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Flying with your Service Dog takes a bit of pre-planning. Most airlines require 48 hours advance notice about your canine partner. Initially tickets can be booked online through a collective search website like CheapOair. Before purchasing tickets, check out the Airlines direct website for Service Animal rules. Under Federal Law airlines are required to allow Service Animals but a few are friendlier about it than others.
For example: Delta Airlines states on their Special Concerns page “We welcome trained service animals in the aircraft cabin. Trained service animals are different from emotional support animals in that they have been trained to perform a particular function or service to assist a passenger with a disability in the management of their disability. Under most circumstances, we do not require passengers using trained service animals to provide additional documentation. However, it is expected that a service animal behave in public and follow the direction of its owner.”
Special note: If you have an Emotional Support or Psychiatric Service Animal you must provide documentation from your Mental Health Professional.
Before finalizing travel plans take into account if your dog will need to relieve itself during a layover. Allow yourself as much time as possible in case you’ll need to exit and re-enter a security check point.
Two days before, call into customer service and follow the extensions for an existing flight. Have your ticket conformation number handy. Let the representative know you’re traveling with a Service Dog and at this time you may request a bulkhead seat. From experience, I’ve found that the bulkhead window seat provides the most floor room for my dog to curl up. Sometimes (but not always) they’ll ask the breed and size of your animal and also what tasks it preforms for you. Any airline staff or airport personal are allowed to ask what tasks your dog preforms for you. They can NOT ask directly what your disability is. Answer them nicely. They only do this to confirm legitimate Service Dogs.
Navigating security isn’t as horrible as the media advertises. Liquid restrictions and the taking off of shoes is a pain; but it’s just part of the process. On the upside you don’t have to stand in those long, long security lines. Look for a sign that says, “Crew or Passengers needing extra assistance.” These lines are generally shorter and will help accommodate your needs. To enter, hand them your boarding pass, ID and Service Dog Handler ID. That last one isn’t required; however it helps to have one. Mine is plastic (size of a credit card) has my countries flag, the names of myself and my Service Dog as well as our photos. On the back is printed the U.S. Federal Law about ADA Act, along with phone numbers and website address for the Department of Justice. Occasionally this ID has been photocopied, along with her vet papers, when we’ve flown internationally.
Generally, I opt for the old fashion metal detectors and put my dog in a sit-stay on one side. Pass through myself, and call her through to me. Do not remove your animals harness or vest. Only their packs need to go on the belt. If possible I take extra care not to “beep”, but my dog always does. Her working harness, collar and leash all have metal buckles—no avoiding that. This does mean TSA will pat down and search your dog. I use a stand-wait command for my Service Dog. That way she can be searched without interaction with the agent. The process doesn’t take long. They feel her harness and usually swab her for explosive residue. If you need to hold your dog during the search, they’ll swab your hands too. In the event your dog is uncomfortable being handled by strangers with rubber gloves, get a thin cape with plastic buckles and a rope leash to avoid them “beeping.” Place their normal working gear in the bin with your shoes.
When at your gate; take advantage of pre-boarding. You can get yourself and your animal settled before the wave of other passengers. I take along a small blanket to place on the floor so she doesn’t leave fur behind. It’s also good practice to find out if the fellow passenger beside you likes dogs once they sit down. I’ve personally never had an issue with anyone not.
Flying international with your Service Dog requires extra paperwork and attention to detail; as well as, traveling with mobility equipment, such as a wheelchair. I’ll address that in another post.
My two horses stop for a snack along the Continental Divide Trail in Montana/ photo/ Lindsey Rue
Recently I’ve been reading, “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed. When the author was in her mid-twenties she solo hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. Her book unfolds as she treks north, nursing her blistered feet and cumbersome heavy pack along a majority of the 2,663mi (4,286km) trail. It initially begins at the Mexican border, passes through California, Oregon, and Washington in the USA and over the border into Canada. Several years ago I’d been gearing up to ride my horses along the same trail, but heavy snows in high mountain ranges and challenges with support team coordination threw a wrench in the trip–so it never happen. But I did ride sections of that trail, along with parts of the Continental Divide Trail, Chilkoot Trail, and the historic Oregon Trail. On foot I’ve graced sections of several other long paths, and driven a dog cart on one pulled by twelve huskies.
Riding the Divide/ photo/ Ryan Talbot
Reading Strayed’s book got me thinking about other long-distance footpaths around the world. A popular one in Europe that comes to mind is El Camino de Santiago which starts many different places but ultimately ends at Santiago de Compostela in Spain. I first heard of the trail in a novel by Paulo Coelho called, “The Pilgrimage.” Other countries in Europe such as Germany, Italy and the Netherlands have quite a lot of paths. In Asia I’d looked into hiking the Annapurna Circuit in central Nepal. But it appears that Israel and Japan have many for the choosing as well; Japan’s most popular being the 88 Temple Pilgrimage.
Here are the worlds’ best hikes according to National Geographic.
Mark Moxon has an extensive website of information and stories from his long walking adventures.
The UK has a Long Walkers Association.
One Canadian man even walked around the world in eleven years.
Have you ever hiked or ridden on a long-distance path? Or do you have plans to do so?
Please share your stories or plans in the comments!
Willy T. Tattoos. Me on the left and the girls.
Cost/day: $200
Chartering a boat isn’t cheap. If you are lucky and know the right people you could however, get a job as crew, stewarding, cooking or being a deck hand if you don’t have sailing qualifications. If you are not working then watch out for hidden costs such as moorings, docking, water and tips for the crew which may not be included in the bill.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?
There is an excellent musician in St.Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, called Kurt Schindler, he has a catamaran style boat which he uses as a stage. He parks it a few meters off the beach in Cruz Bay, St. John or off White Bay, Jost van Dyke and plays his gigs from there. I saw this rickety contraption with only an outboard motor, no sails and with banners flying in the wind, making it’s way considerable distances between islands.
This article is the fifth in a series of posts explaining how to bring your music on the road and get to travel with it. Read the series’ introduction , Post#1 , Post # 2 , Post #3 , Post #4, Post #5 and Post #6.
After a few posts explaining and suggesting how to get out and play your music travelling the world, I decided it is time to bring up a real example: The Blues Against Youth. This one-man band comes from Rome, Italy, although upon hearing you may think it is some piece of lost blues from Mississippi… nevertheless, it is a perfect example of how an independent musician has overcome its national boundaries and brought his music to a wider audience by, obviously, touring and travelling.
I asked Gianni -the guitarist and one man drummer – a few questions regarding the management of life on the road, wishing they may be useful and inspiring for others looking to expand their musical activities to the next level.
Do you think your dream of playing music around the world has fully realized?
Tough question 
In the last two/three years I have been to many European countries. I like to play my music wherever there are people willing to hear it. “Playing my music around the world” is not exactly the main goal, as there are places I would like to go to, and others that do not appeal to me at all.
How do you manage to spend so much time playing music on the road?
Behind these long tours there is a massive booking work which is mainly conducted by myself without the aid of any agent. I have to write many emails and make infinite phone calls, and I get through a lot of stress trying to create a geographically logical route… however, once the tour is scheduled and I’m in the car ready to go, I just do it and feel free.
Do you think you can travel in the traditional sense of the term -seeing places and experiencing different cultures – as a touring musician?
Many times I don’t get the chance to see much of the cities I play, and it’s a pity; when other times it happens, I enjoy it very much. Anyways, by talking with people I meet on the road, sharing time with them, visiting their houses, their bars and knowing their friends I can usually have very mind-opening experiences. I realized that there are many ways of living, and mine constitutes only one of the many limited points of view. This confuses me at times, but by the end of my tours I feel much better.
How did you start getting shows outside of your home country?
I started by emailing people, telling them about my music and waiting for answers. It took a while to get a real response.
Is the logistic organization of your travels hard?
For me, the logistic organization is the most important thing. If everything is set at best, I get stressed out less. I generally travel on my own, and if something unexpected happens (which is usually a bummer), I have to make something up. By being well organized, it is easier to overcome such situations.
How are you received in the communities/cities/countries you visit?
It depends on where I go and what people I meet. In general I am received pretty warmly. I like when there’s some “love” behind any organization. I like to taste local food and drinks, to know about traditions concerning what I eat or drink. I like when there’s a cultural exchange. It also happens to play in colder environments, but luckily much fewer times. When it happens I get an instant feeling, and I get the blues. This may sound bad but on the other hand gets me in the right mood to write new songs.
Admiralty Bay, Bequia, St.Vincent and the Grenadines, Caribbean - Photo by Kris Arndt
Cost/day:$10
The Caribbean isn’t really that cheap. However, if you’re creative and have some skills, anything is possible. Most of my money went on beer and bus tickets.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?
Three men waving a live lobster, barracuda pizza and and an Ugly Man competition.
The streets of Palermo Soho
Cost: £20 per day. It’s not cheap here and a bad case of inflation means that prices can change weekly, but it’s defiitely possible to live on a budget. I’m renting a room in an apartment shared with an Argentinian girl in Palermo for £250 a month. You can find cheaper options further out of the city. I also bought a monthly yoga pass (£80), and I eat out about twice a week. The rest is spent on groceries, hot drinks in cafes and the odd glass of wine.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?
Buenos Aires is one of the world capitals for plastic surgery. It’s even included in most health plans. Everywhere you go, you see women with slightly rigid looking faces.
On the other hand, if you asked an Argentine person the strangest thing they saw lately, they may well say me – I have a hole in one of my shoes and this is deeply uncouth for style-conscious porteñas – especially in trendy Palermo. People look at my shoes and then at my face – eek!
Cost/day: $35/day
This includes $27/day for living and exploring, plus an additional $8/day to maintain full connectivity with my business remotely.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?
Dozens of giant statues and chapels made completely out of salt. Yes, I licked one. And yes, it was salty. The Wieliczka (pronounced Viel-eech-ka) Salt Mine, just outside of Krakow, is a seemingly endless underground labyrinth of tunnels and chambers built in the 13th century. Excavated by hand, it is over 300km long and over 300m deep. The miners used the salt as their canvas in their free time and carved statues of important Polish heroes and chapels that are still being used to this day.
Savannah Sunset from the top of Towa Towan - Kanuku Mountains - Photo by Kris Arndt
Cost/day: $0.8/day
Guyana isn’t really that cheap. However, if you’re creative and have some skills, anything is possible. I worked at Dadanawa Cattle Ranch for two and a half months in exchange for food and board. Most of my money went towards toiletries, insect repellant and beer. Being frugal was easy because the nearest town was 4 hours drive over rough savannah roads away.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?
“ GET OUT OF MY GARDEN” yelled Dani. A chicken was destroying the shallots and was being nonchalant about it too. Duane Defreitas, ranch manager and adventurer, shot at it from the balcony with a Ruger 22 handgun. “Oh scunt!” Winged it. Chung, a Chinese anthropologist, chased after the feathered fugitive with a machete. (more…)
In my routine travels around the ‘net, I came across this absolutely fascinating article called “Women of the World.” As well-researched news articles go, it’s certainly not comprehensive (besides, everything we read on the internet is true, right? RIGHT??), but it sure gives some fascinating names for future research.
My favorite is Maud Parris, a Yukon dance-hall girl, whose divorce proceedings ended with her mother and father leaping over the bench to punch her husband and the two opposing lawyers engaging in fisticuffs. I’d love to see two lawyers duking it out in court, particularly in what I imagine to be the dignified manner (and wigs) they would have put on way back then (she was born in 1878).
The quarrelsome point I have with this article is that it finishes with, “They don’t make them like that any more.” Excuse me, Myrtle Ryan, but they bloody well do! For all inspiring female travelers of the modern world, doing fantastically adventurous things, I say: play on, ladies.
There’s a lot of you-go-grrl-empowerment articles on the web and in travel magazines about women traveling on their own, toting their own backpacks and having exciting adventures. The general themes of these articles usually has to do with being brave and feeling safe walking the streets at night, making friends with locals, avoiding singles supplements or suspicious glances when you try to book a tour or go on a cruise. Very few of them deal with how you take the first steps into new-couplehood while you’re traveling, particularly with someone who’s not of your culture.
It’s pretty easy to find hook-up partners at hostels and budget hotels: any backpacker worth their salt can find another backpacker to share a hammock with, and some people seem to hit the road with that purpose in mind–here, I’m thinking of the British guy in the film Love Actually who goes to America because he knows his accent will make him more appealing to US women. But what about when you find that the hooking up has gone further than just a one-night stand, and you might actually have a long-term relationship on your hands? What are the next steps for long-term traveling girls?
Hopefully these tips are a good place to start for someone just starting a relationship as a longterm voyager…and might help people remember that there can be more to someone cute that you meet than a night in the sack.
