Educational tourism keeps them coming back

BY JEANNE WHITEHEAD

The Digby Courier

NovaNewsNow.com



Ken and Mary Bo Gassman of Virginia travel the world. Their visit to Digby, with the not-for-profit travel group Elderhostel, followed closely on the heels of a trip to the Himalayas.

Along with 27 traveling companions and a guide, the Gassmans were in town participating in a program called ‘The Bay of Fundy: Natural Wonders and Human History.’

Catering to those age 55 and over, Elderhostel offers nine Nova Scotia programs and has been bringing tourists to the Digby area for the past 19 years. They will be visiting Digby four times in 2008.

Elderhostel’s clients have much more in common than their senior status; they’re all hooked on lifelong learning. Their five nights and four days in Nova Scotia saw them taking notes from university professors; traveling to Canada’s most attacked fort and oldest national historic site; participating in a Mi’kmaq sharing circle; and enjoying mussels while whale watching off Brier Island.

According to Greta Wilson, tour guide, the ‘Fundy program’ focuses on three topics. The group learns about the Bay of Fundy, the region’s indigenous people, and the area’s Acadian’s history. Elderhostel brings in experts on each subject. Those experts include Mi’kmaq people, fishermen, naturalists, and university professors.

Learned about early Acadian culture

Day one saw Dr. Marc Lavoie of L'Université Sainte-Anne talk to the group and present a slide show about early Acadian culture. Dr. Michael Dadswell, a marine biologist at Acadia University, was also on hand with information about the Bay of Fundy, its ecosystem and the world’s highest tides.

Digby’s Fred Ross, sporting a sou’wester, told them about the scallop fishery and shared a few of his personal and often humorous experiences fishing the Annapolis Basin.

Elderhostel groups are typically small enough, and inquisitive enough, to ensure plenty of interaction and lots of questions. This relaxed learning environment, it seems, strikes a chord with many.

While it was Ken and Mary Bo Gassman’s first Elderhostel experience, Esther Levering’s Elderhostel passport bore 12 stamps. Levering, from Ohio, retired from teaching four years ago. She noted that one of her traveling companions had been on more than 30 Elderhostel tours.

The first-day lectures took on new relevance when the group began their field trips. In Annapolis Royal they visited Fort Anne and Port Royal and listened attentively to the Acadian voice of Alan Melanson as he told them of the deportation of his ancestors.

That same day they received a Mi’kmaq blessing and sat in a circle passing a talking stick as they participated in a sharing ceremony.

“It was really moving, very emotional,” Wilson said.

On their Digby walkabout, a visit to the wharf and the Admiral Digby Museum gave the group a glimpse of the scallop boats they had learned about from Ross.

Jam-packed program

Wilson recalled that as they drove into Digby they all chimed in with questions as they passed the store, ‘Guy’s Frenchy’s’.

“Does it have anything to do with the French?”

“How do you pronounce ‘Guy’?”

“Can we stop?”

She added that it would be very easy to get off track, since the people by nature were keen to see and experience new things. But the program was so jam-packed that just one diversion could throw everything off schedule.

There were only two Canadians in the Elderhostel group, Wilson said. The rest were Americans, so the Tim Hortons experience was brand new to them. So was the Acadian dish, rappie pie, enjoyed on the French shore. While there, they also visited Saint Bernard’s Church. Built over a 32-year period with granite hauled in from Shelburne, the impressive building has a seating capacity of over 1,000.

There were plenty of notes taken when naturalist Mona McDonald introduced the group to common plants that were used for medicinal purposes by the Mi’kmaq. And there was excitement, on the final day, as they headed to Brier Island for whale watching. That excursion had them sampling mussels as they cruised the Bay of Fundy.

Although this group stayed at the Mountain Gap Inn, Wilson says it is fairly common for Elderhostel tourists to stay in university residences, which can make a program very affordable. There are also Nova Scotia tours that revolve around hiking, kayaking and biking and ‘intergenerational programs’ designed for grandparents and grandchildren to explore the world together.

Elderhostel was founded in 1975. They now offer nearly 8,000 educational tours in 50 states and more than 90 countries.

The Gassmans said their first time touring with Elderhostel was a positive experience. They were also impressed with Nova Scotia.

“Nova Scotia reminds us of Scotland,” Ken said. “We won’t have to go there anymore. We can just come here.”