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I'm Lloyd Stevens - "El Guido" - your Guide - your Adventure Manager - or to those who have traveled with me over the years - "Old Bags Before Breakfast"! (I'll explain that someplace later). I'm starting this particular piece in October of the millennium year 2000, while sort of whale-watching from a cliff-side bistro in Hermanus, a tiny seaside town along South Africa's Garden Route. (That's the road between Cape Town and Durban). The Republic is one of my favorite haunts from halcyon years of 1960-something, and I'm thrilled to be back here again, this time visiting old friends and new places. My local guide is pal Felicity Cheerin, who ran Claridge's Hotel in Cape Town's Sea Point district. I used to house all my South African groups there. She's a walking encyclopedia on her spectacular country, a wonderful hostess, (and she would be a great race-car driver)! The picture above is taken from Blouberg, looking back across the Bay toward Cape Town's unforgettable landmark; Table Mountain. Over a nice cut lunch and a bottle of elegant Paarl Cabernet, Felicity asked; "Why don't you write a book for real, or would-be senior travelers? You've designed and operated more tours for them than almost anybody, so surely you're an expert - and don't others deserve to learn from your experiences, so they can plan for and take part in some world trekking on their own"? Although I shied away from the 'expert' label ("X" is an unknown quantity, and "spurt" is a drip, under pressure), I did get to thinking about her challenge. Maybe if I looked back over the notes and experiences of forty years of travel management, I might find a clue or two which could prove helpful - even encouraging to some new and timorous trekker out there, at or in the puzzling category of 'Senior Thrill Seeker'. In 1960 I got to design and operate my first big tour for Crow Publications' Western Livestock Journal. We took 300 U.S. cattlemen and their wives to Hawaii on what was then the largest commercial tour group ever to visit the Islands. I was 'hooked' on travel management - and apparently the livestock folks thought I did OK, because they continued to support my Industry World Tours programs all over the world for the next 25 years. Working with Kansan Tom Maupin and SABENA Belgian Airlines' Andy Myser, I helped to design and then operate the first U.S. Executive Exchange Delegation to the Soviet Union in the same year. Those of us who were there for that first May Day parade will never forget INTOURIST's early attempts to host a bunch of loud, nosey capitalists. (And I will never forget one flamboyant tour member who smuggled himself inside the parade; then got a friendly wave from Khrushchev - just before they jailed him). There were lots of repeat visits to Russia after that, along with other Iron Curtain and Western European countries - and an interesting feature of American cattle ranching prompted many tours south of the equator. Serious ranchers have limited travel times throughout the year - usually in the dead of winter - before spring calves start to arrive. The best places to visit in January and February turn out to be Africa, and South America, or the South Pacific. "Down Under" summers are in reverse - and we cast many happy shadows on far-away places with strange-sounding names. To me, the really interesting aspect of these adventures was that all those thousands of tour members were what we now call 'senior citizens'. Developing and managing travel for folks in this category bore little resemblance to projects my travel companies undertook for our customers in the 'standard age' category - (from 25 to 45). Most of my tour members were solid citizens, kids grown and flown, who owned their properties and businesses; many of whom had reached comfortable retirement status. True, a certain amount of bone-creaking and medicine taking were part of our daily routines - and we didn't go for mountain climbing, water skiing or bungee jumping - not once! We were a group of enthusiastic, non-ugly Americans off to see the world, ready to enjoy every new adventure in culture and friendship the planet had to offer. We traveled with an attitude of active wonder, and grasped all opportunities to make new friends abroad - particularly among those who were 'different' from ourselves. I think the travel industry in those days tended to treat potential customers differently. Many of the men folk in my groups had already been abroad - traveling in a much larger group - like the U.S. Army. The prospect of international travel did not intimidate them - and they were enthusiastic adventurers. Today's seniors are 'baby boomers', who look at the world as a much more formidable and dangerous place - and in my view - fall easy prey to the blandishments of over-priced venues close to home. Until recently, any place where we might see soldiers with guns visibly patrolling airports, streets or public places was to be studiously avoided. Not that there aren't thousands of interesting places to see and visit right here in the USA - it's just that we senior folk resent being limited to Yankee venues - when we'd like to see the world! If the travel industry won't offer international destinations to us, we quickly succumb to that creepy feeling the world out there is an unknown quantity - therefore frightening, dangerous and to be avoided! I don't believe that's 'right thinking' - so have decided to take up my South African friend's gauntlet, resurrect a few 'how-to's' from notes and foibles of yesteryear. If any of these travel recipes are helpful to you, I hope you'll let me know. You'll discover I still plan to keep traveling internationally, and no, 70 is not 'too old'. Maybe you'll decide to become a fellow explorer' on one of my personal safaris - or perhaps join one of those few group projects operated by others I consider worthy of your consideration.
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Hi.
Hello. Buenos
- Bienvenido - Bon
Jour, G'Day, Mate! (You choose, or add).