Jenss Family Travels: Dodging Pirates

ByRainer Jenss
April 27, 2009
8 min read

Rainer Jenss and his family are currently on an around-the-world journey, and they’re blogging about their experiences for us at Intelligent Travel. Keep up with the Jensses by bookmarking their posts, and follow the boys’ Global Bros blog at National Geographic Kids.

If you’ve been following this blog since we left on our around-the-world trip back in July, you might have noticed that we haven’t exactly had any serious mishaps, accidents, illnesses or diversions to our original plan for any reasons other than personal choice (yes, I’m knocking on wood big time).  Compared to most travel stories I’ve read, our journey thus far might seem quite uneventful in comparison.  I just finished Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux, and he had all kinds of amazing tales from his Cairo to Cape Town overland trek. The biggest drama of our travels between these two points came when a herd of elephants trampled through our campsite one night in Tanzania. Interesting and memorable, but not exactly New York Times bestseller material.

Not that this is a bad thing, mind you. When traveling with two young children, you tend to plan things out further in advance and take more precautions for anything and everything that might go wrong. This is not to suggest that a little improvisation every now and then wasn’t necessary or welcomed. For various reasons, not the least of which was logistic, we decided to forgo a visit to India – opting instead for a “spring break vacation” in the Indian Ocean aboard the new Lindblad National Geographic ExplorerLindblad National Geographic ExplorerLindblad National Geographic ExplorerLindblad National Geographic Explorer. This meant two weeks of prearranged activities, destinations, and all our meals accounted for. Boring? Maybe for some, but we were thrilled to have nothing to plan for or have to handle ourselves for two whole weeks! The only major decision we had each day was whether to snorkel or scuba dive.

What caught our attention about this particular cruise was its amazing itinerary: Zanzibar, Mozambique, Madagascar, and the Seychelles. As a scuba diver, I’ve heard that the Indian Ocean offers some of the best marine life found anywhere, so we were intrigued. Couple that with the famous beaches of the Seychelles and exotic wildlife of Madagascar, and we were sold. Our sojourn to Europe would just have to wait fourteen more days.

Most people choose to travel with National Geographic and Lindblad because of their exceptional reputation and line-up of professional experts and specialists that you just won’t find with anyone else. This trip would be no different. In fact, they seemed to have a naturalist on staff for every possible area of interest. Whether it be marine life, birds, geology, or local history, there was someone there to field any possible question. There was also not just one, but two photographers on board to help the amateurs figure out how to use the new digital cameras they had gotten just for this trip. This included Michael Melford, who has shot several cover stories for National Geographic Traveler and National Geographic magazine.

But perhaps the most important staff members on this voyage were the captain and expedition leader, but not for reasons typically associated with their job descriptions. On this particular passage, Captain Leif Spog and Tim Soper had to deal with some pretty unexpected and improbable circumstances. For starters, because of escalating tensions and violent protests in Madagascar, the U.S. State Department issued a warning against any and all travel to the country. The only prudent course of action was to avoid the area completely, much to the dismay (but reluctant understanding) of the passengers. When it was announced that the biggest highlight of the tour was being canceled, we were told the ship would be rerouted to spend more time in the Seychelles, which we figured wasn’t the worst news in the world.

If this development wasn’t enough of a conversation starter at the trip’s opening night cocktail party, talk of a cyclone in the Mozambique Channel (another spot where we were heading for) was also quietly circulating its way around. Fortunately, the storm rolled through before we ever got there and the weather would never be a factor after that. The forecast of increasing pirate activity in the region, on the other hand, would.

Before we flew back to Tanzania to embark on the cruise, a friend had given us the April issue of Vanity Fair to check out a story about the Bernie Madoff scandal. It just so happened that the same issue featured a piece about modern-day pirates who seized a French luxury yacht and held the captain and crew hostage until a $2.3 million ransom was paid. I saw this article in passing, but didn’t read it. After Tim made an announcement three days later that the ship’s course would need to change yet again because Somali pirates were reported to be in the area, I had reason to revisit that Vanity Fair issue. Unfortunately, this diversion would force us to bypass the Aldabra Group, the jewel of all the Seychelles Islands.

Understandably, most people were not too pleased with the situation and even questioned the decision. There was tangible proof to the soundness of the captain’s judgment, however, when we learned a mere two days later that a small dive boat, coincidentally named the Indian Ocean Explorer, had been boarded by pirates just 30 kilometers from Aldabra and was now in transit to Somalia. The National Geographic Explorer, meanwhile, was heading towards a group of smaller and lesser-known islands further south and west of our original course.

All in all, the staff and crew did an outstanding job dealing with a set of circumstances that no one could have anticipated. If they were not trained in improvisational trip planning, they certainly got their share of on-the-job training. For most of the passengers, not all, their efforts were greatly appreciated and the best was made with what was offered – which was still pretty darn enjoyable. We still got to see lemurs on the island of Mayotte and giant tortoises on Curieuse. There were stunning tropical beaches in the Amirantes and Silhouette islands while the Farquar Atoll proved to be one of the most remote and desolate places I’d ever visited.

The truth is, if missing Madagascar and the Aldabra Islands is the worst thing that happens to us on our year-long journey, we should consider ourselves blessed. Having travel plans changed because of political instability is perhaps becoming too common in this day and age. But it’s hard to believe that in the 21st century, the threat of pirates could actually alter an itinerary to the degree that it did. The good news is that we manage to dodge any serious threat. The downside, of course, is that this story won’t wind up in Vanity Fair.

Read More: Traveler staffers got to tour the Explorerto tour the Explorer when it visited the D.C. area last fall.

Photos: Rainer Jenss

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