Adventure Traveler Stories

My love for travel author Bill Bryson is well-documented. I don't know why I'm so attached to funny travel books, but I am -- maybe because I mentally compose my own culturally-relevant vignettes when I travel (or more specifically, when I'm trying to form an orderly line in an Italian airport and everyone around me is inching closer and closer, closing in on my personal space like sharks in seal season). I'm reading a new one now by Pete McCarthy, aptly called McCarthy's Bar. So far I've read, oh, approximately a sixth of the back cover, but I do know that the author, while traversing Western Ireland, faithfully follows this rule: "Never Pass a Bar That Has Your Name on It." This seems like a good rule to me, except for the fact that, according to Google, there is only one bar with my last name, located in Canada. That's not much of a pub crawl. However, and I hope I'm not spoiling things for myself, I have a hunch that these bars are going to lead him on a path of discovery as he uncovers the charm and character of the land of his descendants.

Oftentimes we get so wrapped up in wanting to find new, exotic places that we forget the comforts of the old or more familiar (I hope at least some of you are thinking of the episode of 30 Rock in which Jerry Seinfeld talks about being on vacation with his family in a European country only rich people know about). This applies on both the micro- and macro-scale. I always discount my hometown of Monterey until I'm running along the shores of Asilomar or the winding path of the recreational trail. Or, being in Mexico a few years ago in my father's hometown, I really wished I'd paid more attention in Spanish class so I could better communicate with my cousins as they took me from clubs to cafes. This Thanksgiving week, as most of you travel home for the holidays, I urge everyone to consider your own homes as destination spotlights.

What inspires you to choose your next travel destination? Do you throw a football at a map, and wind up in an easy target like Russia? Do you meticulously research sites of historical or cultural importance? Do you aspire to the life of leisure and luxury on an island vacation? Perhaps, like me, you turn to travel and guide books for inspiration.

We already touched on the Eat, Pray, Love phenomenon that swept across America like the fear of swine flu (see blog entry: “Eat, Pray…Ugh”). Continuing with the theme of book recommendations, I’d like to introduce the traveling populace to the hidden gem that is Bill Bryson.

Perhaps many readers have already heard of Bill, as I feel at liberty to call him. He is, after all, a prolific author, travel enthusiast, and linguistic dilettante. When I first encountered Bill (note: all personal references to Bill are to his books, not the individual), I had a tangential interest in a trip to Australia. I definitely intended to go someday, but that intention was eclipsed by the desire to explore other places first. However, as I was meandering through my local Borders, a photo of a kangaroo on a little book called In a Sunburned Country caught my eye.

By the end of a quick skim of the first page, I was hooked. The man is hilarious. His PR team sums it up: “Every time Bill Bryson walks out the door, memorable travel literature threatens to break out.” Bill is not only a consummate storyteller, but he also knows his facts. I have read so many traditional guidebooks in preparation for trips, and I have never learned as much as I now know about Australia. For instance, did you know…

…that in 1967, as Bill tells it, Australia simply “lost” a prime minister? (Let this anecdote mostly serve as a cautionary tale against lethal riptides, which are impervious to governmental celebrity.)

…or that Australia’s barren inland actually experienced times of relative fertility between droughts, until a certain Thomas Austin came up with the genius idea of importing 24 rabbits as game in 1859? These rabbits devastated the landscape and upset the natural order as they multiplied exponentially; now, Australia’s rabbit population numbers upwards of 300 million. How would you like to have that life-altering deed on your conscience?

Speaking of burdens to bear, let Bill regale you with the story of Gerard Krefft, a naturalist who managed to capture two rare pig-footed bandicoots, only to eat them in a fit of hunger. The animal hasn’t been seen since and is likely extinct.

Bill sprinkles such stories throughout the book, along with snippets of conversations with locals, his own wry observations, and facts of geographical importance. When I do visit Australia, I’ll be armed with the strangest array of knowledge, but also a comprehensive grasp of Australia’s history and culture. Thus, I encourage you to venture beyond Lonely Planet and Rick Steves when mentally preparing for your next adventure. Memoirs and a good map can serve the same purpose, as well as provide you with some unique conversational icebreakers.