Why in the
world do I want to circle the globe?
November 1999
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I could say,
"because it's there." But that's not the whole
story. When I was a kid, I read" Green Mansions," a
story that took place in the Amazon jungle. I wanted to go
there. Then I read Richard Hallliburton's " The Complete Book of
Marvels" and "New Worlds to Conquer," and I
dreamed of seeing those "seven wonders of the world." But
I thought I'd never have the chance.
Time passed. I
had kids, worked on a career, played tennis, and generally had a
very good life. As the year 2000 approached, I began to think
of retiring an decided I'd really like to do something special to
celebrate my birthday. By a quirk of fate, I
learned of this Millennium Voyage--a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
to sail around the world at a special moment in history. Suddenly,
it all fell into place.
In a few weeks
I will board Ocean Explorer I, and my odyssey will begin.
"The Last
Frontier" is billed as "a learning expedition," and I
expect that will be so. Each day on board the ship I'll be
taking classes, attending lectures, seeing documentary flicks, and
sitting in on discussions in culture, the humanities, sciences, and
natural wonders of the lands I'll be visiting. I'm also
fitting in a computer class and taking conversational Spanish, along
with walking the deck at all hours.
Without a
doubt, there will be many moments when I miss my kids and my friends
back home, and sometimes I'll wish I could hop the next freighter
for home.
But, every day
or so when we land in some exotic port, I'll remind myself that I'm
skipping the hated Washington winter entirely, and I'll be happy to
go...
snorkeling in
the Seychelles...
landing
in a zodiac boat on some remote South Sea beach...
hiking to
the nesting grounds of the albatross on the Falkland Islands or
viewing giant icebergs in Antarctica...
I'll
celebrate the millennium with son Steve and his friend Christina,
high in the Andes at Chile's Torres del Paine--a national park of
fjords, glaciers, forests and lakes--that I understand is one of
the most beautiful natural wonders of the world.
Then I'm
on my way to Easter and Pitcairn Islands, across the south Pacific
and Indian Oceans,
and on...
So adios,
and hasta la vista, baby. I won't see you for awhile.
Or maybe
longer.
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