{"id":19300,"date":"2017-04-06T10:30:37","date_gmt":"2017-04-06T00:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?p=19300"},"modified":"2025-04-22T13:20:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T03:20:57","slug":"best-travels-life-older","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/best-travels-life-older\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the best travels of my life started after 50"},"content":{"rendered":"

In November 2013, when I was 63 and my husband, Don, was 71, we went to Iguazu Falls in Argentina<\/a><\/strong>. At Iguazu you can go under the falls in an open boat. From a walkway at the top of the falls I pointed out the boat to Don. “There\u2019s no way I\u2019m going in that!” he said.<\/p>\n

Of course we went in it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Iguazu Falls, Argentina<\/p><\/div>\n

Afterwards I wrote this:<\/p>\n

What an experience! We knew we\u2019d get wet, and were wearing only swimsuits, but wet is not the word. Drenched! Saturated! Soaked! Deluged! It was like heading into a torrent. So much water coming at me I couldn\u2019t breathe, and had to turn my face away, and for a second thought \u201cI could drown here\u201d. All of us screaming with excitement. And me laughing so hard I thought I\u2019d choke. It was a laugh that came from the gut, from the very core, and filled the entire body before escaping through the mouth as a roar, a veritable volcano of a laugh that went on and on. In a good way. In the best way. And what was so funny? The sheer ridiculous absurdity of what we were doing \u2013 sitting in an open boat heading straight into a waterfall. And the fact that we actually chose<\/u> to do it.<\/em><\/p>\n

I doubt I have ever felt more alive.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 2011. Don is 68 and past his due-by date at work. He desperately needs to retire, so much so that he\u2019s starting to get sick, but we don\u2019t know how we can afford it. We have some retirement savings, and some pensions, but we also have debts and a mortgage. Through a lot of soul searching the idea arises to sell the apartment and use the proceeds to pay off our debts and travel the world. Once the solution appears it seems obvious. It comes down to this: do we want a home or do we want a life? It takes four months to sell the apartment, its contents, and our car, and for Don to close his business. We\u2019ve been nomadic ever since.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Alison and Don in Bolivia<\/p><\/div>\n

The idea of home has become very fluid. Home is with each other. In the past five and a half years \u201chome\u201d has been a hotel, hostel, apartment, tent, train, ship, plane, house-sitting, or staying with family. There\u2019s an enormous freedom in not owning property.<\/p>\n

We began our journey in September of 2011 and since then have been to 31 countries on six continents. We have traveled in India and South East Asia, Australia and the South Pacific, South and Central America, Europe and the Middle East. Over a million miles in all. The more I travel the more I want to travel.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Alison in R\u00edo Secreto, Mexico<\/p><\/div>\n

William Blake said: A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.<\/em> I traveled extensively in my twenties, motivated by a great curiosity. I found it enriching and exciting, but I did not see<\/em> in the way that I see at this stage in my life. It\u2019s not that I was a fool so much as I was foolish, and young. There is a presence and confidence that comes with having lived a few years. Perspective on life is different. Like most people, in my twenties I felt invincible, and of course I assumed that I had all of my life ahead of me. Traveling at that age is about seeing the world and how others live, but it is also a grand party. Life sings and zings and flits all over the place.<\/p>\n

RELATED: LIFE ADVICE FROM 8 INCREDIBLE FEMALE TRAVELERS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Now that I\u2019m older, life is short, so short, and so precious, and each moment is to be savored. Because of this I see and feel things differently. When I saw the Eiffel Tower in my twenties I thought it was pretty amazing, but I was more interested in talking with the handsome French man who struck up a conversation with me. Seeing it again in my fifties it was as if I really saw it for the first time: its beauty and grandeur, its simplicity, its complexity, and its sheer elegance. I was stunned, and realized I\u2019d never really seen it before.<\/p>\n

\"paris<\/a>

The Eiffel Tower in Paris<\/p><\/div>\n

In our travels we’ve\u00a0done things we never thought we would ever do. We went ice trekking on Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina. This time it was me who was afraid and Don who was determined to do it, to put on crampons and trek across the shifting crevices of a glacier.\u00a0There is nothing quite like stepping out of your comfort zone. Every cell of the body sings. The heart rejoices, and life shouts YES!<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a07 BEST DESTINATIONS FOR SOLO TRAVELERS OVER 50<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

We have been parasailing and zip-lining, waded our way through an underground river with only headlamps for light, climbed a volcano in the dark to see the sunrise, been up in a hot air balloon, snorkeled in several different places, hiked all over the world, and dissolved into tears in the ancient tombs of Egypt, in Hindu temples in India, and in Buddhist temples in South East Asia.<\/a><\/p>\n

Some of the most extraordinary things we\u2019ve seen and experienced include the Temples Of Humankind<\/em> at Damanhur in Italy<\/a><\/strong>, Gaudi\u2019s Sagrada Familia<\/em> in Barcelona<\/a><\/strong>, a four-hour charismatic church service in Samoa, the ancient ruins of Petra in Jordan<\/a><\/strong>, and a two-week festival of indigenous dance and music in Mexico<\/a><\/strong>. We feel more alive, more engaged with life than we ever have.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Alison and Don in Petra, Jordan<\/p><\/div>\n

When I was young, I saw things in black and white and thought I knew everything. Now that I\u2019m older I realize that there are grey areas in everything and that the more I learn the less I know. It means that I have a greater compassion for all I encounter. I\u2019m softer now, and have nothing to prove. This deeply affects how I experience the world and how I interact with people. If there\u2019s one thing we\u2019ve learned it\u2019s that if you approach people with kindness and an open heart they will respond in kind and this has been true everywhere we\u2019ve been. Language is not an issue. Smiles and kindness are universal. We\u2019ve rarely felt unsafe.<\/p>\n

RELATED: MEET THE FUNERAL DIRECTOR WHO QUIT HER JOB TO TRAVEL THE WORLD<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The inner journey has been as enriching as the outer journey. At some point we stopped worrying so much about money. Our relationship has deepened; when you\u2019re together 24\/7 you learn to resolve issues very quickly. And we have learned to trust, and surrender, in a way that we never had before we embarked on this journey.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re now 66 and 74 and we still have a list of places we\u2019d like to travel to. Even though we take quite long breaks, staying in one place for months at a time, we\u2019re not done yet.<\/p>\n

After all, age is just a number; whatever number you are, don’t let it stop you traveling.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Alison and Don in Cotopaxi, Ecuador<\/p><\/div>\n

To continue following the adventures of Alison and Don, check out their blog\u00a0alisonanddon.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ready\u00a0to go explore that big wide world? Check out our small group tours in over 100 countries.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now that I\u2019m older, life is short, so short, and so precious, and each moment is to be savored. 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