European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 18, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Hanging out in a cafe and if you re Lucky chatting with some regulars Are Good ways to absorb local color and pick up some offbeat facts. A amps Michael Abramsky Steve silk the Hartford courant one Day while scuba diving in the South Pacific John Heminway ran out of air to breathe. Fighting his Way upward in a desperate Rush to survive Heminway shed another diver s air alternately inhaling and swallowing great gulps of water in his terror. Somehow Heminway the Host and producer of the Public television show travels made it. He nearly swooned reeling with the wonder of being alive. His mind turned somersaults. Quot of breathe that air Quot he thought. Quot feel that wind look a the Palm Trees Are swaying look at the Sun Quot in minutes Heminway says he re experienced the Miracle of life. Quot it was like being born  that a scuba dive could be transformed into spiritual rebirth comes As no Surprise to a Veteran traveler like Heminway. Quot what happens in travel is that you go out to find one thing and you stumble on something completely different Quot he says. And while Heminway is not suggesting that anyone emulate his near death experience he does believe that travellers of All sorts can enrich themselves simply by opening up to the unexpected and by welcoming possibility. A too Many american travellers hit the Road Quot Over Stine sized Quot Heminway says. They feel they be got to do this that and the other thing. They Don t leave room for serendipity. Quot in a foreign country we tend to be a Little bit scared of free time Quot Heminway says. Quot somebody might talk to us and a what Are we going to Tell them Quot in his travels Heminway invites encounters with strangers. In Paris for example he might make a Point of hanging out at such famous cafes As Les Deus magots or Leflore. In Africa he often takes Long walks with Masai tribesmen covering maybe 100 Miles in four Days. Quot out of it comes almost invariably a comradeship with a Bunch of Masai that you did t bargain for Quot he says. Learning a snippet or two of the local language helps fuel such encounters he says. Even swear words Are Worth studying. Quot this sounds bizarre but i tend to learn a lot of curses first a if you can get a couple of Good Strong exclamatory words it s amazing How you gel people s attention and develop instant grounds for  that idea was stolen from sir Richard Burton the victorian explorer who spoke about a score of languages and always claimed to learn the swear words first. In the traveler s ongoing quest for meaning even a a in a foreign country we tend to be a Little bit scared of free time. Somebody might talk to us and a what Are we going to Tell them a a John Heminway travel show Host hotel might make a difference in experiencing a country Heminway says. He advises searching out hotels with lots of local color. Quot i m not or. Fodor i m just an enthusiastic traveler but i can Tell you to avoid Chain hotels Quot he says. Antananarivo the capital City of Madagascar for example has three hotels a Sheraton a Hilton and the Colbert a downtown place where men go to sign business deals and couples go for assignation. The Hilton and the Sheraton Are in isolated compounds. At the Colbert Black marketeers wheel and Deal in the bar and a colourful outdoor marketplace lies just outside. Quot you know which place i stayed in Quot he says. Heminway actually suggests that thoughtful travellers kick the Guidebook habit altogether. Quot with a Guidebook you just look like a tourist a and there s nothing i despise More than looking like a tourist. I just want to look like an interested human  Quot my theory about travel is Don t give me a lot of details about Kilometres and room rates and menus a that s not what s important. What s important is this country this town and these people seen through the eyes of their Lyric poets their  consequently Heminway might prepare for a visit to Paris by Reading Marcel Proust or Ernest Hemingway or Thomas Jefferson s love letters to Maria Cosway. For the Marquesas islands he perused works by Thor Heyerdahl Herman Melville and Paul Gauguin. _ a a Guidebook maligning Heminway recently authored a Guidebook of his own but says it s not typical of the Breed. It is a series of essays a collection of enthusiasms each followed by a How to do it Section. In the Book he often expresses the idea that in travel less is More. Take big game watching. Most tourists hit Africa with a Long list of animals they Hope to tick off a Lions giraffes elephants wildebeest zebras Etc. But Heminway suggests watching and trying to understand just one species say elephants. Detailed observation reveals elephants to be dangerous but Loving animals with Complex family relationships who employ a form of language like Humpback whales and who even seem to have a sense of the meaning of death. As with the elephants Heminway believes concentrating on a single topic while travelling leads to a Richer experience. In Paris he might devote a Days Long visit solely to the louvre visiting the museum daily to slowly unearth its treasures. But even such a task he would approach leisurely spending but a few hours daily with the great works to avoid sensory overload. That Way he would have a lot of leftover time to spend in cafes. But when it comes to seeking experiences that might usher in personal transformation Heminway says there is no place like Africa. Quot people go off to afric a and Conn Back changed in ways they Don t quite expect Quot he says. He has visited that continent More than 70 times. But no matter the destination Heminway believes the thoughtful traveler will always find meaning in travel. Quot i think there Are  opportunities awaiting people in travel Quot he says. You have to almost get a Globe out and position yourself and say where do i want to go it s amazing How something As dumb As a Globe can inspire  july 18, 1 9t stripes Magazine 3