Expeditions
‘R Us
By Dr. Jeri Fink
Do you believe
that expeditions aren’t for Boomers?
Think again.
I’ve been on two
expedition cruises – celebrating my 60th and 62nd
birthdays – on the Linblad/National Geographic Explorer and Endeavor.
Now I’m thinking
about celebrating my 65th by following Lewis & Clark on the
Snake and Columbia Rivers, searching for Orangutans in Indonesia, exploring the
Amazon, or checking out Loch Ness in Scotland.
Expeditions are a
special brand of travel. You tour on small, tough ships that are comfortable but
without the amenities of luxury cruises. Instead of a cruise director and staff,
there’s an expedition team, naturalists, and science-oriented speakers who give
presentations on everything from politics and geology to ecotourism. There’s no
art auction or midnight buffet – hikes, explorations, zodiacs, snorkels, and destination-appropriate
adventures are the entertainment.
My first
expedition cruise was to Antarctica. People asked me why we wanted to go to the
icy bottom of the world. The next generation smirked. “Why wouldn’t
you go to a beach?”
We were starry-eyed explorers behind our
sunglasses!
Antarctica was a
breathtaking experience, filled with icebergs, penguins, whales, and a sense of
what the world looks like without human
intervention. (see August 20, 2013)
When we returned
with photos, videos and life-changing experiences, the kids were impressed. And
curious. Everyone wanted to know what it was like at the bottom of the world.
Two years later
my son and his wife joined us on our next expedition to the Galapagos Islands.
We sailed on the Endeavor to a
magical place with strange and beautiful creatures. There were King Angelfish, Yellow
Warblers, Great Blue Herons, and Orange Land Iguanas. Not to mention our
favorite, Blue-footed Boobies.
We saw Sea Lions
cavort in the water and on land, watched a flock of Pelicans begging for scraps
from a local fisherman, and visited prehistoric-looking Galapagos Giant Tortoises,
who “smiled” as they moved along in slow motion.
Sally Lightfoot
crabs sunned on volcanic cliffs while Great Frigate Birds puffed up their red finery
in a colorful mating ritual.
The world would
never look the same!
Now our kids have kids – along with mortgages and
lawn mowers. They’re no longer free to travel the world – like us.
There’s pure joy
in seeing places where few venture. So
much awaits beyond the beaches and resorts of conventional travel destinations.
If you prefer to stay domestic, consider expeditions that follow breaching
Humpback whales in Alaska, a living Aquarium in Baja California, or the land of
the Nez Perce Indians in the Pacific Northwest. Or stay in your "backyard" with a DIY expedition, visiting caverns, strange land formations, ancient settlements, and nature's anomalies that surround all of us.
There’s so much to see and
experience – no bottom to our bucket list. So why stay home?
If your kids
think you’re crazy, don’t worry. Your grandkids think you’re heroes. Look at it
this way - why do they need explorers like Lewis & Clark, Marco Polo, and Christopher
Columbus when they have Nana and Poppy?
Dr.
Jeri Fink is a proud boomer and the author of hundreds of articles and over nineteen
published books. Her new series, Broken, re-invents the art of storytelling in six separate thrillers that
follow dramatic, related paths through genealogical time, from the present back
to the 15th century. Each novel focuses on psychopaths, their
prey, and heroes trapped in their zeitgeist. Broken will be launched in Spring, 2014.
Visit Jeri at
her website: www.drjerifink.com or
email her at drjeri@drjerifink.com
3 comments:
Jeri, that's fantastic and I totally agree with you! Traveling were other people go is simply...boring! I've always felt that way, and I was very lucky in my job - for 20 years, I traveled around the globe going to places where no tourist ever ventured, in the deepest heart of Africa, in the mountains of Peru, in the Caribbean islands, like, for example, on the border between Haiti and St Domingo...What I saw was often desperate people and desperate situations, but that is life - real life - in developing countries.
No place for tourists.
And I learned a lot about the human condition. I believe that what I learned has inspired me to write now and become a fiction writer. I still have to write about those poor people in the Third World (I'm first trying to establish a following of readers...I'm not there yet!) but then, I will do it. I must do it.
Btw, are you writing about your travel? It would be fascinating to read you, to learn from you what you have learned!
Both the posting and first comment are fascinating; tours less-traveled but with adventure, learning, and memories of meaning for all of us.
Great article. I enjoyed reading about your adventures. Thanks for sharing.
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