Let’s Chat: Travelling always makes for an amazing experience

By LINDA TOOTH on August 16, 2023.

For as long as I can remember travelling has always been a passion of mine.

I started working at 14 years old. at a bakery in Crescent Heights. to help fund my first trip to Hawaii when I was 16. I went to Oahu with my best friend and her family for the Christmas holidays.

I remember thinking, how could I make a career out of travelling? In 1990, I became a student at Medicine Hat College, taking the travel counsellor program and the rest they say is history.

For 10 years I worked as a travel agent and saw so many interesting destinations. If I must pick one that stands out for me, it would be Hawaii. I have been to the islands of Oahu, Maui and Kauai. Each one is unique, and the memories will last a lifetime.

After I left the industry, travelling continued for me and only stopped because of COVID.

After what seemed like forever, the world reopened for travellers.

Beaches, towns and restaurants have been welcoming us back with open arms, and off I go again doing what I love – and that is travelling.

Six of us are travelling to Mexico, specifically the Riviera Nayarit area north of Puerto Vallarta in just over 80 days. We have been to this destination and hotel many times in the past 10 years. We are comfortable there and enjoy all the amenities this resort has to offer.

People often ask why we keep going back. It is an easy answer for me, the flight is just four hours out of Calgary.

We leave Calgary early in the morning and arrive at the airport in Puerto Vallarta just before noon. This means we can be at the hotel in the early afternoon and start enjoying the amenities and the beautiful weather before the evening buffet begins.

While we are there, we will walk into Bucerias one day. I am hopeful the couple from Lethbridge who owned an art studio pre-COVID is still there.

We will also go into Puerto Vallarta one day. We walk the Malecon, do some shopping and enjoy lunch with a few beers before heading back to the comforts of an all-inclusive holiday.

For me it is all about making memories and enjoying life while we are still healthy and able to afford out-of-country medical insurance.

Are you thinking of taking a trip? I encourage you to just do it.

I was sad to hear about the island of Maui, more specifically the town of Lahaina. I cannot imagine the fear and panic those people felt as they were fleeing the flames and heat.

Life is too short and as the people of Lahaina know, destinations can be here one day and gone the next.