August, 2026
As I leave Africa for my third and, very likely, final time, I’m thinking about the definition of home.
I’m going home to my family. Throughout my life home has been Detroit, Dallas, Florence, Grosse Pointe, and now, Ann Arbor.
My family’s homeland, and where I feel a real belonging, is Sicily. Between 1988 and 2022, I spent considerable time there.
Then I went to Africa.
While in South Africa, a few years ago, I wrote to my friend Oliver that I felt a strange familiarity, “a sense of calm and gratitude . . . more at home here than I did, at times, in Sicily.” Oliver wrote back, “You are walking on the birthplace of humanity. You are home.”
Here’s what that means to me: Africa is humanity’s ancestral home – and we have a responsibility to it.
About 74 million international tourists visited Africa in 2024. That’s up 12 percent from 2023; and seven percent above pre-pandemic 2019 levels, according to the International Tourism Highlights 2025 report.
Of course, this is good news for the communities we visit – that is if our dollars stay there and don’t go to foreign-owned resorts and safari companies.
Jen Gurecki, the organizer of Secret Gems, our Kenyan tour, made sure of that by hiring David Chege to drive us nearly 325 miles from Nairobi to Diani Beach on the Indian Ocean.
David is much more than a driver. He is a host. He opens his arms and welcomes you to his country.
He took us on game drives through two conservancies and a national park, using his knowledge of animal behavior to find them. Rhinos and Great White Pelicans elephants and lions, zebras and giraffes, water buffalo and hippos. It’s one thing to see them, check a box, and drive on. David’s pop-up roof Land Cruiser allowed us to get close and stand without disturbing them.
He navigated the impossible city streets of Nairobi’s Central Business District and Mombasa’s market area so we could shop for authentic African fabrics, beaded jewelry and spices. Always, he looked after us, ensuring we were comfortable and safe.
David has been a gracious host. He made us feel at home. And for a couple weeks, it was.
