Poor prognosis encouraged wellness coach to follow a dream

Mark Medicoff

July 2012

Come with me to meet 63-year-old Brian Korson, who, two years ago, was advised by his heart surgeon “to get his affairs in order.” Brian lived to tell a different story—of tenacity and perseverance—a story he wanted to tell after climbing the Great Wall of China.

“Two years ago, I was overweight and had been dealing with high blood pressure and high cholesterol for 20 years.

“Then a mittral valve in my heart—it’s a little valve that regulates fresh blood to the body—tore,” said the video producer and wellness coach. “I experienced a sensation like I was drowning. I couldn’t catch my breath. It was really scary.

“After seeing my doctor, it really hit me for the first time that I was mortal.”

The operation was a success, but for weeks, Brian couldn’t even open a door, couldn’t lift anything and was traumatized just walking up a flight of stairs.

His 15-year-long study of the Kabala already identified his life’s prerequisite to help people, but this life and death encounter gave him “a lot of time to think and review my purpose in this life.”

“I realized that you’ve got to live in the moment, you can’t keep putting things off ... you’ve got to take on new challenges or accept a slow death. I realized you’ve got to move forward in order to have the roller-coaster ride of your life.”

Brian Korson faced mortality, describing it as drowning. He healed his heart and began setting goals. Photo courtesy of Brian Korson

For Brian, travelling was part of that awareness and although he didn’t know it during rehab, China was just a stroll around the corner.

“First, I started to rebuild.”

He doggedly endured the painful and arduous process of cardio-rehab. Six months later, after a change in diet and a regular fitness routine, Brian was well on his way to his next challenge.

“Now, I feel you can’t put off what you want to do. You’ve got to live in the moment and take care of your ‘bucket list.’ An opportunity arose when an old Chinese friend called me up to come with him and few other acquaintances on a Chinese-government-sponsored tour.”

And here, folks, is where the travel angle to this column gets interesting.

“All we had to pay for was the return airfare to Beijing and then Beijing to Shanghai return. The government paid for accommodations and food for 11 days.”

Hard to believe? After all, accommodations and food consume a big slice of a traveler’s overhead.

Brian explained that his tour is a standard Chinese travel program for Canadian and U.S. citizens.

There are a variety of destinations within the country that are available from travel agencies specializing in the Orient.

Brian said the basic trip costs about $1,400; not included are such items as tips or theatre tickets. He spent an additional $400 or $500.

So where’s the catch? You don’t have to be a cynic to believe that governments don’t give things away unless they have an ulterior motive. So, in this big-bucks promotion, the government weaves a number of “factory” visits into the tour, manufacturers specializing in everything from silks, to jewelry, pearls, tea and lots more.

“It’s really their industry that sponsors your trip, I think, but it was all good stuff to see,” Brian said. “I spent a lot more than I thought at the factories and I was surprised as to how much I brought home.”

To hear Brian explain it, he brought home a lot more from his travel experience than trinkets.

He was able to prove to himself that he could walk up an irregular 50-foot-high stair-route and then continue along a lopsided, stony walkway to meet a “spur” every two kilometres.

Brian Korson conquered the Great Wall of China.

“I even arrived at the top before my group.

“Then I gave one of those ‘Rocky’ victory dances—you know where he throws his hands into the air and jumps up and down. My friends were blown away and I felt phenomenal. I felt I achieved an important goal in my life.

“That’s what travelling is all about,” Brian said. “Making your challenges happen.”

Roadtripping with the littles can be a grand adventure

Mark Medicoff

June 2012

Many, many years ago, when I was a newly separated adult with a 3½-year-old daughter, Zoe, my mother and stepfather would spend two weeks a year traveling with the love of their lives.

At first, I was included, at least to Disney World, but was soon ditched in favour of their lavishing attention entirely on the “little one.” They bought a camper and toured their beloved Maritimes, Halifax being their home. As she grew older, they would shlep her across Canada … the Rockies, the west coast and cruise to Alaska.

My parents got it right.

Now, I’m the elder of the family, my folks are long gone, and my daughter is heading in the direction of middle age. Good memories last a lifetime. Zoe vividly remembers her grandparents during those long stretches of road, the love they bestowed on her and the values of generosity and closeness she adopted. She remembers their humour, forgot their squabbles, and recalls surrendering to their travelling rituals.

“I’m really grateful to have vacationed with my grandparents and really valued the time I shared with them. I feel it’s the most generous gift a grandparent could give and I will always be grateful to them,” she said.

What was once a holiday with Grandma and Grandpa is now called “multigenerational travel” and it’s big business. In the highly competitive travel market, this sector is one of the few that is actually growing.

For grandparents, the challenge is designing a stress-free vacation while infusing it with its most important objective: cheerful interaction. So, leave the grownup kids at home and blueprint a “grandcation” with the young ones. Allow yourself a glorious opportunity to acknowledge your lifetime achievement award.

There are two decisions that you have to make before collaborating with the kids, age being a key factor. The first decision is how to get to there. The conveyance is more important than the destination.

Exorcize grand attractions like Disney World and its multiple-day passes, crowds and waiting times. These humungous amusement parks simply do not contribute to cheerful interaction.

For getting-there options, the four basic choices are a recreational vehicle, cruise ship, car and plane. Like any group process, you have to secure each member’s commitment to the plan for it to succeed.

Let’s look at RVs first. Relative cost for a 10-metre-long, Class C motorhome that fits six people, kitchen’n’all, is about $1,400 per week plus campground fees at about $30 per day. This home on wheels is economical when you factor in accommodations and meals.

Also, an RV lets you lug around lots of clothes, toys, bikes and hiking boots.

Sightseeing local attractions, shopping for deals and supermarket meals are great ways to break up the day. A board game in the evening, sheltered in a safe camping ground, is good way to promote inter-generational affection.

By the way, you’ll have lots of senior company on your RV excusion. According to Canada’s RV organization, about one-third of all Canadians who own these vehicles are over the age of 55. Ninety per cent of all RV owners say it is the best way to travel with kids.

An RV affords you the mobility to plan an independent path. You can even suggest a trip around a theme. Say, for example the kids are following Canadian History at school. From coast-to-coast, history comes alive in many ways. Plan a year in advance (that popular!) and you can even sleep in an authentic wood cabin in Upper Canada Village, near Kingston. You would simply be amazed at the number of alluring nearby attractions in the Maritimes, Quebec and Ontario.

A cruise or direct flight to a family-friendly resort is the next best way to enjoy a grandcation. What gratified me most about my cruise last December was observing extended families at play with table games, board games, dance games, team activities and meals.

Although not budget travel, you don’t have to sell the family jewels to pay for a trip. Reasonably priced and family-friendly resorts and cruises are available, giving you ample time for cheerful interaction.

Choose the cruise carefully, however. Some cruises are organized to free parents of their kids. Choose the wrong cruise and you could be spending your time—and your dime—watching other people’s kids cheer at Checkers. Balance sea time and land time. For most young people, land activities are a magnetic attraction.

“By car” is my least favourite way of getting there, but it does make sense if the kids are older, you favour a one-place destination and you want to get there as fast as possible.

Kids would find Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, or other comparable destinations, fun for shopping, beaches, kid-golf and other pop entertainments. Aimed for the budget traveler, about 90 per cent of the condo accommodations at Myrtle Beach come with kitchens.

Now, if you find Canada/U.S. travel humdrum, you could always cash in your reward miles and hop a plane to Switzerland. Accommodations are available at about half the winter price and your grandkids can boast of hiking in the Swiss Alps.

Switzerland’s “unlimited use of trains” is an attractive promotion at around $260 per person, half the regular price. Kids under 16 rail free. But travel light; the Swiss rail system is porter-free.

mmedicoff@videotron.ca

How about walking on sunshine ... on trails all over the world

Mark Medicoff

May 2012

You are a walker.

Sometimes, you tread for two or three hours. You find nothing more exhilarating than meandering in the open air. In your mind, you’re tuned to a channel called calm, a station called mindfulness. Your face glows from the warm sun.

Inspired by this joy, Ben Magagnin took on a “distance” challenge by joining the Camino de Santiago de Compastela. “For 24 days, I forgot about my troubles. This walk takes you away from your personal stuff … it’s like an act of cleansing, and when you return home, you feel emotionally refreshed.”

Magagnin, an English as a second language teacher, walked 805 kilometres—backpack in tow. He started in France, wound through the Pyrenées and ended his journey at the burial place of St. James the Apostle in Santiago, Spain.

Camino organizers offer a number of less-arduous options like escorted tours where they move your luggage and pre-book accommodations along a trek-friendly route.

For Magagnin, the social aspect is paramount. “When you spend unhurried time with people, you can’t help but be touched in some way.”

The combination of camaraderie and physical exercise has propelled walking tours into a significant travel niche to explore such natural wonders as Hadrian’s Wall, Machu Picchu, the Scottish Highlands, the Canadian Rockies and even Bhutan.

Country Walkers organizes vacations and provides difficulty ratings for on-foot tours in 60 destinations including Africa, Asia and South Pacific, South America, Europe, Latin America, Antarctica and, of course, North America.

Backroads offers tantalizing mixed-ability challenges. Ramble through the hills of Tuscany to savour the cuisine and wines of the area with treks through the countryside and medieval hill towns. Or how about a more exotic ramble through Cambodia and Vietnam to explore Angkor Wat, Halong Bay and Hoi An.

Walking Adventurers International hosts tramps in Brazil, Scandinavia, Alaska, Sicily and even Quebec and the Maritimes. These itineraries don’t mean you walk from one country to another. They provide transportation.

Check out Walking Connection’s New York Walking Weekend September 7-10. For $1,000, not including flight, they promise excellent accommodations and visits to award-winning restaurants, museums and attractions.

To give you an idea of difficulty levels, a walk considered easy lasts up to four hours and covers three to 10K. A moderate walk could last six hours and covers six to 16K. A moderate to challenging walk lasts about seven hours and covers 10 to19K.

For specific destinations, talk to the tour operator and ascertain the degree of challenge. Magagnin recommends training for a number of weeks before the event.

To sample a walking holiday, try a city walking tour such as Toronto, which posts self-guided tours on its website. You can even download an MP3 audio component from the site.

My favourite is New York’s Big Onion Walking tours. These last three and a half hours. Unique tour ideas (The Gangs of New York) or old favourites (the Brooklyn Bridge, Harlem, Lower East Side) make for fascinating mini-journeys guided by history or architecture students.

To complement your stroll, you can download an iPhone app from CityWalks Guides that focuses on walks in major cities. To keep a scientific tab on your walking challenge, a free app called MapMyWalk acts as a pedometer, GPS, calorie tracker and a “connector.” to share your experience.

Perhaps an on-foot vacation is just the gift you need to get fit and explore the world, one step at a time.

mmedicoff@videotron.ca

Bummed out? A nakation can be freeing, naturally

Mark Medicoff

March 2012

Riddle: What is a vacation experience you would probably not want to share even with your closest friends on Facebook, and be even more reluctant to revisit via streaming candids on your 55-inch plasma screen?

Answer: A two-week stay at a nudist resort: a nakation.

“An outrageous idea!” you proclaim. Well, think again. A lot more people are discarding their attire during their holiday than you think … and I’m not just talking about skinny-dipping on a designated beach.

Naturism is a sophisticated business, a $400-million segment of the global travel market, specializing in all-inclusive resorts, B&Bs, recreational vehicles and campgrounds, nude beaches and special worldwide events, including World Nude Gardening Day and World Bike-Riding Day. If you’re drawn to the wide-open seas, nude cruises on (very) big ships, tall ships and yachts should fit the bill.

You might be glad to know that some land-based centres specialize in nudist weddings and vow-renewal ceremonies with licensed, ordained ministers. And if you’re on the ocean, cajole the captain into performing your nuptials.

Tim, a Montreal accountant, said he and his wife, Sarah (not their real names), tried out naturalism 20 years ago because they were curious. They had been spending their summers at an RV camp in Vermont when they heard about a nudist campground nearby.

“The very first time we went we stayed mostly by ourselves, in a secluded area. I guess we felt a little uncomfortable, but the friendliness of the place and the family atmosphere really impressed us.

“Our preconceived attitudes about nudity… that it was taboo… quickly dissipated. It became the most natural thing in the world.

“The next time we went, we integrated immediately and ended up going there every weekend until we bought a little place and stayed for entire summers for almost 10 years.

Now in their 60s, Tim and Sarah credit the feeling of freedom for adding nakations to their traveling experience. They’ve enjoyed nakations at several American clothes-free resorts.

According to the Federation of Canadian Naturists’ (FCN) publicist, Stéphane Deschênes, about eight per cent of Canadians answered “yes” to a federation survey asking whether they had attended a nude event.

“What we are finding,” Deschenes said, “is that people who attended nudist camps on weekends in the ’70s and ’80s continue to do so today. When you factor in the aging population, you’ll find quite a few retirees in their 50s and 60s are spending their entire summers at naturist grounds.”

The FCN umbrellas nudist resorts and campgrounds in nine provinces. It promotes naturism as “a way of life in harmony with nature expressed through social nudity, linked to self-respect through tolerance and respect for the environment.”

The FCN publishes a bilingual magazine four times a year called Going Natural/Au Naturel (fcn.ca/going-natural-magazine, $50). The publication provides club listings and activities, acts as a forum and reviews nakation destinations in the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Caribbean.

Quebec has the dubious distinction of being the only province in Canada to prosecute naturalism—you guessed it, during the Duplessis era. Today, it’s a different story.

Quebec has “more and larger” clubs, as well as more “free” beaches than any other province. There are at least seven naturist centres, in La Plaine, St-Antoine-Abbé (Ormstown), Drummond, Montauben, Rouyn-Noranda, Drummondville and Rimouski.

In the U.S., the American Association for Nude Recreation has been active for 75 years and represents 50,000 card carriers who attend 270 clothes-free or clothes-optional resorts, clubs and campgrounds. Many resorts provide luxurious and pricey accommodations.

The best part about a nakation is how little you have to pack. All you take are two towels (one to sit on), toiletries, a warm outfit for chilly nights and lots of sunblock. The experience affords a new way of looking at people. You’ll judge your new friends by what they’re not wearing, rather than by what they have on.

But keep in mind: leave your camera at home.

You’re far too young and smart to take a cruise

Mark Medicoff

February 2012

Folks, I’ve just returned from my first cruise and I’ve got to tell you: You might want to jump ship.

Unless you’re taking your kids and grandkids on a special outing, a cruise is no place for seniors. You’re just too young and too smart.

There is no greater class-conscious state on Earth than a cruise ship. From the moment I walked onboard the Sapphire Princess in Los Angeles, for a 14-day trip to Hawaii, their marketing objectives—straight from an MBA textbook—became clear.

If you’ve taken a Princess cruise before, you’re gold, you’re platinum, you’re titanium and you’re shuffled to the fast check-in lanes on the left. Until you’ve earned the status, stick to the right and the commoners’ line.

The “all-inclusive” resort required expenditures for everything from a latte to a soft drink. Alcoholic beverages were a whopping $7 or $8, happy hours excepted. If you carry a bucket of five beers, they’ll throw in one free.

You can attend “free” seminars on detoxing and suffer through a carnie pitch for a six-month supply of seaweed. Or, you can attend a “free” seminar on back issues and discover that $200 insoles, conveniently sold on-board, will resolve the problem.

For a mere $269, you can luxuriate in a 50-minute couples massage or for $159, you can be treated to cellulite reduction. Instead of “specials,” they offer silent auctions (“no bids under 50 per cent of the original price will be accepted”). If you want to take yoga or spinning classes, you have to shell out an additional $10 per.

A “private” deck reserved for adults is available for a scant $40 a day. And of course, day-long shore excursions are offered at exorbitant prices.

In addition to the basic cost, 15 per cent is tacked on for gratuities, and while reasonable given the quality of the service, it also serves as a ploy to preserve their low-price claims.

Kids have to pass through the casino—with its attendant slot machine din, roulette clatter and spirited adults—to access the arcade or theatre. Is this a repugnant oversight or a deliberate attempt to nurture the casino’s future clientele?

So with all of my kvetching, why are cruises so popular? I met many passengers who boasted having taken 10 or more; in 2010, 770,000 Canadians vacationed on a ship.

I believe the main reason is that it’s effortless. From the moment you arrive at the gangplank, you never have to schlep your baggage and you can accommodate all of your latest fashions. You’re wined, dined and entertained all the time.

And then there’s the food: 16,000 meals between 7 am and midnight. You can eat at the buffet and waste shameful quantities of delicious food, or you can enjoy fully serviced meals at six different restaurants and have as many seconds as your heart can withstand. However, to partake in their Italian or steak restaurants, you’ll have to shell out another $20 per-person cover charge.

The crew is composed of young adults and middle-age men and women—some married with on-board quarters—from such countries as the Philippines (one of every three workers), Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Ukraine, Peru, the Caribbean, Mexico, Indonesia, China and India.

Passengers are treated to nostalgic, Las Vegas-style revues performed by energetic entertainers as well as comics, illusionists and hypnotists.

People love cruises because fellow passengers are convivial and good-natured. The only altercations I witnessed took place in the exercise room, where there was a constant battle for a limited number of treadmills. Many of the machines were so obsolete they must have been purchased from a bankrupt Gold’s gym.

Programs and lectures on diet or meditation that promote health and wellbeing, such as tai chi, pilates and restorative yoga are activities sought after by modern seniors.

But you won’t find them on a cruise. The only alternative is to jump ship and partake in the awe-inspiring adventure destinations designed for senior travelers. I urge you to avoid the effortless, get fit and take a 14-day tour of India, take a Smithsonian journey, bus Argentina, walk Bhutan; experience the awesome wonders of the world in the last third of your life.

Seniors are riding the tide of healthy living and if you take a cruise, you’re simply missing the boat.

You can prevent depression from taking the world from you

December 2011

Traveling with sickness is no fun, but not traveling at all is no life. This was the sentiment voiced by Anna (not her real name), who suffers from a debilitating mental disorder affecting almost 25 per cent of all Canadians.

Depression.

Now in her early 50s, Anna, who has traveled and spent years working in foreign countries, believes that travel is an important challenge for those who suffer from mood disorders.

“Traveling can be very good for the soul, for the spirit. Going places makes a big difference, especially bright, sunny places. The light makes a big difference.”

Anna is a victim of a “functional” category of mood disorders, commonly called depression. She says that a change in environment can go a long way toward chasing away a sense of boredom, anxiety and a feeling of not being satisfied—the blahs that limit sufferers from living a full life.

“Like the climate, mood changes a lot. There are a lot of therapeutic places that are a lot more beautiful than home in winter,” she says. “You don’t need to be trapped at home. But you also have to know your limitations.”

Anna suggests that people should first talk with their doctor about going away, since the advisability of traveling often depends on the actual illness. “You have to determine what is wise for you to do.”

Anna has lived and worked in places as far afield as Colombia and Egypt because she took precautions.

She says you have to make sure through a Canadian embassy that a doctor is available who can speak English and that your medications are available in an emergency.

Anna stresses the importance of traveling with a friend who knows the sufferer’s condition and who can pitch in to help out should an episode flare up. “Sometimes the stress of a new language or culture can cause anxiety and discomfort.”

Consider insurance, she adds. “If a massive attack does take place, you have to have some means of leaving, even if it means getting a helicopter.”

Sometimes a small issue at home could turn into something more significant away from home. “You have to start on a short trip to a well known place at first,” she advises.

Anna says the most important alerts she offers sufferers to are to stay near people and “Know yourself.”

  

That loathsome, pandemic scourge of bedbugs is back in the news again, given the sheer number of holidays and vacations over the next few months. Here are tips that can help you win an inglorious battle with that miserable little “vampire.”

Inspect the sleeping facilities. According to travel writer colleague Kate Pollack, you should “check for blood spots on the sheets, tiny-apple-seed-like bugs in the mattress seams or signs of black poo marks behind the headboard.” Yech!

You have to operate on the principle that bedbugs love warm, comfy hideaways, seeking surfaces that resemble a wall-to-wall rug. Avoid laying your luggage on the bed; use a rack, never on the floor.

The best place to unpack is in the bathtub. Then, hang all the clothes you can and don’t be afraid to ask for extra hangers. These little buggers absolutely despise shiny, smooth surfaces.

Check to see whether the hotel had the forethought to wrap their mattresses in a plastic, zippered envelope. If they didn’t, you should expect them to remove your sheets and use one that you’ve brought along.

This extra precaution provides that smooth, shiny surface. And while you’re at it, tell the concierge that you would like the skirt that ribbons your bed to be removed for the duration of your visit. The pests climb up the surfaces onto the bed and lay their creepy little eggs in the folds. These requests should testify to the quality of service your hotel provides.

If you’ve been provided with a comforter, have it removed, and opt instead for covers that have just gone through a high-heat drying cycle.

As some of your soiled clothes will find themselves in a pile, you will want to bring along plastic bags (large with secure fittings) to contain them.

At home, toss your clothes into the dryer before the wash and dry cycles. Before storing your suitcase, spray a certified-friendly pesticide throughout.

You can never be too careful.

Beside the ocean can be as good as on it

Mark Medicoff

November 2011

For some seniors who are accustomed to an all-inclusive vacation on the comfort of an ocean liner, our economic downturn might mean dry-docking your boat and holidaying on land. The savings can be substantial and your time away just as enjoyable.

If you’re rethinking your winter vacation to save money, an all-inclusive landlocked vacation can be just what the financial planner ordered.

You can organize a memorable two-week vacation at a beachside resort that provides all the charms you need. You just have to choose the right resort, and to do that you have to have clear expectations.

Gregoire Derohanessian, president of Jolivac, a Quebec-based wholesale tour operator, provided some candid insights into choosing a vacation spot.

“Most seniors have a tendency to stay put on their vacation. So the important issue you would have to consider,” he says, “is what the resort does and does not offer.”

You can eliminate a great number of resorts if you find the rumpus of young kids disturbing. Seniors tend to enjoy large, comfortable rooms, so that might eliminate Club Med-style resorts, which specialize in families and sporting activities to the detriment of room style.

Food is such an important issue at the Club Meds that they fly in chefs and fresh produce to ensure the highest possible quality. Seniors enjoy lots of poolside and evening entertainment, so that too would have to be on your list of must haves.

The Riu chain, owner of Sandals, emphasizes room quality and provides a high quality of sophisticated food and beverage bars throughout the site. St. Martins and St. Bart’s, where the food and weather are among the best in the world, hosts very pricey resorts.

According to Derohanessian, price is not the only factor to consider, but the location of the resort is. “You’ll find that the food in Jamaica is better than the food in Cuba. And that’s because Jamaica grows a larger variety and higher quality of produce that finds its way onto the tables of the resort system.

“The opposite can be said of Cuba or the Dominican Republic, which has to import produce at some expense,” he asserts.

Mexican produce is very high in quality and quantity and finds its way to even to the mid- and low-range all-inclusives.

“For good weather, price and food, Acapulco is the kind of destination that when you throw the dice will always come up double sixes.”

Research and feedback from other travelers is a must to make sure the dice is loaded in your favour when you seek out an all-inclusive destination.

Check out Google Earth, which displays pictures for the general public, to make sure that a “beautiful” resort is really “right on the beach” and is true to how it portrays itself on its website.

If you enjoy 14 or more days of sun, people watching, smoothies, cocktails, highballs and beer … cheerful people (generally) and mountainous quantities of food as well as some, but not too strenuous sporting endeavours, then a secluded, all-inclusive beachside resort would foot the bill.

But if you require “off the boat” diversions, you have to seek out those resorts that are a stone’s throw from historic sites and friendly towns.

Although a landlocked vacation may not have quite the allure of a cruise, overlooking the ocean is still breathtaking.

Consumer Alert

Many of my readers have been asking if traveling the urban environment on my electric scooter still has the same appeal as it did a couple of years ago. My answer is a resounding yes, but with one exception.

The EVT scooters my wife and I purchased—made in Taiwan and sold here exclusively by Ecomoto on Notre Dame—are moving lemons.

In the space of two years—with both bikes reading less than 4,500 kilometres—we had to replace the batteries and electric motors, at a considerable cost.

The EVT Canada head office in Vancouver was unresponsive to our complaints and told us to take up the matter with the Chinese company.

They offer extended warranties in British Columbia, but not here. If you need a part, expect to wait seven weeks.

It’s best to buy from a Quebec-based retailer whose reputation is based on good service and good products.

Travel and communication have come a long way, baby

Mark Medicoff

October 2011

When we travel today, the way we share contacts with people is usually taken for granted: visual cellphones, Facebook, Flicker, and so on. But in 1986—a mere 25 years ago—senior travellers literally lived in a communications vacuum.

In 1986, there were three models of cellphones, each the size of a loaf of bread and considerably heavier. At the time, the “Internet” was a link shared by research and educational organizations to access supercomputers. Email—then a truly complex activity—was the domain of big business. In 1986, I was a journalist using the magic of word processing on a Commodore 64.

The Net, with its first browsers to access Web pages, had to wait until the next decade to revolutionize travel. The calling card (remember we bought them for our kids so they would call home) weren’t even being used yet in the U.S. In 1986, digital photography was science fiction.

And that’s what I want to talk to you about: How today’s technology has become an indispensable aid for senior travel. The current blast of “at-your-fingertips” information is a real boon, providing senior travellers with a safer and more engaging experience.

A one-time $250 expenditure for an iPod Touch is the least expensive way to travel with a computer. In 1986, a similarly powered computer took two entire rooms to host—one for cooling and one for computing.

With the Touch, all you have to do is look for an ubiquitous WiFi connection (try the Easy WiFi app to find one) and you’re connected to the World Wide Web for your traveling inquiries. The first app I downloaded was Skype, an Internet telephone system that brings your voice within reach of anyone almost anywhere, very inexpensively.

Next, find apps that further embellish your travels—you have 4,000 to choose from. A great companion app I use comes from Tripwolf.com and provides free or inexpensive ($1.99) destination information. You can download maps, subway systems, and other info that can be accessed from your Touch even when you’re not connected to WiFi.

The Commodore 64 is a distant cousin of the tiny iPod Touch. Photos: Bill Bertram, Saint

Tripwolf’s site compares to a visit at a world Net café. Another app—iTravelFree)—provides “open source” (free to share) info and has free maps and destination info you can download.

Travel Guide apps are available for almost every conceivable country. I go for the free ones first, then for those modestly priced, from $2 to $5. When you’re spending so much on a vacation, a small “information” budget is worthwhile.

An app called Tripadvisor gives you the lowdown (by consumer voting) about places to stay and eat in a great many destinations, so you don’t have to be stuck in a deplorable hotel or spend a fortune for a meal … take a breath and consult your Touch, you’ll find there is always another place to stay.

If you’re heading somewhere by air, a handy app to keep abreast of your flight is FlightStatus. Plug in the data and you’ll find out whether you’re spending the night at the airport.

Having a language problem? A number of apps provide handy and quick translations. A world clock app will keep you instantly aware of time differences to avoid raising the ire of the folks back home when you call too early.

Another good App I like is AppBox Lite, which allows you access to currency exchange rates and national holidays—handy, when you consider I once lost two days traveling because a national holiday all but emptied the streets. In the morning, I organize my day relative to the weather, from The Weather Channel app—museum or walk.

There are apps that provide info in magazine formats; a few you might look at are Thomas Cooke’s MYCruise and Travel apps, EndlessVacation and TVRL magazine apps, as well as Jet Away and Couch Traveler HD Earth Explorer. Other apps that fall outside of the “travel” category but nevertheless enhance a vacation are the news apps from home, like the CBC or U.S. channels, including a great app from NPR. All the major newspapers have apps and there’s even a yoga app that displays positions on an airplane seat. To review your travel memories back home, download a journal app. Like to keep track of your expenditures while abroad? Yep, there’s an app for that, too.

So how did we ever survive those 1980s information-less years? I think we scribbled a lot more postcards to our pre-Facebook friends.

Two women realize their travelling dreams by working overseas

Mark Medicoff

September 2011

Come with me to meet Donna Davidson and Gay Grannary, unique adventurers who usually travel alone and who have visited more countries in their lifetimes than most foreign ministers in theirs. Their destination lists read like the glossary from the Lonely Planet library.

Now semi-retired, these two women have come up with imaginative ways to sustain their passion.

Donna has always lived in Montreal, but a stint working with Canadian University Services Overseas in the early ’70s, teaching adults and refugees in a technical school in Zambia, sealed her destiny.

Gay grew up in an isolated community of 30 souls—10 were her siblings—in the Eastern Townships.

She was 40 when she became a single mom of four; she had been an elementary school teacher and, by the time she was 50, the farthest she had been was Mexico. She started exploring the world when the youngest of her brood left home for CEGEP.

“I always wanted to understand the world. Growing up, you can’t imagine yourself as a world traveler. It was something way beyond your reach.”

Donna returned from Africa in the ’70s and began a career as a high-school teacher.

She added a number of specializations, including guiding gifted kids in a McGill program.

She teaches English as a second language at McGill’s School of Continuing Education.

Fourteen years ago, Gay came up with a bold way to change her life. She gathered $1,000 to apply to the International School Service, an organization that operates a for-profit system of private schools throughout the world and acts a recruitment agency for top-notch educators.

Her first posting was in Shako, China, “a ferry ride from Hong Kong,” where she was stationed for two years at an elementary school.

“It was a bit tough,” she says. “But also a feeling of welcoming new friends, new home, renewed zest and the chance to get my mind around the wonder of the world.”

Donna calls upon a large network of enduring friends established while teaching.

Her former students are a repository for in-depth knowledge of culture and current events and, when possible, host her in their homes.

It is not unusual for students to bring her to meet their extended families.

Gay’s stay in a country lasted at least the length of a teaching contract—two years.

Her first stay, in China, profoundly affected her life. She also took contracts in Yemen, Jordan, Japan and Togo, touring farther afield during school breaks.

She nurtured close relationships with Arab women, gaining a rare perspective on their lives. “The women I met became my sisters, gracious, kind and loving,” she says.

Now, however, the high cost of travel and their reduced incomes in semi-retirement are putting a dent in their pursuits.

So Gay and Donna are raising capital by doing something they love: shopping.

“When I first traveled,” Donna says, “I would buy unique handicrafts and lug them home for gifts for family and friends. Then people asked me to buy specific items for them.”

Their response was so positive Donna brought home more things. Her out-of-her-apartment “boutique” business was launched.

At each posting, Gay would develop relationships with local market vendors and schlep home boxes of handmade items.

She brought back from China a container-load of fairly old cabinets, jewelry, furniture, handicrafts and rugs and dispersed her collection for safekeeping among her friends, giving rise to some of the most eclectically furnished homes in the Eastern Townships.

Today, she operates from a small retail space in Dunham, about 100 kilometres southeast of Montreal. She’s slowly returning her friends’ décor to their natural order.

Both women, trailblazers in their own way, use their imaginations and hard work to sustain an adventurer’s way of life.

Gay’s store is open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. or by request, 450-295-2865, 3806 Principale, Dunham. Donna can be reached at quechua47@yahoo.com

Cruising the St. Lawrence River is one way to have a ferry-tale holiday

Mark Medicoff

July 2011

From the start, I must confess: I’m a travel-writer who has never taken a cruise. That disclosed, I’ve decided to right the wrong and plan one.

Since Montreal is such a great place to enjoy summer, and I didn’t want to spend any extra money on flying, I needed a ship whose port is a mere métro station away. I wanted the cruise to be as close to my fantasy of a Mediterranean or Caribbean one as possible, and it had to be a week long.

Over the years, I’ve heard about one- or two-day cruises along the St. Lawrence River, but I dismissed any cruise shorter than three days in duration. Cruise companies with the luxury and size I’ve come to imagine zip through the St. Lawrence on their way to more tourist-appealing destinations in the Maritimes and Newfoundland.

Cruises of two days or more meant looking at more regional carriers and smaller ships. I conjured a vision of taking one of those romantic freighter or cargo ship cruises that offer you few amenities and high ticket prices.

The most prominent cruise line in Quebec is Groupe CTMA, complete with a tagline that asserts “Destination Magdalen Islands—your most trusted carrier since 1944!” Their ferry ship is called the CTMA Vacancier and cruises are run out of Montreal every week until September 16.

CTMA’s ship is a modern ferry cruiser— it has seven decks, 440 cabins, and is 120 metres long. The ship is designed to get you to Îles de la Madeleine and back with that “small community” feel and is equipped with a theatre, dépanneur, exercise facilities, club lounges, a children’s play area, and lots of TV areas and drinking lounges.

They have cruises leaving from Montreal with several all-inclusive, nicely-designed packages for seven nights and eight days from about $1,750 to $1,950 per person. Packages include Cruise and Taste of the Islands, Cruise and Adventure and an Art and Culture Cruise.

There are packages that cater to a more vigorous, physical agenda and one even includes sleeping overnight in a yurt. For the young at heart, there is the more physically challenging Cycling and Cruise package.

One package offers an array of ornithological attractions while re-creating Jacques Cartier’s epic voyage in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Along with the captain and crew, you will “dress up” in period costumes and the dining room promises to cook up a mess of typical New France dishes.

Each voyage offers a bilingual show that showcases Îles de la Madeleine culture and talent while docked in Cap aux Meules. The on-board concerts are open to the entire island community.

Since testimonials contribute much-needed insights into travelling, I consulted my next-door neighbour François Brunet, who translates international legal documentation. François and his wife took a culinary cruise last year aboard the Vacancier.

What was non-negotiable for first-time cruiser François was a “cruise with scenery. The landscape along the edge of the St. Lawrence is most impressive and the whale watching was extraordinary.”

Although he was not enamored with the “cramped” quarters (en-suite), he was quick to say the other amenities made up for this “minor inconvenience.” He also noted the ample entertainment and well organized tours of Îles de la Madeleine. What’s nice about these cruises is that they stop to enjoy Quebec’s much-loved geographic icons such as Pointe-au-Pic in the Charlevoix region and the “rock” in Gaspésie.

For many of us who may never have enjoyed the beauty that makes up Quebec’s lower north shore, a “cruise with scenery” is a definite consideration. François intends to plan a cruise from Vancouver Island northward, hugging the shore on its way to Alaska.

Groupe CTMA: ctma.ca

Youth hostels aren’t just for youth after all, and they’re easy on the wallet

Mark Medicoff

June 2011

Many years ago, Marion and I were staying at a youth hostel in Hanoi, enjoying our breakfast and observing an older European woman taking care of her under-10-year-old charge.

A few minutes later, the rest of the family joined them, two thirty-somethings and the grandpa. For me, that scene became an indelible memory, illustrating that people of all ages—entire families—are travelling the globe via youth hostels!

Marion and I are middle-class kind of people over 55, almost retired and whose thirst for travel exceeds our financial means.

We like to travel longer than 10 days at a time and that can get really expensive. Since there are few financial compromises we can make on getting to our destination—airfare being what it is—the only options are to economize once we’ve arrived.

Opportunities to keep our expenditures modest open up to us thanks to the hostel movement. Instead of spending $150 or $200 a night at a hotel, a $55-a-night private hostel room with breakfast suffices.

First, a little background into the hostelling movement and its ethically questionable beginning: In 1912, the German Youth Movement initiated an experiment to promote physical fitness and character building among its urban, alienated youth by sending them into the countryside.

Fortunately, today, the idea has evolved to become an inclusive phenomenon advancing global relationships and environmental sustainability. With more than 4,000 hostels worldwide, the largest organization is Hostelling International, which comprises more than 87 associations around the globe. Most importantly, its membership is not limited to youth.

This “chain” establishes standards to which all hostels must conform. Some places have their own idiosyncrasies, like no private rooms and curfews that those over 55 would balk over.

The idea has morphed to include a wide range of facilities offering a variety of comfort and expense levels in almost every city in the world where there is running water.

But let’s be clear, as a senior traveler, my comfort level does not include a dormitory of eight snoring men, nor is my wife accustomed to sleeping with eight chatty Cathies. On our travels, we do not compromise on our need for a private room and clean private bathroom with towels that have the absorbency of shoe leather.

The world-famous tango cafe-restaurant Cafe Tortoni in downtown Buenos Aires. Photo: Roberto Fiadone

Over more than 20 years of traveling, we were rarely disappointed with our hostel lodgings.

But when unpleasant circumstances did occur, we moved to another facility without hesitation. There are plenty of hostels and we always carry a guidebook and iPhone apps for quick decisions.

Here’s why our success rate is so high. Four years ago, we used Hostelworld.com to choose our accommodation in the downtown area of Buenos Aires, within walking distances of tourist sights and famed neighbourhoods. We settled on Portal del Sur, a few minutes walk from the world-famous Café Tortoni, a tango café-restaurant. We relied on reviews and ratings placed on Hostelworld by other travelers.

To me, performing due diligence on one’s accommodations is the key to a successful travel experience. Being greeted in the morning by a cockroach gallivanting across the floor does not a good day make. When more than one negative comment pops up we take a serious read of the comments by our fellow travelers—a notoriously candid lot.

Portal del Sur achieved a reliable rating of 84 per cent from 123 customers. Their webpage lists a description of their facilities and all the features the hostel affords, such as continental breakfast buffet, free Wi-Fi and such.

Security is also an important issue and this hostel provided it around the clock with a buzzer system at night. There are pictures of the hostel and the rooms on their website.

Their breakfast was more than ample and except for an air-conditioner problem (we moved to a another room), our stay was perfect. The cost per night, in today’s dollars, was $66.78 U.S. for a private ensuite room (with bathroom) for the two of us.

The next leg of our journey was to Iguazu Falls, a breathtaking panorama of rushing water that sits at the border of Argentina and Brazil. With the same due diligence that we undertake with every accommodation, we chose The Hostel-Inn, with a large pool and clubhouse that resembled a Club Med.

We remember the place for its friendly staff, its incredible all-you can-eat BBQ supper and many good beer chats with a well-known sports journalist from Australia (also over 55). The cost for this little slice of luxury near Iguazu Falls is $66.40 U.S.

More than likely, a hostel’s bulletin board will offer travelers cultural activities that are rare to find in hotels. You can find reasonably priced, dance lessons, language classes, off-the-beaten-track day trips, walking tours and visits to unusual spectacles.

In Mexico City, for example, we attended a wrestling match that kept us in stitches for days after and a tour of the best pulque (local beer) bars available in the city.

Another reason we seek out hostels is because they accommodate a great class of people.

If you like to gab, hostels provide a rare glimpse into the angst of today’s youthful travelers. You can bet your bottom dollar that the world will be a better place to live in during their watch.

Finding your perfect hostel

Portal del sur 5411 4342-8788 http://www.portaldelsurba.com.ar/index_e.html

Hostelling International http://www.hihostels.com/

Hostel-Inn www.hostel-inn.com

Cafe Tortoni http://www.cafetortoni.com.ar/

Hostelworld http://www.hostelworld.com/

A peace corps of voluntourists could be generated, if there were tax breaks

Mark Medicoff

May, 2011

With the elections capturing a great deal of our attention, I’ve come up with one innovative idea that retirees should urge their representatives to support. This idea applies to active retirees who want to devote their life skills to export the philanthropic spirit of Canada abroad through voluntourism.

These are the active retirees who want to connect with people elsewhere in the world and provide them with a helping hand. You may know the type of senior I’m addressing, people who—at their own expense—gather medical supplies, laptops, eyeglasses and other items, and schlep them in overweight suitcases to another part of the world, where they spend their entire “vacation” serving the local community.

A 2007 Canadian government study profiling seniors reported that as baby boomers turn 65, there will be almost 8 million of us—close to 21 per cent of the Canadian population. Stats are showing that seniors are computer savvy, financially better off, more educated than at any time in the past and, most importantly, more active.

That’s a big workforce to tap into for overseas voluntourism. More and more active retirees want to travel to other parts of the world to act as goodwill ambassadors … a kind of Canadian peace corps of seniors.

There is no dearth of volunteer programs anywhere in the world. A quick Web search reveals such programs as helping to protect the environment in the rain forest or combatting poverty in Africa.

Other retirees, like teachers, nutritionists, engineers, doctors, nurses and mechanics can share their skills in a great many places.

But we need a tax break to do it.

A place to stay is the smallest part of the cost; getting there the largest. This where our newly elected government can help us out. Tax credits for seniors should be instituted to help defray the cost of voluntourism and be made available for projects approved by External Affairs.

Let’s face it, Canada’s record in the international community has been suffering. We once had the kind of reputation that made us proud, made us feel safe to festoon our knapsacks and carry on with our bright red Canadian Maple Leaf. Now senior travelers think twice.

A tax break would not only add purpose to our retirement years, it would shore up Canada’s lagging status abroad. We would act like mobile billboards, proudly heralding that “Canada cares.”

We would wear durable uniforms for hot or cold weather. We would emblazon Canadian flags on the back of our jackets, just like the Red Cross workers, so that our peaceful intentions would be visible to all.

And, with pride, we would attach a crest of arms (perhaps a crisscross of a pen and spade) onto the breast pocket with the initials CSSA: Canadian Seniors Serving Abroad.

I suspected that an advanced Google search would unveil programs for retirees, enabling us to deduct a portion of our expenses from our income taxes. My first landing site was Seniors Canada, but it only carried such information about traveling abroad as border services and tax laws for retirees.

I continued my search at the Canadian International Development Agency, CIDA, and turned up some worthwhile programs, but none involving seniors.

That discovery led me to this thought: CIDA and Seniors Canada should get together for a chat, since a number of CIDA programs evoke a potentially strong synergy between volunteering and retirees. One engaging project, for example, twins Canadian students in grades 6 through 8 with their counterparts in some needy country, but allows for no senior contribution potential.

In the years to come, our politicians will have to realize that seniors are more of a natural resource and less of a public liability than they believe. Our contribution can be substantial.

Mebbie had a choice to make: “Pick up the pieces or go to pieces”

Mark Medicoff

April, 2011

Come along with me: We’re going to visit with Mebbie Aikens. Hers is a story about those moments when we feel down and out, when life is beating us down.

It began after she and her husband, Eldie, a Presbyterian minister, had just celebrated 43 years of marriage and were entering retirement.

Mebbie returned home from a grocery-store run to find Eldie sprawled on the floor, a victim of a massive and fatal heart attack.

“That happened 19 years ago, and I found myself with no job and no husband,” says the 84-year-old.

After a whirlwind life ministering to a Town of Mount Royal congregation alongside her husband, and after 30 years raising her two children and a collection of seven strayed or adopted kids, Mebbie found herself, for the first time in her life, alone and scared. “I had a choice,” she said. “I could be bitter or I could be busy.” She decided to travel the world as her first step to self-sufficiency and chose China as her first destination: “I needed to go somewhere so far that I couldn’t turn back if I got upset,” she says. “It takes a little grit to get back on your path.”

She came back renewed by her newfound independence and signed up for a creative writing program at Concordia University (then Sir George Williams) where “she wrote herself to death.” She’s never looked back because you either “pick up the pieces or go to pieces.” Her next trip, on Sept. 11, 2001, offered a bit more adventure than she had anticipated. She found herself isolated in Peshawar, Pakistan, on the day terrorists attacked the United States.

She and her two traveling companions had intended to follow Marco Polo’s Silk Road, but when circumstances conspired against them, the three fled Pakistan and raced to Tajikistan, where they boarded a plane for Moscow.

“We were careful not to be too visible,” she says. For Mebbie, traveling opens the mind and heart to other cultures and people. It has led to a realization about how small the world is and how grateful she feels to be Canadian.

“Traveling is a way to make sense of our lives,” she says. Most of her traveling adventures are organized through ElderTreks (eldertreks.com), which focuses on exotic destinations for those over 50. They include such places as Mongolia and the Gobi desert, Antarctica and the Arctic, Iran, Africa, the Galapagos and Ecuador as well as Europe, Asia and the Pacific.

Mebbie Aikens with two guides during her tour of Pakistan. Photo courtesy of Mebbie Aikens

Mebbie recalls a thrilling trek through the hinterlands of Burma (now Myanmar) where some women, washing clothes and bathing at the edge of a lake, rushed over to her group, wanting to touch these exotic foreigners.

“They were urging us to come bathe with them … but they were wearing clothes,” she says, giggling.

Her traveling strategy circumscribes small group tours with built-in independence—never more than about 15 people—and she studies the places she intends to visit as much as she can. “One fault I find in those who travel is that they compare everything with what they have in their home country,” she says. “You have to appreciate and learn from what you find.”

A few years ago, Mebbie hopped on a cargo and passenger freighter traveling throughout French Polynesia. Over the last decade, she has journeyed to Botswana and Victoria Falls, Iceland, Antarctica, China and the Yangtze River, Thailand and Southeast Asia.

Her most memorable journey was to Machu Picchu in Peru. “I have never felt so connected to the past as I felt there.” Between adventures, Mebbie has moderated the memoir-writing program at McGill and subscribes to a long list of volunteer activities—including cooking for Meals on Wheels. She gives presentations to groups on her life experiences through the McGill Institute for Learning in Retirement.

Mebbie’s secret throughout her journey though life is clear. “You have to feel positive about life every day, she asserts, “and you have to be connected with other people.”

Elder Trek is the first adventure travel company designed exclusively for the people over 50. Since 1987 it offers exotic journeys to small groups of travelers by both land and sea in over 100 countries. Info: eldertrek.com

Websites offer luxurious options to the armchair traveller

Mark Medicoff

March, 2011

With so many travel websites, it’s hard to find the exceptional. So I would like to share some of the more captivating websites enjoyed by the armchair traveler as well as a few aimed to stretch and safeguard your traveling dollar.

One of my dream sites is smithsonianjourneys.org. Smithsonian describes itself as a “museum-based educational travel program” that designs enthralling itineraries for the well heeled and the mainstream. Here’s an example of one of my favourite dream vacations:

How would you like to take a private Boeing 757 to seven World Heritage sights? For a mere $56,000 you will have hired an expert staff and flight crew for 23 days as guides to such exotic places as Yunnan Province, which contains the fascinating stone forest and is home to the Naxi people.

You will fly to Mongolia to meet a nomadic tribe and enjoy their unusual throat singing. A mere hop and you will find yourself in Papua New Guinea to spend some quality time with three tribes whose culture reflects the distant past. Then, over to Java in Indonesia to experience the world’s largest Buddhist temple and briefly live with a Javanese family.

Since Bhutan is a mere few hours away, you’ll visit the national treasures of this last independent kingdom in the Himalayas, where happiness ranks as the highest form of domestic product. Then to the relatively banal Wadi Rum in Petra, and then to the Disney-like landscape in Cappadocia, Turkey. If you don’t like this private jet itinerary, there are eight others.

Now you know how the rich spend their money.

Down to Earth for a moment. One website you might enjoy surfing is airbnb.com, a practical site for travelers seeking inexpensive stays at the homes of people who are away. Plug in a city you want to visit and up pops a number of very attractive apartments, homes or villas reasonably priced on a per-night stay. A New York City stay can be found for as little as $69 a night or a “spacious” bungalow in Puerto Escondido, Mexico, will set you back $30 a night.

Canada.com/travel curates travel news assembled by its parent company, Postmedia, owner of The Gazette and many other Canadian newspapers. The site focuses not only on Canadian destinations but also provides sidebar notes such as an American cruise that offers three Canadian stops. Subjects include those of a more practical vein such as how travelers can avoid diarrhea, and includes destination guides.

Gypset.com (gypsy+jetset) is a wonderful site for the young at heart who like to combine the “chic speed of the jetset” with “the alternative, anti-commercialism and nomadic life of a gypsy.” Gypset posts member blogs from out-of-the-way places and provides “approved” accommodations at destinations you might have never heard about.

Travelalerts.com is great for retirees who can take their vacations outside of high season and who want ideas for short-hop vacations at reasonable prices. The same can be said for dohop.com for cheap flights, hotels and cars in Canada and Europe.

Flybudget.com provides interesting travel destinations as well as articles about the budget airline industry that act like a Consumer Reports for travel. One article warns travelers about the “tricks” used by the low-budget travel industry. Wegolo.com, whichbudget.com and kayak.com bill themselves as sites where you can compare hundreds of other travel sites and promise to display the most economical choice.

Momondo.com describes itself as a search engine, which leads you to the airline offering you the cheapest flight, but does not sell you the seats directly. Ontheglobe.com is a great site for armchair travelers providing a compendium of engaging travel articles and video travelogues by Montreal-based site publisher and “cultural navigator” Andrew Princz.

Featuring arts and culture schedules to plan your vacation, it provides short Twitter-like information from readers called “straight talk.” A remarkable aspect of this site is its integrity. It doesn’t try to sell you to advertisers and relies on a reader’s love of travel and donations.

Cruisecritic.com—though somewhat overly commercial—is a good site to get the lowdown on what’s happening in the world of cruises. It lists available cruise deals from almost every line in the world, as well as reviews, forums and messages from the site’s 50,000 members. It provides information for first-time cruisers, how to plan a cruise, and up-to-date news articles and cruise guides, especially useful for first-time cruisers.

But for now, an el-cheapo, all-inclusive Cuban vacation with my love is the best ticket of all.

Mexico inspires with its art, architecture, people — and it’s safe, too

Mark Medicoff

February 2011

This is a tale of two countries. The first is Mexico, and so too is the second.

The first Mexico struggles with internecine warfare. Fueled by America’s inexorable craving for drugs, a no man’s land has been carved along the border as far north as Monterrey and along the coast to Acapulco.

Racked by debilitating corruption and a callous concentration of financial and political power at the top, with a third of its 120 million citizens living in wretched poverty, this Mexico frustrates the ideal to forge a better future for its citizens.

The second Mexico is permeated with awe-inspiring history, populated by a people quick to share the joy of their culture and express their love for their country. My traveling companion and photographer, Marion, and I decided to ascertain firsthand whether Mexico is a safe country to visit outside the all-inclusive compounds. Our three-week journey began in mid-December in Mexico City, a dense urban environment of over 20 million. For three days we stayed at Hostel Amigo ($50 a day) in the Zocalo (city centre).

The clean, high-ceiling suite with private bathroom included breakfast, supper and the company of young travelers from Europe, Israel, South America and Australia. At the hostel, bilingual Alajendro and Beatrice provided modestly priced walking tours of the area. Their knowledge of the city led us to understand Mexico’s long tradition to establish a national identity. Guardedly, our guides allowed us a glimpse into current governmental shortcomings as well.

Demonstrations are part of daily life in Mexico, such as this one calling for more jobs in Peubla City.

The city’s colonial buildings and cathedral structures—many sinking precariously into what was once a swamp—are breathtaking. The magnificent, world-renowned Teotihuacan ruins, an ancient people’s bridge between the sun and moon, provoked our imaginations. Excavated Aztec ruins provided a glimpse into a civilization that conquered most of Latin and South America until Spanish “guns, germs and steel” decimated native civilizations in the 16th century.

The city’s festive mercados displayed every imaginable Christmas decoration; delicious meals prepared “on the street” made for a variety of filling snacks for less than $3.

Certainly not to be missed is Mexico City’s marble and glass Bellas Artes Museum. This world class art centre houses the famous wall-size, original copy of Diego Rivera’s original Rockefeller mural.

In the evenings, we strolled in the upper-crust areas of Condesa and La Roma, areas replete with a bookstore the size of a movie theatre, cafés, piano bars, restaurants and lovely green spaces that reminded us of Paris and New York.

During one evening walking tour, we took in a classic Mexican wrestling match, more a choreographed comedy than a serious fighting match. No one gets hurt and a fighter’s worst nightmare is the loss of, literally, “face,” where the losing parties forever forfeits the right to wear their uniquely designed masks. An event not to be missed!

Like any large city, there are areas for travelers to avoid. The most significant danger for seniors, however, is the appalling pollution that hovers over the city like some extraterrestrial cloud. Other than that, we felt safe.

If pulmonary sensitivity is your weakness, skip Mexico City and move on to our next two destinations: the eponymous state capitals of Puebla and Oaxaca, both easily accessible by Mexico’s first-class, long-distance bus service.

After Mexico City, Puebla, a UNESCO world heritage site, has the largest number of universities in Mexico, which accounts for its youthful, avant-garde flavour. A two-day stay is sufficient to view a number of the 5,000 colourful buildings that incorporate the baroque, Renaissance and classic architecture styles. A must-see is the Cathedral, a magnificent church structure in the Zocalo that took 300 years to complete.

In Puebla, we tasted typical Mexican fare: Tlayudas (distinctive Mexican calzones), the mole chicken- covered with a spicy sauce composed of chocolate and chili, the giant Semita (sandwich), trussed with chicken Milanaise, avocado, and other fried veggies. All are delicious.

What is totally unpredictable when traveling in Mexico are the “demostraciones” that seem part of daily life. Our first encounter occurred in the Zocalo in Puebla City, in front of the state’s administration offices. Hundreds of peaceful demonstrators armed with nothing more than their infant children, pleaded for jobs.

To be a senior traveler in our world means to contribute—if only in some diminutive way—to its citizens in need. We never fail to buy handicrafts offered for sale by the poor or to give money to those who can do nothing more than extend their palm.

The next leg of our Mexican journey found us in Oaxaca, another UNESCO world heritage site, a city nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Madre. We stayed at the highly recommended and charming B&B Casa Gigi, $99 for three nights complete with a breakfast prepared by Gigi, a retired elementary school teacher.

Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations inhabited this area for thousands of years and we were able to explore their cultures in the well-furnished museums near the town’s Zocalo and their well preserved pyramids within a short bus ride.

One evening, another “demostracion” took place just outside the city centre. Whiffs of tear gas floated in the air while Oaxacans continued their leisurely pace.

Walking the beach at sunset is glorious in Puerto Escondido. Photos: Marion Kery

We chatted with two senior women who travelled all the way from Australia to partake in the unique radish sculpture festival—literally sculptures made from giant radishes.

The next leg of our journey, a week of beach R&R, was a welcome finale to our travels. After a comfortable 12-hour bus ride from Oaxaca through winding mountain roads, we encountered our third “demonstracion.” Organizers stopped all vehicles leading to and from a bridge just outside the resort town of Puerto Escondido, 368 kilometres south of Acapulco. Since only emergency vehicles and pedestrians were allowed to pass over the bridge, we decided to schlep our wheeled suitcases with other intrepid passengers rather than wait the estimated four hours inside the bus. The adventure was well worth the effort to get there.

Puerto Escondido is a beachfront town unspoiled by all-inclusives, high-rise hotels and an international airport; it lives up to its Spanish name of hidden port. Kilometres of stellar beaches and casual nightlife make it a relaxing destination.

With the exception of walking the beaches after dark, the town is friendly and safe —night or day.

Puerto Escondido has lots of characters: white-haired North American hippies and retirees banter over cold beers and spiked “café au laits.” Busloads of Mexican families (there’s a large trailer camp just off the beach) arrived for the holiday season and brought a festive feeling to the town.

Part of the attraction for North Americans is the price of lodging and meals. Comfortable motel-like rooms can be found from $30 to $100 a night. Many retirees choose month or longer stays that fit any budget.

So what is the “safe” bottom line regarding travel to Mexico? We found Mexicans to be engaging, warm, friendly and honest. For senior travelers who carefully choose the cities and towns to explore and use common sense once there, Mexico is a country you will long to revisit.

Good health and safe journeys.

For romance or festivals, a staycation might be answer for you

Mark Medicoff

December, 2010

You’d love to go away for a December holiday to slice away a bit of a Montreal winter … but you can’t afford it. Sure, you’ve put a way $500 or $600, but how far is that going to take you? Here are options for the skinny pocketbook during our holiday season.

What about a weekend stay in a luxurious hotel room, indulging in the warm water of the hotel’s pool and hot tub … perhaps a massage in their sumptuous spa? Afterward, supper in the atrium, served by solicitous waiters attentive to your culinary niceties. Your holiday is a short dream vacation in your home town.

What folks have been choosing in droves is a “staycation,” a sojourn they partake of at home or within métro distance. Staycations have become enormously popular in recent, economically lean years. The term has become so commonplace, it appeared in a last year’s edition of the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.

It’s a stress free way to get to where you want to go (no airport or driving tension). And you can enhance your staycation by timing your holiday to take advantage of Montreal’s many treats – like the jazz or comedy festivals or museums – best tasted, in my opinion, from the comfort of a hotel.

For the romantically inclined, a staycation is a way to enhance your relationship with your partner or special other. Another little upside is that you’re keeping your tourist dollars in your own home town.

Celebrate special times, like Valentine’s Day, a birthday or anniversary. There are loads of reasons to pamper yourselves.

If you want to stretch $500 or $600 further, lets say for two or three weeks, then there is, said Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz: “no place like home.”

You have to imagine Montreal with fresh eyes. Certainly, we are all familiar with such icons as Old Montreal and St. Joseph’s Oratory. But have you ever taken one of those open air tram-like tourist buses schlepping out-of-towners to peer into those unique places that make up our urban environment?

For your “virtual” vacation, do some planning … to make it spontaneous. Brainstorm about the things you’ve always wanted to do in Montreal but never did. Since we often get frazzled after making “arrangements,” it’s best to get it done before you begin your staycation. Consider the restaurants you’ve always wanted to try and avoid disappointment by making reservations.

Maybe a day trip? Take a bus to Mont Tremblant at Christmastime. Go for a hike in the Eastern Townships. Splurge and you can stay overnight (it’s cheaper during the week). Or perhaps a worry-free double-header movie, since you know you can sleep in late the next morning. Maybe a concert at Place des Arts or theatre at the Segal Centre.

A staycation means relaxation in the comfort of a familiar place: cuddling up with a good book for the better part of a day or skiing in the middle of the week. Make sure you put your house in order, as though you were expecting your home-swap partner. This means no laundry or house cleaning during your staycation. No to-do-list! (Unless it’s for your vacation.)

Our world of constant connectivity makes it a formidable challenge to cut the umbilical cord. A successful staycation takes that feature of modern life into account. Bounce your emails with a vacation notice. Turn off mail delivery and local newspapers (pick-up the Herald Tribune instead) and reduce the volume on your answering machine to nil.

If you’re still spending some time at work during your retirement or contributing volunteer hours, tell the folks there that you’ve planned a unique getaway with your partner and won’t be available during your holiday slot.

Having planned ahead, you’ve made, postponed or otherwise eliminated appointments for haircuts, dental cleaning, acupuncture, nails and other assorted features of daily life. You need to set some strict rules for yourself; otherwise, your staycation will be just another hassle in your life.

And remember; pick up all those calls and emails only after you’ve “returned” home from your staycation.

Home swapping can be a win-win for travellers

Mark Medicoff

November, 2010

For retirees looking to travel on a limited budget, swapping your home with a like-minded couple may be the answer.

One travel website estimates that there are more than 100,000 home exchanges taking place in 137 countries each year.

Senior Times columnist Howard Richler has been a home swapper for six years and raves about the opportunities it provides. Howard and his partner, Carole Broderick, have explored Arizona, Provence in France, Alicante in Spain, San Francisco and the Greek Island of Symi – all while staying in someone else’s home.

“Home exchange just seemed like a sound idea,” he explains. “That’s not to say we didn’t have any qualms at first, but we’ve never found anyone who has had a bad experience. It might not be for you if you have a house filled with antiques, mistrust teenagers, or if you go apoplectic about someone sleeping in your bed.”

Often, home exchanges include cars. Howard left his keys in his car at the Burlington, Vt., airport while his home-swapping partner did the same at the Phoenix airport.

The first step in the process is to become a member of a Web-based home exchange site. Most offer monthly or yearly memberships and some specialize in the “over 50” age group. Howard recommends that you give yourself at least six months to arrange your vacation.

From a Montrealer’s perspective, the best time to establish a home exchange is for the spring and summer. The many gala events afforded a Montreal visitor – like the jazz and comedy festivals – make our city an easy sell. Howard and Carole tried to exchange their home during winter, but found the attempt futile. “Skiers want to be closer to the Laurentians or Eastern Townships.”

A home in the suburbs might hinder the possibility of a home exchange.

Potential listings will be forwarded to you by email, but be sure the website you use, such as HomeExchange.com or SeniorsHomeExchange .com, guarantees your privacy. Once you’ve received the listings of available homes in the part of the world you choose, the real work begins. Howard feels strongly that you have to get “a good handle” on your exchange partner. As a first start, by means of emails or telephone calls, your communication will probably consist of the basics: a description of your home, places of interest, questions about their accommodations and yours and a description of your mutual expectations.

Initial information will probably include the specific dates of your stay, the number of people in your family and their ages, if you’re retired or what kind of work you do, the type and location of the neighbourhood and the amenities your home provides, such as a swimming pool or exercise room, and the advantages of your home and area. If you’re offering a car, it’s important to mention the type, year, whether it’s an automatic or manual transmission, and the condition of your vehicle.

Other important conditions include household appliances and electronic equipment, such as a plasma TV, computer with Wi-Fi and whether there are pets and plants to take care of. You should especially mention whether smoking is permitted in your home or if your home would be tricky for people with special physical needs.

“It’s a system of equivalents,” Howard says. “You have to find someone much like yourself. One time we found a delightful home, but the owner wanted us to take care of his dogs.” Since day trips are an attractive aspect of home swapping for them, Howard and Carole politely refused the exchange.

The next step is to narrow down your choice and then, by phone, exchange such info as references, a promise to send a video of your home, and even pictures of your family. The last step is a more formal written contract, the fixed commitment to proceed with the exchange.

Winter’s coming — time to flee for three months

Mark Medicoff

September, 2010

With September’s evening chill warning that winter is around the corner, many of us are reflecting on how to prolong summer’s benefits.

The thought of spending two or three months in a temperate clime does not have to be a pipe dream.

One idea affords great opportunities, and a cost-effective way to enjoy the great warm outdoors: Double or triple up with friends and rent a villa. A number of websites devoted to renting villas worldwide are available. With the world’s economy in the throes, it is a competitive market.

It’s not impossible to find a three-bedroom villa with its own swimming pool on or near a beach in Costa Rica or Panama, for around $2,400 a month at high season. Shared among three couples, it’s a more reasonable $800 for a month-long stay in a warm weather paradise.

A Google search reveals a wide variety in cost and allure. Many of the countries with thorny economies provide the best value for three-month stays. You won’t always have to be washing dishes, because supper out is affordable.

See whether you can indulge in your favourite passions in your country of choice: You can find anything from mountain climbing and yoga to bird watching and golfing in many countries.

The trick to a shared vacation is making it work with your friends. You need to set some basic understandings and collaborate when difficulties arise. Sharing luxurious quarters can be emotionally rewarding and JPOFGF (just plain old fashioned good fun).

Overseas options afford reasonably priced three-month stays. These destinations have become part of a growing Canadian trend: Spain, Portugal and Tunisia. This trend has developed over the last five or six years, in part, explains Dan Prior, business manager for Ontario and Maritimes for Boomerang and Exotick Tours, because of the high cost of medical insurance in the United States.

He also blames unpredictable weather in Florida. He quips that Spain is becoming less popular for Canadians because of the low quality fare in dining. “The country seems to be getting overrun with British fish and chips.”

Greg Derohanessian, co-owner of travel wholesaler Jolivac, offers two- and three-month packages in hotels or kitchenette apartments along the Costa del Sol in Spain, the Algarve in Portugal and the Tunisian Mediterranean coast.

“In these areas the number of sun days is predictable,” he says. Boomers favour places where they can do a little exploration through day excursions, he says “One advantage of going abroad for a few months is discovering a new culture.”

Most reputable travel wholesalers like Jolivac and Thomas Cooke use accommodations close to beaches “because people like to takes strolls and yet be close enough to restaurants, food markets or golf courses so they don’t have to pay for a taxi every time they go out,” Derohanessian says.

“Reputable companies will also have on-ground representatives to take care of any problems.”

A three-month stay in Portugal or Spain is $3,500 a person, including airfare and lodgings in an apartment. A similar stay in Tunisia is around $2,200, including airfare, hotel and two meals a day.

In our global economy, language isn’t a problem. According to Thomas Cooke’s Dan Prior, these areas are long-term tourist destinations.

“It’s not off the beaten path so the infrastructure is very well established. It’s is very common for most people to speak English.”

If you want to explore a new culture at a calm, unhurried pace, and want to escape from our Siberia-like winters, travelling abroad for three months is a tantalizing option.

Single ladies, get out there and see the world in complete safety

Mark Medicoff

July, 2010

For senior women, solo traveling can be a daunting, overwhelming consideration, particularly if you are newly single. But if you’re committed to challenging yourself, traveling alone can open up worlds outside and inside yourself.

Maxene Rodrigues, a Montreal high school teacher who will be retiring in a couple of years, finds traveling solo the only way to go.

“I don’t like to do group things and follow a tourist itinerary,” she says.

She’s traveled Europe, India, Asia, parts of South America and Latin America and believes the best safeguard for women traveling solo is to err on the side of caution and to be smart about your decisions.

You just have to use good old-fashioned common sense. “Traveling alone offers wonderful ways to meet different people, you just have to choose the right people to tag along with for awhile.”

Maxene meets fellow travelers at breakfast as they are planning their day. “I’ve often hooked up with someone for the day and I’ve also joined groups that happen to be heading to the same destination. Travelers are very inclusive types.”

Many guidebooks present gathering locations that are festooned with posters and bulletin boards for the independent traveler. “You can easily strike up a conversation, because people are generally very friendly when they travel. One conversation is usually enough to see if the chemistry works,” she says.

Maxene avoids ‘needy’ people, who only want to talk about their heartbreak stories.

Donna Davidson, an English as a second language and drama teacher, is a solo senior traveler who’s explored many countries, in part to supply her small handicrafts import business.

She likes to take two- and three-day mini-tours. “You can save money on your overall trip that way.” Donna avoids public transportation because “it’s really easy to get ripped off by pickpockets and be buttonholed by overly aggressive men.”

She studies her guidebooks carefully and takes along at least two. “One I use as a regular guidebook to choose places to stay or eat. The other is a lot more pictorial, so I’ll have a good idea of what I intend to see,” she says.

“I also like to book a reputable and regulated taxi service to get around and see the sights. I feel safe and comfortable and I’ve never been ripped off. I never pick up taxis from the street. In most third-world countries, guide taxis are really cheap.”

Maxene runs away from anything that sounds too good to be true. “You have to keep your wits about you and your radar on. Trust your feelings. If you don’t feel comfortable about something, the best thing is to back off. Avoid people who come up to you and want to show you the sights or places where you can get some ‘real’ bargains. But you also can’t be scared all the time or you’ll never do anything.”

Most guidebooks afford solo female travelers advice on the places and areas to avoid. Maxene follows the advice to a T. “My basic instinct is to not trust anyone, and I’ve always had a safe time traveling.”

She says it’s important to know what you’re doing. Be confident, look, act and move as though you know where you’re going. This will prevent you from looking like an easy target. Maxene and Donna warn women never to wear expensive jewelry or clothes. Some travel alerts recommend that women wear a wedding ring to avoid the wrong kind of male attention. Advances can be avoided by silence and the lack of eye contact.

Be discrete about showing your wallet when making purchases and make sure your daypack is properly secured to your body and zipped up.

If you’re hesitant about traveling alone yet still feel an unfulfilled wanderlust, there is one way you can jumpstart yourself: Organize a short, well-planned hop away from home.

Your mini-vacation will be a good way to build up confidence for that special journey you’ve always dreamed about.

Travelling solo is an open book

Since many women over 55 are taking the solo leap, you’ll find a number of websites and travel books devoted to them. These two books have received thumbs-up from Amazon.com.

A Foxy Old Woman’s Guide to Traveling Alone by Jay Ben-Lesser provides insightful basics.

Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo by Beth Whitman is a lighthearted approach with anecdotes and advice.

Panama emerges as alternative for snowbirds

Mark Medicoff

June, 2010

The loudest grumbling heard from Florida these days concerns the weather. For Montreal condo-owners who winter there, that complaint has turned into a deafening roar. After all, who likes to escape frigid Montreal and then be subject to chilly weather, nasty drenchers and, lately, gales, hurricanes, tornados, and flooding?

Over the last few years, Panama has emerged as a credible alternative for second-home buyers. Flight time is a relatively easy 51⁄2 hours from Trudeau airport. There is a booming and still affordable real-estate market in high-rise condominiums and single-family dwellings and the U.S. dollar is the official currency.

What makes this Central American country particularly appealing is its weather, reaching temperatures of 32 degrees in winter. By some geographical miracle, Panama is the only country in the region free of the devastating earthquakes and hurricanes that plague its Latin America neighbours. Panama is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Caribbean Sea on the other – the Caribbean side known for its rainier climate.

When I visited Panama last December, I was struck by its modern capital. The downtown financial centre hosts 90 banks and high-rise towers with sky-scraping building cranes throughout its core. The Bank of Nova Scotia has established a strong presence and advertises its services everywhere.

Panama City has become a North American-style metropolis with wide thoroughfares and requisite car jams, as well as almost all the familiar names in fast-food eateries. Three modern shopping centres can be found in the city – one with an ultra-modern movie plaza that rivals any you could find here.

With retirees bringing big dollars and their presence fueling the growth of the service and construction sectors, Panama has begun to compete head on with its neighbour Florida, a mere two hours away by air.

Panama’s fibreoptic infrastructure is world-class and enables access to high-speed broadband Internet everywhere. Listening to live CBC radio on my iPhone over breakfast at a seaside hotel in the stunning Pearl Islands was a real treat.

On a more practical note, Panama has American-class hospital services and is becoming an increasingly popular destination for people seeking affordable “beauty” treatments.

To encourage the growth of the senior population, the state has established incentive programs that afford special tax privileges for home ownership – deductions of 50% for home loan closing costs and imports. Other incentives provide 50% discounts for movies, 25% off some restaurants, 30% off bus, boat and train fares, and even discounts on prescriptions medicines and dental and eye exams. Many developments have shuttle buses to Panama City.

How can you qualify for these benefits? You only have to prove you have a monthly income of $500, provide a health certificate and a police report.

Another attraction for the American and Canadian expats is the affordable price of luxury condominiums and “gated” communities. Property values have increased in the last few years, a stark contrast to the housing meltdown in Florida.

A Century 21 listing of homes for sale substantiates their claim. Waterfront condos can be had for under $200,000. A block away, you might have to ante up $75,000. If your tastes run to the more opulent, $6-million villas are common. The real lure of Panama lies outside its cities. It is a haven of eco-systems, with a thousand miles of beaches and an environment of biodiverse rainforests. In 2 million hectares of national parks, hikers can enjoy a thousand species of migratory birds and a variety of flora.

Despite its virtues, Panama is not for everyone. The country’s first language is Spanish, and its bureaucracy can be daunting. Its English-language newspapers contained articles urging the government to reform the speed of services.

You have to be the type of individual who enjoys cultural diversity and living in a foreign language. Professionals in the country all speak English and English television and newspapers can be readily accessed, but that is not always the case with the man in the street. On the other hand, learning basic Spanish can be an appealing challenge.

The cost of living in Panama is a lot less than in Canada or the U.S. Expats cautioned me that a couple still needs a secure income of at least $2,500 U.S. a month, housing not included, to live comfortably. If you intend to fly home a few times a year, that figure will increase. At the very least, you can be guaranteed to bring home a suntan.

Keep in touch: mark@ theseniortimes.com