What Kind of Traveler Are You?
If you are like most folks, you either find traveling appealing, exhilarating, even addicting, or just too expensive and a hassle. We happen to be in the first group. We thrive on the change in climate, environment, and interactions of the northern and southern hemispheres. Not to mention east and west! Every time we travel, we get ideas from fellow travelers of other magical destinations. However, we certainly have our challenging moments, especially involving air travel with our golden retrievers. For moments we want nothing more than to retreat to the comfort an security of our own beds for good. But, mostly, we love not knowing what is around the next bend in the road. We relish the continual surprises, ever-changing vistas, and the excitement of making new friends from the far corners of the earth. And conversing in Spanish and French whenever the opportunity arise.
What they say about six degrees of separation is true: how many of you have found yourselves in the most unlikely places and ended up, to your mutual delight, meeting a long-lost friend, or at least a friend of a friend? We persisted in finding an off-the-beaten track vegetarian restaurant, Lehka hlava, for lunch in Prague last greeted, upon arrival, and asked whether we had a reservation, which we did not. No problem, we were assured, as the hostess led us to a small waiting area while a table became available. Ten minutes later another couple arrived, also awaiting a table. Noticing that they were speaking English, we inquired as to where they were from: Vancouver, WA. Hmmm. We commented that we were from Whidbey Island, WA, to which they responded that they had just visited Langley a few weeks earlier. On the beach of Whidbey Island. We live in Langley, on the beach, a five-minute walk from where they stayed. Small world. “Oh”, Bob asked the gentleman, “Is that where you were born?” The gentleman revealed his birthplace: Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Now, would you believe that Bob attended college in that very town, which must have had a population of 5,000 max at the time. Hearing a hint of an accent in the woman’s voice, we wondered aloud where she was from originally. “Chile.” Now that rang a chord, since we live half-time in Chile. At that point the hostess returned to inform us that our table was ready. We suggested that, given the synchronicity, we share lunch.
As the menus arrived, Judyth asked the Chilean woman where she had grown up. “Santiago.” Now Santiago is quite a metropolis, but a surprisingly small one. Then for some odd reason her intuition led Judyth to press forward, “You don’t, by any chance, know a musician friend of ours, Andres Cóndon, do you?” Broadly smiling, the woman, quickly becoming a friend, told us, “We went to high school together at St. George’s.” “Because, Judyth continued, we are on our way to visit him and his wife in Germany. And they stayed with us last year on a music tour of the Northwest.” “No way,” was the next reply. “They performed a concert at our home just before they visited you!” And that is not the first time something like that has happened to us on our travels. Had we not befriended the couple in the first place, we never would have discovered the remarkable synchronicities.
Which leads us to our first universal stress-relieving tip, even before homeopathy!
Be Friendly!
Whether or not you speak the same language or have anything else in common, smiles are universal. And knowing a few basic words in a number of languages comes in handy in a pinch. Bonjour brings out the pearly whites of many a Haitian visitor here in Chile (apparently 125,000 have immigrated over the past year to work). A salaam aleikhum brightens the countenance of Muslims worldwide, and you can always count on Buenos días to open doors! Petting the local Fidos (mon p’tit bon bon or whatever the local nom de preférence) will make you quite popular and admiring a baby anywhere can almost make you part of the family! Whether you are enjoying a day on the beach, stuck in a crowded subway or interminable airport line, it’s always more pleasant to make connections. This is the polar opposite of the, unfortunately true, tale of the rude, impatient businessman, annoyed to no end that he had to wait in line along with many other, far less entitled, travelers after their plane was canceled. Butting in line, he bellowed to the flight attendant, flaunting his self-perceived importance: “Do you know who I am?” The quick-witted, courageous, likely exhausted attendant, announced over the intercom: “We have a gentleman here who doesn’t remember who he is. Can someone help him?” Outraged, he responded with a different F word…. the opposite of “friendly!”
Be Flexible!
Staying home, although it may bring its ups and downs, is nothing like the unpredictability of travel! The more you try to calculate, pigeon hole, plan ahead, nail down, and get your ducks in a row, the more you will be thrown a curve! We’re not surfers, but travel must be like riding the next wave. The fun, if we can remind ourselves in those trying moments, is in not knowing, letting go, being surprised. The bathroom may be a hole in the ground that smells terrible (love that Chilean word, hediondo mean malodorous), the food a gourmet delight or a tough piece of shoe leather, the mattress and pillow hard as a rock. But it all depends on how you look at it.
One of our most dicey travel moments turned out quite nicely. One of the heartiest adventures of our lives (2010), in the Brazilian Amazon, was “supposed to” end with a return flight from Rio de Janeiro to Santiago, Chile, where we had left a box of our belongings in custodia, ending with a few days in the Maipo Valley with expat friends, then home to Seattle. We were greeted, unnervingly, by the LAN Airlines (now LATAM) gate attendant with, no joke, the Spanish equivalent of “There has just been a massive earthquake in Chile and the world is ending.” Chilean travelers were in chaos, no phone calls to Chile were going through, and LAN was particularly unhelpful. Alaska Airlines came to our rescue, probably the opposite of LAN, assuring us that they would happily reroute our mileage plan tickets and get us back to Seattle the next day via American Airlines, one of their partners (the box stuck in the Santiago airport was another expensive and much delayed story). With a day to spare in Rio, we turned lemons into lemonade by spending a night at a charming hostel in the delightful, artistic Santa Teresa district and enjoyed a guided tour of Rocinha, the largest favela (slum) in Rio, which, at the time had a population of 69,000 and more weapons than a small country. We were warned (seriously) not to take photos of anyone with a cell phone (they were the drug lords and didn’t play around). That 3-hour experience was one of the most fascinating anywhere anytime. If we had just freaked out and stayed at the airport, we would have truly missed out.
Be Curious!
For those whose plans and ideas are not set in stone, travel is a wonderful way to learn totally new ways of thinking, eating, being, doing, and leading your life. It was Judyth’s first trip to South America in 1970 that completely diverted her plans to pursue a PhD in Spanish literature at Stanford, which ended instead with her working as a Vista volunteer with chicanos in El Paso. What if your next trip were to totally change the course of your life? What if you were to meet someone unforgettable who would have a profound impact on you? What if a destination that you least expected ended up being a home for you? When we set off on a mother-ship kayaking journey in Patagonia thirteen years ago, we never would have dreamed of stewarding a piece of land in Chile, then turning it into a paradise! An unending sense of wonder, awe, and even bewilderment, can be just the medicine you need to shake you out of your previous “reality.”
Stay Healthy!
Speaking of medicine, you may be wondering how we plan to interweave homeopathy into this discussion. Wait no longer. Our latest book, The Savvy Traveler’s Guide to Homeopathy and Natural Medicine: Tips to Stay Healthy Wherever You Go is full of indispensible advice from how to prevent being ripped off, sun- damaged, mosquito-ridden, water- and food-poisoned. We give user-friendly tips on how to prevent, heal, and survive 68 common travel health problems from altitude sickness to deep vein thrombosis, fear of flying to head lice, hepatitis and parasites, and lots more. The book and kit weigh only a little over a pound.
Travel Anxiety and Panic
It can be a frightening ride for travelers these days, especially for immigrants or racial minorities. Plane seats are more cramped than ever, amenities greatly reduced, and whether it be a proud, feisty peacock or a disgruntled human in the seat next to you, there’s simply a much higher level of unpredictability and edginess. There are many places in the world where tension is prevalent and a mood of chaos seems to be on the rise. You may worry about finding yourself in a situation of danger, though you may are probably more likely to encounter problems close to home.
First, remember our suggestions above: be friendly, flexible, and curious! If you are in an uncomfortable, difficult, or dangerous situation, plain and simple, take Aconite.
Aconitum napellus (Monkshood): This is the first remedy to consider for sheer anxiety or panic. Whether you are dreading planes and crowds, fearful of riots and unexpected natural disasters, Aconite is likely to help. If you find yourself in an airplane with terrifying turbulence, on a dark street in questionable company, or in a stadium or theater where confusion and panic arise, this is the remedy of choice.
Our friends and colleagues, Roger Morrison. M.D. and Nancy Herrick, P.A. traveled to Bali in October, 2005 just as we headed to Costa Rica for a yoga retreat. Rather than enjoy the R and R that they expected, they found themselves on a working vacation administering homeopathic and emergency assistance to the traumatized, mostly-Australian bombing victims. You never know!
After taking Aconite, there should be a change in the shock, restlessness, panic, heart palpitations, rapid heartbeat, and fear of impending death to a relative feeling of calm, sometimes within minutes. If you don’t have access to Aconite, in a pinch take some Rescue Remedy.
Travel Discomfort Plain and Simple
Unless you have the great fortune to travel first or business class, you are likely to be crammed, cramped, and crowded. Each year that we travel, we seem to encounter some new affront or insult to our comfort, even on the same airlines and flights that we have known for years. The bulkhead is either not available or you may be pushed out (the euphemism is “asked to be reseated”) by a passenger with disabilities. (Anyone with disabilities should surely be given the most comfortable seats, but it can be discouraging to choose seats far ahead then be moved to a highly undesirable seat.) Or you are required to pay for your seat of choice. Then there is the added inconvenience, indignity, and anxiety of not being able to reserve a seat at all if you have been lucky enough to score a cut-rate budget fare. We used to enjoy our often-successful strategy of getting to sleep two or even three seats across on international flights, but that is extremely rare now (sorry, but we’re keeping a few road warrior secrets to ourselves).
Rhus toxicodendron (poison ivy): This is by far the most common remedy for travel muscle and joint stiffness and cramps. For the tension, tightness, and contraction that results from feeling like a sardine in a can. Getting up to stretch, using rubber resistance bands, practicing plane yoga, walking loops up and down the plane aisles and around the back are not always possible these days. Nor is sticking your feet out into aisle (those bulkhead passengers are the lucky ducks). Rhus tox. is a lifesaver when all you want to do is wiggle, stretch, move… anything to offset the feeling of being stuck, contracted, stiff and tight.
Gotta Get There Yesterday
There are a couple of remedies that the testy traveler at the ticket counter whom we talked about earlier could have used: They are Nux vomica (poison nut) and Argentum nitricum (silver nitrate). Nux vomica is the answer for downright Type-A impatience, irritability, and rudeness. The individual is pushy, highly competitive, may suffer from heartburn, and tends to drink too much. If this sounds like you, best to pass on the free airplane booze. Argentum nitricum is a better fit if you are constantly eyeing your watch to make sure you’re not late or haven’t missed a meeting, It’s also another good airplane anxiety remedy for folks who get anxious in tight spaces (like planes or elevators) or on bridges.
Breathe In, Breathe Out
No matter where you are, where you’ve been, or where you’re going, you can count on one thing: you need to breathe to live. That’s the bottom line regardless of whatever thoughts float in and out of your brain. So, if you forget everything else we’ve mentioned in this article, just BREATHE! News flash: Just as we were about to submit this article, concluding with our advice about breathing, we happened upon this Huffington Post news feed: “Farting Passenger Forces Plane to Make Emergency Landing.” https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/transavia-airlines-farting-passenger_us_5a8af930e4b05c2bcacddc9b We still stand by our advice to breathe heartily (in yoga, they say that the lifespan is counted in breaths rather than years—the slower you breathe, the longer you will live). But, if you find yourself on a plane in a situation like this, maybe it’s a good time to pull out your gas mask!
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