Stella Australis

After visiting Punta Arenas and kissing the toes of a statue it was time to board a boat to start sailing through the Straits of Magellan. We boarded the Stella Australis in the afternoon and after a delicious dinner and my first taste of the local cocktail Pisco Sours (yum-yum) I turned in for the night in a beautiful cabin with a large picture window. Little did I know what a beautiful sight I would wake up to.

Glacier

The next morning at dawn I was greeted with my first view of the stark and vast landscape of Tierra del Fuego. Located at the southernmost tip of South America (next stop Antarctica) this archipelago discovered in the 15th century was not settled until the second half of the 19th century.

Alan Feldstein – Ice For Pisco Sours

For the next 3 days we did zodiac tours of vastly different climes. One was what can best be described as an amphitheater of glaciers. These glaciers are different from ones in North America as the ice is relatively young ice. What really made it fun was to bring home a piece of ice that was floating nearby to use in a fresh batch of Pisco Sours! I brought home some Pisco (Chilean grape brandy) looked up the recipe on the Internet and served some up for my wife’s birthday!

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Annette Russell and Johari (photo credit: Andy Sheng)

This past Saturday my wife Diane and I hosted our second annual “Meetah Cheetah” in Studio City. It was a huge success. So huge in fact that next year we are going to have to find a bigger place! With over 70 guests and friends attending our place was packed for the appearance of Johari from the San Diego Wild Animal Park and her Anatolian Shepherd companion Yeti. Many thanks to Annette and her crew for making the event so great.

Meetah Cheetah Event (photo credit: Andy Sheng)

Everyone enjoyed some great food and drink from Food Fetish Catering as well as socializing and learning about safaris from Infinite Safari Adventures. But the highlight for everyone was the chance to meet Dr. Laurie Marker, founder of The Cheetah Conservation Fund of Namibia and hearing about the amazing work she is doing in saving these magnificent creatures. There are only 10,000 cheetahs still living in the wild.

Cheetah Johari (photo credit: Andy Sheng)

But like the arrival of Brad and Angelina on the red carpet the entrance of Johari awed the guests. She was absolutely gorgeous and was gracious to give us a lot of her time. Slurping a “bloodsicle” she allowed the “purrparazi” to take as many pictures as they wanted. Check out some photos from some of our attendees. You can see a lot more at the Infinite Safari Adventures Facebook page.

Annette Russell and Johari (photo credit: Alan Feldstein)

Thank you Johari – your generosity went a long way to spreading the word and inspiring others like myself to help save your brothers and sisters in the wild!

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Cheetah Johari

I am taking a break from my blog about Chile this week to tell you about a very exciting event that is occurring in Studio City this weekend on Saturday May 11 from 4-7 p.m. As I have previously mentioned I am on the Board of Trustees for the Cheetah Conservation Fund. This worthwhile organization run by the incomparable Dr. Laurie Marker is dedicated to saving cheetahs, one of the most beautiful animals on the planet (next to of course our very own Heidi the dog). There are only about 10,000 of these majestic cats left in the world.

Last year we held our first annual fund raising event at our home featuring Victor, a cheetah from the San Diego area. And while Victor is unable to make it this year (prior commitments) we are hosting Dr. Marker and cheetah Johari from the San Diego Zoo. And Johari is bringing her friend Yeti the Anatolian Shepherd to join her as well! You can learn about how these dogs are saving cheetahs in Namibia.

This is a fun worthwhile event. Valet parking is provided! And, really, how often can you tell your friends that you can’t go clubbing, meet at Pink’s, take Pilates class or work on your screenplay because you are going to meet a live cheetah in Studio City?!

In addition there will be catered food, wine, a raffle and silent auction with all sorts of neat things. So come meet Dr. Marker, make new friends, support an endangered species and Meetah Cheetah! Here is how:

http://www.cheetah.org/ama/orig/2013_Tour_Info/StudioCityInvite2c.pdf

Dr. Laurie Marker, Diane Haithman, Alan Feldstin with Cheetah

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Alan Feldstein Kissing the Foot of Native Indian Statue

As part of my trip at the invitation of the Chilean Government, which I mentioned in my previous blog post, I traveled to the town of Punta Arenas. It is the southernmost city in Chile. In my first 24 hours there I was already involved in some fun and unusual travel adventures.

Ernest Shackleton Plaque

On my first night I went out to have dinner. On my way to the restaurant I saw a plaque on a building that made me stop and look. I had once read a fascinating book recounting the incredible story of Ernest Shackleton. While exploring the Antarctic in his ship the Endurance, Shackleton’s expedition became trapped in ice. With his men suffering the hardships of being stranded on ice, including hunger and frostbite, Shackleton outfitted one of the Endurance lifeboats and in a story of true courage made his way through dangerous seas to a South Georgia whaling station. I learned from this plaque that the building I was standing in front of was formerly The British Club. It was here in 1916 that it became the headquarters for Shackleton as he arranged for the rescue of his men. It made the story that more real.

Then I arrived at a wonderful restaurant where I began to enjoy a wonderful meal (with some delicious Chilean wine). While eating a couple came in and asked if I spoke English. When I said yes they asked if the food was good and when I said yes the decided to sit at the table next to mine. As we talked we found out that they too live in Studio City where I live and Infinite Safari Adventures is located! To the end of the Americas and I meet someone just a few blocks from my house!

The next morning it was a quick tour of Punta Arenas where I walked across my hotel to the town square. Located there is a statute of Magellan. Also as part of the statue in a seated position is a native Indian who first lived in the area. Tradition has it that if you kiss the Indian’s feet you will return to Punta Arenas. I could not pass up that opportunity so I puckered up. I look forward to returning!

Statute of Magellan

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Alan Feldstein visiting Chile

Not Jambo but Hola. Just yesterday I returned from one week in the beautiful country of Chile. At the invitation of the Chilean Government I was invited to visit the southernmost region of Chile – Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego – to learn about the area and explore some tourist development ideas.

The area we went to is largely undeveloped, stark and beautiful. Over the next few weeks I will be writing about my experience down there. Right now I am very jet lagged as I traveled for almost 36 hours to get home (with layovers and a chance to tour Santiago).

I spent 3 days on a boat traveling around the Straits of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego. Then with 2 new great friends, Nick Mead of Auckland Sea Kayaks and Mike Ritenour of Underwater Design Development, we toured Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine National Park where I hiked, went horseback riding and drove around stunning vistas, glaciers as well as some wildlife – flamingos and guanacos to name a few (more about them to follow).

I met some amazing people from around the world and the Chileans could not have been nicer hosts. Stay tuned for more.

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Have it…

I am very excited because this weekend I will be departing for Puntas Arenas, Chile, the southernmost city in the world, at the invitation of the Chilean Government to learn about tourism opportunities in this remote part of South America.

I am sure I will have much to say on my return but what is going through my mind right now is packing! I know this sounds weird, but part of the fun of an adventure for me is packing for it. I enjoy the planning, the organizing and the spatial challenge on how to fit my stuff in my bags (for an hysterical take on stuff check out the late great George Carlin’s riff on stuff.). To me it is like a puzzle that needs to be solved. I think it is one of the reasons people enjoy traveling to Africa with my company as I give them lots of packing advice.

Packed it.

I have lots of stuff and it is easy to forget I have it and even easier to forget I packed it. And if I do pack it – how do I find it when I need it? And is it where you going to be able to access it when you do? To me the key is not only what to pack, but how and where to pack. That is why I use the “have it – packed it” checklist.

First I make a list of everything I think I am going to need and bring. Before throwing everything in a bag I lay out everything in a corner of the room. This way I can see how much stuff I have, what size bags it will all fit in and then begin to ask the question – do I really need it? It is always good to edit before you go. This is the “have it” portion of the process. Then when I start to put it in the bag (or bags) I mark it off as “packed it.” This helps me remember where I packed it so when all of a sudden I need that itinerary or tool I know exactly where I packed it.

How do you pack for a trip?

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Some of the Garbage Found Along the Coastline on Washington’s Roadless Coast

In chaos theory, the “butterfly effect” theorizes that a small change at one place can result in large differences to a later state. The name of the effect, coined by American mathematician Edward Lorenz, is derived from the theoretical example of a hurricane’s formation being contingent on whether or not a distant butterfly had flapped its wings several weeks before.

I am not a mathematician nor do I understand chaos theory, but what I do know is what I see in the water when I paddle is the result of an action far away.  I am amazed by some of the trash I see in the water.  It is one of the reasons I love kayaking in Africa as it is much more pristine, but that is not to say I do not see from time to time trash from a boat or someone who was careless many miles away.

Kayaking Along Washington’s Roadless Coast

This point was driven home to me by an email I received from an old friend , Prof. Gary McCall who was one of the people who taught me how to kayak.  Some friends of his did a kayaking expedition to gather data on tsunami and other debris found on beaches, many of which are reachable only by kayak, on the State of Washington’s roadless coast.  This award winning film shows the effect each of us has on our oceans and the ever presence of plastic and other debris.  It also dramatically shows the power of the tsunami that hit Japan.

You can check out the film here. And remember the next time you throw away that piece of plastic wrapping or water bottle and it does not get disposed of properly it could end up landing on a beach far away.

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I live in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles in Studio City.  Studio City is aptly named because there are several movie and television production studios including Universal Studios and the Radford Studios, which was the former home of Mary Tyler Moore, Roseanne, Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Nearby is the town of Tarzana. Tarzana is named because it was the home of celebrated American novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs. Burroughs had no success as a writer until he created his novel TARZAN OF THE APES. An astonishing success on its appearance in All-Story Magazine in 1912, TARZAN OF THE APES brought Edgar Rice Burroughs a mere $700, but after being rejected by practically every major book publisher in the country, it finally was printed in book form by A. C. McClure & Co. and became a 1914 best seller.  In 1918, Tarzan came to the screen with Tarzan of the Apes, starring Elmo Lincoln, the first film in history to gross over one million dollars. Since then, 41 Tarzan films and 57 one hour television episodes have been produced, each a great financial success.

Burroughs took the money he made from Tarzan and bought a ranch.  Burroughs spent most of his life there riding, writing, and living life to the fullest. When the area got its own post office and homes began to be built there the residents decided to name their city Tarzana in honor of the famous character that was created there.

Today part of the main thoroughfare is called “safari walk” to promote the businesses on the street.  You won’t see any zebras or elephants.  But you will see a real ape in Tarzana, but you just might see an actor, a screenwriter or a surfer in their natural habitat on the safari walk.

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Desert with bugs

Once again I have just returned from New York from another Explorers Club annual dinner.  In a previous blog post I had mentioned the exotic food that is served with cocktails before the meal and this year was no different – well a little different as this year I had crocodile, boar, jellyfish and kangaroo.  All delicious.  Equally delicious were the after dinner deserts.  I love chocolate and there is nothing like a crunchy cricket or a grub on top of your chocolate cupcake!

While all those things are fun what truly makes the weekend wonderful is hearing from our true heroes and explorers and this year was very special.  On Thursday I got to hear an interview and talk by Jim Whitaker.  Jim was the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He summited on May 1,1963 with the Sherpa Nawang Gombu (a nephew of Tenzing Norgay).  And he just happens to be the first full-time employee of one of my favorite stores -  Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI).  It was fascinating to hear him talk about climbing and got my interest piqued about climbing Kilimanjaro again sometime soon.

Jim Whitaker

Scott Carpenter

John Glenn

At the dinner I got to hear talks delivered by astronauts John Glenn and Scott Carpenter.  Glenn and Carpenter are the first Americans to go into space.  Scott Carpenter who talked first quipped that this was the first time he got to do something before John Glenn did it.  The evening was capped with a talk by explorer and oh yes movie director James Cameron who said it best that being honored here was better than any Academy Award.

Once again it was an incredible evening.  Now to find that recipe for kangaroo stew!

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Danielle and Allison
WHOA – Women High on Adventure

Last week I exhibited at the Washington DC Travel show.  It was my 5^th show in 8 weeks.  I met hundreds of potential travelers and with so many people to talk to almost lost my voice telling people about my love of Africa, Wildlife, and the wonderful people of Tanzania and East Africa.  In fact on the first day I ran out of brochures and spent a late night at a printer restocking my supply.

Even though I meet more people in a day than most do in a year some people just stand out from the pack.  I had that instant connection with 2 New Yorkers (yes they came in for the show) Danielle and Allison.  These bright, young talented women have started a travel company WHOA (Women High On Adventure) Travel (www.whoatravel.com) whose idea is to encourage women to step out of their comfort zone while at the same time doing some social good.

Allison Fleece and Alan Feldstein at the Explorers Club Annual Dinner

These two have already been bitten by the worst bug in Africa – the safari bug.  They have traveled to Africa and climbed Kilimanjaro.  We shared our mutual stories and congratulated each other on reaching the roof of Africa.  Eavesdroppers at the show could feel how passionate we all were about Africa.  As we talked an idea began to take hold like the grass in the Serengeti.  Why not do another Kilimanjaro climb but this time summit on March 8^th which just happens to be International Women’s Day.  Then participants could take the opportunity to support a local school, go on safari and maybe help build a well for the women of a Maasai village that Infinite Safari Adventures has been supporting.

We are now beginning to make plans for this amazing event.  So if you want to be part of the celebration keep checking with Infinite Safari Adventures and WHOA to find out how you can stand on the roof of Africa and make your family and friends go “Whoa”!

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