What to do if a hippo bites through your canoe? You're right about it, of course.

Hi, I'm Rick Steves. Today on Travel with Rick Steves, we'll hear from a man who's ventured

with his wife to all seven continents with some truly wild adventures in mind.

My goal was down in the Amazon to find a fertile ants, which is the deadliest snake in the

Western Hemisphere.

Coming up, Marty Essen tells us what it's like to get up close to some of the planet's most amazing

creatures, great and small, in their natural habitat.

There's just nothing more awe-inspiring than having a humpback whale come up to you.

Oh, it was incredible.

And we'll open the phones to check in with our listeners today on a couple of topics.

Let's share some of the faux pow we've encountered in our travels overseas.

For instance, cultures where a shake of the head know can mean something entirely different.

And let's also hear some of your tips for packing light and still being able to look good in your travels.

Good wrinkles in our travels and Marty Essen's wild adventures. It's all

just ahead on Travel with Rick Steve's. Thanks for coming along.

We'll meet a man who's been to every continent to encounter all creatures great and scary coming up on travel with Rick Steve's.

Let's start today by opening the phones on two topics. Tell us about your cross-cultural faux-pau and what you learn from them.

And to help us travel without excess baggage, we'd also like to hear your tips on packing light. You know with my work I'm supposed to get it right when I'm traveling and actually I don't get it right all the time and it's so fun to screw up.

It's so fun to be a beginner in cultures that do things differently.

In some countries you nod your head up and down to mean yes and in other countries that might mean no. In some countries you can touch

people with one hand and not the other. There's lots of faux-paws waiting for

us and with the right attitude these become a fun way to carbonate your travel experience.

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