Boldly Go Solo

Adventure trip ideas for men traveling solo?

The large majority of single-sex adventure trips are geared towards women, a fact that gets under the skin of some male readers. Recently, I've begun receiving e-mail info from a company that promotes adventure trips by breaking them into categories such as "deal of the week," "family adventures," "women only" and, interestingly, "men's interest." Not "men only," but men's "interest."

I hoped, finally, I could point men toward trips geared specifically for them. Sad to say, the promotions are more a marketing conceit than anything else.

For instance, one listing promotes Bar Harbor, Maine, as "Adventure Central." So why is that "men's interest?" The release says, "Outfitters and vendors in the town of 4,820 year round residents offer sea kayaking instruction, mountain bike touring, a mountain climbing school, sailing adventures, birding expeditions, even motorcycle trips spanning the park."

I, too, like the sound of kayaking, biking, mountain climbing and sailing. Is it the motorcycle trips that make it "men's interest?" Hm.

One promotion that made me smile, though, was the suggestion that men go to 4UR Ranch in Creede, Colorado. The ranch has seven miles of private stream that will "stun even the most devout fly fishing enthusiasts." 

Fishing reminded me of "Defending the Caveman," a hilarious show about differences between the sexes. One riff is about how men don't bond by talking, as women do, but that fishing might bring them together. Says the "caveman" in his monologue:

"Men don't bond through conversation. Oh, we'll have one. We just don't bond that way. You know how men bond? It's just a lot of 'hanging out.' That's why men invent things like fishing.

"What is fishing? It's the barest excuse of an activity. It's the smallest goal you can possibly have. You've got a string in the water--something could happen.

"But--you gotta have that. You can't say to another guy, 'Hey Chuck. Wanna just go sit together by a lake?' Of course Chuck wouldn't want to go! You say, 'Come on, we'll go fishin.' And then, you can sit together all day long."

What's even funnier about the email promotion of the fishing retreat for men is that in another email, the same ranch is promoted as a "women's only fly fishing retreat" during one special week.

Utah: Home to some of the best national parks in the country

Utah has some of the best national parks in the country. And I mean, spectacular. When I saw this article, it struck me all over again how cool a place the Beehive state is for fantastic scenery and action adventure.

I have visited four out of the five top parks (at least as designated by the writer) by going solo on adventure trips. One was with Holiday Expeditions, the other with Backroads. And I would highly recommend both companies.

One of my first set-out-solo trips was mountain biking and whitewater rafting on the Green and Colorado rivers with Holiday Expeditions.

On the Holiday Expeditions trip our group of five went mountain biking in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and then joined a larger group to raft through Canyonlands. So peaceful and mellow drifting through the canyons, bathing in the river, relaxing by the shore. No electronics whatsoever. Clocks and watches unnecessary. Just drift and eat and soak in the colorful rock formations and hike the smooth chasms where the river has cut through to form a winding path.

The fab five from the biking portion formed such a tight bond that when the trip ended, four of us who didn't have immediate flights home drove our three cars by caravan to Moab, Utah and stayed overnight.

The next day we explored Arches National Park together before we had to fly home to our respective corners of the country: Washington, New York and California. For years, my favorite t-shirt was "Go with the Flow," purchased at the company's store.

Driving cross country solo. Or with dog

Most people think of a cross-country journey as a road trip with friends, a once-in-a-lifetime rite of passage. But a D.C. writer has done it all by her lonesome. Twice. (Hm, with her dog as co-pilot, does that make it a buddy trip?)

And it sounds as though she would consider doing it again. I liked her story.  She writes:

"There are much faster and less expensive ways to get the the left coast, and frankly, covering 350 to 750 miles as a solo driver every day is a lot of work. But the payoff was so rich and treasure-filled the first time that I was drawn to make the journey again in December."

Her 10 lessons for doing such a journey well include tips such as studying maps in advance and choosing some must-see sights to visit: renting a car if the one you own is "not as loyal as your dog;" amusing yourself with music, podcasts and road games such as tracking license plates or counting the number of RV's you spot; and wandering off your set route from time to time, or changing your route altogether, if something compelling comes up.

The writer, Melanie D.G. Kaplan, scheduled stops to see friends, and made new ones on the road. A dog seems to be a nice ice breaker, so it might be worth renting one of those too, if you don't have one.

I don't foresee a cross-country road trip in my future. (For one, I'm too prone to napping while in a car and that's not a useful trait in a solo driver.)

But I do relish driving on my own sometimes. Often the trip has been from Washington, D.C. to New York.

I like being able to stop wherever I want, for as long as I want. And buying all the junk food I'm in the mood for without sheepishly looking at a travel companion. Especially one who might tsk, tsk. And veering off randomly, whether to shop at an outlet mall or feast at a New Jersey diner. (Hm, food seems to be a theme here.)

Lately, I've been thinking about driving from D.C. to Charleston, South Carolina, for a meeting I'm planning to go to in a few months. We'll see...

Photo: Ellen Perlman. Tucson

Philadelphia offers many options for the solo traveler

Like every city, Philadelphia has a range of activities for single, as well as partnered residents.Though they may be geared for locals, they are a good way for solo travelers to ease any isolation they may feel while visiting a big city. Philly also offers some excellent dining and drinking options for those on their own.

Let's start with some activities. The Bicycle Club of Philadelphia has regularly scheduled free rides in the evenings and on weekends, plus special events such as barbecues, banquets and picnics.

Are you a runner? The Fishtown Beer Runners has three- to five-mile runs on Thursday evenings followed by a visit to a local pub for some quality craft beer. The motto on their blog:

"Responsible running and drinking in the interest of science. 'So, ya wanna join us?' "

Fun! I might have to drive to Philly one Thursday just to experience that.

Dancer, or wannabe dancer? Try the Society Hill Dance Academy, where $20 gets you a drop-in class with a 45-minute intro to salsa, cha-cha, foxtrot and rumba. At DanceSport Academy, the timing might be tricky for visitors. The ballroom and Latin dance socials for $10, including drinks, dancing and performances, are only held monthly.

These dance socials usually are ways for studios to sell ongoing lessons to prospective dancers. But there's no reason you can't go and enjoy the dance as an out-of-towner, then be on your way. The Peppermint Dance Club caters to an older crowd, offering beginner and intermediate dance lessons followed by a dance party, three nights a week.

Learning about Irish history after a trip to Northern Ireland

I just put the movie "Bloody Sunday" on my Netflix list. (Clearly, this is not going to be your typical St. Patrick's Day green-beer travel story.)

The movie is a docu-drama about a massacre of unarmed civilian demonstrators in the Catholic Bogside district of Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1972. And, according to the review, "the event has been blamed for turning peaceful dissent into two decades of civil war, and inspiring thousands of young men to join the IRA."
 
After reading recently about the movie--and this is where the travel part comes in--I realized I don't know as much about this event as I'd like. Because I visited Northern Ireland in 2007, including Derry, I now find myself wanting to become more educated about how some of the worst strife started. Even more than a year later.

This is what travel does. It opens your eyes to things you might not have paid close attention to before.

The same thing happened during my college days. After spending my junior year in England, and traveling around Europe between terms, I became enamored of Italian art. When I returned my senior year, I took an entire year of art survey courses, excited to learn more about what I'd seen abroad.

Often I was able to envision where that art was made, or is now hung, in European museums. And that made those courses three-dimensional and pulled me in more than they might have otherwise.

Some people have always loved reading about history and culture. I guess I'm one of those people who needs to "touch." Once I visit a country, I'm forever interested in learning more about it. From the news. From books. From movies.

When I watch Bloody Sunday," not only will I be interested in the story but I will also keep my eyes peeled for places I might have been in Derry/Londonderry (what you call it depends on your political perspective.)

That added depth of experience about history and the world is what keeps me traveling. Whether someone's willing to join me on any given trip, or not.

Oh, and um, happy St. Patty's Day.

Photos: Ellen Perlman.
The walled city of Derry

Solo travelers: "The world can be your oyster" - the Boston Globe

A story in today's Boston Globe gives great common sense tips and encouraging stories on the joys of solo travel and preparation for doing so safely. Funny enough, the writer, Kari Bodnarchuk, a great adventurer (and gear head) was on my recent travel writers' trip to Egypt.

She writes:

"What surprised me once I hit the road was that I was rarely alone. Locals took me in and I met other travelers en route."

Virtually all solo travelers with an open mind and a welcoming demeanor usually express something similar to friends and family when upon return from a solo trip.

Kari closes with reasons why everyone should try solo travel at least once. It is the connections with people you meet that make travel meaningful. If you're traveling with friends or family, you are much less likely to make those connections.

Alone? It's incredible how often it happens. (see this post and this post)

As Kari puts it:

"By the time I arrived home I had forgotten the names of the mountains I had climbed and the museums and temples I had visited, but I remembered clearly each friend I had made along the way."

Photo: Solo traveler Ellen (blog author) and new friend Mauricio from Chile who met during a day trip to Segovia, Spain (see link above). His sister Paola took the photo.

Top 10 most exciting ferries in the world

Travel writers of the U.S. and Canada have come up with a list of the world's top 10 ferry rides, and you don't necessarily want to argue with people who travel for a living. (But of course you can, if you want.)

Can't say I've ever seen a poll ranking ferries. But I like this list. And, I was glad I'd ridden two out of the 10: the British Columbia ferry system and the Staten Island ferry (I grew up in New York). Seems, however, I've got a ways to go.

The number one ferry, by vote of the Society of American Travel Writers members, is the Star Ferry in Hong Kong, "crammed with views and people to create the cheapest multi-cultural, multi-sensory cruise experience in the world," writes travel journalist Chris McBeath.

Number two are the ferries from Sausalito to San Francisco, California.

I loved the sound of this one: "The Alaska State Ferry system's 'blue canoes' allow overnight passengers to pitch their tents on deck, surely one of the most unusual camping experiences," according to journalist Janet Fullwood.

I want to do this! Tell me, solo travelers, you wouldn't end up talking to people "camped" around you? Of course, you would. (But how do you bang your tent pegs into the deck??)

Interestingly, ferries ply the waters of the most urban landscapes and the seemingly most out of the way places. They can be high speed or lumbering giants. And they can be a great, often inexpensive and sometimes downright dirt cheap way to tour cities and vast and beautiful wilderness areas.

My most memorable ferry ride was somewhere in the waters of the Inside Passage on the northern tip of Vancouver Island. I'd finished a sea kayaking trip that I'd joined as a solo traveler (had a fantastic time and a great tent mate) and had a couple of days to explore the area on my own.

I took the ferry that plied the vast waters up there, to an island famous for its totem poles. On the way back, I dozed off and awoke to someone pulling gently on my sleeve. "Is this your stop?" Oh lordy, thank goodness she'd heard me ask someone if I was on the right boat back to Vancouver Island. She did me a real favor waking me up.

I had visions of ending up on some outer island with no way to get back until morning. But you know what? That could have been the adventure of a lifetime and a great story to tell. I don't go anywhere without a credit card, so someone, somewhere would have put me up.

Still, I was grateful for her watchful eye and it once again reminded me that in general, people watch out for one another. Especially when they see you're on your own.

Photo: Ellen Perlman. The clipper ferry from Seattle to Vancouver Island.

Boldlygosolo, travel blog for solo travelers, is on twitter @boldlygosolo

Boldlygosolo can also be found on twitter at: www.twitter.com/boldlygosolo, as you may already know from all my tweets from Egypt. I remind you of this in case you are into twitter and would like to follow information about vacations and travel via a twitter account.

For those of you not that familiar with it (yet), twitter is a microblog that allows me to write 140 character items/updates. It's a place to have more of a conversation than on a "regular" blog.

I'm not here to sell anyone on twitter - your life is your own, my friends - but just to tell you there often will be information there that's not on this blog. That's because I might "retweet" posts from other travel bloggers, about bargains, or fun places, or whatever. Usually, I'll retweet when someone has provided an interesting Web site link with good travel information.

If you have no interest in twittering whatsoever, you can always read my "tweets" in the column that currently is located all the way to the bottom of this screen, to the right. (I will move it to a more prominent place during the times I'm on the road and writing about it every minute.)

You can see what I mean about retweeting by looking at the link provided by Donna Hull yesterday about bargain travel in New York City.

Anyway...it's also possible you could live a completely fulfilled and happy life without reading any tweets from me at all.

Photo: Ellen Perlman. Luxor Temple

Four tips for finding friends when traveling alone

Friends often seem just to appear when you're traveling solo, as I've written in many previous posts. But I enjoyed this amusing blog post on four ways to up the odds, written by Travel Betty. She describes those times when you just want to talk to someone instead of being on your own.

An abbreviated version of her tips:

One: seize on any commonality to open a conversation.

Two: scope out the scene at a restaurant and get yourself seated near the person or people you think you'd like to meet.

Three: remind yourself that you're not seeking a best friend, just someone to pass the time with for a little while.

And four: keep in mind that people at home like you, why wouldn't people in whatever country you're visiting? (hm, I don't think of this as a case of "ooh, people won't like me" but, whatever.)
  
I will add number five that is in direct contradiction, but also an addition, to tip  number one. And that is, approach people quite different from you. Those with whom you might have little commonality at all. Now, they're going to be interesting!

That's what happened in Egypt when I saw a gaggle of girls in head scarves giggling and chatting in the souk in Cairo. It was a sight to see for me, these young girls in colorful garb. Well, I shouldn't say sight to see so much as photo to take.

It was a little uncomfortable, but I approached them and asked if they minded if I took their photo. I wasn't sure they understood English, so I did the old charades motioning thing.

But their English was great. They were college kids hanging out after classes and they were only too pleased to meet Americans and talk about their classes and their lives in Cairo. Even gave me a demo of how to tie a head scarf after I asked.

Well, I don't think I actually asked for a demo. That's a bit forward. I happened to notice that they used pins to secure the scarves, when I'd always thought that Muslim women were just skilled in wrapping them tightly to keep them in place. I asked about that. One thing led to another. (And though I got the demo, I couldn't for the life of me repeat what they showed me.)

I've been back from Egypt for several weeks now, but yesterday I emailed, as promised, this and other photos to the young women who'd given me their addresses.

All in all, it was a very unlonely afternoon!

Photo: Ellen Perlman. Three college women, Cairo souk.

 

The dollar is strong so go forth and travel, if you can

The dollar surges again, finally, against other countries' currencies. Now, the question is, do you still have a job and some travel money to burn? A lot of people are hunkering down but here's the good news, according to Arthur Frommer: In some cases, the dollar has risen up to 50 percent against other currencies, including the Australian dollar. In New Zealand it's gone up 70 percent.

This time last year, I was assigned a story on how people are going to Europe despite the bite that spending was taking. And boy, did it hurt.

Now the situation's flip-flopped for Americans and you can live like a king or queen. Or maybe just like a jack (or is it a maid-in-waiting?) depending on your budget and your situation. 

In any case, keep your eye on the dollar and see what's possible over the next few months or year.