January 24th, 2025

A Guide to Avoid Pickpockets, Scams and Tourist Traps Abroad

Who wants the hassle of replacing a passport, credit cards and other valuables during a trip that was supposed to be the “trip of a lifetime”? Not me. Who wants to get halfway across the world to see that thing you’ve been wanting to see your whole life and not be able to thoroughly enjoy it? Not me either. If you take these precautions, you will likely not be the target of one of these less than desirable people, (or a tourist scam), and have an amazing time.

Pickpockets

These people are usually young, well-dressed, and work in groups. They understand English well and are trained to take advantage of tourists, especially in “touristy areas” of big cities like Paris, Barcelona, London, Rome, and others. Don’t expect that you won’t be targeted in smaller cities though!

Tip #1: If someone, (even a young and pretty girl), approaches you and asks you to sign a petition or learn about a charity, say “NO” firmly and walk on. Do not try to be polite. They have 2 or 3 others that will come up to you in the crowd while you are distracted and reach into your pockets. The same goes for someone spilling something on you or bumping you while walking. They will apologize and try to touch you to “clean it up” or “make amends”, thereby distracting you to have their friends free to grab something. Just back away quickly if this happens. This happened to me in Florence, but I was firm and got away.

Tip#2: Wear a cross-body purse with the purse in front of you, keep your phone and wallet in a hidden money belt, or around your neck on a lanyard. NEVER wear a backpack. When you sit down at a café or restaurant you will be a sitting duck, especially outside. Attach your valuables and shopping bags to your body with a lanyard or a carabiner. (I have found this helps me not to forget my bag too!) NEVER put your phone or purse down on the table beside your plate. Someone could easily snatch it without your even feeling a breeze.

Tip#3: You will likely take public transportation. Don’t stand there holding your phone and scrolling. This is the time to be vigilant because this is where many people have things stolen, especially their phones. DON’T stand next to the door on a subway holding your phone. Someone could basically take it from your hand and run out the closing door at the last minute. Goodbye! If you are distracted by your phone, you might have someone reach into your bag and take something as well, and you wouldn’t even feel it.

Scams

There is another kind of person that likes trusting tourists almost as much as pickpockets do. Scammers. Some of these people just want a few bucks, but some will straight up steal your credit card info when you hand it to them, so watch out!

Tip#1: Watch out for someone who tries to give you a gift and says, “This is for the pretty lady”, or “Have a wonderful time today”, or something similar. Don’t take it. Be ADAMANT that you do not give permission for them to give it to you or your wife or kids. Teach your family not to take anything “free”. This is what will happen: They will come back. They will keep coming back until you give them money. This is very frustrating because they lean on your kindness by saying things to make you feel guilty so you will give them money for the nice gift they gave you. Ugh. I saw this happen to people in Vatican City with little bracelets.

Tip#2: A very friendly person across from you at the café or at the museum offers to take you to a local place where you can have a great time. NO. Just no. They will likely, in fact, do one of several things with you that will NOT be a great time. They will often take you to a club and bring you a drink without even asking you if you want it. Then when the bill comes the drink is some outrageous price. Sometimes they will just charge you the massive amount and move on, but sometimes they take it a step further and get you drunk, make you pay for their drink too, steal your stuff, or take your credit card.

Tip#3: 

Watch out for people selling things laying out on the street, especially art. In the hustle and bustle you could accidentally step on the corner of a cheap poster and be told that it is actually worth a great deal of money, and that you ruined it. I saw this happen to a lady outside of the Accademia in Florence. What do they expect if they lay these things all over the middle of the road? Exactly.

Tourist Traps

You are on vacation in a foreign country to hopefully experience the authentic culture of the destination. You didn’t come to Rome for a hamburger or to Barcelona for Taco Bell, or get stuck looking at a monument just because everyone else is there looking at it. Why then, do so many tourists fall into these traps? I think it is because they don’t know any better, and that is why I am teaching you about these.

Tip#1: If you are in Florence and starting to feel hungry, don’t pick the closest restaurant to the tourist attraction you are visiting that says “EAT HERE” in English with pictures of the food on a big billboard. Stroll around the corner and see what you can find. You will, hands down, have the best meal if you find that “hole in the wall” place that has been there 150 years with the menu all in Italian. Don’t worry, you can Google whatever words you need to figure out what to order. Better yet, research what kinds of foods you think you will like ahead of time and order like a pro! The best raviolis I had in Rome were at this little restaurant I stopped at that had no one there. I felt like I was being served by a local family.

TIP#2: Try to find local stores to shop for souvenirs that do not have things they ordered off TEMU for sale to unsuspecting tourists. This can be hard to do in some areas. Often, I will simply stick to the museum stores and local grocery stores for this reason. When you do find an amazing, authentic souvenir store you will have such a great time looking at everything. My two favorite memories of this are in Gothenburg where I found Pippi Longstocking (Pipi Langstrump), and at a gift store in Tivoli Gardens where I found Little Mermaid items (Referring to the one written by Hans Christian Andersen), in Copenhagen.

TIP#3: Go to the desired country in the off-season or visit your desired attractions during a less-busy time of day. This will allow you to really take it in without feeling like a harried tourist. Stroll lazily down a street in no hurry, or particular direction, and pop into a small café or store to see what they have going on. Sit and watch people in a “non-tourist part of town” and watch them interact. Sometimes you will find the most beautiful fountain all by yourself, or some people playing a game. These are the moments that you will cherish forever. Yes, you will never forget when you first saw the Eiffel Tower… but take a breath and take it ALL in where you are, and you will not regret it.

Thank you for your precious time today. I hope this helps many of you!

December 31st, 2024

Hello to my friends and fellow travelers!

First of all, I want to let you know that my adult "kids" and I are going on a fun trip tomorrow that we have been planning for over a year! My son Jaiden just turned 18 last month, so we adults can all now enjoy a cruise on the Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady (age 18 and over only). This new cruise line is world renown for its artistic design, sustainable practices, gourmet food, and all-inclusive pricing. No "nickel and diming" with them, and no buffets-(one of the main causes of food waste on cruises).

We will be sailing out of Miami on January 3rd and stopping in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and Bimini, Bahamas. I am definitely looking forward to the warm weather!

Aaaaaaand, since we will already be in Florida... When we get off on January 8th, we are going to head over to Disney World for just a couple of days. 😍

Secondly, Ashland Living Magazine is featuring my business in the January issue coming out tomorrow! Here is the rough draft script of the article Kristin Clark from Best Version Media wrote:

"Observant Ashland Living readers will recognize Rebekah Esquibel’s name from our December issue. She’s one of our newest Expert Contributors, and the delightful owner of Experience Joy Travel Company.

As proprietor she helps her clients research, plan, and book their dream vacations. “I care for each and everyone of them, and I curate their vacations with genuine interest,” she recently told Ashland Living. “I’ve been organizing trips for a long time, and have always been one to research and plan all the details that make travel special.”

Rebekah prizes authenticity and loves discovering the unique details of different destinations in order to create deep and meaningful experiences. Her company’s aim is elevated travel and a focus on cultural immersion that will leave an eternal impact on the traveler.

“Travel is a force for good in the world,” she maintains. “People need to get outside of their boxes and experience other cultures in order to be well-rounded human beings.”

She works hard, taking her clients’ individual needs and comfort into account, and counseling them accordingly. “Sometimes people say, ‘Oh, my kids are fine. They go everywhere and they do everything.’ That's excellent but I’ll encourage those parents to give a little leeway in the schedule so there’s not a meltdown. Or sometimes people will plan an adult-only trip and they’ll have ambitions to do five things in a day. I remind them to be realistic. No, you don't have your kids with you but it doesn't mean that you want to run yourself ragged. So I add that element of advice to the trip.”

Rebekah also works with individuals who are living with disabilities. “I have a client who uses a wheelchair. They can transfer themselves and everything, but it adds a whole extra element to our planning so we can take accessibility into account.”

She relies on her consortia, Virtuoso, the leading global network specializing in experiential travel, to actually vet the properties and adventures she recommends to clients. “I talk to my clients and we figure out what their budget is and where they want to go. Then we talk about logistics. Virtuoso is a huge resource into which I can plug information, and it will pop up with the best of the best. Preferred partners will be guaranteed awesome, and there are thousands and thousands, in all different price ranges.”

Rebekah has two children; daughter Jocelynne is in the ROTC program at SOU and Jaiden is a high school senior. Both of them caught the travel bug from their mother.

In fact, her company’s name was inspired by a special trip the three took after that much anticipated and long-planned vacation had been postponed.

“I was going to take my kids to Hawaii because I finally had enough money to do so, and then Covid hit - I was frustrated and so sad!” says Rebekah, who also happens to be a Nuclear Medicine Tech and was working in Yreka during that time.

“To make myself feel better, I spent the time until we could actually go researching the trip to make it as wonderful as possible when it did happen. And to me, wonderful means authentic. Finally, things began to open up again and we were able to go.

I’d made a diagram that the kids could look at to identify fish when we went snorkeling. And I taught them some Hawaiian words so they could understand, and we learned about the different foods there, and where they came from. We experienced it all while we were there. We went to the most Southern bakery in the US (Punalu'u Bake Shop) and had malasadas.

Creating the trip and seeing my children immerse themselves... that to me was the definition of joy,” Rebekah says. “I believe you experience a special kind of joy when you take yourself out of what you know and learn about all there is in this fantastic world.”

Hence the oh-so aptly named Experience Joy Travel Company.

Up for some joy? Be sure to drop by Rebekah’s website experience-joy.com for travel tips, to sign up for the Glimmers Newsletter, or just to say hi!"

Thirdly, I would like to invite you to Experience Joy Travel Community's first event! Yes, that is right, we are having an event for folks in the Rogue Valley area to learn more about river cruising while enjoying some wine, fellowship, and lite bites at Hummingbird Estate.

"Get to Know River Cruising with AmaWaterways" with Cody Phillips, a really fun guy who will be presenting all the reasons why river cruising with AmaWaterways can help you experience the "Heart of the River".

Please RSVP for this February 6th event here (limited availability): https://experience-joy.com/

Thank you for your precious time today, friends.

Follow my vacations on social media if you are interested. Here are links to Facebook and Instagram:

https://www.facebook.com/experiencejoytravelcompany

https://www.instagram.com/experiencejoytravelcompany/

October 29th, 2024

The Three Most Important Lessons I Learned on My Recent Solo Trip to Southern Europe (Article to be featured in Ashland Living Magazine).

“Do Unto Yourself as You Would Do to Others”

You wouldn’t judge your loved one if they were a little slow going up the stairs at the Colosseum. You wouldn’t get mad if someone was too tired to get dressed up and go out that night and just wanted to watch the sunset over the Mediterranean with a baguette, wine and cheese. You definitely wouldn’t get frustrated if they became a bit homesick one night and shed a few tears. You would go slowly with them on the stairs. You would enjoy that wine, baguette and cheese with them. You would comfort them with a hug. Why not treat yourself with the same grace?

“When Nature Attacks… Relax”

I wasn’t ready when that huge bird pooped on my neck as I leaned against the wall outside the Trattoria Sant’ Agostino, savoring the warm night after a delicious meal. It was green, and there seemed to be quite a lot of it. Fortunately, I had napkins in my purse (I always recommend putting your spare paper napkins in your travel bag at any time in Europe, because these are very handy). I WAS prepared for the rain, with my handy pop-up travel umbrella. What I wasn’t prepared for was slipping in a puddle and falling on my behind. When I got back to my accommodation it was stuffy, so I opened the window a crack. I hope I save someone the trouble of being eaten alive by huge mosquitos in Florence by telling you to make sure there is a screen in your window. I allowed myself to get very angry in each of these situations, but guess what? It didn’t help. What did help is the hydrocortisone cream and Benadryl that I always pack. When you need it, you need it.

“You’re A Long Way from Home, Dorothy”

You may be tempted to “save a few bucks” by booking a less expensive hotel while you are on your European adventure but listen to me: DON’T. Everyone who goes to Rome hopefully has a wonderful tour of the Colosseum from a highly educated guide, but sadly some of these people will return to their hotel after a long day with aching feet and find that their room “smells weird” or “isn’t comfortable”. You may find that many people speak English in Northern Europe, but they simply do not in the southern countries. What you need is a ”home away from home”, a haven where you are greeted with a friendly “Hello”. I unfortunately suffered the trouble of having a less than comfortable room at a couple of my destinations. This is a lesson hard learned after a long day of sightseeing, when all I wanted was to hear “Welcome back, Miss Esquibel”, and sink into a luxurious bed where I knew I was taken care of by the best of the best. 

…Stay tuned for my next article, where I will tell you three of my favorite things from my trip, one of which is the cappuccino. This particular cappuccino comes complimentary with your stay at the Kimpton Vividora in Barcelona. The Vividora is guaranteed to be one of your favorite things about your trip to Barcelona, should you choose to stay there as well.

August 6th, 2024

Hello lovely travelers,

A wise person once said, “You cannot go to a place you have not been first in your imagination.” Where you go in your mind is a destination and what you see in your imagination is like a place you are traveling to. I would like to take you someplace lovely today in Northern Europe.

TIVOLI GARDENS, COPENHAGEN DENMARK

My son and I get off the train in Copenhagen, Denmark on a warm June day and walk a few blocks along streets lined with thousands of parked bicycles. It is apparent that most people travel around town by train, or on bicycles of various styles. There are bicycles in so many different colors and models that it absolutely amazes me.

We find the entrance to Tivoli Gardens and Jaiden wants to ride all the rides, so he gets a wristband. I am not quite sure what kind of rides I would like to enjoy yet, so I wait on the wristband purchase. I know that they have a Hans Christian Andersen ride that I want to check out, but I decide to wait and see what else they have.

As we walk through the gates, I am sure we are arriving somewhere magical. Not only am I a huge gardener and look forward to seeing what their gardens have to offer, but I am a fan of historical architecture, and I am pleased at the buildings scattered about the grounds. There are unique and quirky colorful details at every turn, including an alleyway between two rides that is full of silly and nonsensical things including a polar bear’s head and rain boots sticking out of the walls.

Jaiden takes off to enjoy the rides, which includes at least one roller coaster, and I decide to stroll the grounds. I am absolutely amazed at the variety of plants that I find, including flowers, trees, vegetables and herbs. There are little cafes surrounded by gorgeous water fountains, flower gardens and even fruit trees laden with citrus and figs. There are bean bag chairs thrown all about on the main lawn area for guests to enjoy, and many are having picnics.

My favorite area is the Concert Hall Gardens where the multi-colored “Swing Carousel” stands surrounded by thousands and thousands of roses in every color. The ride spins around and around, sending those on swings flying. This is just one of Tivoli’s magical gardens. 

I eventually find the Hans Christian Andersen ride, which is really called “Den Flyvende Kuffert”, or “The Flying Trunk”. I pay with my credit card at the entrance, which is convenient. There are 32 fairy tales featured on this ride with fantastic scenes made with colorful wooden dolls. The narrator tells me all about these scenes, however I do not realize that I should have chosen the English setting in my flying vehicle before I embarked, and don’t understand the Danish storytelling. I do recognize several fairy tales, including The Princess and the Pea, The Little Mermaid and The Emporer’s New Clothes.

I learn that Tivoli Gardens was originally built in 1843 and it is said to have inspired Hans Christian Andersen in his fairy tales as well as Walt Disney in the creation of Disneyland. It is the number one destination for first time visitors to Copenhagen, and I can personally recommend it.

I hope you enjoyed the little peek into my personal visit to Tivoli. You can watch the video I made about this trip on my YouTube channel using the link here.

Please like and subscribe.

July 15th, 2024

 Hello brave travelers,

 Some of you might be thinking, “Hey! What do you mean, brave traveler? I haven’t been bravely traveling!”

 But you will.

 Where you go in your mind is a place. What you see in your imagination is a place you are traveling to. I would like to take you somewhere today where you must be a little bit brave.

A wise person once said, “You cannot go to a place you have not been first in your imagination.”

Let’s go to the southernmost point of the United States today.

PAPAKŌLEA GREEN SAND BEACH AND SOUTH POINT, HAWAII

In March of 2021 I set out to take my kids to the remote beach that I last visited about 20 years prior. When I was there as a young 20-year-old, I remember that a local friend drove us out there in his jeep because there was no actual road, and by the time we got there my butt was sore from how bumpy the drive was. When we got there, we had the beach to ourselves, which was amazing.

I did my research and knew that my kids and I should hike out to the beach to avoid further destroying the land with automobile traffic. There is no “road” to the beach, only a winding dirt maze of ditches between small rocky hills. Even though I had rented a Jeep on this trip I knew that I would likely get stuck trying to drive the rough 2.5 miles to our destination, the landscape of which is worn into a 50,000 year-old cinder cone. I was not willing to risk wrecking the rental, and I really did want to respect the land that we were privileged to visit. 

I found South Point Road between mile markers 69 and 70 and drove 8 miles on a slightly sketchy road to the trailhead parking area. When we got out of the jeep with our backpacks, we were approached by locals who were offering us a ride in the back of their truck for $10 each. We politely declined and began the trek, sticking along the coast as much as we could. There is no shade on this hike, so we had sunblock, water, hats, and spunk to get us there. It was a difficult hike, and we were passed many times by 4WD vehicles. The kids started to grumble that we could have taken the jeep, when suddenly, the landscape opened to a beautiful cove. It was just like I remembered it as the steep sand beach glinted with a green sheen due to the heavy olivine mineral, and the gorgeous jagged black volcanic cliffs served as a backdrop. 

I was surprised to see so many people there, but the internet does not let secret beaches stay that way. We eased down the steep entrance to the beach, which includes a skinny winding hallway through the earth and a metal ladder bolted into the rocks. Later as the kids hiked along the precipice of the cliff I paddled out to where the surf wasn’t slamming into me and floated there, just enjoying the movement of the water.

Once we were finished enjoying the cove we were exhausted. By the time we climbed up out of the steep beach area we were simply done. The sun had climbed high in the sky, and we were asleep on our feet. I decided to take the locals up on their ride for the way back to the parking lot.

We jumped into the back of the truck, which had a metal handrail welded all the way around the bed. The way it was set up, we all stood around the edge of the truck bed holding on to the metal rail. Looking at each other with excitement, we hung on tight as the truck took off on our crazy ride! It certainly was an adventure, and one we will not forget.

When we got back to the jeep we decided to drive out to South Point, which I jumped off when I was 20 years old. It is a 30-foot drop into the “soft”, clear saltwater. There is a metal ladder clinging to the cliffs so you can climb back up when you are done! The kids were hesitant. Jaiden did not decide to jump, but Jocelynne and her boyfriend took deep breaths and tight hold of their courage and jumped! They were all smiles as everyone cheered!

Please check out the short video featuring this trip on YouTube: Here Remember to like and subscribe for more! 

I hope you enjoyed our adventure today, and I will see you again next time in Glimmers for another!

June 26th, 2024

Hello adventurous travelers,

Some of you might be thinking, “Hey! I haven’t been traveling anywhere adventurous!”

But you have.

Where you go in your mind is a place. What you see in your imagination, and where you dwell in your mind is a place you are traveling to. I would like to take you on an adventure today.

*First, I want to apologize for the long silence in this newsletter. Sometimes we need to have some time to ourselves, don’t we? Well, I am ready to get back into the swing of things with you today, my adventure partners.

A wise person once said, “You cannot go to a place you have not been first in your imagination.”

Let’s go on an adventure today.

TORTUGUERO, COSTA RICA

I didn’t know what to expect as my daughter and I got off the tour bus in the pouring warm spring rain at the riverboat embarkation to Tortuguero. This is in the jungle on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, north of Limon. We were told to use the restroom there, because it would take about 2 hours to get through the winding rainforest canals to Tortuguero, a peninsula with no automobile traffic. I remember taking a video with my camera (through my plastic protective case) of the rain, which was absolutely dumping down onto our riverboat, soaking all our luggage, and filling up the brown, muddy canal.

I had a surprising feeling of glee as we boarded this boat with huge lifejackets on over our raincoats and sat crammed together on the tiny chairs under an overhang which did not do much for the people sitting by the open sides of the boat. Our guide introduced our driver, and suddenly we were off! 

The winding canal was full of wildlife, and during the moments the rain let up we were able to see huge iguanas basking in the sunny mud, spider monkeys swinging and climbing, and the occasional sloth high up in a tree, looking like it had made a little hammock of itself. At one point the boat became lodged on a branchy log that was hidden underneath the surface, and we had to all move to one side of the boat to raise the affected side! We all couldn’t help but laugh in our anxiety!

When we arrived in Tortugero (Named for the sea turtles), I was totally enamored of the little town. There were shops, food vendors, and many huts on stilts, with doors open to the moist, hot air. Our hotel stood facing the Caribbean, surrounded by glorious gardens with winding paths throughout. As we wandered the small village, we sampled chicken skewers which were cooked right there for us over a little wood fire, bought coconuts from the cart which were deftly chopped open by machete, and had some of the best coffee I have ever had in my life.

I could go on for pages about Tortuguero and tell you about the jungle walk, (watch for snakes and jaguars!), the friendly locals, and all the wonderful food we had before we moved on to the volcanic Arenal region of our tour of Costa Rica. Maybe I will in another issue in the future.

Please check out the video on YouTube Here

Until next time, “Pura Vida!”, my adventure partners! Come back and join me again in the next issue of Glimmers.

May 3rd, 2024

Hello to all my gorgeous travelers!

I thought this morning to myself, I really need to add more “glimmers” to my newsletter, because I don’t feel like I did that enough last time. So what? That's in the past. Today is the start of something new.

Yes, the intro said “gorgeous”, and yes, it said “travelers”.

Some of you might be thinking, “Hey! I haven’t been traveling anywhere!”

But you have.

Where you go in your mind is a place. What you see in your imagination is a place you are traveling to.

Whether you are experiencing this place for the first time by reading a detailed description, or hearing someone speak about their vacation there, or seeing the place with your own eyes… you went there.

A wise person once said, “You cannot go to a place you have not been first in your imagination.”

Let’s go to a place today.

LONDON. 

I am standing at the foot of Westminster Abbey. It is SO BIG. Like, the carvings on it are so huge it makes me wonder how long it took to build this thing. It is so big that I would have to stand way down the street to get the whole thing in one picture. As I am taking a video of the bell towers the bells start to ring! It is so wonderful. I feel like I am witnessing a profound moment.

I later found out that there are ten bells in Westminster Abbey, and they are only rung for special events: All major church festivals, Royal and abbey anniversaries, saints' days, civic events, and special services. We later found out it was Prince William’s birthday that weekend, because as we were trying to walk down Parliament Street in the heat wave of June 2023 there were so many people that we couldn’t even move forward. We were bewildered! Then it happened… the royal carriage with white horses drove by. Everyone cheered! It was amazing.

Now I am not one to swoon at royalty, but this procession was striking. It made me think of Jesus and his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. People lined the streets and threw their jackets in the street for the donkey he was riding on to trample. People waved palm branches. They were so excited to welcome their king.

What does it make you think of?

As the crowd dispersed, I continued to think of the pomp of the presentation. It made me feel fortunate that we just happened to be there, because we did not at all plan it.

Well gorgeous travelers, I am going to say goodbye for now. I will have another glimmer story for you in the next issue. Until then, continue to travel. Whether physically or in your imagination, go somewhere!

Much love to you all.

Becky