Jeannie's Journal: The Honeymoon is Over Too Soon

A monthly note from our founder.

Hello Dear NextTriber:

Inside the Basilica San Giacomo in Bellagio, Italy, I lit a candle and made a prayer. Even though I was in this town on pristine Lake Como for my honeymoon, I did not ask for a long and happy marriage. Surprisingly—and with no disrespect to my husband Mike--I had other things on my mind at the moment.

I bowed my head over the flickering flame and said, “Please help me make the right decision on the Africa trip.” I stayed there in the darkened nave for several minutes, hoping for inspiration. It came a few hours later.

Basilica San Giacomo in Bellagio, Italy

For years, seeing the gorillas in Africa has been at the top of my bucket list. I was supposed to lead a NextTribe trip there last year, but when my son scheduled his wedding for the middle of that trip, I of course gave up the trip (I turned it over to Jeannie Edmunds). I was ecstatic that I’d have the chance this year. I’d scheduled our European honeymoon in between NextTribe’s Croatia trip and the Gorilla Safari.

Then the news started about Ebola cases in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda. I was assured by our tour operator on the ground that we would be far from any cases and would be kept safe, and I have complete trust in the company.

It was the U.S. government’s reaction to the outbreak that made me worry. First, we all had to change our flights to get a health screening in one of only three approved U.S.border/ airports. Next, the administration said that anyone exposed would have to go to Kenya to be observed and treated. What really scared me was when the Canadian government announced that even Canadian citizens returning from Uganda or the DRC would have to self-quarantine for three weeks.

I could see where this was going, and I knew it would be a hardship for my group and me if we had to quarantine for three weeks. And what if more draconian rules were set up while we were on our two-week trip? Who wants to have that hanging over our heads for the duration?

Even with views like this, my mind was on Africa.

Jeannie Edmunds, our tour operator on the ground and I were in constant touch on the issue of how to handle things. Our tour operator couldn’t refund any money but the company did offer to postpone until next year.

I called one of our travelers—a Lifetime Member and a wonderful, smart woman—and asked her how she was feeling about the trip. She advised me to take a vote among our travelers.

So we took a vote on one of two choices:

Go ahead with the trip and risk having to quarantine when we got home.
Postpone till next year.

After much discussion on our What’s App chat, all but one traveler voted to postpone.

So instead of flying to Africa today, I’m flying home to Asheville. Of course I’m hugely disappointed that we all have to go another year without seeing the gorillas and truly heartbroken for the logistics mess our travelers are facing.

On the shores of Lake Como

But I am happy that we could find a solution that seemed in keeping with the NextTribe spirit. Consulting our travelers, listening to them and trying to work with them in any way we could in an unprecedented crisis with unpredictable outcomes.

I know there is much to learn from this whole situation, and Jeannie Edmunds and I naturally will be analyzing what we could have done better and how to prepare for other crises before they happen. We hope nothing like this comes up again—this really was unexpected, to say the least--but international travel is always buffeted by events—whether political, natural, health-related. I promise we’re doing our very best.

And by the way, I did go back into the church later and lit a candle for a long and happy marriage. So far so good.

Cheers and hugs—

Jeannie Ralston
Founder and CEO

P.S. To learn more about the India trip—which we’ll be repeating next year—join us and the women who traveled with us in January at an India After Party via Zoom, Thursday, Feb. 6th. RSVP here.

Hurry before these trips sell out!

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For all its raw, elemental beauty, Iceland also offers refined Nordic sophistication—world-class restaurants, striking architecture, cutting-edge art, and excellent shopping. It's a place of wonderful contradictions: wild yet welcoming, remote yet remarkably progressive (hello, most gender-equal country in the world).

All the details here.

Come to a Cooler August in the Mountains

Did you know that in Oaxaca, the temperatures in August are in the upper 70s? NextTribe has a love affair with Mexico. Jeannie Ralston called it home for four transformative years of her life. It’s so close that it’s often taken for granted by North Americans who haven’t explored much beyond its famous beaches and tourist hot spots. But Mexico has an incredibly rich tapestry of culture, from a huge variety of soul-stirring cuisine to astonishing classical and modern art, architecture, and deep history.

The crown jewel of Mexico (other than San Miguel de Allende, of course) is Oaxaca, nestled in the country's mountainous South. Here, ancient Zapotecs and Mixtecs built great cities and temples, while Spanish colonizers later created one of Mexico's most enchanting and vibrant colonial towns—a UNESCO World Heritage site, Oaxaca City.

The Oaxaca Trip preview is Friday June 12, 6:30 pm. Please RSVP here:

All the trip details here.

UPCOMING TRIP PREVIEWS

All are Virtual Events start at 6:30 pm ET, unless otherwise noted.

Trip Previews are presentations about upcoming trips. Someone attending each Trip Preview will win a $400 discount in a random drawing unless the trip is Sold Out.