Traverse City Record-Eagle

Education

Related Photos

March 16, 2010

World traveler recounts adventures

Marty Essen will give free talk at NMC

BY JODEE TAYLOR

TRAVERSE CITY -- Marty Essen's scariest trip was to Borneo.

His guide on the Borneo trip was a member of the Iban tribe, notorious headhunters.

"In the 1960s they reformed," Essen said. "They unreformed in the '70s, then reformed again."

So with this headhunting tradition in the back of his mind, Essen, now 48, and his wife Deb set out on a backpacking trip through the rainforest.

"We weren't worried about the guide," Essen said. "He worked for a guide service. The first rule of a guide service is 'Don't kill the clients.'" But there was "miscommunication" on what kind of backpacking trip the couple had signed on for, and soon they found themselves in a very wet rainforest with mountains, treacherous, wet trails and mud.

"Every step is an invitation to a sprained ankle," said Essen, an award-winning author and speaker who will give a free talk at Northwestern Michigan College March 24.

"I wouldn't even call it a trail," he said of where the guide lead them. "We were clinging to mud cliffs with waterfalls 20 to 30 feet below us, nothing to hang on to.

"It would have been very easy to fall to our deaths."

Obviously, Essen and his wife lived, but the second part of the trip was more treacherous than the first.

The group had to race down the river to beat the flash flood. Deb Essen fell and broke her toe. The adventures continued. But the Essens agreed that while it's "amazing what you can do when the alternative is death," they would not trade the experience for anything.

The Borneo trip, part of their exploration of Asia, is included in Marty Essen's book, "Cool Creatures, Hot Planet" tells of their adventures on the seven continents.

Not every trip has to be exotic or a bank-breaker. Essen said even people on a budget can afford to take trips.

"Canada was a gas. It was one of our favorite trips," he said.

He uses airline miles and purposefully uses a credit card for everything he can, just to add airline points. He belongs to hotel clubs so he can get free stays.

He recommends guides when you can get them, just because they know the ins and outs of the country and the culture. And they're good at spotting animals.

"Around the World in 90 Minutes" began as a show Essen presented in bookstores as part of his first book tour.

Marty Essen, "Around the World in 90 Minutes"

Wednesday, March 24, 7 p.m.
Milliken Auditorium, Dennos Museum
Center, Northwestern Michigan College,
1701 E. Front St., Traverse City
Free and fine for all ages.
For more information, call 995-1043.

Text Only