EPIC ADVENTURES Archives | TRAVELS WITH TAM

Fellow Tofo Volunteers visit me in Cozumel!

April 17, 2014 By Tam Warner 4 Comments

In May 2012, I volunteered with All Out Africa for 3 1/2 weeks doing fish surveys and Whale Shark research in Tofo, Mozambique. I was the only Boomer! Age aside, I invited my fellow volunteers to come and visit me at my home in Cozumel, Mexico for some fun diving, and in July 2013, 3 of them did!

Marcel and Daniela arrived from Cancun around lunchtime, as we had a night dive planned. Felix, who had arrived the day before, and I were so excited to see them! It was as if no time had passed at all since our time in Tofo a year ago. Randy and I took everyone to the other side of the island for a drink. We were all excited for the night dive, it was Felix’s first, and Daniela and Marcel’s second (but they said their first night dive was not a big deal). A night dive in Cozumel is almost always gorgeous so I could not wait to get them down there. Felix was a bit on the nervous side, but that is completely normal. We got to the boat, a 35 foot luxury liner compared to the zodiac we dove off of in Tofo, we were briefed, and we descended during twilight. It is best to do a night dive with beginners at sundown, the darkness comes on gradually, almost unnoticed, and it eases them into the experience. Night brings out different fish, different animals, and I so very much wanted them to see an octopus.

It would be really unusual for one to do a night dive in Cozumel and not see an octopus, but hey, you never know. I was worried during the dive until we spotted that first octopus, then ahhhhhh….I relaxed and enjoyed the next 5 octopi! Huge crabs, eels, open corals, lobsters, brittle stars…night diving is wonderful. And the colors are amazing! Using lights really shows the beauty and color of the reef and the corals. Just gorgeous. They LOVED the night dive (of course!). Afterward, we went to the Money Bar to eat. Diving makes one hungry!

The next morning Felix left us for Cancun and home to London…he starts an internship next week, so…holiday time is over for now for him! But 3 weeks in Mexico was a great way to celebrate his graduation! On the way home from dropping him off at the ferry Marcel wanted to know if we could do another night dive! Sure! I’m always up for a night dive! So the three of us went again, and had another great dive. There were several first timers on the boat for the night dive, so there was nervous energy down below. Everything went well, though. Home to bed for our early morning dive adventure!

paranite 13 sharptail2 — A sharptail eel hunting!

Off we went the next morning to Punta Palancar and El Paso de Cedral. Diving with us were Carol and Brian. Brian is a quadriplegic, and still is able to dive. He was a Salvage Diver in the Air Force, and I thanked him for his service. I don’t know if that is how he was hurt, but salvage diving can be quite dangerous. After they “gear” him up, the dive master on the boat holds Brian’s tank and that is how he dives. I am full of admiration for him…he and his wife are obviously strong minded individuals.

The dives were beautiful….we saw turtles and groupers and giant parrotfishes and eels and a nurse shark….very beautiful dives. We went to dinner with my husband and daughter, Ally, and our next door Cozumel neighbors, Lyn and Mark. It was a fabulous meal in great company.

Alas, all wonderful things have an end, and Marcel and Daniela headed out this morning for Cancun to Philadelphia, then Daniela home to Munich and Marcel home to Zurich. It was so natural to be together, as though no time had passed. We discussed doing another volunteer trip together…maybe to Thailand. We will try to make that work! It meant so much to me that they came to Cozumel to visit me this summer…we had a very strong group in Tofo, and I feel connected to all of them. Living in the same house with people for weeks does tend to create bonds of affection, and I am very fond of Felix, Marcel, and Dani. Hasta Luego, mi amigos!

Why don’t YOU visit Cozumel? Check out our beautiful home, we rent it so come visit! http://www.vrbo.com/368692

Another Fabulous Photo Friday!

April 11, 2014 By Tam Warner 16 Comments

I kind of like these posts! I get to choose photos and relive a trip, or time, of my life. After much thought, I have decided that today is….Savannah, Georgia! For those who do not know, I am also a private college consultant, and Randy and I took a trip to Savannah to check out Savannah College of Art and Design. Fabulous school…and we fell in love with the city. It feels like going into the past…it is charming and beautiful, with so much history! We also loved the river, and the Bonaventure Cemetery. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil…we only saw the good side of Savannah!

The old theater and Leopold's Ice Cream! — The old theater and Leopold’s Ice Cream!

And who, you ask, was Johnny Mercer? An American lyricist, songwriterand singer. He was also a co-founder of Capitol Records.

Marilyn! — Marilyn visited Savannah often and they loved her!

Randy at his ancestor's marker. — Randy at his ancestor’s marker.

General Nathanael Greene, second in command to General George Washington, is interred in Savannah. General Greene is an ancestor of Randy’s, on his mother’s side.

General Nathanael Greene, Randy's ancestor. — General Nathanael Greene, Randy’s ancestor.

World Famous Clary's Cafe! — World Famous Clary’s Cafe!

As their website says, “It is a place full of nostalgia and intriguing characters. It is a colorful mosaic of times and people and the bonds that have formed throughout the years. The feelings of home and family are evident when you walk through the door. As you look around at all of the knickknacks, paintings, family pictures and memorabilia that form its décor, you may wonder how a drugstore could have evolved into what you see now…..World Famous Clary’s Café. ” If you go to Savannah, you must eat at Clary’s!

sav 12 col park tombstones yankees defaced — Colonial Park’s defaced tombstones.

The Northern Troops camped in Savannah’s sacred Colonial Park Cemetery, and defaced many of the tombstones, and changed dates and performed other mischief. When you go, be sure to view these stones.

sav 011 — One of the “changed” tombstones

Bonaventure is filled with statues — Bonaventure is filled with, and famous for its statues

River Street. — River Street is the place to be in Savannah in the evenings!

We loved our visit to Savannah, and looking at these photos, I’d love to go back! I have an excuse, I have 3 students at the Savannah College of Art and Design!

Throwback Thursday: Boulders Beach, South Africa!

April 3, 2014 By Tam Warner 15 Comments

Outside of Cape Town is Boulders Beach, a beautiful spot where a South African Penguin Colony lives. They are the cutest …birds you can imagine! They are birds, but of course, they don’t fly in the air, they fly underwater! The penguins are nesting at this time of year…I had no idea that penguins made little dens and sat on their eggs. These little babies are brown and furry! We always hear about the Emperor Penguins, but most penguins do not live in such arctic conditions. These penguins are known as Jackass Penguins. I’m not kidding. They are called Jackass because of the “heehaw” sound they make! They really do sound like donkeys! We walked among them, saw their nests and their young, then walked on the beach where a small group of them came out and swam. I sat near the water and enjoyed watching them in their little tuxedos! It was a cloudy day, and “winter” (to them) as well, so we pretty much had them to ourselves. The beach was pristine, with huge boulders (hence the name Boulder’s Beach), and tidal pools filled with sea stars and crabs and other little critters. Incredible experience!

Wes and Ally...bouldering — Wes and Ally…bouldering

We also met a new animal, the Rock Hyrax or “dassie”. Strangely enough, their closest relative is the elephant! They look like rodents….they are absolutely adorable. I’m sure you will agree that Ally took some wonderful photographs of them.

The Rock Hyrax, or “Dassie”!

We stopped for lunch in Simon’s Town where Ally took a bit of a tumble (fell on her ass, actually). It is usually me, but Ally took the fall on the continent of Africa! (Of course, I have fallen on Africa too….just not on that trip!) Afterward we went up Table Mountain to see the view….endless vistas…

Another beautiful day in South Africa!

Friday’s Fabulous Photos!

March 28, 2014 By Tam Warner 26 Comments

I absolutely LOVE photography, and if you do too, join me every Friday for a look at some photos! These are my favorites from my trip to Thailand! Please share if you enjoy them!

ff 14 feather star feelers — Gorgeous Feather Star group

bk 14 c ally and ladyboy — LOVE those Ladyboys!

Tam feeding elephant

With Lam Duan, a 57 year old blind elephant

elephant, ethical tourism, our planet — With Lam Duan, a 57 year old blind elephant

Everyone who travels to Thailand wants to trek with the Asian elephants who are advertised for trekking, riding, and shows. Elephants are highly revered in Thai and Buddhist traditions, and were used for warfare, much like horses in prior times. Elephants, thankfully, are no longer used for the logging industry in Thailand, as the country has been overlogged. At that time, the late 1980s, there were elephants and their “mahouts” (handlers, trainers, owners) who were suddenly without work. These mahouts began using their elephants to beg on the streets, they turned their elephants into trekking elephants with a box on the elephant’s back for people to sit in (these are very harmful to elephants as their backs are the weakest parts of their body), or training the elephants to perform in shows. The only safe way to ride an elephant (for the elephant) is to ride on their necks. There are still some mahouts who still work illegal logging camps on the border of Myanmar and Thailand, who give their elephants “speed” to make them work longer and faster, and who abuse their elephants with the tools of the mahout: chains, the thotti (hook), the valiya kol (long pole), and the cheru kol (short pole). These are the traditional tools used to “break” elephants, and to control them. The hook is particularly horrible, and if you see an elephant with scars, open sores, wounds…you’ll know it is being abused with the hook. Using the hook side of the tool is not necessary, regardless of what any mahout tells you, the elephant is hurt by it and it causes them pain and injury. Period.

Where once there were nearly 100,000 wild Asian elephants roaming the jungles of Asia, there are now about 2000 wild elephants left in Thailand. They are terribly endangered as their habitat has been so altered and destroyed; they migrate the same way they did for hundreds of years…only now there are farms in their way. Farmers do not hesitate to take action against elephants who threaten their crops. It is a tragedy that it is really not a question of IF the Asian elephant will go extinct, it is a question of WHEN. With only 2000 left in the wild, and approximately 2000 “domesticated” elephants in Thailand (including those in sanctuaries), it won’t be long until they are gone.

The elephant is a symbol of Thai Buddhism, and considered an animal who brings good luck. When I planned my trip to Thailand I very badly wanted to see and spend time with elephants, but I didn’t want to harm them. I did research, and among the excellent research I found Adore Animals blog on Ethical Elephant Tourism and another blog at Jdomb’s Travel which helped me understand what I needed to look for. Most sanctuaries are located in the Chiang Mai area, quite north of Bangkok, but I did find Elephant’s World in Kanchanaburi City, 3 hours from Bangkok. 3 hours is not super close, especially when you only have 5 days, but Alexandra, my daughter, and I were determined to spend time volunteering with elephants, and it was a enriching, wonderful experience.

Elephant’s World was founded in 2008 by Dr. Samart Prasithpol (head of the Department of Livestock of Kanchanaburi province) to function as a ‘retirement home’ for elephants who were too old to work, too injured, or too ill. Elephant’s World works FOR the elephants, to give them a peaceful, happy life. The elephants at Elephant’s World are well cared for, and enjoy a day of feeding, dusting themselves, playing in the mud, being fed some more, and then, having a lovely wash and dip in the river. (Meet the elephants here.)

Our day began with a 3 hour drive to the sanctuary, then we met and talked with the volunteers about the elephants. The volunteers were very like those I worked with in Mozambique, mostly young adults who want to see the world and make a real difference, so volunteer tourism is a great way for them to travel. I wish more American young adults would do this type of traveling. We started by learning the structure of the day, then we were given a huge basket of fruits to feed Lam Duan, a female elephant who is about 57 years old who was used in the logging industry, then as a trekking elephant. She is completely blind, and likes to be fed directly in her mouth instead of using her trunk. She also does not like to be stroked or touched. Lam Duan has obviously been worked far too much, and because she is blind she is not readily accepted by the other elephants. Elephants in the wild live in family groups and have deep emotional bonds…but elephants who are in sanctuaries lost their families long ago, and sometimes do not care for other elephants around them. Lam Duan is kept away from most of the others. A mahout would use a hook if Lam Duan was attacked by another elephant (which has happened) but mostly she just stays away from the group. She does like John, a small 7 year old bull who loves to play. Poor John was separated from his mother far too young, and seems to think that he should be able to make little elephants with the 50 and 70 year old matriarchs around him! They seem to just brush him off, but he does get excited!

During the volunteer day one feeds, makes sticky rice balls with protein powder and veggies for the elephants to eat (they eat A LOT). Then you enjoy the show as the elephants have a mud bath, which they really enjoy. After that, it is time for the river, and swimming with the elephants! What an incredible privilege to swim around an elephant, and to climb up on its neck for a ride and a dunk. The elephants really love their river swim and bath! After their baths, once again we fed them baskets of fruit. We fed an elephant who used her trunk, and it was so incredible! The elephant trunk has more muscle in it than the human body does. Isn’t that amazing? They grab that food and stuff it in their mouths very quickly, and if you don’t stuff food in the trunk, the trunk comes looking for you!

Our day ended after feeding time, but there is one thing I want everyone to know: the sanctuary is trying very hard to raise the money to build a fence to keep the elephants out of the sugar cane of neighboring farmers. Until that fence can be built, the elephants have to be chained when they are not being active. They need $20,000.00 to build that fence. Here is the link to donate: http://elephantsworld.org/en/donate. Be sure and let them know Travels with Tam sent you! It really is a good cause…these poor elephants have suffered so terribly, and it would be such a gift to them to be able to roam instead of be chained. I very much encourage you to give, even if it is just a few bucks! You can also volunteer, whether for a day or a month or a year. What a great experience! Do check out Elephant’s World in Thailand! It was one of the best days of my trip to Thailand, and Alexandra felt the same.

One final request: should you go to Asia, please avoid the touristy trekking and shows with elephants and choose Ethical elephant tourism. We can all help make change in our world with just simple, good choices. The “nellys” (nellyphants) will thank you!

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