you know you have something golden.
This brings us to the Land Rover commercial, which is quite comical in one of those ‘you had to be there moments.’ All over East Africa, land cruisers have replaced the original Defenders due to new rules and available parts. Now mind you, we are not talking about the Defenders you see on the road in North America, I have my own opinion on those. No, we are talking about the old metal boxes that were strong enough to withstand a cannon. I had the pleasure of even testing one through deep water and got to see the snorkel and drain plug work as planned. So all through our safaris, the phrase, “this is Land Rover, hang on,” began surfacing, and as you will see, even in hushed tones, next to sleeping lions. The perfect commercial, I am sure you will agree.
CLICK HERE to enjoy this week’s video and part III of our East Africa Dispatch.
For those wondering, I can neither confirm nor deny that I drove the Defender, only that, I do know how to drive a manual transmission, no matter how stiff the clutch may be.
Dear Advisor Partners,
Taking a break from the dispatches & videos you enjoyed so much sharing to talks of Peru last week.
There has been so much activity with everything and everywhere being open; for instance, Machu Picchu to Iquitos is now open and running like normal. From the very start of the disruptions in Peru, we wanted to share real, true updates with you from the ground, from drivers between Cusco and the Sacred Valley to guides walking around Lima and Aguas Calientes.
We even had a video from inside Machu Picchu prepared and ready to share! So, when the site reopened, we could show everyone actual real footage instead of trying to convince you to think a certain way. We stood by Peru as its tourism came to a grinding halt, taking steps to help guests remain flexible. Now we must help Peru rebuild. That means showcasing all the open sights and, most importantly, the people, from guides to drivers to hotel and river cruise staff, eagerly awaiting your return.
It’s no secret that Peru was one of the most sought-after destinations post-pandemic; we can see now, from the projectory of future bookings, we expect Peru to once again be a hot destination, with spaces becoming an issue later this year into the next. This is not the first nor last time political stability impacts a country. However, it is never an infinite problem. There is a beginning, and most importantly, there is an end. The situations may take longer to resolve; nevertheless, the economics that powers a country like Peru take precedence.
We want to help everyone in Peru get back on their feet, so we have restored our deposit policy back to normal for new bookings in order to allow those prepaid deposits go to help all the providers in Peru get back on their feet and to survive these troubled times and be there for you and your clients return. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, the Spirit of Big Five Foundation has two social projects in Peru that remain active and continue to be supported.
How do I also know Peru is ready, you ask?
Well, the fact that our favorite 80’s hair bands, from Mötley Crüe to Def Leppard and others, just performed to a packed audience in Lima 24 hours ago is how. One of our guides Cris Vera who some of you know, went to that concert (where he eventually lost his voice). Now I know this music is not everyone’s cup of tea, so I only ask, if that entourage is in Peru, where is yours?
CLICK HERE to Enjoy this video showcasing the happenings from Peru last week (minus the rock concert)
Dear Advisor Partners,
February 14, 2023, is a day I won’t soon forget, and it really has nothing to do with Cupid (don’t tell my wife I said that). It was 8:00 AM in Nairobi, and I was getting ready to head to the lobby at my favorite hotel, Hemingway’s, when my colleague, Irene, from our Kenya team, called me and said, “come quick, someone is here to see you.” I ran, thinking it was an emergency meeting or maybe someone important. When I arrived in the lobby, I looked around and heard a soft voice that I remembered very fondly saying, “Ashish!” I quickly turned around and said, “Sammy”? You see, Sammy is a tour guide for a different company and was at the hotel to meet his guests when Irene saw and told him I was in Nairobi. What were the odds? With five million residents in Kenya and at this exact moment we were in the same place. Lighting in a bottle doesn’t even begin to describe the moment.
Sammy and I were kids together in Kenya., Sammy, my senior by a few years. His family has been intertwined with mine since my father was 3 years old, so we are talking about a 70 plus year relationship. Well, Sammy cut his teeth in tourism working after school at the Kenya Big Five office and made a career for himself. Well, I hadn’t seen Sammy since I was 12, and if I recall, I am 45 now. His face had not changed, I knew who it was immediately. I don’t think I have ever hugged another person as tight as I hugged Sammy because we both knew right away that it was a miracle that we even found each other again. So, there we were in Hemmingway’s lobby, tears, his clients waiting and wondering who I was, and my party wondering who Sammy was. Now I am a firm believer in things happening for a reason, and I don’t know how our paths aligned, but the last thing I said to Sammy before leaving Nairobi was – please, let’s not wait 30 years to talk again.
If that isn’t crazy enough, my day still wasn’t done. Fast forward 3 hours after flying to the Rift Valley to a private Maasai conservancy in the southern part of the country. Our chartered Cessna 206 lands on a dirt airstrip deep in the valley. A long Land Cruiser awaits us with a Maasai guide named Amos. I swear I had seen Amos before because that Déjà vu feeling was in full force. My “Spidey sense” was off the charts. As we drove towards our hidden retreat, Lentorre Lodge, I asked Amos if we had met before. By this point, the travel advisors on safari with me are asking, is there anyone you don’t know? Amos starts recounting his safari journey from Basecamp Explorer back in 2010 and I say, “Amos, were you at Koiyaki Guide School in the Mara?” He nods his head, possibly wondering where this conversation is going. Do you remember two Canadian volunteers teaching music there? Amos nods and turns around, now realizing where the conversation is going. Do you remember Big John, a 15 year old Maasai who towered over everyone including my 6 ft. 3 in. frame? He nods again, now fully engaged. Do you remember a swarm of African bees in the back of the school and this one visitor who walked through that swam unaware of his surroundings? Now laughing, Amos says “was that you”? Well… and I still don’t have any sense of my surroundings all these years and that was the day I was stung by the famous African Killer Bees multiple times on my left arm. Amos now with a good laugh going, remembered who I was and me him. He said you were squeezing your stings which is completely wrong! I agreed and reminded him that I got more worried about the stings when he started hitting the wounds and looking for a sharp object to skin my arm to get the stingers, I had foolishly pushed further back in and out.
If you ever asked yourself what would happen if you were injured in a remote area far from hospitals and cities, well, I answered that question for myself that day. I looked at Amos, and as I said to Sammy that morning, February 14, 2023, is a day I will never forget. A one-chance meeting is incredible. However, two in a span of a few hours on the same day just seems like divine intervention.
CLICK HERE and Enjoy Part II of our East Africa Dispatch video
Dear Advisor Partners,
This week’s blog is very special as I write my first dispatch from East Africa. We have dispatches lined up to share exciting happenings in Tanzania and Kenya, where my parents and I are from. I have already taken almost 300 photos and video clips from the Serengeti, however, that will be covered in our next dispatch. No, today is more important. This exact week marks the 50th anniversary of Big Five, and I thought it fitting that on the exact week where we started operations in Kenya 5 decades ago, I am on safari in the Serengeti. It’s funny how the world works. That delay in Istanbul I talked about in dispatch 0.5 last week is coming into play even more with each passing day as it allowed me to be in the Serengeti with a few amazing travel advisors who are enjoying getting off the beaten track while in the bush.
So, this week. I felt compelled to record a video while sitting at Roving Bushtops, one of my favorite camps in Serengeti South. Now I must tell you, this video took me 10 times to get right as I couldn’t get through because of the topic and emotions. Starting in January, we shared stories from the origin of Big Five, as recalled by my father. Well, this week, I wanted to share a story about my mother as she is the backbone of Big Five.
So, enjoy the video, and stay tuned for future dispatches. If you need information on the latest happenings in Serengeti, where I just left, or the Great Rift Valley of Kenya where I head next, please feel free to ask.
CLICH HERE to watch our story unfold.
Dear Advisor Partners,
I am a creature of habit, and I love routine. I get my coffee from the same local place down the road from my neighborhood, take the same route to work every day, and make an annual pilgrimage back to my native East Africa at the beginning of every year, taking a few advisors with me. When it comes to going on safari with Big Five, game viewing is the most normal thing you will do. It’s everything else that makes a safari a #bigfivin safari.
Stay tuned to this blog as we share dispatches from the journey. My adventure started early, and it seems a flight delay now allows me a chance to see Istanbul, where I recorded this video. So, enjoy Part I and keep watching as we share more insights from East Africa.
The Unplanned Stop: CLICK HERE to watch this exciting journey unfold.
2023 makes a major milestone for Big Five and one that makes me very proud, our 50th anniversary. In February 1973, in Nairobi, Kenya, the dream of Big Five was born. My father, whom many of you have met, was working at the front desk at a major hotel in Nairobi. While sitting at the hotel’s Big Five bar, he and his friends decided to partner up, and Big Five was born. Initially, Big Five was a small local touring company based in Kenya. Our US office opened in 1985, followed by operations in Latin America in 1989 and acquiring an Asia portfolio in 1997. We thought initially to list every major milestone along the way and present one of the timelines you always see in a car museum or corporate HQ lobby. Then we remembered life isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about the struggle, the journey, and your actions along the way.
So, we decided to chronicle the struggle and the journey and let the timeline speak for itself of my Fathers’ Tales;
Having left a career in hotel management to start Big Five, going on safaris was now part of my new job description… one that I have been doing since the age of 8.
In 1978, Big Five was only a few years old, and I was living in Nairobi. Often, a few of us in the industry who were friends would travel together. On this particular day, we were going from Nairobi to the famous Masai Mara in a minivan driving over those dreaded roads and discussing issues that were threatening the wildlife in Kenya.
As we entered the Mara, we saw a brush fire just outside the reserve and realized the danger it posed and immediately asked for help from the locals, explaining how the fire would harm their farms if we didn’t do anything. As it later turned out, a cigarette butt started this fire. Thank goodness it never expanded into a full brush fire.
When we arrived at our lodge, we immediately shared our story with the park rangers. We asked, “What can we do to stop guests from smoking in the game reserves?” explaining the irreversible damage it would have caused to the ecosystem had it not been extinguished.
What if we hadn’t been there? What if the local communities refused to help?
We came to the conclusion that we must approach the Ministry of Tourism in Nairobi and meet with Kenya wildlife personnel. Luckily, through a good friend and our director/my partner at Big Five in Kenya, we met one of the ministers overseeing tourism, Lawrence Sagini, who was able to arrange a private meeting with the cabinet minister to share our concerns.
As a direct result of this meeting, quick action was taken by the government to ensure the conservation and protection of natural resources and made it a priority in their policy-making decisions. This meeting started the conversation that morphed into larger sustainability topics that Kenya is addressing today.
Enjoy the special video we made for this moment. CLICK HERE
We invite you to share in celebrating 50 years together. If you have a story to share, please feel free to let me know, or if you want to just say hello to Mahen, I’m sure he would love to hear from you.
Dear Advisor Partners,
Back in 2008, our now-retired colleague, Deborah Kilcollins, sat with our designers. Big Five’s marketing was transitioning; the messaging wasn’t in line with who we were as a company. Deborah and I sat pondering ideas for hours, days, and weeks. Then, one day, I got a hold of this amazing book by a shirt designer, and it jumped out at me. In the sea of catalogs about high end dress shirts, this one grabbed my attention. The cover was not a model wearing the product, and it wasn’t a flashy cover, rather it was one photo of the founder. That’s it. At the time, I was in a business peer review group with the owner’s son, and he and I got to chat about the inspiration behind their book. I didn’t even have to open the book, though I was even more impressed when I did. It wasn’t a sensory overload or 50 pages about the company; it was a story where I got to choose where my narrative started.
“That’s it,” I exclaimed to Deborah, startled as she looked at me like I had 3 eyeballs. “You startled me! Now what on earth are you talking about.” I showed her the book and repeated, that’s it! “You want our brochure to be a picture of a guy with grey hair and glasses?” No, no, no, I replied, look at the book. Less really is more. It was then that I realized that Big Five was becoming singular minded in our messaging for all the right reasons, and our collateral had to follow. It had to be unapologetically polarizing, either you understood it or you didn’t. The acronym, IYKYK, came to mind. Until this point, we designed brochures that followed the industry mold, passing a vanilla message when our company was anything but. This book was a bold step at a time in the travel industry when few were forward-thinking. As Deborah and I sat with our designers, a vision came together, Edition One, now known as Navigator Series®, was born. Deborah and I looked ahead to 2023 when we timed this book. “You know, if we get this right, edition V can be introduced when we begin our 5th decade of service.” What a brilliant idea, I said, and the vision was solidified.
Fast forward to 2009, the first edition was out and distributed to the market. In the early days, our advisor partners would call us and ask for our brochure. We would send Edition I, which would either elicit excitement or confusion. Was it a brochure or something more?.
I remember vividly attending a consortium conference in Toronto, test-driving the idea of edition I and showing it to a room full of owners and managers. As a force of habit, I called our masterpiece a brochure, to which the consortium head pulled me aside and sternly told me not to ever call our work of art a brochure again. He was right! So radical was the idea of Navigator Series® Edition I, that I lost count of the days of self-doubt, wondering if we had been too bold if we had gone too far to one side of the market.
A few months later, as our collateral circulated into the market, the calls changed from asking for a brochure to sending me pictures of our bold design sitting as a coffee table discussion piece in offices and homes. Again, my fears were unfounded, and those that understood the vision embraced our concept and wished others would follow. As you can tell, we are huge on first impressions, and in a time when brochures were being thinned out or cut back completely, ours was a lesson in forward thinking. Each edition that followed gained brand recognition and acceptance, carrying the message of Big Five that finally matched who we were as a visionary company.
As we enter 2023, Edition V, Deborah’s swan song for Big Five, is published and hot off the press. It is a proud achievement that started from a bold step, and one that serves as a platform for the next five editions.
Order your copy today by visiting this link https://bigfive.com/navigator-series-order-form/ or by emailing reception@bigfive.com
Enjoy this week’s video and reserve your copy today.
Dear Advisor Partner,
Happy New Year to you and your families. 2022 reminded us that we have much to be grateful for and what we were truly capable of. We loved reaching new heights with you and appreciate your partnership, as it is vital to our success. Speaking of that, 2023 makes a major milestone for Big Five and one that makes me very proud, our 50th anniversary. In February 1973, in Nairobi Kenya, the dream of Big Five was born. My father, who many of you have met, was working at the front desk at a major hotel in Nairobi. While sitting at the hotel’s Big Five bar, he and his friends decided to partner up, and Big Five was born. Initially, Big Five was a transport company and Kenya DMC. Our US office opened in 1985, followed by operations in Latin America in 1989 and acquiring an Asia portfolio in 1997. We thought initially to list every major milestone along the way and present one of the timelines you always see in a car museum or corporate HQ lobby. Then we remembered life isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about the struggle, the journey, and your actions along the way. We decided to chronicle the struggle and the journey and let the timeline speak for itself.
Navigating those five decades has not been easy as anyone who has ever spoken to my mother or father about this has learned. There were days I watched my parents seriously debate giving up, and even remember the days I felt the same despair. There were days my parents thought perhaps their detractors were right and they would fail, but there were heroes who helped the dream move forward, my mother cardinal among them. As we pass 50 years, As we pass 50 years, I will continue to sit with my father to share short stories of Mahen’s Moments in Time, both before and during this historic journey. So, I thought this was appropriate as the first of his many stories dating to 1955:
“My father was a traveling salesman and when I was just 8, I started traveling occasionally with him. On one road trip, we saw herds of elephants on the road and occasionally some zebras and antelopes. Of course, cattle were in abundance and my father always said ‘These cattle have the right of way and when you see the wildlife, enjoy them until they pass to the other side of the road.’ He knew what distance we should keep from the wildlife. I was always amazed to see the size of elephants and sometimes cried thinking they will crush us.
Till today, I remember my father’s assurance ‘Look at them with love and they will love you back. Keep your distance, don’t bother them, and let them go about doing what they are doing, and they will leave you alone.’ This advice created my love for animals and always wanted to take advantage of looking out for them.”
Enjoy the special video we made for this moment. CLICK HERE
We invite you to share in celebrating 50 years together. If you have a story to share, please feel free to let me know, or if you want to just say hello to Mahen, I’m sure he would love to hear from you.
Dear Advisor Partners,
Life is about learning, laughing and sometimes even crying. Above all else, it’s about trust. We have worked tirelessly the last 12 months, and every year before, for your trust, and will continue to do so every year forward.
We hope you get a good laugh from our final video of 2022, filmed in Egypt, just for all of you. We wish you all a Happy Holiday season and a prosperous New Year. We cant wait to collaborate with you in 2023. Thank you for another memorable year.
By the way, if anyone knows Mr. Ramsey of the LA Rams NFL team, please can you let him know I have gone into witness protection incase he sees this video.
Big Five Offices will be closed on Monday, December 26, 2022 and Monday, January 2, 2023.
Dear Advisor Partners,
Part II of our dispatch from Egypt takes us to a part of Karnak nobody outside of researchers and archaeologists have been to. For this journey, we had to go up… to go down, specifically up in the hills over Karnak, hiking on rough, unmarked trails. The local team of excavators, who I call the real workers behind the new discoveries, escorted our group up the rocky hill. The droves of tourists at the temple at the base of the hill didn’t even know we were up there.
As we turned the bend, a wooden plank resembling a Tibetan bridge lay over rocky drop that we all had to cross. This is when the excursion became real for everyone, and I would say, exciting for almost everyone. Crossing the bridge and coming around the bend, we saw the chair, then the drop. I don’t know how wide the smile on my face was, however judging by the matching smiles among the local guys, they could tell I was raring to get down that tunnel.
The chair dropped us down one by one, with our guides already down there, ready to tell us the story of Abd-er Rasoul. In these very caves, just a few meters from where I was standing, is where a large portion of the Pharaonic mummies that were discovered in 1882 were found, piled away when the original tombs were plundered. We were the first ones ever to enter this cave outside of the researchers, and this by no accident, represented something I have asked for 30 years. Where is the Egypt behind the pyramids?
As you can see in our latest video, I think we found the answer. On special permission basis, these caves can now be added exclusively to a tailored Big Five journey for a supplement.
This was #BigFivin
Dear Advisor Partners,
Usually, I can keep a secret well, then there are times that you just can’t keep it, no matter how hard you try. Let me explain by first saying how great it is to be back in Egypt, leading what has now become our annual educational, every November. This year had a different feeling however, because of all the new discoveries, especially the mummies in Saqqara.
How do you top reading about a new mummy discovery? Well… by having your amazing Egypt team get special access to the active dig site, which happens to be near the private and newly excavated tomb, featured on Netflix. That’s exactly what we did, and we topped it off by having the hosts of the Netflix documentary as our guides.
This is the beauty of Egypt. Stay tuned as we take you as only Big Five can, beyond the pyramids in our multi-part dispatch. In the meantime, enjoy this first video.
Dear Advisor Partners,
Have you ever been to a destination that felt like it was the next big thing? I had that feeling in Colombia in 2006, and my father likely felt the same in 1989 when he entered Peru, or in the early years when we opened operations in Egypt. Well, my colleague Gisela just came back from Bolivia and based on her excitement, has what I can only imagine would be the same feeling.
That’s the magic of travel you see. The emotional connection is powerful as we all know, however the only thing more powerful is the vision one has when they visit a region that has not yet fully emerged. It’s the ability to see the full potential of a country even when in many cases, the country cannot see that same potential for themselves. That is where we are with Bolivia. This is Peru 50 years ago, this is akin to going back to the origins of why we travel, and there is nothing more powerful than that. Those of you who watched our dispatch during her visit, saw the winery she found in Part II (visit this blog page to see that video) and the local communities.
Dispatch Part III does include a familiar location in Uyuni, however, this exploration went far beyond the known entity, to one of the untouched countries in Latin America. In fact, we were so enthusiastic when we heard about Gisela’s experience, we decided to create a new program, our new Presidents Pick, The Sleeping Giant.
Please enjoy this week’s video.
Dear Advisor Partners,
I feel like Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel, giving you the latest report on a tropical storm. Though this isn’t quite as dramatic, it’s just as powerful. This is the second dispatch entailing the adventures of our team member Gisela Polo in Bolivia, after crossing in from Argentina, forging a new way to combine Argentina and Bolivia. This her story, however, it’s also the story of our team member, Tatiana Johnston, who just got back from her visit to Uganda. We always talk about travel transforming lives, so this week I share Tatiana’s thoughts written on her first day in Uganda. I thought they were powerful and captured the very reason we all believe in adventure.
Uganda Adventure
Day 1:
I am sitting here in the dining room of the hotel during my first stop of this adventure. I am listening to thousands of cicadas, the sun is slowly setting in Entebbe, the sky is turning into a teal blue, birds chirping different tones, the hot and humid air is enveloping my body… and I feel happy. I am surrounded by a dense vegetation of giant mango trees, different sizes and different shapes of palms, and I just feel this joy in my heart. My heart is back to being a whole. Throughout the years, I had left a piece of my heart in Africa and now I understand what I have been missing all these years. I am finally back in Africa! Just north of the Equator, where my birthplace is, but only on the other side of the planet. Everyone around me is tourists, some of them are finishing their adventure and others are starting it. Our tables are lit with gas lamps as a reminder for me of the coming days in the forest. I am sure, however, all of us will have the same thing on our minds tonight, “the gorillas”, either remembering our recent experiences or looking forward to what is coming.
Day 2:
A very early start today, it’s still dark outside but my heart is jumping with joy. I took a small 11-seater plane with two pilots to Kahihi. I still feel jetlagged, and the soft hum of the plane invites me to take a nap, but I don’t want to close my eyes. I don’t want to miss any second of this countryside. We flew over the giant Victoria Lake. You can see many fishermen in their boats, countless islets, and islands, some inhabited, others not. It is the rainy season, so wherever my eyes can see, it is green. We arrive at Kahihi on a dirt runway and there it was… my own 4×4 vehicle, waiting for me. The road was very good for about 30 minutes. We drove through many little towns and then the road became a dirt road with scattered rocks and patches. You could see how the rain has damaged the roads, but my expert driver was able to manage all of them with an easy ability that you can only get after having driven here for many years. Since it was Sunday, there were so many people dressed to the nines going to church. Many kids waved at me, and they were screaming Muzungu (white person). How interesting, I never considered myself a white person. We drove through coffee and tea plantations, and it made me think of Karen Blixen and her tea plantations in Kenya. The soil here is very red and the houses are built with bricks and dirt. So many little goats running, and jumping, happy and playful. There were many men carrying water in yellow tanks on their heads or back. And finally, I could see the mountains bordering the Congo and I knew we were getting closer.
And so, I am here, eating my lunch in front of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, the lush, green vegetation sprawling in front of me. That is where the gorillas are. That is where I will be tomorrow. That is where the gorillas are waiting for me, waiting to see another Muzungus…
This was only from the first two days. If you want to see how she felt on the final day or her flight home, I encourage those of you who know Tatiana to ask her yourself. You won’t be disappointed with the answer. Stay tuned for our 3rd and final dispatch next week featuring Gisela’s ongoing adventures in Bolivia. For now, she found a little-known winery shortly after crossing into Bolivia. Those of you who know Gisela, know that she is completely in her element. Enjoy this week’s video, Part Two of our three-part dispatch.
Thank you,
Dear Advisor Partners,
I love telling people about traveling to the far corners of the world, and the stories that come with it. Every time I tell these stories, I imagine what it could be like if I had a clone that allowed simultaneous visits to different parts of the Earth. Before you ask, yes, I do daydream, a lot.
Well, this week, the vision came true, as two of my colleagues were in Argentina and Uganda on inspection trips at the same time. Now before I go into the coolness of this happening, let me tell you about these two colleagues. Gisela Polo, originally from Peru, visits Argentina and the neighboring regions in addition to her home, Peru regularly. This trip takes her from Buenos Aires up through Salta, ending up on a road to the Bolivian Salt Flats, traversing a new path we are exploring. Her findings will lead to a new program that redefines how we combine Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia. Tatiana Johnston, originally from Ecuador, has a passion for climbing peaks, which where she finds herself regularly. She is in Uganda, gorilla trekking in Bwindi Forest, which is a place always gravitate to during my visits. Of course, she makes it home to Ecuador to visit and explore new options each year as well.
So here we are, Gisela’s on her way to Cafayate, and Tatiana’s completing a successful gorilla trek. This is the first part of the dispatch we put together of their experience, with more to share next week. Please enjoy the video and ask yourself, which corner are you searching for?
Dear Advisor Partners,
Every year around this time, the procrastinators begin to appear…you know who I’m talking about, and it is definitely ok to laugh, maybe even shake your head. Truth is, when planning our own holiday trips, those of us in this industry may be the worst of the last-minute bunch. Well, much like the Budweiser Superbowl commercials, this blog is for you, the “wait until the last-minute person.”
Kidding aside, we know things come up and not everyone can plan for the festive season as far in advance as we would like. You can try to force these clients to book early through tactics like raising prices or incentivizing early booking. Or you can diligently prepare for when those clients do finally start planning, after all we are not talking about a widget here, we are talking about an investment. This is especially true for clients who are willing to get off the beaten track to where the masses don’t know about. When you get remote, the properties are smaller, meaning they fill up faster, so planning ahead is usually essential. However, right around this time, if you have just a little flexibility, the miracle occurs, and space clears up in a certain order. Now it doesn’t happen everywhere, otherwise it wouldn’t be called a miracle. We are currently assisting guests that had their advisor check a few months back with no luck, now trying again, and we are getting in some cases, a different outcome.
This could be in Peru, Guatemala, Argentina, South Africa, Tanzania, or Kenya. It may not be for places that we know are full, but where we can’t get our A-Team guides as that is equally important, and we will let you know where that is. One of the places that illustrates this best is India. The Golden Triangle circuit and the traditional Rajasthan route is quite busy. However Big Five has, for years, talked about getting beyond that circuit to the real India like the Nagarhole Forest or the northeast. It’s the main reason we chose this video for the week, to showcase a part of India few truly know about. For those late planners, perhaps the best experience is awaiting.
With 62 days before the festive travel season officially kicks off, let us know if you need a miracle or two. You never know what could happen. Be sure to check airfare first as well, because even miracles have to deal with seat availability. So come on, let’s help “last-minute Sally” and “living-on-the-edge Larry” find the needle in the haystack holiday space. Enjoy this weeks video.
Dear Advisor Partners,
It’s hard to believe we are only three months away from the end of the year, and what a year it has been. We have all been so busy and this recovery coming through like an avalanche, it’s hard to even get a few minutes to think. However, I remember a phrase I heard at a recent conference – “Don’t forget to look back every once in a while.” Those words have clarity that is only understood if you go through what our industry went through the past two years. In fact what triggered all of this was curriculum night at my son’s high school where I met his World History teacher. I had a deep conversation with his teacher, Mr. Ferro, about our family origins in Uganda, Sudan and Kenya. It was by coincidence that he was covering this very topic in his class and asked me to schedule a time to come in and speak to the class.
As I left that night, I began to reflect. I thought about the adventure my life has been and the adventure my parents and my wife’s parents have had, both worthy of being written in a book. I then wondered where the last two years fits in the grand scheme of world history. Will the pandemic be a chapter in world history lectures, or will it be a unit in bio-chemistry, or human geography, or will it be the period in history that rewrites all economic books and delivers new mathematical theories to track leading indicators and GDP? The answer is all of the above. No period since the last world war, has impacted the entire globe the way Covid did, and no history book gave anyone a playbook on how to get past this. We had to invent it. We had to sacrifice, persevere, endure, be patient and have faith that this would pass, believing that this was part of a journey and not a finality. Then it dawned on me, like a shot of adrenalin, the story is not the pandemic, it’s us, collectively.
We know our medical professionals and scientists were at the front line, however, so were we, and we did it without the media shining a sympathetic spotlight on us. Those of you independent contractors we proudly include as advisor partners, you are all small business owners. Think back, sitting in your remote office, having painful conversations and overcoming seemingly impossible odds to make things right for your clients. I spoke personally to many of you during those days. We worried together, we were frightened together, we made plans together, and we overcame together. No matter what happens from here on out, nobody can take that away from any of us. This is your story, this is my story, this is our journey.
This brings me to my friend and mentor, Jay Golden, author or the book Retellable. Jay and I bonded at a Virtuoso Sustainability Council meeting before the pandemic. We then became very close in 2020 and remain close today, working together on his model called The Journey Curve, and the legend that is our life. Key moments that define who you have become, a living legend with new moments added regularly to shape who you will be. Well, Jay and I workshopped and started sharing stories that were conjured by the effects of the pandemic.. Now there is a new story, and it’s one all of us can tell in our own way – how we came out of the pandemic stronger than we were before.
While I realize not all of us are public speakers, those of you that know me, know that I love speaking in public. Some of you have even heard me speak on matters ranging from sustainability to family travel. I share with you, a great passage from Jay on his LinkedIn Page about a term he calls “glossophobia,” the fear of public speaking. I felt important to share this as all of you are on a stage. The world sees your value like never before, and they recognize your stage. Now you have to recognize it too. Every conversation you have with a client is your stage, every conversation you have with your suppliers like Big Five, is our collective stage. Use Jay’s points and I suggest reading his book. You survived these last years, now live the rest.
We love story telling and you and your clients are a large part of our story and my personal story. Perhaps this is why our mission statement is quite simple – “We don’t tell stories better, we tell better stories.®”
Please enjoy this week’s video, courtesy of Jay.
Dear Advisor Partners,
Earlier this year, before my son’s 15th birthday, I began thinking about a meaningful gift, something that he would remember. As I wondered, I thought about an article I read regarding NASA’s return to the moon, a mission called Artemis. As I researched more, I realized I could get my son’s name on a document that will be carried up on the mission.
Then my mind shifted to Mars when I remembered a visit to Jordan, to a location near Wadi Rum that reminded me of the images and renderings of the surface of the red planet. With space travel advancing and space tourism ever closer to becoming a reality, on top of a historic launch about to occur, we crafted this video about Jordan to celebrate how far we have come. Blending what we see down here with what we envision to be up there, travel possibilities and imagination can happily meld.
While the deserts of Mars and lunar surface of the moon get closer, the orbital landscapes of Jordan are already within reach. Please enjoy this week’s video.
Dear Advisor Partners,
Even being in Las Vegas with a lost voice won’t keep me from speaking with you. And considering I can’t talk anymore, it’s only fitting that I share a video of an amazing conversation I had on our podcast, the Sustainable Voice, available on Spotify and Apple.
This was with fellow host and travel advisor Robin Cline, who runs her own podcast called the Intrepid Traveler. Robin and I were in Colombia recently and will be in Egypt later this year and we recently began a conversation about the transformation of small locations through responsible tourism. This episode was a continuation of that conversation.
Enjoy the video and as always thanks for subscribing. I am flattered and humbled by how many of you came up to me and told me you were a listener. Thank you sincerely.
Dear Advisor Partners,
Those of you planning safaris are probably being told by everyone and their brother that the migration is happening in East Africa. You’ve likely read countless newsletters, wildlife reports, and notes talking about this awesome occurrence. They all have one message in common – you have to see this.
Well seeing the migration take place regularly since I was 4 years old, I can tell you, that statement is almost right. Only, it’s missing a word – You have to see this, again.
That phrase is what gets me back to East Africa regularly, and no matter how many times I see the ground-shaking movement, it never gets old. Seeing herds of wildebeest, zebra and many other animals, stretching miles all the way to the horizon line is a natural phenomenon that can only happen in Africa. How can a movement this large, driving off instinct, be this consistent? Even the largest schools of fish don’t move like this, and that’s saying something. The question is, how do we show you instead of just telling you? While we wish you could all be at the crossing with us, we know it’s not possible.
Enter the raw footage we just received from guests, Eric and Heidi, who just got back from the Serengeti booked by one of our favorite partners, Lisa Freeburg of Travel A La Carte. Lisa and I had the pleasure of being in Africa at almost the same time earlier this year. Lisa’s guests had an amazing safari in the Mbulia Conservancy, deep in the heart of Tsavo, and heading into Tanzania, through Arusha, then the Serengeti. Here they timed their visit perfectly at their camp, as did Lisa’s prior guests who stayed nearby at one of our favorite camps, Serengeti Bushtops. The herds were moving with velocity, the crocodiles were moving into position, the cats were crouching, everything was set perfectly. The days were magical as Eric and Heidi enjoyed a safari so spectacular, that they shared this gem with Lisa as soon as they pulled up to their gate at their home city – “Just pulled up to the gate, you are off the clock… Thank you for everything.”
They ended their safari in rare style with a gorilla trek in Rwanda, which was a highlight in itself, all while reinforcing a lesson that has withstood the test of time – Timing is everything!
My friends, the migration is here, it’s happening and it’s a spectacle that has to be seen as many times as possible, simply to witness the greatest show on Earth. They don’t wait for anybody, and it’s not like I can call the lead wildebeest over satellite phone and ask him to stall.
Please enjoy this weeks video – starring raw footage courtesy of a couple Big Five guests.
Dear Advisor Partners,
Do you have a life goal? You know, something you relentlessly pursue no matter what comes in the way and no matter how long it takes? Well, I have a few. One of them is giving a Ted Talk. I’ve even applied a few times and plan on doing it again. What really got me into the Ted platform? Don’t laugh, it was Monica Lewinsky. I’ll wait while you finish snickering, which come to think of it, I was too when I first realized this. You see, I watched a talk she gave on cyber bullying and the impact the famous scandal had on her, (although it didn’t stop her from getting an advanced degree from an Ivy League institute). After that, I was hooked and began exploring other Ted Talks. From a 13-year-old Kenyan Maasai using lights to make peace with the lions, to my relative Dr. Sajel Bellon helping first responders with PTSD, and most recently, my friend Reyna talking about energy independence in the Galapagos Islands, they have all played a part in my inspiration.
Reyna and Roberto opened a camp some years ago in the Galapagos called Montemar, one that Big Five uses proudly and frequently as part of our long-term commitment to land-based Galapagos adventures. The camp was built with the vision of using tourism to protect the long-term habitat of the giant tortoise. However, this expanded to organic farming on site, collecting and using rainwater, and solar energy. In her Ted Talk, Reyna covers where she grew up in the city and some of the conventional items of life like grocery shopping and the power cuts as the electric grid was taxed, a challenge accepted as a part of life. Reyna also talked about trash management and the shortcoming of recycling efforts on the mainland, something I have seen personally.
Now, one could read that last paragraph and say, this is a depressing read, and move on. I wouldn’t blame you, except that it’s not. Rather this is one of our more uplifting blogs because Reyna points out that in a location as remote as Galapagos, she was able to create an experience and a property that actually overcame common complexities with sustainable construction and utilization. The coolest feature here is local lava rock, a major part of the geology of the Galapagos Islands, intricately used as a building material. Solar power provides 99% of her energy, the rainwater is harvested in ways one cannot imagine, and trash is not wasted (pun intended).
Reyna’s Ted Talk is a clinic on sustainable building and if I’m being honest, interior design (something I will never claim to excel at), the talk is in Spanish with subtitles and well worth the read as you watch.
I was mesmerized by Reyna’s talk, and I think you will be as well. So, enjoy her talk in this week’s video and check out our Ecuador & Peru program, part of our our New Energies Collection, which we built around Montemar featuring successful integrations of alternative energy to make an unforgettable client experience.
