I had the pleasure of taking a sabbatical from teaching and directing. I decided to go to Mozambique because I was intrigued by its people, coastline and of course the megafauna!

Zanzibar is a wonderful and intriguing place filled with incredible history. If you are a nature lover, you will also delight in Zanzibar’s coral reefs and forests. Traveling alone, particularly to Zanzibar, might seem like a daunting endeavor, but I found it to be quite freeing and I got to spend some quality time writing, thinking, diving and exploring.

If you ever find yourself under an overpass in a sketchy part of Maputo just outside of a bus depot, just make sure you are with a taxi driver who has no taxi. If this sounds remotely confusing, welcome to traveling in Mozambique.

Arriving into Tofo Beach was a blur due to fighting off jet lag and constantly worrying if my 3mm wetsuit that I lugged all the way to Mozambique would be sufficient for the water temperatures here. The answer is an astounding no

Let’s be real. Packing is not fun. Learn how I pack when I solo travel around the world!

I love Panamá. I love the diversity of its people, its sounds and smells. I especially love waking up to all kinds of noises such as birds, the ocean and howler monkeys in the distance. I fall asleep to frogs and insects chirping and when I am really lucky, the battering of intense tropical rain on the roof. Though I have been living in Panama for almost 5 years now, it has not been until recently that I truly feel like Panama is my real home. I now find that I miss Panama and the small island I call home tremendously when I am gone for long periods of time.

On a trip sailing from the San Blas islands in Panamá to Cartagena, Colombia, a very seasick girl from Hong Kong asked to touch my hair. Of the fourteen travelers on the sailboat, I was the only black passenger. As I sat somewhat stunned, but not entirely surprised

I travel a lot by myself. Not necessarily because I want to, but because I have long periods of time off in between intense periods of work and most of my friends are not able to ditch and mount up for extended adventures. I came to terms with traveling alone quite some time ago as I refused to forfeit seeing the world simply because I was traveling solo. Life is way too short to be on someone else’s schedule.

I am constantly overwhelmed by the amount of biodiversity surrounding me on a regular basis. It is mind-boggling to think about all of the adaptations microbes, plants and animals have made over thousands and thousands of years to survive in the tropics.

In 2013, with every commute to work, I dreamed of a different life. I dreamed of the ocean. I dreamed of sunshine. I dreamed of helping people. I dreamed of changing the world. That’s when I decided to make a big change in my life.