Global ramblers
Paul Fugleberg
My friends George and Helen in Seattle have been continent-hopping again and just returned from a tour in Spain. Since their semi-retirement several years ago, they’ve amassed a lot of frequent flyer miles. Often when passengers on oversold flights are asked to volunteer to be “bumped,” they do so — and get additional tickets, meals, etc.
In between their travels both do considerable volunteering — he fixes telephones at a Seattle hospital; both do volunteer work in a nursery in the Palm Springs area; they commute to a small tract of farm land they own in North Dakota where she has a lot of relatives. Helen also does occasional substitute teaching in the Seattle area.
Prior to, en route and during their tours, they learn all they can about their destination — history, culture, places of interest, etc. It seems like a wonderful type of retirement.
Their remarks about their experiences can be quite enlightening. Last week, upon returning home, they sent an e-mail recounting their most recent trip to Spain. Here are a few excerpts:
On Jan. 20 they flew from Seattle to Atlanta, then made the nine hour trip to Paris where they had to find the Air Europa gate in the big French airport. They found it “in an odd corner” and had a four hour wait.
“It was not busy because everything is on the negative side in Europe. Many places have unemployment of 20 percent. Therefore there are not as many flights. Tourism is down to nearly NOTHING. We arrived at Malaga at 1 p.m. It was good to be in this area again. It was 60, with sunshine. We enjoyed the welcome dinner and seeing at least 11 old friends from times that we had been here.
“Jan. 22 — We got to see our friend from Belgium and we would have dinner at the hotel every night with her. We had a meeting to make certain we were updated as to what to do in Spain We walked out on the waterfront and there are very few people here this year. We climbed the 180 steps to the top shopping center. Fun!
“Jan. 23 — The group went to Malaga for the day. We went to the harbor, museum, old town, fortress, and bull ring. It was raining some so we ducked inside and enjoyed coffee. Well, it gets damp and there are not lots of places to sit. Coffee is not like our Seattle coffee. We had dinner at the Don Pablo and we enjoyed paella. They had several different kinds of fish. Also, the evening show at the hotel was fun. We have heard the same singer for years.
“Jan. 24 — Last night we listened to another lecture about the history of Spain. It is so interesting. And, we have visited many of the places. We hiked three miles; and noticed that there were many people out with families enjoying the Sunday. Many of the business places are closed.
“Jan. 25 — We love to go to breakfast in the morning to enjoy the crisp bacon. Their hogs are fed oak acorns so the hams and bacon have a different flavor. We hiked and we got to be with some people that we traveled with last year.
“Jan. 26 — The lights were out during the night. Went to another lecture about Spain today. Now, they have 20 percent unemployment. It is tough times for the people in Spain.
“Jan. 27 — We hiked and ended up at the cemetery. It is built outside like a large chest of drawers. People are buried by renting a place for 10 years. Then, if the rent is not paid, the relative is booted out. We listened to the news from the U.S. It is difficult to find a newspaper in English. If you do, it costs $6 in U. S. money — four Euros.”
On other days, they took in a flea market; visited shops and a museum in Mihas; they could get coffee and cold drinks anytime they wanted in the hotel café – they’re included in the tour package price; and they joined their Belgian friend on Mihas city bus rides to all parts of the city.
On Feb. 2 tour members met for a farewell dinner. And on Feb. 3 they were up at 4 a.m., getting home at 1 p.m.
Helen also commented “There is no place in Europe that we care for their medical treatment. You take a number and wait.” She provided some stats from a survey by the United Nations International Health Organization:
Percentage of men and women who survived a cancer five years after diagnosis: U.S., 65 percent; England 46; Canada 42; percentage of patients diagnosed with diabetes who received treatment within six months: U.S., 90 percent; England 15, Canada 43; percentage of patients referred to a medical specialist who could see them within one month: U.S., 77 percent; England, 40; Canada, 43; the number of MRI scanners per million people: U.S., 71; England, 14; Canada, 18.