Senior Adventure Travel

A Mature Woman Describes Her 3-Course Banquet

Article and photos by Dorothy Conlon

Adventures in South Korea. Photo by Lies Ouwerkerk.

Mark Twain famously wrote, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.”

I totally agree, but I began my adventures long before I realized that truth. Over the course of many years — and having experienced many off-beat adventures — I have come to look upon each journey as having three stages. To change metaphors, we might think of a trip as a 3-course banquet, consisting of:

• Anticipation
• Participation
• The after-glow of satisfaction

Planning Your Adventure

But there is no need to be too impatient. Planning your travels can be as enjoyable as the actual journey. Of course, many people take the path of least resistance and sign up to go on a tour without any research or comparison shopping. But, avid traveler that I am, I need help choosing from the smorgasbord of possible destinations. So I talk with friends who have been all over, read blogs and clippings about a particular area, and finally hone in on "Country Mysteria," my top priority for any particular journey.

Even if you are taking a package tour, there are many things to check out. How many participants? What are the costs and the length of the trip? The pace of the journey is all-important. I am more likely to travel independently or use a budget company. That is not simply because I am a frugal New Englander. Still, often, the places you stay and the public transport you use on a budget tour offer closer connections with the country's people. And isn't that the main reason you are going anyway? I have had wonderful trips with G Adventures, out of Toronto — and with its Australian cousin, Intrepid. I can also recommend Adventures Abroad, for its small groups and range of destinations.

Adventures in India.

Solo Adventures

Many of my travels have been solo. Long ago, one of our sons, a teenager then, explained why he liked to wander around India — where we were living — alone rather than with a friend. He found that foreigners traveling in pairs or groups were generally left alone. In contrast, Indians would, in a sense, "adopt" him when he was seen to be on his own. He accepted various home visits and made friends that way. I have tried it, and it works. It is so unusual to see a foreigner — especially a mature woman — travel all by herself that the country's people reach out. It has led to some memorable, unexpected connections for me.

I envy people who can venture into a foreign country and wing it without specific plans because I'm naturally a planner. Fortunately, with the help of a search engine, you can explore the internet and discover as many of the details of your chosen "Country Mysteria" as you have time and energy for — even before stepping outside your front door. You are probably reading travelers' stories and country guides at this stage. Check out a book series called "Travelers' Tales" — in the library or online — to find personal stories from around the world. The more you read, the more your anticipation builds.

Cultural Immersion

Do you have a particular specialty — architecture, crafts, Language Learning, the environment? Would you like to try volunteering? Frankly, some of my best travel experiences have come from volunteering. Not only are you likely to be working closely with the people of the country, but often you are lodging in a homestay, which offers a totally different experience and insight as opposed to staying in a posh hotel, which no native could possibly afford. The homes may be pretty basic, but most of us can adapt to pared-down lifestyles when it is for just a couple of weeks. Global Volunteers is one of the largest service learning organizations, but I have also had good experiences with Global Service Corps. Earthwatch offers a great range of scientific research projects for which you need no special skills; I have learned a lot on four Earthwatch adventures.

Children in India.

If you are a single traveler, you will make friends with other volunteers, who usually are like-minded, or they would not be there. You can decide on a volunteer project or a commercial tour to build in a few extra days before or after the main itinerary. That allows you to explore places and activities that the tour did not include. Check out Solotraveler.com for tips on traveling as a single at any age. You can also check out the independent travel sections of Transitions Abroad exploring Independent Travel, Cultural Travel, Senior Travel, Adventure Travel, and many more parts of the site for more ideas.

Ready to For Your Adventure? Open Your Mind

So now that you have partaken of the appetizers — the anticipation and planning — you are finally ready to indulge in the main course. Wherever I go, whatever I see and do, I try to suspend deeply ingrained lifelong preconceptions. It is not as easy as it sounds. But suppose we are not mentally flexible enough to imagine ourselves as a "Country Mysteria" resident and cannot at least try to understand different traditions and cultures. In that case, we have missed a great opportunity and might as well have stayed home.

An amazing discovery is that learning about other mindsets and cultures makes me observe and understand my homeland more clearly. Even if that is not your intent, it happens naturally. As Henry Miller put it, "Our destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things." For one thing, being in new surroundings among unfamiliar people sharpens your antennae. You observe more keenly, and your senses are on high alert. If problems arise — and they often do — your ability to surmount them gives you courage and strength for whatever may come next. Travel is truly empowering.

Fruit cart in India.

Returning from the Adventure with Memories

So now you're back home from your big adventure. The jet lag is over, the airplane head cold is diminishing, you have come down to earth, but without regret, I hope, and not feeling overly sad that it is all over. Because you can, you can hold on to that after-glow, the dessert of your travel feast. How? Memories, of course, in one form or another. I would be lost if I did not journal my trips. Glancing at a random page from a recent tour or a long-ago adventure can immediately evoke the sights, sounds, aromas, and feelings from that particular moment.

Even better, I take lots of pictures. We have heard all the disparaging jokes about family and friends' objections to viewing your slides. But I share my images with wonderful people who can no longer travel in retirement facilities or even Alzheimer's units. For them, it is a virtual journey; for me, it is a memory trip and almost as much fun as the real thing, no matter how long I went on the trip. I cannot tell you how often I have enjoyed Peru, for instance, although I have only been there in the flesh once.

Nilgiris Hills of South India.

And so, it is as John Steinbeck wrote, "Journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us." Enjoy your 3-course feast from start to finish and beyond.

Dorothy Conlon, author of “At Home in the World: Memoirs of a Traveling Woman,” has been a citizen of the world for more than 80 years. Conlon has taught travel courses and given more than 600 presentations to audiences.