The most nerve-wracking aspect of travel? Speaking a foreign language

The most nerve-wracking moments I have when travelling to a country that is not English-speaking is trying to speak with a local person. I’m in a dilemma. Do I try the few words I know of Spanish, German or French – and risk making a fool of myself – or default to English since chances are they will have better English than I their language? Sure, tour books and travel experts suggest speaking in the local tongue. Easier ‘said’ than done. I have long been studying French, German and Spanish (Duolingo). But when I get to Spain, Germany or France (or even Quebec) my mouth clams up. Partly it’s being thrown into a situation where I have to dredge up a language vocabulary on the spur of the moment and try to remember the words. It induces panic. And after fumbling with one or two words I default to English or, just as often, the other person converts. Then after a few minutes and away from the scene, I remember perfectly well what I could have said. So, despite at least a knowledge of several dozen words and phrases each in French, German and Spanish – and about five in Greek! – the only ones I tend to remember are very basic ones but at least deliver for the most common interactions. “Excuse me”, for example, is “Entschuldigung” in German and “Discuple” in Spanish. "Good day" in German is “Guten Tag and” “Buenos dias” in Spanish. “Breakfast” is “Frühstück” in German and “Desayuno” in Spanish, not to mention “Petit dejeuner” in French though a Quebec friend says that’s not the term used there. The most Spanish I have spoken was recently in Mexico City where surprisingly very little English is spoken. It forced me to recall as much Spanish as I knew. My hotel room shower didn’t have cold water so it was, “La dircha (should be ducha) tiene solo agua caliente.” It really got the point across and I congratulated myself on speaking a complete sentence. In fact, I love it when someone doesn’t speak English since it makes me use that country’s language. But I still feel uncomfortable even using extremely common terms like “have a good day” - in French “Bonne journée.” My Quebec friend makes goodnatured fun of my lack of French. One time I tried to speak in full sentences and he burst out laughing. So, as you see, you can’t win in the “language wars!” Finally, I feel guilty when it’s the other person always having to default to English, as if I’m a privileged English person who doesn’t have to do any of the mental work. I have one friend who waltzes into countries and never tries to speak one word of a foreign language and I think how rude. But maybe they've concluded it just isn’t worth the hassle. Rick Steves suggests always have a vocabulary of a dozen or so words and foreigners respect when you speak their language. I agree. But the difficulty, embarrassment and anxiety of trying to speak another language is something never discussed in travel guides. For me, it’s always been the most awkward aspect of travel. 

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller 

Canadian disabled facilities a joke compared to the UK

Just returned from London and the contrast between handicapped accessibility facilities in the UK and back at home is remarkable. For some reason, North Americans never got the accessibility thing right. Bathrooms are hindered by heavy doors, stalls at the end of the stalls row, low toilets, inadequate or distant grab bars, too high sinks and soap and hand dryers too far away for someone to reach in a wheelchair. And no consistency. Every “handicapped” bathroom - whether in service stations, restaurants or hotels (ONroute has now labelled them "Inclusive" as incl different genders) – seems different, with varying levels of thought or not, put into them. Hurray for the UK, where consistency rules and we found the best in accessible toilets (photo). Whereas in North America officials appear never to have consulted anyone who’s actually handicapped in Britain these rooms had to be designed by those most astute in disability issues and that would be “disabled” people themselves. Toilets are of sufficient height, sinks low (in the National Portrait Gallery a sink could actually be moved up and down at the push of a button), and all accessories like paper towels within easy reach. But there were more - red call strings for emergencies, sometimes trapezes to provide safe transfers, even cushions (photo) to add comfort. On the street, even our iconic London black Cab had an extended ramp to accommodate wheelchairs. Amazingly, our hotel’s bathroom was perhaps bigger than our main room! It astounds us that North American restrooms are so poorly designed, despite decades of supposed handicap awareness and endless streams of government propaganda touting their accessability bonafides. It’s all BS! Another great thing about Britain is the attention to public infrastructure like sidewalks, where curb cuts are almost all universally seamless or flush with the street pavement. Generally, there seems to be more awareness in Britain about disabled needs. At the Tate Modern art galley signs beside elevator (lift) doors indicate “not all handicaps are visual.” Even pubs had small floor lifts to go a few feet from ground to mezzanine. After returning from Britain our first forays into accessible facilities in Canada were laughable. Our Holiday Inn Express pretty much did live up to its accessible description (though still not as good as Britain and my partner couldn’t reach the soap) but service centres along the 401 were jokes. Besides inadequate or poorly positioned grab bars there were next to no raised bars on the other sides of the toilet that could be lowered for more support. So next time you hear a politician brag about the progress in handicapped facilities, ask someone who is actually disabled. (A newspaper letter writer suggested a better term is “diffabled” so the “able boded” community gets the hint.) 

Speaking of accessible hotel rooms, Booking.com gave us a bum steer stating the Quality Hotel near Montreal’s Dorval airport would have an accessible room. We got to Reception and they had nothing on record indicating that. So we went next door to the Hilton Garden Inn. Nope, no rooms. I got on my phone and called the Sheraton which was associated with Hilton Garden. They found us the last accessible room – at the same hotel! However, there was a $15.99 booking fee. The hotel room itself was $342.37. Breakfast? “At that rate there is no breakfast,” replied the dead faced Reception clerk. By contrast for $281.88 at the Holiday Inn Kingston West we got a sprawling room and one of the best hotel breakfasts incl impeccably cooked scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages.

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller 

Travel mishaps in Mexico ... and Canada

Something strange happened upon my return flight from Mexico City to Toronto this month. Upon arriving on the red eye early AM there were CBSA officers at the end of the jetway way before the normal Customs/passport check. They were stopping each individual passenger and asking for passports and other questions. For me, a Canadian citizen, it was an immediate wave through. But I heard the officer ask the Mexican man behind me, “Why are you coming to Canada?” I’d noticed upon boarding the night before a preponderance of single Mexican men, of varying ages, boarding the aircraft. I immediately concluded they were seasonal farm workers. But were some of them not? There have been reports of Central Americans now using the Canadian northern border to illegally enter the US. That’s in addition to the millions that have flowed in essentially uncontrolled across the southern US border during the Biden Administration. But sometimes what remains of that boarder’s controls may still deter arrivals, so some apparently have been opting in from the Great White North. Was this what CBSA was so scrupulously watching for? Also, even though I wasn’t questioned I was held up after clearing normal Customs when asked where I was coming from. When I replied “Mexico City” there was some alarm and I was directed to a more secure area.

Upon finally leaving Customs at Pearson, I had to again check in through security as if this was my first flight. The inspection process was a little unconventional and that got a fellow passenger into trouble. What happened was he grabbed his laptop from the conveyor belt, probably assuming it had already gone through x-ray. That’s when two security officers freaked and shouted at him, suggesting he’d committed a grave security error. It apparently was a no-no to take anything from the conveyor belt before staff had checked them personally. The unknowing passenger politely argued that he wasn’t trying to violate policies but after some back and forth said he “knew my rights!” One of the security staff continued to taunt and joke, “You’ll be held up a long time now!” which I thought unprofessional. After I was finally given my luggage and walking away for my connecting flight, I saw two well-armed police officers making their way to the unlucky passenger.

This blog is called Expect the Unexpected and not always in the good sense. So, I’ll have to add a couple of mishaps that occurred on my Mexico City trip. The first was upon arrival at Benito Juarez airport and the unfamiliar frenzy of the arrivals hall, where taxi companies’ staff literally shout at you – competing with one another – for business. But I also needed to find an ATM and retrieve Mexican currency, along with a transit smart card, which I’d read were both available from machines in the hall. I never found the transit card machine. But, after asking a couple of people (in bad Spanish) I finally found a generic ATM. I withdrew the Pesos, picked up my bag and walked towards a taxi counter (the woman at the far end calling the loudest got my business!). A half hour later, arriving at my hotel and taking out my wallet to pay, I noticed my debit card was gone. Sure enough, I'd left it in the ATM. Luckily, I had three credit cards which worked, by trial and error, in other ATMs around Mexico City, ensuring I had enough cash for the weeklong visit. But if you thought that was bad the very next day, in the heart of the city (photo) – and using my credit card to withdraw money – I spied a green woman’s wallet sitting on the ATM counter. Wow. I immediately took it to a bank staffer sitting alongside the machines. Hopefully the poor woman reclaimed it.

Finally, upon arriving at the Cadillac Hotel Boutique, a nice contemporary hotel on the edge of Mexico City's central business district, and given my key card, I opened my room door only to find a strange configuration of essentially two bunk beds, separated by a wall and different entrances in an architecturally stylish room. But my bunk (photo) was still cramped, and I felt like I was in a fox hole. After a couple of nights, I upgraded. 

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller 

Takeaways from a week in Mexico City

- This city is vast (22 million) and very crowded. Subways during rush hour bring to mind the Tokyo subway’ “oshiya” or people pushers. Yesterday at 5.30 pm my ride was so packed I felt elbowed in three directions. At certain bus stops, crowds can instantly appear, but they are also good at queueing.

- Street sweepers universally use brooms made of branches.

- The transit system is very elaborate with color codes for different subway and bus lines. It’s a very good system and impossibly cheap – 5 pesos for Metrobuses and Trolleybuses which have dedicated street lanes, and 6 pesos for the subway. (13 pesos to one Can dollar). But a smart card pays for everything. The only system I couldn’t figure out was the small purple shuttle buses, many of which had no route numbers and flimsy destination signs. Intercity buses are a marvel, exceptionally clean with plush seats and dual restrooms; staff in uniforms like flight attendants even hand you a bottle of water. 

- Very few people speak English, a surprise given Mexico is part of North America and in some ways influenced by the United States (trade, types of automobiles). As a traveler it’s advisable to have, say,  50-100 Spanish words/phrases. But it's a good place if you want to learn Spanish quickly.

- I was surprised by the paucity of other North American or European tourists. Everyone at my hotel seemed to come from within Mexico or another Spanish speaking country. I noticed at most a couple dozen (one one was a tour group) non-Mexican tourists in the city. I guess most Canucks and Yanks fly to the Yucatan.

- Security is everywhere, from cell phones and luggage to grocery stores. At Chedraui, a sort of Walmart, a guard was even equipped with a long rifle. Cops are omnipresent and always keeping a watchful eye. At more crowded intersections and in subway stations they stand on platforms to better surveil. Many wear flak jackets and some extra skeletal gear with helmets with shields affixed to their belts, as if a riot might break out at any time. (The city was very calm.) Other times Policia pickup trucks can be seen ferrying around a half dozen cops in the payload, reminiscent of a Banana Republic B grade movie. 

- I did not see one Tesla but I did see a lot of Pemex (the government owned oil company) gas stations.

- Mexico is still very much Mexico and influenced by few cultures outside its own. Mexican music plays everywhere, and I mean everywhere, from street stalks to grocery stores. Yes, you will occasionally hear a Western performer like Madonna but it’s the exception.

- A lot of people here are still wearing facemasks post-Covid and in many cases it's the norm for service personnel.

- One of my chief complaints about American cities is their lack of public restrooms. Not so here, where “WC” or “Banos” signs appear frequently on city blocks. They charge only 6 – 8 pesos (in my experience) and seem to be run as private businesses. Why not, if people can make money and provide a public service? 

- Street stalls are everywhere – tens of thousands of them and all over the city, cooking up fresh food and selling small household goods. And, yes, the “street food” is exceptional.

- The museums are excellent, from the National Archeological Museum – with more than a vast array of pre-Hispanic artifacts. The Memory and Tolerance Museum, which focuses on atrocities and genocides from modern worldwide history, is an exceptional multi-media museum. Not to be missed are the Freida Kahlo and Diego Rivera museums (two for the latter) and the Leon Trotsky home, just a few blocks from Kahlo’s Casa Azul.

- In the central city, streets have certain commercial themes. Numerous fragrance stores line blocks along one street, dozens of musical instrument stores on another, small commercial electronic stores on another and some of the best and largest used bookstores I’ve ever seen on yet another. Unfortunately, all the books were in Spanish.

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller 

Kahlo and Trotsky, Torre Latinoamericana and Alameda Central - that's a start

I’m preparing for Mexico City. Well, yes and no. I’ve done as much research as I want online but still don’t really have a good gauge of the city. It is sprawling. 22 million inhabitants. Yes, the biggest metropole in North America – take that New York! What are the attractions? Not quite sure. There is a cathedral. One thing I like is the city excels at art galleries, including several contemporary ones. One place I want to go to is the Museo Frida Kahlo/Casa Azul (Blue House), the fame artist’s (and Detroit hater) former residence. I also want to go to the Leon Trotsky (Museo Casa de Leon Trotsky, as it happens to be called), just a few blocks from Frida’s. I got tickets for Frida - expensive - $53.37; I’ve never paid that much for a museum. Couldn’t get a response from Trotsky but understand it’s not expensive and hardly anyone goes. Why Trotsky? For lovers (or not) of history that’s where Lenin’s agents assassinated him with an ice pick – yikes - in 1940. The city seems to have a superb transit system, enormously better than any in Canada or the United States. Twelve subway lines, express metrobuses on dedicated lanes, myriad local bus and trolley routes. Fares are ridiculously cheap: 5/6 pesos (1 Canuck dollar = 13.3 pesos). I’ll buy a transit smart card upon arrival at Benito Juarez Intl Airport. (Juarez was the first democratically elected indigenous president in the postcolonial Americas serving in the late 19th century). My plane lands at 10.50 pm and transit stops at midnight. I would love to immediately sample transit but the timing cuts a little close so will opt for a taxi. That’s after I’ve also visited an ATM to withdraw cash, one of my first protocols upon arriving in a different country. I understand cash is more king in Mexico (I’ve never been to the country) than in North America. When I was in Morocco last year cash was definitely king; almost like they hadn’t heard of bank cards.) I’ve chosen what looks like a great hotel on the edge of the Centro Historico (historic district), the Cadillac Boutique. It’s highly contemporary and has an artsy flair and the breakfasts seem tremendous (breakfasts are always a major factor when I’m booking a hotel). A Google Street View of the area makes it look like I could easily get lost. But the hotel is half a block from another main street upon which several blocks up is the iconic Torre Latinoamericana (photo), the city’s first post-war skyscraper designed to withstand earthquakes. It’s across the street from the vast Alameda Central Park as well as museums. If I get lost, I can use it for bearings. The weather should be cooler than here, perhaps because of the city’s 7349 ft. altitude, though it seems to rain every night. Hasta luego!

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller

How to tell a "tourist" from a "traveller"

There was an interesting poll in the UK the other day, determining who can be defined as a “traveller” and not a “tourist.’ Let’s face it, the concept of a tourist has been derided over the years, inspiring images of men wearing plaid shorts with straw fedoras and Kodak Instamatics around their necks, a mid-1960s  holdover. The term is synonymous with superficiality and the "stereotyped Westerner" who eschews local hotels and food to boot. Perish indulging in something “foreign.” A traveller, on the other hand, connotes someone who wants to dig digger into local culture, frequents pieds-a-terre and tries earnestly to “live like a local” including dining at any place that is anything “touristy.”  A traveller inspires images of gap year backpackers across Europe and Asia, staying in hostels, and reading the works of Lord Byron, Jan Morris and Paul Theroux. Oh, and Frommers’ Europe on $25 a Day (I still have the book) the amount since increased dramatically. According to the survey 42 per cent of people said the best example of being a “seasoned traveller” is “a tatty passport full of stamps.” If so, I qualify, with 12 pages of stamps in my passport which was issued in June 2018 (photo). More than this, I have stickers festooned to the outside, including one from Health Canada during the pandemic, four little security stickers from god-knows-where-countries, and a couple of large stickers so mangled I can’t figure out what they are. But I do think my passport is impressive holding in my hand standing in line waiting for my turn at Customs. Other survey "traveller" criteria were: “backpacking tales to wheel out at dinner parties” (28 per cent) – I don’t backpack so fail there; “putting souvenirs from your trips on your walls at home” (27 per cent) – I generally don’t but now have four or five on my fridge; “pronouncing certain foreign words” (10 per cent)” such as pho, chorizo and nduja. I don’t know what the last one is and I pronounced pho like 'PHOto' when it’s “fuh.” Oh, yes, and another sign that one’s a real traveller is they have a travel blog. Bingo! 

I read the British press, with their extensive travel pages, especially the Daily Mail. There are certain British terms that will never ever be changed, such as “mum” for mom, “biscuit” for cookie, “crisps” for potato chips, “car hire” for car rental and “holiday” for vacation. A Brit will never say a “round trip” ticket but a “return.” So set in their ways I’m always tempted to interject that I’m on “vacation.”

Speaking of Brits, when I was in England last fall – and travelling extensively by trains – a recurring public service announcement was about abandoned luggage being a possible terrorist threat. The announcement ends with “See it, say it, sort it” as in authorities will “sort” the matter. I’d never heard the word used that way but it’s British vernacular for resolving an issue. Like “Mind the Gap.” Sort of.

Another puzzle is why some tourists (or travellers) plastic shrink wrap their suitcases (photo left). I went into a luggage shop at Heathrow and asked the question. “Oh, it’s because in some countries, unscrupulous airport personnel will pry and steal suitcase contents.” Good to know, I suppose.  

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller

Anti-tourism protests give second thought to next getaway

With anti-tourism protests breaking out in popular Mediterranean tourist destinations like Majorca, Ibiza, Barcelona and Venice, it’s making me think twice about where I want to spend my next getaway. And it’s also made me think about the type of accommodation to book. The anti-tourist protests by locals are directed at two fronts. One is literal overcrowding. Tourists were recently turned away at a famous Majorcan beach by police as locals were determined to occupy every square foot of it. Reports the UK Sun, "Anti-tourism protesters plan to bring the Balearic Islands to a standstill during the peak season for British holidaymakers. Activists hope thousands will join the biggest demonstration yet in the Spanish tourism hotspot on Sunday, July 21 — just as many UK schools break up for summer and families head for the sunshine." Needless to say, Brits like going to Spain. The other is that short-term accommodations like those on Airbnb, Vrbo and increasingly Booking.com are crowding out cheaper year-round housing for locals. Barcelona, which has seen rents jump 70 per cent in recent years, has just banned Airbnb’s. It’s obvious why a landlord would opt for short term vacation rentals over year-round housing because they can charge tourists more for that same property and have constant turnover. It was the opposite of where I stayed in Florida a few years ago. There, the owner, who had a block long campus of vintage cottages, converted to long term rentals because she couldn't handle the stress of constantly dealing with new tenants. My recent winter home has been in Spain, where protests have also sprung up in nearby Malaga. But, lucky me, I don’t stay in an Airbnb but in a “conventional” low key resort or apartment hotel. Suddenly, it’s made me feel more ethical! But my accommodation last fall in Athens was through Vrbo, a fantastic apartment two blocks from the Acropolis and within walking distance of teeming bars, restaurants, cafes and the city’s magnificent old town Plaka. Yes, I thought I might have gotten an evil eye from a neighbour. But I would book again, if available, and swallow my guilt. 

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller

Walk With Israel event went off without a hitch including getting there and back

I joined the Walk With Israel march this weekend in Toronto, sponsored by the Toronto Federation Canadian Jewish Appeal, its 55th year but the turnout this year was absolutely spectacular. In the wake of the October 7 Hamas atrocities killing 1200 Israeli citizens and kidnapping some 250 more (120 remain hostages) the event took on added importance. Based on pre-registrations organizers were expecting at least 30,000. But 50,000 or more showed up on a bright sunny morning in midtown Toronto for the five kilometre walk up Bathurst St. to the CJA’s offices and Holocaust Museum in North York. Police presence was amazing. In fact, there were layers of security – Toronto and neighboring forces like Durham and Niagara, then flanks of private security and then volunteer marshalls. It was understandable given the violent attacks on the Toronto – and Canadian - Jewish community in recent months, including widespread vandalism, arson, fire bombings and shootings. And TO has always been a hotbed of radicalism, as witness the U of T so-called “encampment” by pro-Palestinian or Hamas demonstrators. Thankfully, the Walk went off without a hitch and surprisingly there were few counter-protesters. There was speculation anti-Israel types would try to disrupt the event. But all we saw were a few people at one residential intersection – always masked like Ninjas of course - half surrounded by about a dozen cops, and perhaps 100 people massed at the corner of Bathurst and Shepperd, with loudhailers, drumming and even setting off smoke. There were tons of police and things didn’t get violent. Most of the walkers simply ignored them. (There were several arrests of the counterdemonstrators I later read.) All in all, a fantastic day.

Was I scared attending the event. To be honest, a little. What I mostly feared wasn’t being in the Walk itself but travelling to and from, where I wouldn’t be protected by security. That meant boarding a subway at the Finch West station in north Toronto (North York)  and riding five stops to Lawrence West, where I walked several blocks to the march starting point. And after the Walk, walking several blocks up Bathurst to Finch and catching a bus west on Finch to the Finch West subway, where I’d parked my car. I made sure I was noticeable with my white Walk With Israel T-shirt and even a small Israeli flag attached to my hat. I wasn’t going to be intimidated. Hardly anyone noticed and I got a couple of muted sidelong glances, more curious than anything. I was surprised that a TTC worker congratulated me as I walked out of the Lawrence West station. On the way back, I carried my sign depicting a hostage (Avera Mangisto, 36) and made sure it was seen by others on the crowded bus, simply by turning it outward but not in anyone’s face. Again, no problem and a bit of curiosity, that’s all.

As for getting around Toronto and the TTC, it was easy to find a parking spot at the Finch West station public parking on a Sunday morning, and when there’s no charge. But I was surprised the station didn’t open until as late as 7.45 am. Fares were easy by purchasing though machines a Presto card for two return trips, which also could be used on the bus - no muss, no fuss.

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller

Remote and not-so-remote - that's Norway

You never know these days what kind of service you’ll get on an airline. This month JD Power ranked Air Canada below par, especially for high air fares. That may be true. But I’ve found AC generally provides better service than some other airlines. Its entertainment system and selection of movies is superior to other transcontinental airlines like Air Transat, El Al and SAS. And it still serves wine or beer with meals – gratis. But on a recent Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight from Toronto to Copenhagen, not only were the movies more limited but you had to pay for booze unless you wanted to upgrade to a “premium” dinner. It was enough to make me reconsider the airline next time I fly. And on a connecting flight from Copenhagen to Norway, SAS even charged for the water, though they made a fuss about coffee and tea being “complimentary.” 

On the plus side, a feature I liked both at the Copenhagen and Norway airports was the loading of the passengers from both front and rear doors (photo). So much easier than having all passengers wait as those in front take their blessed time stowing luggage.

While on a seven-day cruise (my first) along the northwest coast of Norway, including above the Arctic Circle, I lucked out in that travel coincided with Norway’s Constitution Day May 17 (the equivalent of Canada Day or US Independence Day). But what a difference! The streets were packed with people in traditional costume. Women wore long dresses and embroidered blouses known as “bunads.” (photo). Some men donned traditional garb, others in their Sunday best. I was amazed by this personal celebratory form of patriotism that certainly doesn’t exist in North America and other countries. Joyous and happy, I was with the crowds in the city of Trondheim, while our vessel, Hurtigruten’s Nordkapp, was in port.

I’ve never been one for cruising but the Hurtigruten voyage was one of the “least touristy” excursions I could find. The ship is hardly a “Disney” behemoth but offers subdued tourism while a working vessel calling at ports large and small, loading and unloading supplies and local passengers. Plus, I’ve always wanted to go up to Norway’s top, having jettisoned driving there last year after learning I could only be in Europe for a total of 90 out of 180 days per Schengen rules. Back in 2019 I’d driven from Oslo to Bergen up the southwest coast but never further north. The coastal mountain scenery is staggering. But even among these remote hinterlands Norwegian villages pop up out of nowhere. I booked a “full board” (three daily meals) but was disappointed that Hurtigruten charged substantially for every extra - hundreds of dollars for on shore excursions to “wine packages” (the “basic” was four bottles for about $75 CAD). Many of my fellow passengers chose to take the reverse trip from Kirkenes but that’s where I got off. I enjoyed the cruise but seven days was enough and I didn’t feel like backtracking along the same route. Kirkenes is as far north and east as you can go in Norway, only 15 km from the Russian border. Did it feel remote? Yes and no. The Thon hotel chain had every bit the contemporary hotel there. And there were regular Airbus 320 jet flights to Oslo (just over two hours). Remote and not-so-remote – that’s Norway.

- Ron Stang, a frequent traveller, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

So now my ArriveCAN experiences totally make sense

The federal government’s ArriveCAN app, developed during the pandemic to regulate travel documents and proof of vaccinations, is now the focus of a probe into a $60 million scandal. A Parliamentary committee is looking into how an app that one tech firm said could have been developed for less than $1 million, was contracted for, well, $59.5 mil., and to just two people, with a background in securing government contracts, GC Strategies. They in turn subcontracted to a couple of dozen programmers. An Auditor General’s report slammed the contract, saying the developers showed "glaring disregard for basic management and contracting practices" and that taxpayers "paid too much." The app not only was expensive but subject to flaws. Such as when it told travellers to quarantine when they didn’t need to or discouraging Americans from visiting and shopping in Canada. But, in hindsight, all of this makes perfect sense in light of my own problems with the app.

Incident 1 – Athens, August 2021. My first trip after travel rules eased was also my first time in Greece for a very hot but delightful week, touring Athens, north to Delphi and a few of the Saronic Islands southwest of the city. All went swimmingly until the day prior to my return to Canada. I whipped out my cellphone and tried to log on to the app, uploading my vaccine information. I couldn’t log on! I tried several times but no go. I wondered if a computer would be easier. Ever try to find a computer in a strange city? I went to the office in my hotel. They let me use a staff computer. But it was taking too much time, and I didn’t want to impose. So off I went downtown, about a 20-minute walk, to the Air Canada office. Except the Air Canada office is one office on, like, the sixth floor of a nondescript building shared by several airlines. And the door was locked, and you could only talk by intercom. I told my problem and they said to go to the Canadian Embassy. Great! So I took a cab across town arriving just before lunch, when the embassy closes down. Come back at 1 pm, the receptionist, who knew nothing about ArriveCAN, said. “Try the McDonald’s Wi-Fi a block away.” I did – and met a great Canadian guy, a lawyer, from Montreal with family in Greece and who was temporarily living there – but it didn’t work at the resto either. Back to the embassy. Luckily the embassy had a public computer kiosk, to which I was sent. And the app finally worked! My fear was I would have shown up at the airport and, without an updated app, they wouldn’t let me on the plane. No fear, because when I arrived at Toronto Pearson Customs, I was pleasantly told, “You could have done that here!”

Incident 2 – Frankfurt, May 2022. We arrived at check-in and this time the Air Canada rep (I can still picture his humorous demeanor and bald head) wouldn’t give us boarding passes until I showed an updated ArriveCAN, the reverse of the Athens situation. It took several minutes to scroll through my phone documents and finally find the certificates. Phew!

So, my friends, as it turned out, my ArriveCAN experiences totally made sense considering the nonsensical incompetence that was built into this boondoggle. 

- Ron Stang, a frequent traveller, Windsor Ontario Canada 

What's with glum northern Europeans?

I go to Spain just about every year. Southern Spain, which is kind of like the Florida of Europe. Lots of northern European and Brits also make the trip to the Costa del Sol also sometimes known as the Costa del Golf, it’s so popular with the swinging stick set. All well and good. Expect, well, northern Europeans are not the sunniest lot, defying the fact they are on the “sun coast.” I walk every day across a bridge to a commercial area and am constantly “running into” pedestrians walking the opposite direction. I knew immediately something was different. In North America, there would at least be attempts at smiles or in fact “Good mornings” or “Hellos.” Not so with most of my fellow walkers. They turn their heads away or down, and it looks like it would take a crowbar to break them into smiles. One time, on a beach bench, I sat for the longest time trying to decide to engage my fellow bench sitter in conversation. This individual never paid me notice, supposedly caught up in his book with occasional stares out to the sea. I screwed up my courage and engaged. Yes, he did speak, this Norwegian, and we eventually got a – halting – conversation going. Then last month, while walking out of parking garage, a passing motorist shouted out, “Hey, friendly Americans!” assuming we were. He was from Atlanta. Part of me wondered if his greeting reflected the glum responses of Europeans. I asked a good friend of mine, a German, why northerners were so reluctant to engage, at least in small talk. “They think small talk is bullshit,” he said. Yes, I said, “but if it wasn’t for small talk, I never would have met you in that bar in East Berlin so many years ago.”

You must hand it to European when it comes to being inventive. Their restaurants, coffee shops, stores, are often more creative than what we find in North America. And so too are their street hustlers! Driving out of Malaga last month and stopped for a red light, beggars dispensed with the tired and cliched squeegees common in North America, or simply holding out their hands for money. This pair entertained us as acrobats.

I have found a great website on Facebook that has video of what it’s like in the cockpit of passenger airliners during takeoffs and landings, Just Planes (photo). I spent lots of moments on the weekend watching them, flight crews in the moments just before landings and takeoffs. "Just amazing” I said over and over.

- Ron Stang, a frequent traveller, Windsor Ontario Canada

No show on first flight means return ticket also cancelled

Did you know that if you don’t take the first leg of your flight the airline will cancel the ENTIRE ticket? This is what happened to me last week. I had booked a return fare from Windsor to Malaga  Feb. 29 – April 5. That cost $1526.10 through Air Canada and a couple of European airlines. Then I changed travel plans. I had an opportunity to go to Israel on a Solidarity Mission in the wake of the Oct. 7 atrocities, something I couldn’t pass up. That meant leaving Feb. 16. In Israel I booked a separate ticket from Tel Aviv to Malaga so I’d arrive in Spain on the start date of my vacation rental. My plan was to return to Canada, on the original flight return date of April 5, using the second leg of the round trip Windsor-Malaga ticket. When I arrived at the connecting Air Canada check-in counter in Dublin, nothing doing. The staff couldn't find my booking. I showed my original confirmation through Booking.com. They had nothing in their records. They sympathized and were puzzled. They finally phoned corporate and asked about the booking and whether they could retrieve it. No. The explanation: if you don’t show up for your original flight the entire ticket, including return leg, is cancelled. Staff told me I could book a fresh ticket online on the same flight right there in the airport. I sat down, pulled out my phone, went to the Air Canada website (Booking.com didn’t seem to offer the original flight and led me to later bookings some for as much as $4000+). Air Canada, however, had that same flight, leaving in a few hours (luckily it had been delayed). There was still room on the plane, paramount since my (disabled) partner was also on the flight, booked under a separate ticket; we even got the same seats. But I was out more than $1000 when luggage was added. I couldn’t believe this and, upon arriving home, immediately contacted well known Gabor Lukacs, founder of Halifax-based Air Passenger Rights. He responded quickly, as he usually does, this time in less than an hour. “Unfortunately, I do not see a breach of contract here," he said. "I do recall AC's tariff expressly stating that if you are a no-show, then they can cancel your subsequent segments.” I also took it up with Air Canada only to read that I should dispute this with my booking agent. I called Booking.com and the agent reiterated what Lukacs had said, indicating that not taking the first leg results in cancellation of the second, as per the reservation’s fine print.

Upon the Air Canada flight arriving in Toronto – and before the final jaunt to Windsor – my partner and I had reason to stay in the aircraft after all the other passengers had left. My partner is disabled so we always leave the aircraft last (we also board among the first). Not a problem, as we were waiting for a narrow-aisle wheelchair. Several of the flight attendants came to shoot the breeze. Meanwhile, a squad of airplane cleaners came on board. There were at least a couple of dozen, their jobs to thoroughly vacuum and gather trash from the flight (photo), making fresh for the plane’s next departure in a few hours. This plane was heading back across the pond to Vienna. They were like whirling dervishes quickly cleaning the cabin. I asked a couple if there were typical flights that generated the most garbage and got varying answers, including Tokyo and London, though London (UK) came up the most!

- Ron Stang, a frequent traveller, Windsor Ontario Canada

Pedestrian access a little to be desired

There are plenty of things to admire about Spain. It's a nation of efficiency, cleanliness and orderliness. In any grocery store I’ve been in you'll never have to wait more than a couple of minutes to be directed to the next cash or have a cash opened up for you. Parking garages have floors that are so impeccably clean they almost shine. The nation is reputed to have the second best high speed network of trains in the world, and I can attest they are superb ways to travel, often reaching 300 km/hour, as per the LED read out at the front of the coaches. At even the smallest coffee shops, products are arranged with utmost tidiness. Chambermaids not only clean every nook and cranny but rearrange furniture, even trash cans, as exactly the suite was originally set up. But certain aspects of the country just makes you want to shake your head. I speak in particular of highways, sidewalks and pedestrian access. I adore my haunt of the last several years, Elviria, on the outskirts of Marbella (and home to Julio Iglesias!). But the pedestrian and motorist infrastructure would never pass the grade in North America. For example, on a well pedestrianized overpass leading to a commercial area, the "sidewalk" is more an afterthought than the real thing. In fact, it doesn’t even seem

to be designed as a sidewalk but simply a concrete surface a few feet wide on the opposite side of vehicle guardrails. In parts it's crumbling away. In another there's an indentation a few feet long. A sizable black PVC tube serpentines along part of it. Anyone walking along it either has to turn sideways to let a walker opposite pass or step aside, often on a makeshift gravel path that has been created over the years as the "second lane." Meanwhile, the outside posts that the guardrail is affixed to intrudes into the "sidewalk." Then there's the bus stop. A fully functioning bus stop with modern shelter is located just down below. Buses pull off the Autoivia (freeway) into these narrow bays, a site unimaginable in North America

where they would likely be deemed hazardous. But the kicker is pedestrian access to the bus stop. On one side there is a culvert, more than a couple of feet wide and a foot deep. To get from a sloping lawn (no sidewalk or steps) to the bus stop you either have to walk into and out of the culvert or jump across it, risking twisting your ankle. Yes, you can go around it to the very end where an exit ramp meets the highway and a walking path of sorts exists. But the sidewalk is disintegrating with a mess of gravel.

Two oh-so-Euro things: Cigarette machines still reign supreme in restaurants, cafes and grocery stores, just like they used to do in North America up to the 1970's...And even on an overcast windy day, Europeans can be seen dining outside, oblivious to the blustery conditions. or maybe they love the Costa del Sol just oh-so-much!

- Ron Stang, a frequent traveller, Windsor Ontario Canada