This website illuminates my life and adventures. My longing for freedom has led me to over 2600 of the world’s 3978 provinces, to every country on earth and to the summit of the highest peak on each continent (thank heaven for good weather!). In my travels, I learned to respect the intelligence and ingenuity of people of all races and callings both past and present. Come see the world as I see it: as a peaceful place, full of nature and beauty. With the right spirit and intent, we can make our world a virtual Garden of Eden.
DISTINCTIONS: BBC 2017 Travel Pioneer • Journal Articles • Explorer’s Club Flag Expeditions
World Parks Project • Walk Across South America • Jeff Shea Travel Map
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UK, Kingston upon Thames (London) Prov, Coronation Stone
USA, California Prov, Stanislaus National Forest
Vietnam, Quang Ngai Prov, Women On Bicycles
Slovenia, Ribnica Na Pohorju Prov, Bar
Slovenia, Radovljica Prov, Dragon Front
Slovenia, Podlehnik Prov, Village Scene
Ambon, Fish On A Stick, 2007 - This is a typical market scene in Ambon, an island in Maluku, the Spice Islands in the east of Indonesia. In 1999, religious wars saw the Muslims and Christians taking each other's lives for seemingly no other reason than one revenge after another that started by a single attack, allegedly started by agitators from Java. Today, Ambon is relatively peaceful once again. The Ambonese people are friendly, with a casual and playful attitude.
Ghana, Berekum, Leather Salesman, 1987 - This man's facial scars were illustrative of a common practice among West Africans. I was told that parents would take a razor and scar their offspring at infancy. How interesting, I thought. If a parent did this in my home town in the western world, they would be imprisoned for a heinous crime. Yet for West African's it was a perfectly normal thing to do. Extrapolating on the phenomena of the inability of one culture to accept another's conventions, I am concerned of the ability of any world government to allow diversity of belief and cultural practices. Human beings have a tendency to believe there customs are the most acceptable. I later found out that these scars were performed with a special knife. Importantly, I am now told that such facial scarring is against the law in places like Ghana and Nigeria. I fear that such laws mark further politicizaion of local customs, engendering homogenization of the human race. I am opposed to such laws, laws that criminalize ancient customs that are not inherently harmful to a person's survival. For those in the Western world that do not agree with me, simply observe that male circumcision is widely an accepted practice in the West, but is no less inherently dangerous or disfuring than facial scarring.
Central African Republic, Carrying Baskets, 2000 - I was surprised to see these women on the road on the way back from Bayanga to Bangui. They had a distinctly Indian flair. All were black African, it appears, with the exception of the woman with the white bowl. She probably descends from the Indian subcontinent.
Thailand, Yasothon Prov, Fruit Stands