Flat Mike at Yoga

Although parting can be such a sweet sorrow, a reunion of the blissfully engaged would be even sweeter. \240So SK, who subsequently became BFSK (Beautiful Fiancé Sara Kathryn) made plans to fly to Johannesburg to see Mike after his work \240commitment was done. Jokingly or or not she asked Mary if we wanted to join them. \240Still jet lagged from South America, we said — absolutely. \240Once we realized they were not kidding we started to formulate some plans with BFSK and FM.

Flat Mike at a Motorcycle Rally

Let me stop here for a moment to explain about FM and how the FM fan club came to be. \240Since the Easter dinner at the Germond’s was the first big family event after the engagement, we toasted the newly engaged couple. \240However, Mike was already away \240in Tugela Ferry, so Lisa, BFSK’s Mom, made Mike effigies (like a Jalapeño on a stick) in order for us to toast \240BFSK and Mike in absentia. \240Mike on a stick quickly became known as Flat Mike (FM) (of Flat Stanley fame) and soon he started to make random appearances at birthday parties, SC Bootcamp bowling night, a Pink concert, night races and even won his division at the Boston Marathon by running “flat out” in the pouring rain. \240And by the way, Mary’s nephew, Charlie Olbrias ran an awesome Boston Marathon personal record. \240Eventually, \240FM and the real 3D Mike would be reunited along with BFSK in South Africa.

Flat Mike at Breakfast

Back to the story. \240We started coordinating with Mike via messenger, Whats.app and google docs, to plan another intricate trip with many moving parts. Thank God, Buddha, Allah, Zeus, and the old gods and the new, Mike was already on the ground in South Africa because coordination was not always simple. \240Where to go, what to do, when to do it, and how to do it was a bit more challenging than we first had anticipated. Ultimately, the trip would include a stop in Doha, Qatar on a transit visa; Johannesburg, South Africa with a Safari stop at the Wild Ivory Camp; two stops in Madagascar (Antananarivo and Morondava); Cape Town South Africa; \240and Istanbul, Turkey on the way home.

Flat Mike Bowling

The most challenging coordination was the stop in the country of Madagascar. \240Malagasy and French are the official languages, some of the places we plan to visit do not accept credit cards, the currency exchange is rather ambiguous, flights to Morondava only fly out on even numbered days and flights back from Morondava only fly on odd numbered days, maybe. \240If you are a bit confused, join the club. \240Despite all this, Madagascar holds the promise of a true adventure as 80 percent of the animal species there do not exist anywhere else in the world. There are no real roads in the western interpretation of what roads are and English does not seem to be a widely understood language. Survival, in the figurative sense, is dependent on patience and understanding.

Flat Mike & Chalie Olbrias At Boston Marathon

Journaling this trip will also prove to be challenging as much of it will be a sensory overload. We hope you enjoy hearing about it as much as we will enjoy living it.