In her fifth book, local author, traveler and craft beer aficionado, Jules Torti has written a collection of travel essays that offer a window into the journeys and the moments that make travel so exciting, and in the case of this collection, truly adventurous and many hilarious.
These are trips where curiosity sometimes goes astray. Whether it is fending off diarrhea on a Hot Air balloon in Egypt, or attending a bizarre live sex show down a non-descript alley in Bangkok, Jules finds the humour in the journey and celebrates the moments of wonder and awe that accompany new experiences in new places and cultures.
The collection of essays and stories Trips That Went South: Travels from A to B(eware) takes you to points across the globe that most of us may never get to and even if you do, Jules manages to find herself in situations that are simply not for the faint of heart. Some situations she and her partner, Kim, are victims of circumstances beyond their control. Others are of their own making as they seek out some unusual and extreme experiences. In each case, when something goes off the rails, all you can do is get through them and laugh. (Full disclosure, one of my most horrifying travel moments was being at Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site no less, when my bowels suddenly turned inside out. It was not a proud moment. I mention it because Jules’s collection of stories offers up some solace and validation that sometimes things do not go as planned. We have all been there, in one way or another.)
Whether it be the claustrophobia of spelunking with a possible convict tour guide in Belize, the most unusual of massages (or was it a succession of inappropriate groping) in a mud bath in Colombia, or the adrenaline thrill of white water rafting the Ottawa river, she always finds the magic and humour of whatever outrageous or difficult situation she and her partner, Kim, are experiencing. As she says in the introduction, this book will most likely convince people of places they never want to go to. A lot of them have to do with the limited and bizarre cuisine available, such as guinea pigs in Ecuador. The others probably have to do with the ensuing diarrhea that seems to always follow, but her perspective that every experience makes life richer and more interesting always shines through. These are trips where something goes sideways and how Jules and Kim navigate the experience and “roll with it”. Life can be messy, so why wouldn’t travel be the same!
Jules’s writing effortlessly conveys the chaos that can occur when travel butts up against local culture and looks back at the experience as a necessary part of the whole. Despite the fact that each subsequent travel destination amps up the level of discomfort she continues to seek out more and more off-the-beaten track adventures. What comes through time and again is her resilience, her faith in throwing caution to the wind, and an attitude that affirms and celebrates that it is all about the journey, not the destination.
These essays are written in a way that draws the reader in quickly and viscerally. Her honesty in confronting challenges and difficulties is impressive and her ability to find humour and embrace the situation makes the collection so accessible, readable and entertaining.
Jules asks us to consider the question of “Why do we Travel”? For her it is a rhetorical question. We travel for a great many reasons, but as this book explores, we travel to satisfy a curiosity, to make us uncomfortable and to resuscitate us from routine. By sharing her stories, we owe Jules a debt of gratitude. Not just for taking us way out of our comfort zone and making us laugh out loud, but for also offering the inspiration and courage to push ourselves when we make our next travel plans, wherever they may lead.
Find Torti’s Trips That Went South here.
Written by Carey Low
