I recently returned from a 10-day trip to Rwanda and Uganda to track mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. Solo travelers can’t do this trip on their own, they must sign up for a government park ranger-led program and pay for a very expensive permit. The tours in both countries are done in groups of […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Fifteen years ago today I made a trek to the summit of the highest mountain in Africa. While getting to the top of Kilimanjaro didn’t require any technical climbing skills, it did require more fortitude than any endeavor I had previously undertaken. For those who don’t know, Kili is […]
I just returned from a 17-day trip to Medellin Colombia. I made the trip for two primary reasons. The first is that it is as hot as Hades in my new Texas home. It’s been 100+ degrees here every day for the last couple months. I knew it was going to be hot when I […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz In yesterday’s article, I talked about the common guns I see carried all around the world. As a traveler, since you aren’t likely to be able to legally acquire firearms overseas, this continuation of last week’s theme covers some of the weapons you ARE able to carry. When I’m […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I regularly take short trip to visit friends in the Dominican Republic. My most recent trip prompted some friends to ask me how I planned on protecting myself in a third world country where it is illegal for me to carry a firearm. I’ve spent an average of at least […]
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. EMERGENCY VEHICLE KIT | Your Roadside Lifeline After this week’s winter weather across much of the USA, some of you are undoubtedly thinking about upgrading your vehicle survival kit. This article will get you […]
Today marks the six-week mark since I’ve been released from the hospital after suffering a bad case of Covid-19. I caught the bug in Ecuador. I first noticed symptoms on July 30. I tried to battle the virus myself without any medical attention until August 9th when I flew home to the USA. I […]
This is the third and final installment writing about my recent adventures and misadventures in Ecuador. Before reading this article, get up to speed by reading Part One (Guayaquil) and Part Two (Montañita). My Health Issues After seven days in Ecuador, I woke up in my hotel bed soaked in sweat and feeling […]
After spending a couple days in Guayaquil, I was off to a little hippie surf town called Montañita where I was going to spend the majority of my vacation. I had originally planned on going by bus. Long haul Latin American buses are usually fairly comfortable and the bus fares are really cheap. The […]
I recently returned from a 16-day trip to Ecuador. As most of you reading this will probably never make it to this gorgeous country, I thought I’d write about some of my travel adventures there. Why Ecuador? I had originally planned a trip to Rwanda and Uganda to see the mountain gorillas in […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Many of you are aware that I designed the Ka-Bar TDI Last Ditch Knife. I recently received a question from a reader about some design features: “Greg: I noticed you mentioned you designed the Last Ditch blade for Kabar. I would be interested in an article about the design […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz In my book Choose Adventure- Safe Travel in Dangerous Places I have a section of advice discussing how to assess whether an area is “safe” or not in a foreign country. I wrote: “Given the massive differences in culture, customs, and income, how can you tell if the neighborhood […]
A week ago I arrived home from an eight-day trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As I’ve written extensively about Brazil in past articles, I’m not going to cover the normal tourist stuff. Instead, I’m going to discuss travel during a worldwide pandemic and the different perspectives other populations have regarding Covid-19. I love […]
I’d been twitching for awhile. I hadn’t been out of the country since February. In a normal year, I travel outside the USA at least four times for a total of about six weeks. This is the first year since 2006 that I haven’t already taken at least three international trips by this […]
Written by: Greg Ellifritz Hey folks! I just wanted to give you all a heads up on my latest writing venture. I started a second blog. This one will provide daily links and commentary about travel in general and travel safety in particular. The blog is designed to support my current book and […]
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Fight Your Way Home The basics of constructing a “get home bag.” Dog Defense Since the pandemic began, we’ve seen a huge increase in numbers of dog bite cases. Everyone is out […]
My new travel safety book is out in all formats! You can buy the Kindle edition HERE. You can get a paperback copy HERE. If you have a NOOK reader or are looking for the book in Apple Books, Kobo, and for library editions, you can get a copy on Smashwords. […]
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Wrestling – Tactical Environment Strategy An excellent overview of Craig’s ECQC coursework. Deadbolt Security I: Forced Entry Resistance “Before spending tens of thousands on Level IV plates, night vision, and an integrally […]
My new travel safety book Choose Adventure- Safe Travel in Dangerous Places has been on the market for 10 days now. It’s doing pretty well. The book has been the #1 New Release in both the “Adventure Travel” and “Travel Reference” categories. Other authors have told me that it’s fairly difficult to hold that spot […]
Knowledge to make your life better. If you have some free time, check out some of these links this weekend. Measurements and Standards for Pistol Shooting One of the biggest reasons shooters do not improve is that they fail to introduce time and accuracy standards into their practice sessions. How Revolver Speed […]
