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jason and nikki wynn exploring south africa with local friends kate and rufus

WE TRAVELED 10,000 miles for THEM

I have a habit of saying “I love you to the moon and back” which can be anywhere in the ballpark of 500,000 miles (give or take).  So, while I can’t say we’ve traveled quite that far…this does go down as the farthest we’ve ever gone for a friend.

We travel 10,000+ miles all the way to South Africa to see our old crewmate Kate and her husband Rufus.

We explore rugged coastlines, wine farms and find our inner caveman deep inside the Cango Caves.

Well, you’ve probably heard the old Irish proverb, “There are good ships and wood ships, ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships, may they always be!”.

Friendships are one thing, but the bonds forged with friends on ships while crossing seas…well, those are on a whole other level.  And that is where our dear friend Kate comes in.

We first met Kate and her husband Rufus in Panama. It was one of those fast forged, easy-going connections.  We snorkeled, shared sundowners and explored Panama together.  We even rang in the New Year together.

Then, an opportunity came about.  Rufus and Kate were jumping ship.  They were leaving their current crew position to move up the ranks.  Kate was able to move on but Rufus still needed to finish training the new crew.  So, we invited Kate to sail from Panama to Ecuador with us while Rufus finished up the job.

And well, the rest is history. It was three months of adventures, a lifetime of memories and one of the hardest “until next time” we’ve had to say.

Now, here we are almost two years later, traveling over 10,000 miles to see them both again before we sail even further away.

If you missed our adventures together from Panama and Ecuador, here’s a playlist of all our videos with Rufus and Kate:

 

🙏 THANK YOU!

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🎥CAMERA GEAR USED TO FILM THIS VIDEO📷

🎶MUSIC IN THIS VIDEO:

 

Hello there! I honestly don’t know what to say, so I am going to tell you a bunch of random facts instead. I'm a fish eating vegetarian who hates spiders and loves snakes. I almost never took vacations growing up. I wanted to be Pippi Longstocking (still do). I misspell about every other word I write and still struggle with grammar. I love splurging on a good high tea (which is really hard to find these days). And whatever you do, don’t tell me I can’t do something, because then I'll HAVE to do it!

Comments (14)

  • Michael

    So great to see Kate and Rufus again. I can’t even imagine why he is so camera shy. They both do good on screen.

    Thanks for another great vid.

    reply
  • Judy Goodson

    I’ve been to South Africa and spent quite a few days in Cape Town and the Surrounding countryside. It was so beautiful! I’d love to go back some day. The flight over from the States was killer though. We flew direct from NYC to Cape Town. It was a 17 hour flight, sitting 4 to a row. However, I must say, South African Airlines were wonderful! We each had our own TV and game stations and free liquor! It certainly made the hours pass faster.

    reply
  • JOHN LOCKHART

    I see you’ve removed the Amazon logo from your site. If I enter Amazon through one of your product links, do you get any credit if I make another purchase? I know the rules change periodically, so I just wanted to stay up to date! Thanks!

    reply
    • Curious Minion

      Yes, I don’t think anything has changed with the affiliate program, so shop away!
      Curious Minion

      reply
  • Jeffrey Stenberg

    Glad you got a little vacation from boat travel. What a beautiful place. Been doing virtual tours from home on TV, museums, George Washington ‘s estate, so much available on the internet being quarantined. Living through you guys is the most fun. Your professionals ! stay safe.
    Thanks, Jeff

    reply
  • Alan Solomon

    Hi everyone! It is great to see Kate’s smiling face. She has always had a great smile. Thanks for the video shots Rufus. Those caverns are aaammmaaazzzing. I dont think I could have fit into some of those crevices. Mossel is really beautiful. Wide open and spread out. Great video. I read the name Singa at the top. I hope you are Happy and Well Singa. Miss you.

    I hope you guys are okay and well, coping with this virus, being locked-down so prevalent upon us all. Hopefully by now, 4/5/20 you are with Curiosity. Stay safe. Keep Healthy. Look forward to next week. Kind Regards.

    reply
  • Mike Freimund

    Always enjoy your videos. Keeping a close eye on Singa for you.

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    • Susan J

      I love that….

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  • Roger B

    Wow! What a cave. No bats? The terrain and rolling hills of South Africa was a complete surprise to us. Reminds us of the wine country of Napa Valley. We love your drone videos showing the BIG picture.

    reply
  • John

    First: Loved the video. If you like caves, you scuba divers need to get down to the Yucatan and dive some cenotes. Imagine being able to fly through those caves you show here like Halle Berry playing Storm in X-men movies. The fresh, no-schmuckus water is invisible so controlling your breath lets you fly around in the big caves like the ones in this video. It is awesome.

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  • Marge Nehlsen

    Enjoyed. Thanks

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  • YDion

    Beautiful and exciting (as usual); inspiring. Merci !

    reply
  • mary

    That cave was incredible! It is a good thing all of you are small! I can’t believe all of the places you all were able to crawl around and slide down! Is that area open to the public or did you have special permission?

    We visited so many caves when you Lauren and Jacob were small. I’ve always loved caves especially on hot summer day.

    Kate and Rufus look great! I am so happy you had time with them! Miss you, miss Kate too!

    reply

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