START NOW, SEE THE WORLD

Presentation at MidLife Show, 29 October 2016

My purpose today is to help you get started.  You won’t see the world in one year … however, we can start dreaming today together on the next step.  If you start now, join a travel club, put your intentions out to the universe … I can assist you to see the world.

Be open to the inspiration of travel.

Travel changes lives.  Travel is inspiring.

Travel can be affordable, fun and do-able when you travel as part of a group.

You will venture to places you now don’t even maybe know are there.

You will experience bucket list destinations.

You will enrich your midlife.  Bring your family, bring your friends, or come out and meet new travel companions.  The world is here for you!

Summer of 2014 I retired from Government work after almost 30 years as a Probation Officer.

But before then I was looking for different ideas for business, and for income.  I don’t receive a full pension because, like many of you, I was working part time to stay home to care for my children when they were small.  I have almost always had multiple jobs and interests.

The Retirement years are full of possibility.  I started to think about how I wanted to spend my time and then I began to imagine how I could put that together.

For the first 18 months or so I travelled …. I am still travelling and yet now I have found I want more structure (and income) so I have gone back to work – related but not as intense kind of work…..To help pay for my lifestyle choices.

STORIES of RETIREMENT

1.       I retired end of July 2014 and left very soon thereafter for a lovely Baltic cruise for two weeks with my partner and some women from the Womens Travel Club.  We made great friends and saw amazing sights.  Then 4 days in London England.  My travel buddies flew home and I flew to Naples Italy.  I was met there by more women from the Travel Club and we stayed a few days before a week in Sorrento at a lemon farm / Agritourismo.  I found the Amalfi coast – Positano and so much more.  A magical (gluten free) week eating and living local in Italy.  Then my friends and I, five of us rented a car and drove south.  One of the gals had a time share she traded in for a week in Maratea, south of Italy on the coast.  We spend a further week eating and exploring and laying around the beaches.  Five weeks of heaven and I flew home with my small carry on size suitcase and a lifetime of dreams fulfilled.

2. 14 traveling women from the Women’s Travel Club in Victoria went on board the luxurious Oceania Regatta small boutique cruise ship, and cruised the Amazon River (the Brazil side).  We flew to Rio de Janeiro Brazil and enjoyed and explored a few ports of call in Brazil, then a week sailing on the fantastic Amazon River, then stops on Devils Island and the Caribbean and flew home from Miami 21 days later.

3. I have a friend who gave herself the gift of 6 months in a villa in South of France for retirement.  She opened up the idea to family and friends and asked for contributions, so much a “day” to rent space at the villa and so she recouped some of the cost.  I was one of those lucky people, so with my partner, my mom and her friend, and a few women from the Travel Club, off we went for 3 weeks to stay at the villa.  When the three weeks were over I stayed on another week and then went on a ten day Azamara cruise from Nice France to Barcelona Spain, with a few gals from the travel club … before I came home.

4. In January of this year I went with 17 women to India for two week tour in Rajasthan (North) with Indus Travels and 10 of them stayed on for another 10 days to 2 weeks in the south with GAdventures tour.  I had never been and was not really wanting to go to India – it was not on my list.  I had all kinds of fear …. But the trip was amazing.  This next February 2017 I am going back to India – for a week of local living experience.

5. www.og7tkr.com Just a few entries back you will find my reflections on India.   I started the blog a number of years ago when I took a river cruise in Europe and ended up in my lifelong wish-list city, Paris.  Follow along if you like ….

6. On 16 October 2016 I returned from my last trip with 42 other travellers – we did a two week cruise from Athens to Barcelona on Oceania Riviera.  Many of the folks had never been on a cruise, many never been to Europe.  I found an affordable luxurious and wonderful experience.  7 couples and 28 solo women travellers enjoyed the ports of call, and fabulous life on board the ship.

7. This fall also 11 women from the Women’s Travel Club went to Europe to explore France and or Italy by rail!  Traveling on small group tours, as part of a travel club, they enjoyed the sights, sounds and experiences of these amazing countries … highlights of large cities and the countryside in between.  Wine country, olive  and lemon groves, villas and sunsets …. some went on to do a week at the Lemon Farm in Sorrento and are traveling home this week.

https://www.gadventures.com/trips/france-and-italy-adventure/3809/

https://www.gadventures.com/trips/ultimate-italy/1276/

https://www.gadventures.com/trips/local-living-italy-sorrento/2128/

8. A few small groups of women went to Cuba last year, some with WestJet Vacations, some small group travel, some on yachts and some local living in home stays.

COMING NEXT:

1.       India local living, and the Taj Mahal in February 2017: India local living in Jaisalmer (desert stay at a local Haveli, www.JasmineHome.com and followed by an independent 3 day private group arranged by GAdventures to see Delhi and Agra (Taj Mahal) https://www.gadventures.com/trips/agra-independent-adventure/2823/.  Flights are direct Vancouver to Delhi and there are six of us confirmed and booked to do this fun get away.  Includes desert safari, spiritual experiences, shopping and exploring this fabulous region of India.

So you’re taking a trip to India but haven’t made plans to see the Taj Mahal? We can’t let that happen. We’re offering a little something extra for those who don’t want to miss Agra’s highlights. On this Independent trip, you’ll see the spectacular Taj as well as take a G Adventures-supported walking tour around the streets of Delhi led by a former street kid. It’s a whole new perspective.

2.       France barge on Burgundy river for a week June 2017: Burgundy River Barge 23-30 June 2017 with GAdventures (hurry, almost all the spots are taken!!) https://www.gadventures.com/trips/burgundy-river-cruise-experience/2668/

Blessed with some of the most gorgeous countryside in Europe if not the world (not to mention perhaps the best wine around), Burgundy is a place everyone should explore at least once. And the best way to do it is from the deck of an ambling river barge. Visit small villages and first-rate wineries, bike through forests and vineyards on a provided bicycle, and soak up the glorious sunshine, all with the help of a charming little hotel that goes where you go. You won’t get a better glimpse of Burgundy’s pastoral pleasures than this.

Add on mid June to Italy for a week at Lemon Farm agritourismo https://www.gadventures.com/trips/local-living-italy-sorrento/2128/

OR Add on Puglia coast in Italy.  11-23 June Sorrento / Puglia combination.  This would be a private small group and we would spend some time at the Lemon Farm and some time exploring the Puglia region of Italy.

Get a taste for Italian life on this one-week trip to Sorrento, located just around the corner from the Amalfi Coast. Replete with gorgeous scenery and all the fantastic food and drink you’d expect, you’ll unwind on an organic lemon farm where a local family will be your hosts, giving you an in-depth look at what life at an Italian agriturismo is like. And of course, there will be food demonstrations, including limoncello- and pizza-making as well as a walk along the stunning coastline, a visit to the elite island of Capri and a stop at Pompeii. Don’t be a tourist in Italy—live the dream.

3.       South America cruise November 2017, 3 weeks Buenos Aires to Lima Peru Three week cruise with Oceania November 11 2017 …. Or make it a 35 day cruise ending in San Diego? http://www.cruiseshipcenters.com/en-CA/pamelamacdonald/Itinerary?item=829331

4.       Panama Canal cruise February 2017 Miami to Lima Peru Eighteen day Oceania cruise on board Sirena, Panama Canal starting in Miami Feb 2018, with option to stay on and explore Lima PERU! http://www.cruiseshipcenters.com/en-CA/pamelamacdonald/Itinerary?item=830974

After that – Myanmar, Bali, Egypt, more local living adventures in Spain, France and Italy.

Where do you want to go?  Let me know and I will assist to find travel companions to join you.

Pamela MacDonald

Your “travelling” Cruise and Land Travel Specialist

Cell (250)857-5518

pmacdonald@cruiseshipcenters.com

www.PamelaMacDonald.cruiseshipcenters.com

Manulife Insurance  is always recommended for your travel protection https://www.igoinsured.com/TravelWeb/auth/mlwd/forms/MWTakeOne.pdf

Check out & ‘follow’ me at www.og7tkr.com

“Friend” me at https://www.facebook.com/pmacdonaldtravel

Join me at the http://meetup.com/Womens-Travel-Club and or

http://www.meetup.com/Inspired-Travel-Club-Meetup-Victoria-BC/

This is a great resource for Travelling Women:  http://travel.gc.ca/docs/publications/her_own_way-en.pdf