CAA Manitoba Spring 2019 | Page 52

Square; in Italy, the archi- tecture. And in Morocco, the highlight for Dolores Riordan was a camel ride in the Sahara desert. “I was afraid at first, but then I didn’t want to get off,” says the Winnipeg widow. “We stayed overnight on the sand dunes, ate a wonderful dinner, and everyone had their own tent. It was just great!” Riordan has travelled solo with CAA Manitoba’s Solo EsCAApes Club several times, and she’s made many new friends along the way. “I meet for coffee and lunch with several of the ladies, and a few of us go to Mexico every winter,” she adds. Whether it’s ancient ruins in Peru, Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast or the 52 Spring 2019 CAA MAniTOBA machu picchu, peru highlands of Zimbabwe, Manitobans are itching to see the world—even if they don’t have someone at home who wants to join them. That’s why more people are signing up to go solo: choosing to travel by themselves as part of group trips organized by CAA Travel. “While it’s mostly women, we are starting to see more men join our trips,” says Helga Malcolm of CAA Travel. “It’s amazing how many people love to travel but their friend circle either can’t afford it or they don’t have the same interests in travel,” Malcolm says. “You may be worried that you won’t know anyone, but you’ll know everybody before you even leave the Winnipeg airport. People just start talking.” With different ways to travel solo, it doesn’t necessarily mean going it alone. Every year, Malcolm and her CAA Travel colleagues host several trips for solo travellers. They also organize groups of solo guests to be hosted by guides from reputable tour companies. And for those who truly want to go all by themselves, CAA Travel can plan a perfect lone I n China, it was tiananmen