8 YEARS AGO TODAY - OCT 2019

8 YEARS AGO TODAY - OCT 2019

wow, 8 years ago today i landed in Nairobi, Kenya, via a 16 hour non-stop flight to Dubai from LAX and then the 5 hour jump to NBO. i had sold everything in the USA but for the 14 bags of luggage i had with me, including a Mac Pro desktop computer case, 2 monitor cases for my edit bay, and camera bags and lens cases. a one man studio with little experience. oh yeah, and some clothing. a newbie.

since then i have done probably 100 video shoots, 2 feature docos (from sea turtles to a Handel singing choir), and 4 short films. i hopped around Nairobi and Karen until i finally found an amazing shack on a great compound and settled in for a good year. kept a beach flat in romantic Lamu on the coast, madeover a soccer-mom Toyota SUV into a proper safari ride, and traveled throughout east africa to Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, all more than once. 

perhaps the height of my Citizen of the World indoctrination, besides my first 12-day shoot in Ethiopia with Charity:Water, was waiting to meet Mr. Salim Amin in Addis Ababa at the world class Sheraton Hotel. i was Bond, James Bond. and then i acted in a film in Addis with Groom and Dre, which was another highlight. 

Ethiopia feels so old, truly ancient. and shooting a cycling doco through the rural with my nephew in a chase van was incredible. we would stop in the boonies to set up a shot and folks would appear from seemingly nowhere. there is always someone in africa. 

wow, so many memories just in Ethiopia alone! and to think i could have slugged it out in my groovy loft in DTLA (downtown los angeles) and seen none of the world i have seen. 

my shoots have taken me to Cambodia, Thailand, Zurich, South Sudan, the Masai Mara, game lodges, schools, slums, townships, homeless shelters, beautiful beaches, gorillas in the mist, resorts, nature reserves, underwater shots with my GoPro, drone shots of whales, game drives, as well as shooting some 1000 scenes in my on-camera acting classes!

it's been such a journey. so happy i followed the divine nudge to leave the known for the unknown. the trail less traveled. it has made all the difference in the world! 

i have met the most amazing people along the way! of every age, race, creed, color, status, sex, position, means, you name it! and i am so much richer for it!

all my peeps in Kenya, Addis, Lamu, Juba, Stanford, Hermanus, and Cape Town. all my wonderful students! and of course Lorella my employee at Slingshot Prods in Karen for 3 years. she's family now. 

so hard to share all the gems of experience i've collected along the way, but important to stop today and give thanks and be grateful for all the vats of new memories i have because i followed that nudge. it's been an unimaginable ride. and slowly i'm finding the joy of being a COTW.

a new friend, "Impale Chris", challenges me to sell it all and live with two bags traveling the world as he does. he sold it all and has a backpack and carry on. that's it. and goes from country to country. no roots. no belongings. just taking it day to day. i thought seriously of selling my car after meeting him. just Uber or walk or bus or hire a car if need be. reduce my carbon footprint. let go of extra weight. be more care free. 

but alas, after a week of dwelling on it, i've decided to keep it for now. it's paid for and sits happily in my parking space in cape town 10 floors up. i use it once a week for longer hauls. fine for now. 

but do you own a car? imagine letting it go? i didn't have one in NYC. don't really need one in cape town. but when i do need one for a longer drive, it's handy. but not owning a car has to be liberating. 

this month my adventure continues with another one-way ticket, this time to Brazil on 26 oct flyng to Joao Pessoa near Recife. then sailing on 'New Dawn' up to Trinidad til christmas, then not sure of my plans. 

christmas may be in Puerto Rico, Utah, Nebraska, Panama, Europe, Marrakesh, i don't know! i get to play it by ear and let it unfold. and that feels pretty exciting! a one way ticket then see what happens. not sure i've travelled like that before (except my tix to NBO).

my cottage is rented in stanford, i can lock and leave my flat in town, most of my bills are auto debit, and then i'll likely be off-grid for weeks on end! no smart phone addiction. no facebook. tether free. 

setting sail 3 november, headed to Devil's Island off French Guiana, then up to the Caribbean, on a 53' Halberg-Rassy blue water monohull sailboat. i got all my travel shots yesterday, a new Yellow Fever, Tetanus, and Typhoid (My Hep A and B are sorted). 

i probably should do an 8-year pictorial review for this anniversary blog but it's too big a mission! luckily, they are all on my older blog posts. i could ramble and on with sentimental memories, but let's wrap this up! 

i'm beyond blessed, have a great community here, i'm happy in south africa and have some great sailing adventures ahead, including crossing the pond next year if all goes well with capt paul on New Dawn. 

life is an open book presently, which certainly beats the alternative. and i love nothing more than sharing my exploits with you on my blog. stay tuned! 

well, that's all for now, adventure-lovers! here's a few pics of my daily life in Cape Town. thanks for joining me on the ride!

so proud of Lorella! she's a gem and now owns her own business...Filmic.

sucker for carrot cake, and Deluxe coffee

drinking buddy and brewer Willem

park here when you visit me

zillions of coffee shops in cape town

southern peninsula, hence, Southern Grind

and the wild baboons. no muffins for them please.

my second coffee of the day...Bootleggers

my lift to street level, winter sun

eye level of my pool, so freezing

vicar friend annie at Hope Exchange wednesday service,
one third of the Cape Town Trio.

more Bootleggers coffee

Lions Head peaks through in DTCT

a new neighbourhood bar, with my 48-hour film crew

Surfa Rosa

what's slightly above "dive bar"?

old Mt. Nellies, snobby but cool.

my hood, Adderley Terraces

usually do lunch here on Harrington

saw the ab-fab 'Kinky Boots' musical at the Fugard

my monthly escape in Raithby Heights. thanks Flippie and Paula!

translation: $5, a true happy meal.

on the legendary Long Street

reverse angle

Leon Starker, conductor cape town youth choir, my second Doco

Hope Exchange fund raiser

down at the Waterfront

love taking photos of photos being taken

another third of the 'cape town trio'...the smashing Anri!

origin coffee...a new hang!

arts in the cape. 

V&A Waterfront, not a far walk from my crib

we walk the promenade at sunset

The Silos...stunning renovation

someone had some vision

ibid

bliss

i've been shooting some homeless videos for Hope Exchange

throwback 2002? with my niece Carrie.

meanwhile back at the Terraces...

more Bootleggers...great vibe

Another fun workshop day!

i'm back in the cutting business

i take the bus to camps bay for a breakaway

the water is freezing. no jokes.

art

Accidental tourist

tea time, or wine, or beer

Cafe Caprice, Camps Bay

i love MyCiti bus

Hudson Burger Joint, during a lull

Eastern Food Bazaar, lamb mince pizza. 

not exactly third world

cape town, battery park

empty plane to Lamu, circa 2013

my first cocktails and bitings at K-04

Labia, local art house cinema, frequent patron!

walkover in my hood

Table View hotel patio, sundowner

wrong charger plug for 'New Dawn', needs USA

Seapoint public pools, sundowner walk

raw espresso bar, my first coffee of the day

travel shots: check!

photo op, table mountain

fellow Hollywood High alum, Larry Goss and wife Cathy,
48 years later! thanks for visiting me you guys!