Travel: ‘It’s about the people’

I enjoy reading ITN travelers’ stories and have noticed that they tend to provide the useful and practical details of itineraries, costs, pros/cons, etc. I find, however, that no matter how you travel, the most rewarding experience can be the people you meet and, in many cases, make friends with.

My husband and I happen to be independent travelers with a specific interest in prehistory. Using a Cadogan guide (no longer published) for the south of France around 2002, we contacted the authors via email, becoming online friends. We met them for the first time the following year when we shared a house with them in Brittany. In the years since, we’ve stayed with them several times in France and have traveled together a bit.

We also made friends with a British man in Wiltshire who spent his early years living and working in Kyoto. In fall of 2016, we’ll be traveling to Japan with him.

We now have friends in Rome, Tuscany and Paris as well. 

I feel that all travelers, no matter how they choose to travel, have stories to tell about the relationships and friendships travel brings to their lives. This is a wonderful and important aspect of travel.

Our travel diaries are now approaching thousands of pages as a result of our pursuit of megaliths, but a couple of years ago we realized that, in the end, it’s not about the stones. It’s about the people. 

DOLORES (LOIE) MAMINSKI,

Westminster, MD