Ya I know it has been a while but rest assured I have been very busy. I have been back and forth across the US from LA, Orange County, Las Vegas and Denver back to New York and down the Atlantic beaches of Delaware and Maryland. I am in the process of planning several upcoming trips as I try to get closer to the record. I will be heading to the Mediterranean at the end of August and early September for Corsica and Sardinia. After much deliberation and extreme pains in the butt, I am not going to Libya in September but hopefully it may work out in October. Instead I will be heading up to the Faroe Islands, Iceland and perhaps Greenland, if I can find a reasonable deal. November 4th, I embark on a very rare expedition to the British Indian Ocean Territory via the Maldives and will make several stops along the way. My hopeful and/or probable stops include romantic destinations such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Algeria, Eritrea, Pakistan and Afghanistan. I have yet to decide if I am going to do an around the world ticket or not. I am working on a lot of things so we will see as it gets closer. I also have Wake Island looming in December which I have not yet committed to. Anyway, just a quick update before I head back on the road August 29th. As always, thanks for all the emails and I hope everyone’s summers are going very well!
A Quick Update
August 17, 2010 by 3 Comments
When I woke up this morning I had about two dozen emails asking me the same question, How did I organize a trip to the British Indian Ocean Territory? So rather than answer each with the same generic answer, I figured I would just post it here.
When I was on Midway Island back in early June, I got together with some of the worlds most traveled people and we solicited a German tour operator who has a connection to a luxury Indian Ocean catamaran that can hold 16 people.
We got 16 people together, again a who’s who of the worlds most traveled people, and we got a great price to go plus a permit to land and stay in Chagos Archipelago and Diego Garcia for 7 days. It leaves out of the Southern Maldives in early November.
The heavy lifting on this trip was done by a very intrepid Swedish traveler named Carl and I am very much looking forward to this rare and once in a lifetime expedition.
Basically, the only way to get to the BIOT is to organize your own boat and permit. This is not easy as you might imagine, hence why this will be only one of a handful of such trips in history. This is why the BIOT is considered one of the 2 or 3 hardest places on the TCC list to get to. I am very excited and honored to be among those going and I am sure the knowledge and stories shared between the passengers will be legendary stuff.
Sounds exciting! I am looking fwd to more of your adventures. I just googled the BIOT, it looks amazing…
Either someone\’s kidding you or not giving you accurate information.
Casual, non-military visitors haven\’t been allowed on Diego Garcia for almost 40 years.
Only certain parts of two of the northern atolls are open to visitors: Salomon and Peros Banhos Atolls. And on these, no one is permitted to stay on land overnight. These are a long way from the Diego Garcia you say you\’re going to visit.