Another Great Travel Opportunity

January 14th is my sister Heidi's wedding to my future brother-in-law Rick. I am excited to be the maid of honor. So, naturally, I have been planning a trip back to Seattle at that time.

Then, about two months ago, my friend Maki (from Japan & came to visit me with my sister last Spring) called me up and told me she is going to Tanzania in December with some friends and would I like to come along?

Would I?

This is a dream come true for many reasons. Not only have I never been to Africa, but it is the last of the 7 continents for me to visit! I am incredibly grateful and blessed to have been so fortunate with opportunities to travel the world, it has always been a lifelong goal to visit all 7 continents. It's also been a dream of mine to see Mt. Kilimanjaro. I also plan to take a safari of the Ngorongoro crater (a World Heritage site), where I'll get to see all the typical wildlife in their natural state.

A couple of weeks later, while investigating airfair costs and itineraries I happened to notice that many European flights to Tanzania have a stopover in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in the middle east.

...and it just so happens that I have a friend Renee (an American ex-pat) who lives there, teaching at a highschool.

So, now that I have managed my itinerary, budget and flight details I can announce my next adventure!

Starting Dec 19th I leave Macedonia for Dubai, spend 3 days there, then fly to Tanzania, take a 1 day camping tour of Ngorongoro, fly to Dar es Salaam on Christmas day, meet Maki and her friends, travel to another safari site, visit a village school and Zanzibar island with a total of 2 weeks in Tanzania. On Jan 7th I fly to Seattle, the wedding is on the 14th and I return to Macedonia on the 18th after 10 days home.

It's going to be a real whirlwind experience I have no doubt.

So let the adventure begin!