Merrilee Davis is my hero. The self-proclaimed “Traveling Granny” started traveling solo in 2011 at age 64. I met her on a ferry from Panama to Cartagena, Colombia last year. Every time, I bumped into her in Cartagena she was practicing her Spanish with the locals, eating street food and always smiling. If the Traveling Granny can travel solo, why can’t you?
Merrilee Davis, 68, just returned from a five month trip in India and Sri Lanka, which included an overnight camel safari in Rajasthan, India. She has been traveling solo for four years. (All photographs courtesy of Merrilee Davis.)
Name: Merrilee Davis
Age: 68
Hometown: North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Country count: 18 + including Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Trinidad, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and India
1. How did you start traveling?
I use to travel with my husband on short trips away from our holiday home in Mexico. My first trip alone was to Guatemala to study Spanish for six weeks. I was very nervous to go on that first trip alone to what I thought would be a very undeveloped country. When I arrived, I loved my experience there! I stayed with a local family and studied five days a week for five hours each day in a school with a one-on-one teacher/student program. On Friday afternoons after class, I would hop the local chicken buses and head off solo to places in Guatemala to experience them for the weekend. It was then that I realized that it was not so scary [to travel solo], and I had the courage to just step out and get to know this country. I have been back three or four times since and having learned Spanish over the years has helped me in my travels in Central and South America. At my age, it is hard to learn a new language, but I again jump into just using it the best I can when I am traveling. The locals love that I am at least trying to speak Spanish. I think they also get lots of amusement out of the way I word things. Learning to laugh at oneself is part of the experience and to not to get hung up on being perfect.
Left: Ciudad Perdida ruins, Colombia; Right: Salar de Uyuni (famous salt flats), Bolivia
2. How did you start traveling solo in your 60s?
After I left my marriage and spending every winter in our place in Mexico, I decided to explore more of the world. As I am thrifty, I chose places that were cheaper but fun. Spending mega bucks on a fancy hotel is not my idea of traveling nor is going with a tour group. I feel that I miss the interaction with the culture and locals if I get herded along with lots of other tourists. So, off I go backpacking with the young people but doing my own thing. They are either in awe of the traveling granny or totally ignore this older/gray-haired lady doing what they are doing. Actually, I do not choose hostels to stay in unless they have a private room. As I travel, I send emails to many of my friends and family with updates on my trip. I started to sign them “Traveling Granny” as I am now a grandmother seven times over. I so enjoy traveling solo as I have the time and flexibility to change plans at a whim without lots of discussion. Many times I have changed direction travelling, changed plans and being by myself, it is really easy to do this. No one to blame if I make a bad choice or decision. When I head off to a new country, I do very little research beforehand. I get off the plane with my travel book and tablet and start going. For me, it works to only make hotel reservations for those few nights when I arrive in a country if it is a long plane ride. After that, I find my accommodations as I go.
3. Tell us about your most recent adventure.
I just came back from India. All I can say is I cannot wait to go back. Such a huge country and so much to do and see.
4. How did you fund your travels?
I have enough money to travel the way I do as it is not expensive. Before I would rent out my house for the five months, but after a bad experience, I decided to leave my nephew there and travel without worries. So, I did not need to save money as usually it is cheaper to travel than to stay in North Vancouver for the winter season. I have pensions that I use to travel and that covers the costs. The most expensive is usually the airfare to my destination and home.
Merrilee traveled by train across India. She spent five months in India and Sri Lanka from November 2015 until March 2016.
5. Share one of your travel highlights.
[The following is an excerpt from Merrilee’s Traveling Granny emails from India]
The train pulls in and we all scramble, sometimes in the dark, to find our car number then seat or bench. On my last train ride, three guys were all on my lower seat, so I moved along to another compartment and joined a family and warmed the kids up to this grandma. The little gal, about four, was talking to me as though I understood everything. So, I just made up things to answer, and we had great fun. Lots of smiles and laughter.
Vendors going up and down the aisles with water, Chai, coffee, food, oranges, lassie (bit like a milkshake), and they must repeat the item billions of times in their lives in a shortened format or sing-song voice. The train food is very cheap, but one must be careful not to try it all. Who knows where it has been prepared.
6. What was your greatest struggle and how did you overcome it?
I can’t think of a great struggle. I do have difficulties seeing the abuse of the dogs in many countries. The mange, broken bones, lack of water and food for mostly the street dogs just pulls at my heart strings.
Maybe another struggle or difficulty is getting ready to leave my place for four to five months. Making sure I have thought of everything to pack and also taking care of what may need attention when I am away. I am learning that I am always a little anxious when I first head off to a new country, but when I land and start travelling that nervousness goes away. Stepping out of my comfort zone and leaping into the great unknown of a new country is always a mixture of emotions.
Left: Jain temple in Ranakpur, Rajasthan, India; Right: Murud, a small town on the beach south of Mumbai, India
7. What advice would you have for aspiring travelers over age 60? Any tips for overcoming fear?
I am still asking people what they are afraid of! So many of my friends say they are living vicariously through me as I travel. Why they do not get off the couch and do it themselves is a mystery. Sometimes, it is health or not enough money, but in most cases, they say they are afraid and that I am so brave. For me, it is a challenge, but I have life-changing experiences. I meet a few other solo women around my age when traveling but not many.
8. What is the biggest myth about traveling solo?
Not sure what this means, but sometimes people say that I will get mugged, raped, robbed. Actually at this age, the locals are very respectful of me and helpful. Having traveled for quite a few years now by myself, I have learned more travel smarts. I am very fit, energetic and active for my age so very little holds me back from experiencing it all out there. This last trip in India the men were always curious as to why I travel solo and they were intrigued with my contentedness without a man. I never felt threatened or afraid in India the whole time I was there.
9. Name three things you always pack for a trip.
- I always pack my double-bed silk liner. May not use it much, but if sheets are suspect or a non-existent top sheet or whenever it seems sketchy, I pull out my liner. Bought it in Vietnam, and it packs up very small in my backpack.
- Silicone ear plugs that mold beautifully into the ears. I take at least three pair of these, and they are a god-send at times. I do not use them all that much, but when needed on trains, buses, noisy hotels or guest houses, they are fabulous at blocking out the racket.
- Woven water-bottle holder that I bought in Guatemala. I carry a metal thermos that I can refill, and it fits perfectly in the holder. This frees up my hands as it is on a strap and also keeps the liquid cooler longer.
10. What is your next adventure?
I think back to India in the fall.
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COMING UP:
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TRAVEL WITH ME:
Follow my summer travels on Instagram! Next week, Alfred the gnome and I head out on a road trip through the Southwestern U.S. via Antelope Canyon, Phoenix and White Sands National Park in New Mexico!
