Innholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2025 i Zoomer Magazine

SPOTLIGHT Canadian-born Susan Casey, who anchors this issue with “Taking the Waters” (pg.58), is the former editor-in-chief of O, The Oprah Magazine; contributor to Vanity Fair, Esquire and National Geographic; and a New York Times best-selling author of four books on the oceans. When she’s not at home in New York’s Hudson Valley, she’s in the Pacific, where she recently dived down 5,000 metres in a submersible. Olivia Stren, who covers under-the-radar Anguilla in “I Felt the Blues” (pg. 67) has written for ELLE (U.S.), National Geographic Traveler, Toronto Life and the Toronto Star. The Toronto-based journalist says that the most magical place she’s ever been was the Giraffe Manor hotel in Kenya, where she literally breakfasted with endangered Rothschild’s giraffes. As the Canadian editor of National Parks Traveler,…

SNAP A PHOTO OF YOUR LUGGAGE “Don’t check a bag” is my travel mantra. But for those rare times when a larger piece of luggage can’t be avoided, I make sure to snap a few photos of my checked suitcase and baggage tag. If the bag arrives damaged or decides to take its own vacation, those photos make the claim a lot easier to handle. USE HOTEL SLIPPERS FOR LONGER FLIGHTS Going barefoot on a plane? Gross. Keeping your feet trapped in shoes for 14 hours? Gruelling. Enter the humble hotel slipper. They’re officially yours to take, so throw a pair in your carry-on before checkout. Swap your shoes for those cushy freebies and relish the extra comfort and breathability. You can toss ’em once you land. SAVE MONEYON…

THE NTH AIRBNB Seattle couple Debbie and Michael Campbell began “one last adventure” in 2013 and have been on the road since. The self-described senior nomads, who have visited 94 countries and stayed in 320 rentals, inspire fellow travellers through Facebook, a blog and their book, Your Keys, Our Home. Their tagline says it all: “Living life and loving each other, one Airbnb at a time.” Numbers Game Who knew the fountain of youth was hiding online? When Floridian Mildred Kirschenbaum shows up at the airport for a flight, she budgets an extra 30 minutes to deal with befuddled airline agents who expect an infant. That’s because the booking software only registers the last two digits of her 1923 birth year. “I’m going through my second childhood,” she jokes.…

A TARIFF OF 25% WOULD SHRINK OUR GDP BY ROUGHLY $78 BILLION, HITTING OUR POCKETBOOKS TO THE TUNE OF $1,900 PER PERSON ANNUALLY As soon as Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November, he began serving notice that Canada should no longer take its enduring alliance with the U.S. for granted. Posting on Truth Social, the tempestuous 78-year-old leader huffed that he would impose a 25-per-cent tariff on all exports from Canada and Mexico “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” He followed this uppercase ultimatum with a series of posts, including an AI-generated image of him standing atop a snow-covered mountain peak (looking suspiciously like the Swiss Matterhorn), in front of an enormous Canadian flag;…

3 I FELT THE BLUES In the lobby of Anguilla’s Malliouhana Hotel – all salt-air cross breezes, arched doorways and shades of diaphanous blues and lemon yellows – there’s a framed photograph of (long-ago) Aristotle Onassis at the helm of his yacht. He and Jackie O were frequent guests here, and indeed his diving helmets adorn the lobby, bequeathed by Onassis to the hotel’s general manager with whom he’d become friendly. Below his image is a photo of a glamorous couple sitting at a backgammon table in a swimming pool. The woman is wearing a string bikini and both are deeply tanned and look profoundly relaxed. The image telegraphs high leisure and uncompromised pleasure – a moment in which there is nothing else in the world to do in…

WE’RE CROSSING GEORGIA STRAIT under full sail on a glorious August afternoon when my partner gleefully announces we’ve achieved 7.3 knots (about 13 kilometres per hour). “Is that good?” I ask. “Fully respectable,” he grins. I’ve just hoisted the sails by hand and I’m riding the high of a newbie sailor and upper-body weakling who has accomplished something hard. I’m tempted to rest on my laurels, but JD has asked me to be especially vigilant on this trip, scanning for other boats, hull-smashing logs, crab traps and whales. Born and raised in West Vancouver, he has been sailing these B.C. waters since he was a kid and can tell by the feel of the wind on his face which sails to use and how to position the boat. But…

TO MEET LIKE-MINDED SOULS Senior Discovery Tours (SDT) has been specializing in vacations for 55+ travellers since 1975. Heading to more than 100 destinations, the tour company sees a lot of solo-guest cruise bookings, which can easily feel like a trip with pals, while enjoying the comfort of your own accommodation. Many make use of SDT’s room-matching program, great if you decide to share a stateroom to save money. If you don’t find the perfect match the first time, they’ll help you until you do. SDT’s new cruises include an aurora borealis adventure that sails from Southampton, England, up into the Norwegian Sea to Alta, Norway – a.k.a. the City of the Northern Lights – as well as an Oktoberfest cruise to ports in Belgium and the Netherlands to…

JOURNEY’S END In the heady, “Sunny Ways” days, our prime minister was considered a valuable export. In 2016, just months after his October victory, a New York Times headline declared, “With the Rise of Justin Trudeau, Canada is Suddenly … Hip?” Erroneous premise and irritating punctuation aside, the accompanying article argued Trudeau’s election rubbished the notion “that our neighbor to the north is a frozen cultural wasteland populated with hopelessly unstylish citizens.” Well, duh. But with his intrinsic glamour – all GQ hair, novelty socks and celebrity swagger – Trudeau has always been off-brand for a country where tall-poppy syndrome still infects the discourse and the defining sentiment is sorry. He “has assumed the role of world leader with a heart,” the Times went on, painting him as the…

BITTEN BY THE TRAVEL BUG Danger lurks on holiday, even when you’re drinking by the pool the pandemic taught us that, in the age of jet travel, germs can hitch a ride and be anywhere in the world in a matter of hours. But the irony of fretting about getting sick in other countries is you’re most at risk of the same infections you can get at home – for example, pneumonia, influenza and COVID-19, which has been downgraded to a low-level threat. “We call them cosmopolitan illnesses,” says Dr. Philippe Lagacé-Wiens, a medical microbiologist at Winnipeg’s St. Boniface Hospital and a member of the federal Committee to Advise on Tropical Medicine and Travel. “Make sure your vaccinations are up to date for those routine things.” A lot of…

HOME BASE: Barbados CLAIM TO FAME: Canadian entrepreneur turned Caribbean hotelier who set up shop on one of the world’s best beaches. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS: My background was quite working class: my dad was a factory worker in Toronto and my mom raised two boys at home. We watched what we spent, and bought two-day-old bread because it was less money. But no complaints, it was wonderful. THE PIVOT: I went to university for psychology and I was teaching – I thought that would be my career. Then a friend introduced me to a business that could be run during school holidays, and I enjoyed being a small-time entrepreneur. Later, I started a reinsurance business in Barbados and moved my family there in 1988. That same year, I heard that…

CLEANSING WIPES A stash of moist towelettes removes that layer of travel grime and can do double duty to wipe dirty surfaces. L’Oréal Revitalift Radiant Smoothing Wet Cleansing Towelettes are gently exfoliating and rich in Vitamin C. Almay Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes for oily skin are biodegradable and hypoallergenic. MISTING WATER SPRAY Who doesn’t want a light mist on a long, dry flight? Avène Eau Thermale offers a cooling spray of French spring water. The more active Hyaluronic Ceramide Mist from Dermalogica helps skin hold onto water with refreshing, antioxidant polyphenols, and Tower 28 SOS Facial Spray contains antimicrobial hypochlorous acid to kill bacteria and prevent breakouts. MOISTURIZER You want to massage in a hydrating serum that contains water-binding humectants like glycerin and hyaluronic acid, then lock in the…

1 THE QUIRKY JOYS OF BIRDING I grew up with a bird book in hand, methodically ticking off all the species that my family would spot on long summer walks in northern Ontario and on cross-Canada drives. I knew my urban blue jays as well as my cottage country great blue herons. Baltimore orioles made me love orange and black. Gulls dive-bombed me once when I made my pediatrician father patch up a bird with a torn wing. I collected broken eggs the way other girls collected dolls and felt deep sorrow for the unlucky birds that crashed into our windows. I loved the drama of birding but eventually shelved my dog-eared field guide to pursue seemingly more exciting passions. My re-entry into the bird world began in 2016…

One of my most memorable visits to Rome was not in the jasmine-scented summer months but in chilly January. On a whim, my then boyfriend and I booked last-minute tickets to spend the lagging days of December and New Year’s Eve there. We were rewarded by experiencing Rome as the Romans do, with just a whisper of tourists, the restaurants full of the cozy chatter of Italian. And when we went into the Pantheon, we were met by the astonishing sight of snowflakes gently falling through the oculus. Their mesmerizing, meandering journey, seemingly from the heavens, has stayed with me as one of my most profound travel memories. It felt like it was just us, the snow, and a few thousand years of history resonating from the Roman walls.…

IN MID-OCTOBER, THE FORTIFIED HILL TOWN OF TODI IN UMBRIA goes all in for a costumed festival of maidens, falconers, jesters and archers in a ritual tribute to its patron saint, Fortunatus. The sixth-century bishop reputedly wrangled the release of 300 wealthy schoolboys who had been kidnapped by marauding Goths; saintly miracles later ensued, but those records seem lost to the sands of time. However, it wasn’t a burning desire to catch a festival but a failure of modern technology that landed my husband and me in the middle of the historical re-enactment, our rental car swarmed by Middle Ages cosplayers. The ancient narrow streets had blocked satellite navigation. How did we ever travel without navigational maps on cell phones? I do have fond memories of lodging my car…

Malcolm McDowell is no stranger to happening cities. He grew up in Liverpool back when the Beatles played The Cavern Club, moved to London at the height of the swinging ’60s and, after rocketing to fame in ’70s films like A Clockwork Orange, O Lucky Man! and Time After Time, has called both New York City and Los Angeles home. So it says something that, after spending the last four summers living in St. John’s, he’s absolutely smitten with “The Rock.” “I’m in love with it,” says the 81-year-old actor, who plays “Pop” on the Newfoundland-set CBC comedy Son of a Critch. “St. John’s is a unique experience and everybody should put it on their bucket list.” Of course, McDowell has had a top-notch tour guide. His co-star Mark…

BEST ISSUE EVER? I just finished the October/November 2024 issue. l read everything from cover to cover. In my opinion, one of the best editions so far. I certainly enjoyed all the diverse articles – keep up the good work. —Karen Kelly HOW UN-CANADIAN The December 2024/January 2025 issue is extremely disappointing. I subscribed because it is supposed to be Canadian with Canadian content. I want Canadians on all covers as well as featured in the magazine. I count 42 pages of American content. You Candu better! —Donna Pree THESE EYES I sure do enjoy receiving Zoomer and all of the great articles and information. Is there any chance the font can be made larger for these older eyes? That would be marvelous. —Christine Marchildon READABLE AND RELEVANT I…

My first husband of 32 years died of lung cancer in February 1993. Later that year, my neighbour in Oakville, Ont., invited me to a New Year’s Eve party. As usual, it was all couples from the neighbourhood – except for one guest’s uncle from England. He was tall, slim, and he had lovely hands. Since he was the only other single person there, I went over and asked him to dance. His name was Rick, he was a retired police officer, and we’d both recently lost our spouses. For me it had been almost a year, but Rick’s wife of 40 years had been gone for only three months. He was still grieving. He’d come all this way to visit his three nieces in Canada because he couldn’t…

MY PASSION: Travelling and experiencing the world by motorcycle off the beaten path, along with skiing, fashion (I’m a long time Fluevogger), great food and wine. And I love living in Toronto for the thriving arts scene. MY FAVOURITE PLACE: That is a tough one as I have ridden a motorcycle everywhere from Morocco to South Africa, Iceland, even the Arctic Circle! Being on two wheels allows me to explore beyond the guidebook. My most moving moment was at a small ger [yurt] camp in Mongolia, where many of the young girls had never seen a woman on a motorcycle before. They all wanted to carry my gear and sit on my bike. One little girl looked at me with her large brown eyes and pointed to me and…

WEALTH MORE MONEY THAN (COMMON) CENTS Have banana, will travel. After making its sensational 2019 debut at Art Basel Miami Beach, Maurizio Cattelan’s conceptual “masterpiece” Comedian (essentially a fresh banana duct-taped to a wall) jetted off to galleries in Australia and South Korea, with a pit stop at the Guggenheim before it peeled into Sotheby’s New York auction house last November. There, the low-hanging fruit was snatched up for a cool US$6.2 million. Not bad for a snack that cost 30 cents to procure from a street vendor on the morning of the sale, and was “hung” using a $6 roll of Red Green’s favourite DIY adhesive. Late-night jokes and memes followed, not to mention protests over income inequality and food scarcity, but the Comedian made like a banana…

2 I WALKED ACROSS A COUNTRY I arrived at Park Hotel Sonnenhof, a refined boutique hotel perched on a hillside overlooking the centre of Liechtenstein’s capital, Vaduz, shortly after lunch. I was drenched; my running shoes squished like a wet sponge with each step I took. I had walked to the hotel, 10 kilometres, in the rain. The kind front desk clerk at the immaculate Relais & Chateau property that has breathtaking views of the Alps out of every window, didn’t bat an eyelash at my sodden appearance. She showed me to my room. Warm, dry, clean, the bed covered in fluffy pillows and a luscious duvet, it was just what I needed. She likely had seen folks in my state before, as this is a stop on…

HALIFAX: With an eye towards extravagant naturalistic presentations (no swordfish spine or caribou moss goes unused), Mystic offers ingredient-driven tasting menus on the Halifax harbourfront. A wall of jars filled with tasty experiments like Gala apples in brandy greets guests up front, while a 60-foot kinetic sculpture brings up the rear, reaching through the rooftop and timed to sparkle with high and low tide. Both installations speak to chef Malcolm Campbell’s Maritime-terroir tasting menus, be it Flora (plant-based), Fauna (land and sea), Biota (land, sea and air), or Discovery (no fixed address). Think: oysters tucked into edible oyster shells with smoked oyster and caviar, parsnip tonka flan with sea lettuce, and a cheese cart fuelled by Nova Scotia and Quebec’s best. Halifax has never seen a restaurant quite like…

ben Sturgulewski has spent his life going to extremes. He grew up on a small island in the Aleutian chain, the tendril of America that trails off into Russia. And as a maker of ski movies, he has pushed the backcountry frontier beyond the pale, shooting in obscure alpine ranges from Nepal to Kyrgyzstan. In 2019, he made a short film about a ski race in Bamyan, Afghanistan, where locals would tear down a mountain strapped to wooden planks. “Usually there’s so many curveballs going to a place like Afghanistan,” says Sturgulewski. “But everything went perfectly. We left with a great pile of footage and a storybook ending to the race.” Two years later, after being stalled by COVID-19, his film was nearly finished when disaster struck: Kabul had…