Trifter

My first trip abroad came with the help of my mother pushing me into it. I worked at Boeing and was talked into taking my dream trip to see Greece, Israel and Egypt through a travel club plan. I had read most of the mythologies of the world by the time I was in eighth grade, finding the changing tales and traumas of the princesses, toads and dragons provided much fuel for my imagination. Who could not want to see where Theseus unwound the string in the Minos labyrinth with the aid of a beautiful princess Ariadne whose heart was broken when he deserted her?

Travel Lesson Number 1 : Travel while You’re Young

Many of the travelers on my trip were 60 or older and this was their trip abroad. One man was on oxygen and couldn’t see Athen’s Acropolis except from afar since he couldn’t climb the steps. Typically, I and another girl also in her twenties could run up the hill, photograph and see everything above, wander around, sit and chat with people, while the members of our tour were still climbing. Travel takes energy as well as time.

Important Lesson : If you don’t have a travel companion, try one of the nonprofit organizations like Earthwatch or through trips through a University since they can help match you and provide a convenient and safe group environment.

Important Lesson: Choose the most rigorous places to see while young, you’ll be able to adapt better to changes in altitude, diet, and manage strenuous activities.

Travel Less Number 2 : Protect Yourself

As the youngest woman aboard our cruise, I was the target of advances by everyone, mostly old and in the oddest locations. To make matters worse, imagine my horror when I found out our cruise line was Love Tours to Greece.Love wasn’t what I was seeking. I wanted adventure.

Important Lesson: Beware being outside after dark by yourself.

Important Lesson: Take part in group activities to keep pestering to a minimum.

Important Lesson: React honestly. I laughed when the first suggestion came along from a widower old enough to be my grandfather. He laughed too and the problem went away easier than having to say, sorry, no thank you.

Important Lesson: The young ladies often were seated with the Captain, a randy old man who had a different woman a night. Ignore others lifestyles and enjoy your trip, whatever treats are offered for free.

Travel Lesson #3 : Allow Spontaneity

Because I travelled alone, I signed up for every side trip, every day and found I spent my entire vacation in a bus. We hurried to the Pyramids and stopped for a half-hour for a photograph opportunity. We saw the Sphinx by sunset, pausing for thirty seconds. My most fun spontaneous outing occurred when a bunch of us went to a Taverna in Greece, finding ourselves treated with free bottles of wine, fruit, a belly dancer, and college students getting toasted and dancing as a group.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Important Lesson : Make sure that you have the freedom to travel on foot and see on your own on your vacations. Plan to get somewhere, know what is possible then wander. There is nothing worse than seeing a Greek beach from a dusty bus with no plans for stopping.

Image via Wikipedia

Important Lesson : Lectures are good but you can read them beforehand since you’ll likely miss 75% of what is said on a tour due to accents, noise, and group dynamics. Seek to know the area, people, and history while you are there.

Greece, Israel and Egypt were a memorial trip for me. I saw where John the Baptist wrote Revelations. I saw the difference between an ordered excusably paranoid harbor in Israel that required divers checking the ship for mines while security men searched the quarters for bombs, and a disordered Egypt with thousands of ships and harried staff and animals left to rot on the freeway. And I saw the way Apartheid affected people from South Africa and found out the way your passport could prevent you from entering a country. And I learned that my wages as a decalmaker for the Boeing company were better than the doctors wages in Greece. You learn more about the world by seeing that you can every learn in a book. But only if you go.