Rolling Rains Report:

Summary: Alaskan Travelogue

"There is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." ~ Kenneth Grahame

Except maybe reflecting on it afterwards!

Below are links to each Rolling Rains post on exploring Glacier Bay, Alaska. Starting with:

Cruising in Alaska
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002267.html

It Would be Easier if…
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002269.html

Meet Annie Mae
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002270.html

Reporting from a Different Perspective
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002271.html

Journaling and Natural Beauty
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002272.html

Food – the Key to Nautical Tranquility!
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002273.html

Photos from Glacier Bay
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002274.html

My First Kayak Trip ( or Ode to the McKinnon Hugger and Crew of the Sea Wolf!)
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002283.html

Return from Kayaking Glacier Bay, Glacier Bay, Alaska
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002282.html

Sound Sketch – Multisensory Travel to a Glacier
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002287.html

Transfers – Aboard and Abroad
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002289.html

Resources on Glacier Bay, Alaska
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002288.html

Why Go?
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002231.html

After Tourism Alaska – Ripples of Inclusive Destination Development
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002276.html

“This I Believe” by Colin Bates ( A Man Who has Discovered the Core value of Disability Culture – Interdependency )
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002276.html

Co-Dependent Arising: Retrospective on Wheelchair-Accessible Cruising
http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/002290.html

Co-Dependent Arising: Retrospective on Wheelchair-Accessible Adventure Cruising

"The glory of God is humankind fully alive." ~ St. Irenaeus

As I hurriedly prepared for this trip an expected theme formed in my mind around the word "transfers." I anticipated movement from wheelchair to plane, plane to ship, ship to kayak and through it all movement further from daily patterns. What remains with me are still life vignettes and moments outlined against the movement of time. The transfers I recall in retrospect are more substantial than the simply physical.

Awe is the healthy human response to the expansive beauty of wilderness such as Glacier Bay, Alaska. It was evident in my shipmates aboard Sea Wolf. Curiosity, joy, gratitude, resolve, and camaraderie further marked the voyage as a time outside the ordinary.

This trip was the co-creation of all who set up the conditions for it to unfold. The foresight of Sea Wolf owner Kimber Owen who adapted the ship for wheelchair access set up the equalizing environment. The selection of wildlife-viewing sites was expert. The skill of the crew and the humanity of all who shared the trip made it easier to feel fully alive.

Even with huge grizzlies and powerful mountain goats, fluking whales and racing Dahl's Porpoises I leave holding onto the image a pair of hands that look like mine -- thin, curled, weak -- helping me put on a borrowed pair of gloves. What in another place appears only to be weak is what revealed the invincible resiliency of interdependence. Weakness exposed to weakness.

Awe is a healthy human response to a human fully alive. Disability is a medium of revelation. Glory in paradox.

After Touring Alaska - Ripples of Inclusive Destination Development

If my travelogue did not make it clear already let me compliment the arrangements made by Sherri Backstrom of Waypoint Yacht Charter Services in Bellingham Washington and the foresight and commitment shown by Kimber Owen, owner of the wheelchair-friendly Sea Wolf. Articles will appear in various publications. One went off to Sandra Vassallo at ebility.com in Australia this morning and two more are in process.

Pioneers like Kimber and Sherri shift cultures.

To get to the Sea Wolf ported in Gustavus, Alaska we flew in a six-seater prop bush flight from Juneau on Air Excursions. Not quite adept at accommodating passengers with mobility limitations the pilot's brute-force solution to not having the proper equipment landed me on the floor as I noted on May 24. They won't make many more mistakes like that -- and accessibility will improve for those who will increasingly come for early-season cruises on the Sea Wolf (i.e. after June 1 Alaska Airlines flies jets into Gustavus with a more polished passenger loading protocol.)

The night before the cruise we stayed at Annie Mae Lodge. The meal was sumptuous and the welcome was like family. The owners have built a stylish Alaskan lodge and given great detail to accessibility. My room had a roll-in shower. I can recommend Anni Mae. As our community provides them with business we will see the trend to inclusion spread to other venues including the towns single - but inaccessible - grocery store.

Alaska is on the "Must Visit List" of many travelers. To take the trip yourself contact:

Sherri Backstrom
Waypoint Yacht Charter Services
contact@waypointcharter.com

www.waypointcharter.com/accessible_travel.htm
t 888-491-2949 or 360-656-5934

Resources on Glacier Bay, Alaska

One of the disadvantages of traveling on short notice is the inability to research deeply into the history and offerings of a place before visiting it for the first time. For those are considering an accessible cruise in Glacier Bay here is a list of links on the natural history of the region:

Glacier Bay National Park
http://www.nps.gov/glba/

Explore-a-Park: Glacier Bay
http://www.glacierbay.org/

Alaska Magazine: Ancient Ice
http://www.alaskamagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=36

Transfers -- Aboard and Abroad

All the activities, food, and conversation delayed me from exploring the two upper decks of Sea Wolf. The lift from the first to second deck is short -- just enough for me to fit.

The lift was definitely higher tech than the Alaskan Elevator in Elfin Cove!

And then sometimes the whole point was to not go anywhere at all!

Sound Sketch -- Multisensory Travel to a Glacier

The diesel motor rumbles vibrating the ship until we anchor. Even so, this expansive wildness is never silent.

At night we drop anchor. No silence here either. We are at the confluence of the three chutes of the 65 mile long "Y" that is Glacier Bay. The long narrow spaces surrounding us pulse with the sound of living glacier.

The sound signature of glacial motion comes with startling clarity and frequency to where we roll on the sea swells. Sound travels to us down three geologic auditory canals. Sounds are guided down every unobstructed valley and inlet to this place. They roll along the water's surface and sheer rock mountain corridors.

Night falls. We listen to the conversations of mountains from this centerpoint of a world disappearing.

Appropriate, perhaps, that glaciers retreating at a lightning pace -- the fastest glacial retreat in the world -- would produce the sound of thunder. "Sumdum" in Tlingit.

My First Kayak Trip (or Ode to the McKinnon Hugger and Crew of the Sea Wolf!)

After years of trepidation about the stability of kayaks I finally got in one using this theatrical "high seas" entry method.

The Sea Wolf is out fitted with a surprisingly comfortable and secure device called the McKinnon Hugger. It uses an ingenious caliper action and, when attached to the ship's davot (arm & winch) becomes a surprisingly effectives way for quads like me to kayak.

At Parque dos Sonhos - Socorro, Brazil

About 2 hours outside Sao Paulo is a town called Socorro. Adventure tourism is a central part of the economy there and Parque dos Sonhos (Park of Dreams) plays a leading role.

Among the activities adapted for people with disabilities are rafting, inner tubing, rappelling, canopy walks, off-roading and zip lines.

The top-of-class zip line ("tirolesa" in Portuguese) is called Tirolesa de Panico (The Panic Zip Line!). It runs almost 1 kilometer in the air, over a river, buildings -- and the edge of a very steep rock. Here I am after the 50-second / 1 km aerial trip. In this photo I am modeling the modified ultralight seating that is used for quadriplegics on this two-cable zip line.

In Sao Paulo for REATCH

REATECH begain with a splash. Nelida Barbeito of Argentina spoke at the opening. I was introduced also but not able to maintin a low profile (until afterwards when the conference video crew grabbed me for an interview in my rudimentary Portuguese.)

Regular Internet access has been difficult to arrange while on the road. Craig Grimes of Accessible Barcelona and Accessible Nicaragua and I have met up. He has been more successful n posting to his blog. Read his humorous entre, Corte Cabelo, for a glimpse of the trip.

Field trips include a site visit to the town of Socorro and another to Brotas. Both specialize in adventure tourism with siginificant investment and growing vendor eexperience in adaptied outdoor sports.

The Socorro experience will incude a zip line (zip wire; tirolesa) that is one kilometer long - plenty of time for second thoughts, Im sure!

In Sao Paulo for REATCH

REATECH begain with a splash. Nelida Barbeito of Argentina spoke at the opening. I was introduced also but not able to maintin a low profile (until afterwards when the conference video crew grabbed me for an interview in my rudimentary Portuguese.)

Regular Internet access has been difficult to arrange while on the road. Craig Grimes of Accessible Barcelona and Accessible Nicaragua and I have met up. He has been more successful n posting to his blog. Read his humorous entre, Corte Cabelo, for a glimpse of the trip.

Field trips include a site visit to the town of Socorro and another to Brotas. Both specialize in adventure tourism with siginificant investment and growing vendor eexperience in adaptied outdoor sports.

The Socorro experience will incude a zip line (zip wire; tirolesa) that is one kilometer long - plenty of time for second thoughts, Im sure!

Mercado Modelo (BA) & Casa da Cultura (PE) (Portuguese)

Como foi aqeula musica por Daniela Mercury, "I don't want to stay here. I want to go back to Bahia!"

O mercado Modelo, em Salvador (BA), é uma espécie de máquina de baianidade. Funciona assim: você entra por uma porta turista paulista --ou mineiro, ou alemão-- e sai pela outra porta meio baiano.

É que, pelos corredores desse mercado, o visitante entra em contato com todos os clichês baianos de uma vez só. Então, ao sair de lá, palavras como dendê, iansã, berimbau e tudo o mais que forma o léxico do turismo em Salvador parecem tão familiares como pai e mãe, cachorro e casa. Todos os dias, 2.000 turistas passam por esse processo de baianização.

Pois e. E quantos sao cadeiristas com nos -- o novo setor brotando no turismo?

O mercado baiano pasara por renovacoes. Sera acessivel?

Em Recife a Casa da Cultura, un mercado semelhante, e espetacular. Passei o meu ultimo dia em Pernambuco curtindo o velhao carcel

Da porta quase-acessivel genta ve o Lampiao marcando o grande nao-passa-cadeirista do premeiro andar. Nao preciso ninguem proteger a santidade do segundo andar -- a Casa falta elevador. E dize que a minha casa esta cheio dos tesouros turisticos do primeiro andar.

To Oakland, California: A Short Trip - A Long History

There is a comfort to culture. A shared history helps weave the tentative threads of introductions into a tangled web of conversation that does not want to end.

Last night there was more than 100 years of disability culture’s history-making in the room as Deborah Kaplan hosted a barbeque and impromptu salon in Oakland, California. I look forward to her plan to plan to extend the ritual into the South Bay soon.

The evening was quintessential disability culture – unavoidably interdependent as the tasks of meal preparation, serving, and clean-up ebbed and flowed between guests of differing abilities. Held in a co-housing community, with food gathered from street markets and shops no more than three accessible blocks distant, the menu featured stories shared with humor and intelligence.

Looking up at the almost-full-moon illuminating the dinner table I could imagine the globe-encompassing view from that vantage point in space as an icon of the dinner scene. Names flew past trailed by short vignettes:

Ralf Hotchkiss told how Kalle Konkola, from Finland launched him into a project in Africa that eventually grew into Whirlwind Wheelchairs I recalled Kalle as whirlwind himself blowing across the University of Washington campus in about 1975 while I, his host, tried to keep up with him and introduce him to the university’s first Disabled Students Commission that we had just established. Both Ralf and I shared that we carried around Kalle’s trademark gift - wheelchair safety reflectors - for decades!

Deborah told evocative stories of Topong Kulkanchit leading her and a delegation of disability advocates through overwhelmingly supportive crowds of Thai citizens in the people power demonstrations overthrowing the government.

We caught each other up on the work being done by Rosangela Bermain-Beiler, Paul Longmore, Richard Gomes, Simon Darcy, Tom Richert, Marca Bristo and many more. We scanned through projects by ADAPT, recalling back to the days of Wade Blank, the W3C Web Accessibility Intiative, Vidyasagar, DNI, DPI, AAPD, SEIU, - and even AARP.

Ralf’s legends of boarding busses, trains, and especially, airplanes would be enough to satisfy any screenwriter of action and adventure movies. Rajiv Rajan, reinforcements are on the way when Ralf returns to his shop in Chennai. Bravo to the 100 community members who linked arms in public solidarity not only with Rajiv – but with thousands of us over the years who believe that “physiology is not destiny” and have gone on to prove it by implanting practices of Universal Design in every part of this world.

Travel Abroad Testimonials from the Disability Community

Documentation of Inclusive Travel is catching on all over.

If you have not been therre recently, you may want to visit TransitionsAbroad.com for their section on Travel & Disability. Here's a catalog of their offerings:

Simon Says Teach Abroad by Melissa Mitchell

The Accessible Himalayas by Mary Ann Davis

18 Tips for International Travelers: Survival Strategies for Going Abroad: A Guide for People with Disabilities by Laura Hershey

Accessible Melbourne by Anne Vize

Disability Travel in Egypt by Lynn Atkinson

Accessibility Overseas: Is There a Way to Get There? by Sharon Gerlach

Adventures in Teaching from a Wheelchair in Venezuela by Marie Sharp

Young Adults with Disabilities Explore World by Pamela Houston

Study Abroad in Ireland by Johana Schwartz

Study Abroad with a Disability by Beth Ocrant

Abroad with a Disability: Prepare Yourself for the Unexpected by Jennifer Kettler

Resources for Study Abroad with a Disabilities in Europe by Tracy Scharn

Study Abroad and Accessibility: Overseas Experience leads to Activism at Home by Shannon Cun Lin Huy

Diversity in Study Abroad: Ways to Include Underrepresented Communities in Exchange Programs by Carole Patterson

Travel With a Purpose by Pamela Houston

Why Not Visit the U.K.? by J. E. Killick

Paris by Wheelchair by David W.E. Smith

Disability Travel Abroad Checklist by Barbara Ballard

Traveling with a Service Dog by Tracy Scharn

Source:

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/travel/disability/index.shtml

Is Korea Accessible to Toursists?: Part 2

A bit of press in Korea on Inclusive Travel, DPI's World Assembly, and the Active Aging Conference I addressed in Namhae:

Joonang Ilbo
http://news.joins.com/article/2728723.html?ctg=12

Ablenews
http://www.abledata.co.kr/NewsContent.asp?NewsCode=13152&C_code=JA

Openwel ( disability newspaper)
http://www.openwel.com/category/read.html?bcode=16296

Donga Ilbo
http://www.donga.com/view_t.news?f=i_s&n=200705160155&l=0

Hankyoreh
http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/handicapped/209465.html

Chosun Ilbo:
http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2007/05/16/2007051600030.html

Getting to Know Seoul

This photo shoot in the park near the Korean National Assembly was fun. Access from the DPI office several blocks away was easy in a wheelchair. Navigating the park was also. In the the process I met a group from a Seoul Independent Living Center.

Not reading Hangul or understanding Korean I'll take it on faith the what is in this article is a close approximation to what I said:

http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2007/05/16/2007051600030.html

[with]TV

How I wish we had [with]TV up and on the air already! What a program today would have made.

Press Release: DPI World Assembly on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

News and Media Division
KOC0703-E1

May 4, 2007

Is South Korean society, specifically, tourism, ready for the era of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that was adopted by the UN in December 2006? Signed by 89 countries including the Korean government on March 30, the Convention reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities have the right to enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

To answer this question, Dr. Scott Rains is coming to Seoul on May 14 to tour key cultural sites and evaluate their accessibility. Dr. Rains, whose lower body became paralyzed due to a biopsy on spinal cancer, is an independent travel professional who manages a website on accessible travel (www.RollingRains.com) and a disabled rights activist. He will be visiting Imjingak and Odu Unification Observatory, sites symbolizing the division of Korea, and Gyeongbok Palace and Insa-dong, popular tourist sites. He will also be accompanied by the Korean Organizing Committee of the 2007 7th Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly, an international gathering of persons with disabilities in September 5-8, 2007 at KINTEX.

With Our Rights, Our Convention, But For All as the slogan, the DPI World Assembly is a celebration of the convention’s adoption and an opportunity for serious reflection on the approaches for effective implementation of the Convention. With an expectation of 3,500 participants (1,500 abroad) for the Assembly consisting of 42 workshops in a 2 day conference, the Korean Organizing Committee is also planning various side events such as a music performance by persons with disabilities, a disability film screening, a parade downtown, and sightseeing.

Dr. Scott Rains (D.Min.) is the Director of Programs and Services at SeniorNet and Vacation & Disability Specialist at Ticket to Travel.

Following his visit to Seoul, Dr. Rains will speak at the May 16 - 18 Active Aging Conference in Namhae on gerontechnology as well as address a group of disabled and non-disabled youth of the region.

For information, please visit www.dpiwa.net; or contact Christian Park, tel. +82-2-761-0427, mobile. +82-11-9007-6270, email: contactchrispark@dpiwal.net.

Random Acts of Kindness on the Road: Embracing the Korean "Peace Zone"

Technically, so they tell me, peace has never been declared with North Korea. So, as I struggle with Asiana Airlines to provide me with even a modicum of service, images of conflict and war come easily to mind. Add to that the fact that after a brief rest in Seoul tomorrow I will be off to Imjingak with a reporter from Chosun Ilbo and the chair of DPI's sub-committee on Imjingak accessibility.

Reading the independent, pro-unification newspaper Hankyoreh set my thinking down a more peaceful path.

There is Free Hugs campaign in Korea. Virally transmitted by an online video of some Australians doing the same these random acts of human contact seem to be just the cure for disability aversion. As the Hankyoreh article reports on the video of this April 20, National Disabled Persons' Day event:

In many cases, it seemed like it was people’s first experience to hug a person in a wheelchair, as they tried to figure out how to bend their knees and lower their heads in the right way so that they could look their hugging partner in the eyes. After the hugs, both parties always wear bright smiles.

Reflections from C-SUN -- GAATES

C. J. Walsh and Cynthia Waddell are persuasive knowledgeable people. When each of them independently urges me to take a particular action, I do. (Well, actually, first I procrastinate and C. J. prods me to get with the program.)

In this case, both recommend the GAATES Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments.

As more Boomers age, and we require a new language as well as new practices and products that are inclusive, GAATES will keep the dialogue and product development cycle focussed on the Guiding Principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. I am especially hopeful that they will succeed in mainstreaming Assistive Technologies and breaking down the self-imposed barriers to adoption of AT and UD erected by older adults as they encounter the limitations that come with aging.

Life is too short not to challenge stigmatization of the technologies that make life richer, longer, and easier.

From the site:

The Objectives of GAATES are :

1. To support the Guiding Principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in December 2006 :
a. Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of persons ;
b. Non-discrimination ;
c. Full and effective participation and inclusion in society ;
d. Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity ;
e. Equality of opportunity ;
f. Accessibility ;
g. Equality between men and women ; and
h. Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities.

2. To support Countries as they carry out their general obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

3. To promote and support the inclusion of women with disabilities, children with disabilities, people with multiple disabilities and aboriginals with disabilities in society.

4. To develop, promote and disseminate knowledge and information regarding the understanding and implementation of accessibility of sustainable built, social, and virtual environments, including architectural and infrastructural design, transportation systems, habitats, and electronic, information and communication technologies so that everyone, including people with disabilities and older persons, are able to fully participate and contribute to society by :
a. conducting educational sessions, including international, regional and local events;
b. developing and maintaining an informative website ;
c. developing, printing, publishing and distributing relevant publications and papers.

5. To promote and support the implementation of accessibility as an integral part of sustainable development.

6. To provide technical expertise in the development of accessible electronic, information and communication technologies.

7. To promote and support the implementation of accessibility as part of the building, adaptation, and re-construction of sustainable built, social and virtual environments.

8. To promote and support the implementation of appropriate accessible user interface technologies.

9. To promote effective communication through the provision of alternative formats, telecommunications, and electronic, information and communication technology products.

10. To assist Countries in their national implementation and monitoring obligation under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including the development of performance indicators and benchmarking.

11. To promote the legislation and policies which address accessibility by participating in international events and activities.

12. To facilitate capacity-building and the transfer of knowledge through organising and hosting international and regional conferences, seminars, and meetings and other events.

13. To raise awareness concerning accessibility of the built, social and virtual environments and its importance as a prerequisite for persons with disabilities and older persons to fully participate in and contribute to society.

14. To support the implementation of accessibility measures including the provision of accessible signage, care assistance and intermediaries, and new electronic, information and communication technologies and systems.

15. To provide technical support for the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk (e.g. fires in buildings), including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters.

16. To undertake projects supporting the objectives of GAATES.

17. To conduct educational sessions, and develop and deliver curricula for training programmes.

18. To collaborate and support organisations of people with disabilities and development agencies by providing technical support for accessibility of the built, social and virtual environments.

19. To conduct research and participate in the development of accessibility-related regulations, codes, standards and guidance documentation.

20. To promote the implementation of inclusive environments by removing barriers and by recommending innovative design solutions, thus allowing people with disabilities and elderly persons to fully participate in and contribute to society.

21. To engage in other ancillary and incidental activities related to accessibility.

From C-SUN -- DoCoMo Trumps iPhone with Universally Designed Cell Phones

The Aging Track here at C-SUN included a presentation by the team who produced the DoCoMo Raku-Raku universally designed cell phone. This, and several other models such as the dual-screen D800iDS phone, incorporate 60 Universal Design features.

A bit of serendipity - I ran into Chika Sekine, President of UDIT (Universal Design Institute for Information Technology), at lunch for the first time since the Adaptive Environments Conference in Rio de Janeiro. I sat with her at the presentation and had a chance to chat about the DoCoMo project.
Her influence on this breakthrough technology was everywhere apparent. She encouraged consumer constituencies like SeniorNet to agitate for products of this calibre of inclusion n the US phone market.

While today's presentation was not videoed this DoCoMo video weaves a narrative of technology and inclusion that gives the flavor of a business culture capable of such innovation. Note the footage from universally designed Takayama City:

The D800iDS DoCoMo dual-screen cell universally designed cell phone with touch screen:

A note for soccer buffs:

The D800iDS holds three pre-programmed phone numbers. The demo phone had an interface that was almost entirely in Japanese except for the page with the pre-programmed phone mumbers. First name one the list: "Ronaldinho". I called. Guess he was out.

Accessing Downunder

At some point during my groggy gaze out the cabin window I recalled that I was in New Zealand this morning. Maybe it was the fact that Spring-green hillsides rose up on three sides of me in one of the North Island’s typical steep valleys. Or maybe it was the ocean cove defining the fourth side. But I think it was the clowning Kea birds that clinched it for me.

Coming from the falling autumn leaves of Northern California at first I thought I was seeing a particularly odd bundle of green-brown sycamore and toyon tree leaves rolling down the hillside outside the kitchen window. With a few squawks and a flutter the mirage resolved into two quite contented Keas waddling their separate ways -- only to do an about face and have at it again.

I recalled watching sea otters back home in California, platypus’ last week in Tasmania, and now these two rambunctious earth-colored parrots reminding me that there was a time for work and a time for play. Today was for play.

The past two weeks I had traveled across Australia from Sydney to Perth as a guest of Tourism Australia to study best practices in tourism for people with disabilities. Invited also by Tourism Tasmania to participate in their Visiting Journalist Programme, I explored firsthand the compact diversity of that charming piece of Australia sitting offshore “under Down Under.” In Tasmania I found a unique circuit of 100% accessible lodgings under construction – The Devil’s Playground – and was hosted there thanks to the generosity of owners Kerry and Jane Winberg. But back to that later.

Northern New Zealand was to be a two-night stopover on the way home. It was a “reconnaissance flight” with my sister, Pamela, to prepare for a longer stay in a year.

Flying into Auckland International Airport the traveler with a disability is met with more than the usual number of pleasant surprises – not the least of which can be friendly New Zealanders (“Kiwis”).

The airport is manageable in size. Luggage carts are free (a particularly civilized accommodation for international visitors who don’t happen to be carrying pocket change in the local currency.) Restaurants and shops are fairly accessible although not one of the Internet kiosks were usable due to a seat affixed to the floor in front of each and a keyboard mounted to the eye-level desktop. A roll-in shower is available in the international travelers section. And, in this traveler’s experience, the competence and quality of customer service available at the Auckland International Airport Visitor Centre rivals the best I have encountered anywhere. The agent who worked with us helped us narrow down options and did all the work to research and book accessible accommodations and activities.

We chose to stay in Tutukaka south of the more well-known Bay of Islands. We discovered that rental cars came only with right-hand mounted hand control and required a three to six day wait (I believe that under current deregulation I can now purchase a semi-automatic weapon in the USA with less hassle) and up to $245 NZ installation fee. My sister drove. I called cadence from the backseat driver position, “Left, left, left. They drive on the left down here!” (On my return home I have resolved to be less smug as navigator next time. I caught myself driving on the left side of the road in San Jose!)

Arriving after dark at the small resort we had selected, I was disappointed to note the four-inch threshold to the front door from the well-constructed, extra-wide ramp and landing. My disappointment grew as I met the charming owners, who brought us some of their own dinner when they realized we had not eaten, because I saw their obvious pride-in-ownership for their newly-constructed resort. It is a particularly painful experience for me to point out where, accessible construction codes faithfully followed, a small business owner is still left with an inaccessible product. So painful, in fact, that I have undertaken a project to publish and disseminate a resource that addresses the gaps in legislation and imagination which lead to this all-too-common experience. As consumers with disabilities we cannot afford to fail to assist those who have made the good faith commitment to serve us with appropriate products.

The next morning my sister and I drove the winding ridge top road to the marina and checked in with Dive! Tutukaka.

Although the staff and crew are not Handicapped Scuba Association (HSA) certified it did not take long before they had won my confidence. Transfer into Dive! Tutukaka’s purple and gold boats was a standard fireman’s carry. The folded manual wheelchair was stowed forward. For those preferring to remain in their wheelchair on the exposed section of the deck during the wild 23 kilometer ride out to the dive destination – the Poor Knights Islands – I would recommend suiting up beforehand and donning the biggest poncho you can find. The wash breaking over the bow inundates the roof and deck as these speedy boats race to be first to the best spots!

And what spots they are!

The islands were reportedly named by Captain James Cook who thought the flower bedecked islands looked like the jam on his “Poor Knight’s Pudding” (which is better known today as “French Toast.”)

This cluster of sheer-walled islands preserves species that are extinct or endangered on the two main islands. Underwater the cliffs continue downward creating what Jacques Cousteau rated as one of the ten best diving locations in the world.
Aquatic life at the Poor Knights Islands' dive. Photograph by Dr Geoff Green of Auckland, NZ.

Since 1820 the islands have been left uninhabited as sacred (tapu) following an invasion and massacre of one Maori group (hapu) by a competitor. In 1977 the islands became a nature reserve and now enjoy the highest degree of protection available under New Zealand law. Local plants and animals flourish in this environment. Marine life has learned that divers pose no threat and have adjusted to their occasional visitors.

After watching the non-disabled divers surface at the first dive site – a sheltered cove with cliffs rising 240 meters straight up and continuing down below the surface of the clear water, I chose not to dive. While the water surrounding the Poor Knights is moderated by a warm current from the Coral Sea, I knew that my body did not have the hypothermia recovering resiliency that my dive buddies were exhibiting. Instead I checked out their photos of the fascinating world below and took in the unique plant and bird life around us. This is definitely a place to return to for a dive in a warmer season.
Exotic sea life seen on the Poor Knights Islands' dive. Photograph by Dr Geoff Green of Auckland, NZ.

My purpose in traveling Down Under was to examine the implementation of universal design by the tourism industry and speak on inclusive destination development strategies at a conference on travel and disability. The NICAN conference, “Out of the Blue, Valuing the Disability Market in Tourism,” brought experts from around the country to Perth for four days of discussion, networking, and innovation.

Highlights of the event included launch of the state of Western Australia’s “Guestability” resource on good design and quality customer service for travelers with disabilities. The Perth Convention Bureau introduced a promising model called, “Beyond Compliance,” where venues receiving referrals from the Bureau to host conferences are required to reinvest 5% to 10% of their profits into facilities accessibility.

The state Conservation and Land Management Department exhibited their best designs incorporating universal design into outdoor access. Speakers addressed many other topics. These included results of an international study on the development of travel confidence by individuals with disabilities, regional studies of accessible Australian venues, strategies involving a whole government approach to destination development and a universal management approach to customer service.

Everywhere the facts and figures were laid out to underscore the sustainability of addressing the travel needs of persons with disabilities. Even now, before the aging of the Boomer generation dramatically increases the figures, there are 40 million Europeans, 42 million Americans, and 9.5 million Australians with disabilities. According to a Harris Interactive survey commissioned by The Open Door Organization in 2000 the purchasing power of the American travelers-with-disabilities market is $13.5.

Wherever I traveled throughout Australia, I found evidence of a heightened awareness of the needs of travelers with disabilities. More so than in the US and Canada, the word is getting out to businesses Down Under that inclusive tourism is a profitable, growth-oriented market approach. Interest in Universal Design is high.

Following the conference I spent two nights in the southeast of the state of Western Australia. Access features were the first thing we heard about from our Aboriginal guide and musician, Josh “Kumal” Whiteland of the Wardani people, as we took a bush walk around the Wardan Aboriginal Cultural Center. Afterward he treated us to two jam sessions on the didgeridoo (“Didjie” in the typical Australian slang that shortens and adds “ie” to almost everything. “Wheelie” for “wheelchair user”, etc.)

Lodging nearby at Wyadup Brook Cabins was comfortable and accessible. Hospitality was splendid as Judy Fisher introduced us to the amenities of the cabin she herself had designed as a master project to incorporate best practices in accessibility. I even found references to universal design and the participation of disabled athletes in the upcoming Iron Man triathlon in the 32 page local newspaper that was left by the fireplace with the kindling.

Before the conference I was treated to an escorted, four-day whirlwind sampler of Tasmania by the staff at The Devil’s Playground.

In Hobart, down at the southern tip of the island, I stayed at the still-under construction Henry Jones Art Hotel. Except for a unique toilet that recalled some gymnastic equipment I have seen (it had no grab rails and the bowl stood at least two feet in front of the wall, for example) the room was comfortable. The mix of ultra-modern and loft-style exposed 100 year-old masonry and beams was quite appealing. Staff were eager to learn where they could improve the facility and their service to guests with disabilities.

Back up north in the Launceston region, we watched three captive platypus and strolled through an indoor butterfly garden – all wheelchair accessible – at Platypus House on a day trip through the Tamar Valley wine region. I heard Kookaburras. I listened to Tasmanian frogs with voices deep enough to compete with James Earl Jones for the voice of Darth Vader. I saw Black Swans, Native Hens, endangered fish species, and sprawling wetlands brought into reach through a network of boardwalks and bird blinds. Next trip I’ll build in time for the wine-tasting tour once I try all the wine I brought home with me and strategically pick my wineries.

On another excursion, we climbed the mountains beyond Sheffield’s mural-covered buildings in the Devil’s Playground’s lift-equipped van. Stopping at Dove Lake below Cradle Mountain there was both an asphalt path and a wooden boardwalk extending for several miles. Further east we spent the night in Tullah where an ambitious transformation is taking place. The Tullah Chalet is being retrofitted for accessibility. Accessible cabins and RV park are in the design phase. Local outfitters have adapted saddles for trips around Tullah Lake while a pontoon boat (Barbie – as in barbeque – Boat) is on order to further enhance fishing options. The resources available through the Devil’s Playground circuit of barrier free lodges around Tasmania is unique in y experience of inclusive travel options. In fact, I was so impressed that I will be leading an international gathering of outdoors-oriented people with disabilities who will converge on the site for Thanksgiving 2005. We’re calling it “Day in the Bush” after a similar program of more than ten years known as “Day on the Beach” in Santa Cruz, California.

Australia and New Zealand have a well-developed tourism industry. Both countries demonstrate in policy and in practice a positive orientation toward the needs and preferences of travelers with disabilities. General information is readily available on both destinations and accessibility information is available for those willing to research – or who have chosen a good travel agent. It appears that, for the near future at least, Australia in particular is casting itself in a light that is designed to attract and satisfy travelers with disabilities.

My advice? Take advantage of the hospitality, mate!

Links:

Kea
http://www.doc.govt.nz/Conservation/001~Plants-and-Animals/001~Native-Animals/Kea.asp

Tamar Valley
http://www.tamarvalley.com.au/

Dive! Tutukaka
http://www.diving.co.nz/poorknights.htm

The Devil’s Playground
http://www.thedevilsplayground.com.au/tasmania.html

Wayadup Brook Cabins
www.iinet.net.au/~wyadup

Wardan Cultural Centre
http://www.wardan.com.au/pages/edprog.html

http://www.waitoc.com/noongar-region/wardan/default.htm

Cradle Mountain
http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/natparks/cradle/

Henry Jones Art Hotel
http://www.thehenryjones.com/

NICAN
http://www.nican.com.au

Auckland Airport
http://www.auckland-airport.co.nz/

Global Access Disabled Travel Network
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/1502/
clearpath@cox.net

Originally published in Global Access Disabled Travel Network
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/1502/aunzrains04.htm

Free Publicity for Hilton Hotels

When the Head Concierge himself asks me to post about an oversight in accessibility here at Rolling Rains I am ready to take a closer look at the values of his hotel.

It happened as I was checking into the Arlington Hilton last week for the SeniorNet 20th Anniversary Conference. Henry, the night concierge, was there to assist me from the moment the taxi pulled up. Showing me to my room (which, for some reason - perhaps a case of mistake identity - was on the exclusive Club Floor.) In the process of getting settled he pointed out to me that, in spite of his repreated requests to the management over the year, the bathroom counter in the accessible room 726 was too low and I would hit my knees on it.

Sure enough, I did. Several times!

Everything else about the hotel was superb. That prompted me to book with Hilton here in Anaheim where I will speak at AARP's Life@50+ Conference.

Service again is commendable.

This time the room - bathroom and all - is very comfortable and wheelchair accessible. There are low towel racks on the inside of the bathroom door. The handheld shower is installed properly so that it is reachable even when extended to its highest point. Grab bars are ubiquitous in the bathroom but at the same time blend with the color scheme. These are fine points often overlooked in a "compliance to ADA is sufficient" hotel - and they make all the difference in the world when I am decided who gets my business.
.

Someone at Hilton understands the difference between stylish and sterile! Since I seem to be in this area frequently for conferences I found a place that is almost as comfortable as home.

Crisscrossing the USA

Speaking at the SeniorNet 20th Anniversary Conference in Arlington, VA provided an unexpectedly rich opportunity to review travel accessibility. Jetting directly to Internet Librarian extended the adventure. On to speak at AARP's Life @ 50+ on Thursday.

After recent flights on Delta’s Canadair aircraft outfitted with rock-hard seat cushions it was a relief to fly United (with a Roho cushion under me!) In my experience, United was one of the slower airlines to catch on 20+ years ago to accommodating disabled passengers with dignity. They won my loyalty with their improvements over time. However on this trip, on both flights, I was ignored by the flight attendants on landing and left to establish social dominance on my own with the SWAT-like teams of passenger helpers that descend on disabled travelers who are still waiting onboard 20 to 30 minutes after the first passengers have deplaned.

Developing a rapport and communicating with the hired hands that the airlines use to schlep passengers in and out in the narrow airplane aisle wheelchairs can be an art. It reminds me of my childhood dream of bring an interpreter for the UN. I offended a Sudanese man when I guessed that he was Ethiopian, pleased a team of Somalis when I picked up some of their conversation and guessed correctly, and felt the familiar powerlessness on another flight as a Filipino man – with questionable management skills – explained to an Arabic speaking trainee how to strap in “that crippled man.” All are doing their best but clearly battling the handicaps of undertraining, overscheduling, and overcoming poor aircraft design such as armrests that do not lift out of the way and aisle widths with zero tolerance for error.

Other than having my wallet stolen by the United Airlines employee who carried my backpack into the cabin and the crew in Sydney that wanted to pass me across the gap between the jetway and the airplane – strapped to a narrow aisle chair – getting on and off a commercial flight has become about as routine and uneventful as loading any other piece of luggage.

Visual Delights From Norman Montifar

This weekend the RollingRains Travel With a Disability photo & discussion group was launched at Flickr.com. This week I want to profile just a few of the more than 35 people who joined in the first three days.

Norman Montifar is a professional photograper from the Philipines residing in New York City. He enjoys travel. He also happens to have had polio as a child.

You can see Norman's spectacular work at Norman Montifar.

You can also see some of it at Rolling Rains - Travel with a Disability the new Flickr group on travel & disability.

Artists in Residence

Meet J. L. Chuites, leather sculptor and teacher of the leather arts.

Intimate Apparel, The Winter's Tale, and The Importance of Being Earnest were the productions that drew me to Ashland, Oregon and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival - theater (& accessibility) tales for another post.

Surprise and paradox abound in Ahsland. Beyond the bear who frequents Lithia Park (who I did not meet) I encountered a deer -- who seemed to be watching the Wendy's longingly from the bushes one morning at breakfast time. But the unique ecosystem of Ashland is the performing arts and artisan class.

Strolling the waterway artisans' market I was captivated by jewelry of recycled glass and native gemstones, photography of the outdoors, sculpture, painting, and the soft art of textiles. All were quality but all were somewhat expected wares for an arts fair.

J. L Chuites' booth was a surprise. His work uniquely exemplifies the thespian spirit that permeates Ashland. His medium is leather. His art is the mask.

Quite tempted to leave with a lighter wallet and several of the masks I saw, I restrained myself, took his business card, and asked if I could take his photo. I did not realize until then that he also has a disability.

For more on J.L.'s work see http://www.leathershaman.com or write him at jaxonchuites@yahoo.com.

Lithia Park Provides Wildlife Adventures

From the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Box Office, safely above Lithia Park, the ticket sellers attend to playgoers sometimes offering friendly advice, "Watch out for the bear in Lithia Park."

The first time I was here - recently sprung from the hospital by my best friends from high school - the strategy for deterring overnight camping in the creekside park was signs. Now they seem to have turned over enforcement to the forces of nature!

We saw no bears. Then again, we did stop meandering the trails of Lithia Park before curfew having experienced the terrifyingly convincing bear growl during the death of Camillo during the matinee performance of "A Winter's Tale" in the Angus Bowman Theater. I wonder where they got that recording?

Along the creekside path, behind the business district, artisans show their wares on weekends. Dan Elster's wildlife photography was stunning.

It was not so much the array of North American wildlife he has captured but the composition. Every piece that he had on display in his booth contained some element of drama - one wing akimbo as a hawk stretched on its persh, one foot held mid-step as an egret stands fishing, eight pelicans overhead on a telephone wire.

See his work, and read his philosophy at Elster Photography.

Mt St Helens Recovery

The drive to and up Mt St Helens offers quite a vista. It is a reminder of the awesome power of a volcano to see "matchsticks" laid out like a repeating pattern on the slopes only to discover up close that they are age-bleached trees - some twice as big around as telephone poles - blown down by the blast.

In some spots whole ecosystems are returning as whith this roadside colony of Erythronium.

For those following the subtheme on this year's North American liliy species, the Lilium columbianum on Route 131 at the base of Mt St Helens are about two weeks behind the colonies in Del Norte County, California and Mt Baker and Mt Rainier in Washington State.

Ashland Shakespeare Festival: Food & Lodging

After a long drive to Ashland, Oregon for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival lodging is the first order of business -- quickly followed by food.

Don't expect to just drop in here during the festival and easily find lodging. Plan ahead. Making plans I chose the Windmill Inns because of the 110% service motto (and because I procrastinated reserving an room at one of the few bed & breakfasts with wheelchair-friendly rooms.)

When it comes to dining in Ashland Duane seems to be the man to know. See his site Duane's Ashland Restaurant Review

Red Lion Inn, Portland, Oregon

Along the Columbia River Gorge there are plenty of interesting and challenging site for rock climbing. What I didn't expect was that the same techniques would prove useful trying to climb into bed at the Red Lion Inn in Portland.

Captivated by the "shoulder-height-bed" craz,e Red Lion on the River is not recommended for folks of short stature, those with difficuty climbing or wheelchair users traveling alone.

That is unfortunate because their restaurant service was good and the food well prepared. Watching sailboats, barges, and later fireworks displays out the window on the Columbia River made the dining experience one to recommend.

You can even chose betweentwo competing soundscapes -- early 50's in the restaurant or disco building in crescendo through the evening in the adjoinging bar. Too bad Universal Design wasn't on their playlist.

A June Floral Tour of the Pacific Northwest

Outfacing Erythronium on Mount Baker.

Downfacing Erythronim on Mount Rainier.

Digitalis purpurea on the Nooksack river.

Cornus canadensis at Nooksack Falls.

Lilium columbianum near Mount Baker.

More on Mt Baker, Washington

Some readers wanted more bear photos. Having "risked my life" for the sake of photojournalism here is mother bear overseeing her inquisitive twins.

Mt Baker has a ski lodge that is accessible.

The lake here at HeatherMeadow has a pier -- if you can negotiate the trail to it.

Mt Baker

Momma bear had a close eye on the twins as they peered at the human being rolling past today on Mt Baker at the northern end of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state.

Mt Rainier National Park

Mt Rainier Inn has an accessible entrance. Narada Falls is best seen from the road due to inaccessibility. Further up the road Paradise offers a vista of the alpine surroundings and an accessible restaurant.

As at Crater Lake there is lots of reconstruction going on this summer. The lodge at Paradise is undergoing major renovation.

In spite of all the congestion a fox paraded through the parking lot and disappeared through a patch of Avalanche Lily (Erythronium).

Out to Lunch

One of the towns at the base of Mt. Rainier is Elbe, Washington.

A fun place to stop for a meal is the Mt. Rainier Railroad Restaurant. Right next door a whole caravan of cabooses make up the Hobo Inn. The restaurant is accessible by ramp. The cabooses did not appear to be.

The owner is the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad

Hobo Inn
54106 Mountain Highway East | P.O. Box 921, Elbe, Washington 98330

On the Oregon Trail

Westward Expansion was the phenomenon of settling the western United States -- and a major emphasis in the grade school curriculum of the educated in these western states. The Oregon Trail played a central role int heat era. Here is a park just outside Portland, Oregon dedicated to that piece of history.

Grant's Pass, Oregon

"Rascals" is the name of a booming computer support group by and for seniors in this charming town along the Rogue River. As a river runs through it the town has at least the start of Venice's alternate transportation system - but you might find a gondola's performance not to your liking in the white water. Kayaking is the sport here.

In town on business I flagged down a fellow in a three wheeled scooter navigating the surprisingly congested downtown maze. After checking in with various social service and voluteer groups like RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program), and those savvy Rascals, I followed a lead on a residential development incorporating Universal Design.

For the past several decades Grant's Pass has had a reputation as a desirable place to retire. As the sign welcoming you into town reads, "It's the climate." I would have to add, from my multple experiences of stopping folks on the street to get directions, because my Prius' on-board GIS protested ignorance of the area, that its the people too. But design for people seems to be a hallmark of the town as well.

Spring Meadows is popping next to Spring Villages retirement center. The units have all the earmarks of Visitability and Universal Design - human-scale construction including flush front, rear, and garage entrances, an open floorplan, and other design considerations. If this project represents a broader consensus on UD in town then one might find rant's Pass a good choic for something longer than a summer weekend stay.

Crater Lake, Oregon

This is not the classic shot of the lake and its distinctive cinder cone island. Today the caldera walls and sweeping snowfields seemed especially photogenic.

Visitors note: Caldera Village is under construction this summer and is inaccessible to all.

Yes, but I Need a Roll-Out Shower, Too!

The Oakridge Inn Best Western Hotel has excellent wireless internet for guests and that's just the start of the service I received there.

Tamie, the manager, popped out of the office (slippers and all) so that I wouldn't have to unload the wheelchair and come in to check room availability. I was in luck. This ample non-smoking room was open.

With some more help from Tamie rearranging furniture to access the electircal outlet blocked by the media center cabinetry the night's rest was refreshing. What was not was to discover a three inch drop into the "roll-in" shower. Sorry folks, whoever designed that wheelchair trap needs to be taken out behind the shed for some learnin'.

When we say, "roll-in shower" we assume that the ability to roll back out is implied!

If you are in Oakridge, Oregon outside Eugene, traveling alone, and need a wheelchair accessible room I'd recommend rolling past this one until the shower is fixed. That recommendation comes with regrets because the service was so notable (and coming just to play with the "welcome cat" lolling around in the front office has itsown appeal.)

Meet Robert Menzies,TAB

Robert Menzies is an ethnobotanist. His specialty is psychopharmodynamics.

Iif you needed confirmation that he has a sense of humor look no farther than the fact that he has chosen to live in Weed, California. Yes, there really is a town named Weed. It sits at the base of Mount Shasta looking up at the mountain's snow covered top to the east -- wi th its occassional lenticular cloud looking like a jauntily place tam cap.

Robert's passion for native plants led to the creation of Menzie's Natives Nursery and thus my sidetrip to ask his expert help on growing California's native lilies. He is a fount of knowledge about more than flora. He has recently been reflecting on what it means to be a TAB (temporarily able bodied.)

When we spoke he had just returned from a month in China. There, along the border with Tibet, he was able to leave his cane and walk unaided. Working with traditional Chinese medical practitioners he was able to return once more to the ranks of the temporarily able bodied. His previous experience of several months in a wheelchair is going to change the layout of his nursery -- and further inform the work he does with California's state parks.

There is never a time when the pain, stigma, and discouragement of disability is something I wish for someone else. However, meeting someone like like Robert who has lived his disability well and distilled wisdom from it reminds me again why I find hope in disability.

Some people's lives prove what Susan Wendell wrote in The Rejected Body: Feminist Philosophical Reflections on Disability:

Not only do physically disabled people have experiences which are not available to the able-bodied, they are in a better position to transcend cultural mythologies about the body, because they cannot do things the able-bodied feel they must do in order to be happy, 'normal,' and sane....If disabled people were truly heard, an explosion of knowledge of the human body and psyche would take place.

Thank you, Robert for joining in the dialogue and adding to that knowledge for us all.

The Man with the Halo in Eureka, California

Jack wears the unmistakabe four-pointed bindi of those who have suffered excruciating pain.

I lost concenration as soon as I saw the four scars in his forehead. He was checking me into his Comfort Inn in Eureka, California but I wanted to know his story. If you have been around the disability community long enough you learn to recognize the marks from the screws set into the skull for holding a "halo" traction device.

I never had the chance to ask Jack just what part of India he came from but I did congratulate him. Too few who wear that particular badge of courage are fully ambulatory and without a permanent disability.

If ever you are in Eureka needing a place to stay look up Jack's Confort Inn. At every turn during my one night's stay I was double teamed whenever I had a need -- staff showing up at my car to help me get out, to carry my luggage, holding the room door open for me.

Oddly enough, when I mentioned the scars to the staff they had no idea what they were from. Apparently Jack models excellent service to his employees even without telling them his own personal brush with disability.

That's good leadership.

The Yurok Tribe

The Yurok people have a distinction not many can claim. Frequently someone will find huge Roosevelt elk in front of their homes!

My travels have been taking me all around Indian Country this year. Today was along the Klamath River in California and the home of the home of the Yurok. If anyone had asked, I suppose I could have told them, "Rekw-woy kee nue hey-gok" ( I'm going to Requa.) The hisoric Requa hotel is visible right off Highway 101 and offers a spectacular hillside view of the mouth of the Klamath River. On closer inspection I found no invitation built into into this inviting-looking place -- there were stairs in front and no apparent ramp or appropriate parking. Exclusion by design is a life limiting reality. Disabetes, and thus wheelchair use or amputation, has as a high incidence in Indian Country. Even to capture local tourism and dining customers, or to provide employment opportunities the travel & hospitality industry needs inclusion.

The flow of tourists stopping off to watch nature was constant. Clicking away to my right as I shot the placid elk herd above were three German college students. This little corner of the world, tucked away in northern California north of Orick, is only as inaccessible as bad design makes it.

Foregoing the commercial attractions I focused on the surroundings. The foxglove (digitalis) up the road at Big Lagoon was in bloom as were the Lilium columbianum further south in Del Norte county. Spring is late in this part of the world this year but still quite beautiful.

Fishing From the Cliffs of the Amalfi Coast

High above the surf - and I mean high, like several hundred feet - a small knot of anglers were wetting their lines over the edge of the (barely) two-lane Amalfi Highway. We had just crossed over a deep cleft in the rock where the bridge spanning it was the original Roman construction. We continued through a tunnel in the promontory that was blasted open as part of Mussolini's nationalization program when we came upon the group.

I have always enjoyed fishing - especially fly fishing using flies I have tied mayelf - one of the more active styles of fishing. I just might buy this gadget below for a day when I'm in the more sedentary mood necessary for baitcasting. But what I saw there along Italy's Amalfi coastline looked a little precarious than anything I've tried in a while.

I am not sure what they catch there - although I would wager that the long haul up from the water might make anything look like the dried fish in the market.

Anyway, I don't think I'd use the Wheelchair Fishing Pole Handler in that spot unless I knew my rope was tied off well and I had somebody sitting in belay position in case I caught anything heavier than an anchovy!

On Mercenary Blogging @ Zirma.com

Along with an endorsement of the Rolling Rains Report Zirma.com has a timely reflection on journalistic standards and the use and misuse of blogging.

Sponsored blogs and a conflict of interest

We could hypothesize that one of the reasons why many people read blogs is becase they find them more reliable. That is, they’re produced by common people, not professional journalists. In the travel area, newspapers supplements and magazine articles are not always quite believable. All of the destinations are beautiful and, apparently, the traveller never has greater problems. Facing this, bloggers stories, who generally travel as mere tourists to the destinations they visit and pay the ticket with their own money, are usually pretty different. No one treats them better, simply; they’re not journalists and no one knows they will write a note about that destination that will probably be read by thousands of people in the Internet.

But this is changing. For some months now, some tourism agencies in the United States have started to pay bloggers to make references to certain locations. The trend is strong enough to make journalist focus on it. For example, the newspaper USA Today dedicated a note to “sponsored bloggers” analyzing the cases of blogs that tell stories of travellers in Milwaukee and Philadelphia, but that are actually sponsored by the tourism offices of the place. The main problem is, at least in the case of Milwaukee, readers are not aware of the district’s “financial help”.

Source:
http://www.zirma.com/blog/tag/tourism-blogs/

An Exchange Student's Experience in Italy

Robin Smith reflects on an exchange program in Italy in "Observing Inclusive Education in Italy"

Her observations on travel as a person with a disability are worth quoting:

For people with disabilities, I would like to communicate about the interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects of exchange programs. A handicap I experienced was the difficulty of establishing natural friendships and having peer interactions that were not influenced by my having been introduced to my fellow sojourners as a person in need of assistance. Although I had a wonderful time and made excellent connections with some of my companions, near the end of the trip people were tired and functioning on "one cylinder," which resulted in some awkward moments of isolation. I would recommend asking if it makes better sense, when traveling as the only person with a disability on such an excursion, to have at least one peer with whom you have a prior relationship and who is not the main person designated to assist you. This should not be read as a negative but only as a question to pursue as part of the quest to overcome some barriers built into the American culture. While I’d choose to have this experience again, I can't help but wonder if those moments would have been different if "the children had belonged together" when we were in elementary school.

Charming International Hotel - Napoli Airport

Yep, that is the name of it, the "Charming International Hotel," a three star hotel backed up against the Napoli Airport. Part of the Italy Hotel Club the place has a slighly ramped entrance and a well designed accesible room on the first floor. Right across from the room is a terrace with a view of the busy street.

The door to the accessible room is extra wide. Light switches are toggle and at mid chest for someone sitting in an adult wheelchair. The shower is roll-in although rather small. It has a grab bar but no fold-don shower bench. (It quickly rusts wheel bearings to shower in a wheelchair. I alwas carry two extra sets for situations like these.) The sink height is adjustable. The toilet functions as a combined bidet. It has a notch cut out of the front of the bowl wide enough for the hand-held shower on the wall which is within easy reach.

Internet access is free and the hotel staff is attentive. The concierge explained that his cousin who uses a wheelchair and travels has educated him. Bravo!

The Charming International Hotel serves our purposes well as a place to wash up and rest before the intercontinental endurance test begins at 6 AM tomorrow. It may serve well for the budget minded as a place to wash up and sleep off jet lag for a first night in the Naples area - but it is not convenient to the city for easy sightseeing.

The neighborhood is not inviting for an evening "passegiatta" but La Luciana pizza restaurant three doors to the left is a gem. It is a family run neigbrhood institution - kids & neighbors stopping in, pizza flying out the door for delivery via moped.

Thirty-one varieties of pizza show up one the wall menu - but I am sure you can order a custom creation. We had the house specialty - a "rolled pizza" with the local (water) buffalo milk mozzarela, arrugula, and local ham. The chewy crust comes out of the wood fired oven looking like a dalmation with black spots on white.

Three steps to get in but, like I said, plenty of neighbors around to flex some muscles and heft you in or out.

Mangia!

Positano, Amalfi, & Ravello

The trio that defines "doing the Amalfi Coast" Positano, Amalfi, and Positano are a challenge by wheelchair!

In Positano we made it as far down the steep streets to the "Residencia Gioia." It was never clear to me if this was the home of the Gioia who invented the compass and launched Amalfi into worldwide naval history because, sitting at the top of the stairs to the church plaza below, I attracted an energetic team of waiters. They were on the way down the hill past me to their afternoon shift at "Le Tre Sorrelli" Restaurant right on the beach. Needless to say, after a bit of trilingual negotiation (Italian, English, and an improvised hybrid with lavish hand gestures), so was I!

The day was warm and wonderful. It is pre-season for tourists so only one other table was occupied at the restaurant. Of course, one of the two people at that table was from San Jose, California - a graduate of Presentation High School.

Returning was another adventure. Threading the byways of Postitano are small flatbed electric trucks. The waiters flagged one down and we hitched a ride back up to the upper level along with some svelte manequins as yet to be outfitted with this year s latest style -- or maybe clothing optional is this year s latest tstyle here, too early inn the season to tell.

Amalfi allowed our driver, Alfredo, to drive us all the way down to the beach with a drop off in front of a great seafood resaurant in the cove. That left only a short time for a photo of the Gioia statute on the beach and a peek at the stunning enclosed plaza at the foot of the church.

In Ravello disability again had its benefits.

The medeival archway to the town plaza was barricaded to motorized traffic and guarded by the carabineiri. Alfredo got us through and we spent a few afternoon minutes enjoying the picturesque square.

By the way, my bout of Scrooge consciousness passed soon after Alfredo picked us up. He got an acceptable tip for his services. I expect he will use it to visit his finacee. She lives across the town street from us -- Los gatos, Caliofornia.

Piccolo mondo!

Design for Here in the Mezzogiorno - Capture the Sun!

I am on vacation. I don't need a brief case for a couple weeks. But if I did, I'd want one from Voltaic. With its three photovoltaic panels for recharging the Rolling Rains Report camera I could sure use a wheelchair bag version.

Maybe I'll talk to the Gucci artisans up the road and see what they can whip up for me.

On second thought, maybe I'll just go sip a Limoncello. Seems like as good an excuse as any to head across the bay to Capri...

Capri Across the Strait

Capri lies to the West, Naples to the North, and the skyline's dominant feature, Mount Vesuvius, to the Northeast across the Bay of Naples from here in the Grand Hotel Royal in Sorrento. Set right cliffside above its own private beach (elevator closed until May) the hotel commands an unforgettable view day or night. Built about 100 years ago and annually updated it has a venerable feel of comfortable grandeur the marble tiled lobby is full of laquered dark wood furniture embellished with the region's famous inlay work.

The first room we were assigned on the second floor while designated wheelchair accessible and with grab bars in the bathroom had a doorway far too narrow for my narrow adult manual chair. To their credit the porter quickly arranged for an upgrade to the third floor. This room, with a few adjustments like removing the bathroom door, can be made to work but lacks either a rolling shower or usable bathtub. If this is the best available at Grand Hotel Royal I cannot recommend it based on accessbility to many with disabilities - especially if travelling alone. However, the level of customer service may make it right for the resilient and physically strong.

The owners of the Grand Royal and its siblings, the Maniello Hotels, we8re apparently told by Thompson travel agencyin the UK that they must adopt universal diesign or lose the steay stream of tourists booked through Thompson. To all appearances the owners have opted for obsolesence.

Today we are off to Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello by private tour. Note again, the agent tacked an extra ten Euro over the published price when they saw the wheelchair. Nowhere near as much as I would have tipped them on my own for an eight hour tour but certainly all they will likely receive after that slight of hand.

Mushroom Weather on Capri

Vladimir, my taxi driver to the airport on the start of the trip taught me two things.

First, that the idiom "raining cats & dogs" translates as nonsense into Russian (but he was able to tell me the history of the English origins of the phrase.)

Second, that when it "rains cats & dogs" on an otherwise warm & sunny day it is called "mushroom weather" in Russian. Mushrooms do well is warm dampness.

So today we experienced the "mushroom!s dream tour" of Capri.

Leaving Naples from the old Carmine Fort via hydrofoil for Capri we had partial sun amidst sprinkles. Waiting for the return boat we huddled in the front of a small resaurant admiring the lightning.

The first thing to do arriving in capril is to get up onto the northern plateau at Anacapri. With a wheelchair it will cost you whatever the whim of the taxi driver (no accessible busses) cares to charge you. That is 20 - 25 Euros today.

Fortunately, the narrow sidewalk/streets in this charming hilltop village are wheelchair navegable. Although not all shops are accessible none are very large and you can count on attentive shopkeepers to cater to your needs on the street if show the internationally recognizable signs of being a paying customer.

Worth the walk is a trip out to the cliffhanging walkway outside the Villa San Michele estate (now museum) of Axel Munthe.

Just the Other Side of the Alps

In an acute case of "the grass is greener on the other side" I find myself looking beyond Italy to the travel possibilities of Germany. The German barrier free tourism site has become quite a good resouce for English speakers with further links in German to National Tourism Coordination Agency for All People Federal Association for the Disabled

Offtrack in Naples

My Amtrak trek through Calofornia has me looking ahead to Italy - even as I spend the day in the sky today & tomorrow.

Life would be easier all Italian trains were accessible. (OK, being on time would help too.) I am told that Italy's high speed trains are exemplary for accessibility - and narrow gauge rolling stock is beyond hope.

Once you get inside, comfort and safety become important.

One of the companies most involved in efforts to improve safety for wheelchair passengers is Q'Straint, United States. It is working with Swedish operator SJ on a project that will provide wheelchair-seated passengers with the same degree of safety as other seated passengers.

from: Wheelchair safety gains: while seats on trains are firmly held in place, there is often little protection for wheelchair passengers. Drawing on bus industry experience, one company is now offering a solution that could transform the experience of wheelchair users.(Accesibility) by Roden, Andrew

source: International Railway Journal, January 1, 2006.

via: HighBeam™ Research

COPYRIGHT 2006 Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation

Planning For a Naples Tour

Slow Travel isn't a site about those of us with mobility impairments but it does feature the insights of a few travelers who have discovered what we all know -- that a vacation is not meant to be a sprint. Severeal hundred travelers have recounted their stories at the site. You can read them at your leisure here: http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/default.asp

I have been perusing the site for insights into Italy - specifically the Bay of Naples and south along the Amalfi Coast for the next Rolling Rains travelogue. Sorrento will be our basecamp for "concentric circles" of travel at a leisurely pace. And no, I do not intend to rappel through the hillside retreats of Positano and Ravello.

Goldilocks Loves Universal Design; Reads Danielle Steel

The last time I wrote about hotel beds I received hearty encouragement from Eleanor Smith, founder of the Visitability initiative. My search for the "just right" bed will never have the worldwide impact of Visitability. In fact, it may put a few people to sleep. But that's not a bad thing.

Many who travel using wheelchairs or with parents having mobility difficulties have lamented the trend toward "skyscraper beds." These extra high beds may make for enticing promotional photos with their long legs and impressive display of mattress-top quilting and padding. Short of installing step ladders for entry or taking a flying leap to mount them they remain out of reach for many.

The Marriott Suites Hotel in Anaheim, California has hit the "Goldilocks Zone" with more than its sensible height bed in Room 1401.

I chose this accessible room for the tub rather than the roll-in shower which inevitably rusts out my wheelchair bearings after about three days of use. The sitting room is ample and entry is smooth with a low friction carpet. The simple love seat is appropriately high and has firm enough cushions to work well for a transfer. An efficient tableserves as a desk with easy to reach lamp switch, wall outlets, and DSL cable. Someone was thinking "practicality & comfort" in this room.

Goldilocks would approve of the bedroom. The hotel's designers have not succumbed to the Viagra-era compulsion to add a few inches to everything in the bedroom. Envision the bed, for example.

Adding firmness where it counts the reinforced mattress edge guard doesn't disappoint with a limp sag as you move into position for a transfer. Rather than the "look but do not touch" stance of the currently trendy stage-high beds Marriott offers a voluptuous profile. The ample breadth practically heaves under the weight of not one but three pairs of pillows. Sneaking a first peek in through the doorway the whole room seems to ask, "What were you doing out there that was so important anyway?"

Cold showers available in the adjoining bathroom.

Turn Your Back on Pismo Beach

No, that's not the title of the internal memo written by the lobbyists who succeeded in allowing offshore drilling out the front windows of these multimillion dollar bungalows.

Literally look inland to the East as from Pismo Beach and take in the mountains.

Coming South on 101 I roused myself from a nap just before Pismo Beach to see the rugged hillsides. If you read rocks the sight is nothing short of terrifying. The tremendous tectonic forces that shattered the earth's crust here make witnessing Mt. St. Helens blow itself to oblivion seem inconsequential. These hills are the remnants of horizontal layers of rock pushed fractured like peanut brittle and thrust vertically into the blue sky.

When the shudder of recognition settled I was left humbled and in awe.

Oh, The Woes of Amtrak Travel...

Actually, it wasn't a bad as I feared (which says something already, doesn't it?)

The Coast Starliner mini-suite that I reserved for the San Jose to Anaheim, California trip never materialized. More to the point, the train itself never materialized. It was six hours behind schedule when I arrived a comfortable one hour before boarding time.

Yes, it appears that I am fated to begin my vacation experience early. I seem to have landed in Italian time even while still here in California trying to make it to the 2006 NCOA/ASA Conference. I have adopted "Romanitas" - the state of being that allows one to maintain equanimity in the face of simple tasks as they drag on to take millenia.

Robert, the quick thinking but Amtrak-speed acting ticketing agent at the station, got me safely onto the Amtrak bus. The driver took up my offer to me carried up the front stairs giving me a gorgeous view of California's early spring green along Highway 101. The driver offered to buy whatever I needed at the several stops along the 6+ hour excursion ending in Santa Barabara.

At Santa Barbara I caught the commuter Amtrak (no mini-suites) to Anaheim arriving two hours earlier than if I had taken the train I was originally scheduled for. (I never try to figure out the logic of train schedules. I satisfy my temptations to do so by convincing myself that trains operate in a parallel universe with different rules of time & physics.)

The Santa Barbara station is small, charming and retrofitted with short ramps in two of the front doors if you can find them.The lobby even has an old fireplace that appears to have long ago fallen out of use. For those needing to recharge a wheelchair there is a publicly accessible outlet -- sort of. Ask at the ticket counter for access to the outlet in the side room next to the men's bathroom. With enough layover time a trip to the Boardwalk is a must.

Unfortunately, the "wheelchair spaces" on this train were without windows. It hardly mattered. All the windows were dirty anyway.

Arriving in Anaheim at night can be beautiful. The palm tree lined boulevard near the convention center is illuminated very dramatically with several upfacing spotlights fixed to the upper trunks of the trees. What you see is a stark contrast between the brightly lit scalloped brown bark and the deep shadows it casts covered by an underlit canopy of green fronds. At intervals are lighting fixtures that are almost arabesque. The internally illuminated "light installations" add a softer element and a public ar feel. The lighting is sufficient and the neighborhood appearently sfae enough that I saw several folks in wheelchairs out for an evening passegiata.

All Roads Lead to ... Disneyland!

Here in Anaheim I have been going to Disneyland several times a day. (And you thought I was following the Universal Design track at the American Society on Aging Conference!)

Actually, I am doing both. The tourist transit system (Anaheim Resort Transit) travels between hotels using the main entrance plaza of Disneyland as its hub.

Each bus is outfitted with a Ricon wheelchair lift The design requires the driver to leave the driver's seat to open the access door from the outside, operate the lift, stap (or unstrap) the four wheelchair strap-downs, and then return to driving. Drivers and passengers have been wonderfully good natured about the tedious process but it is easy to wonder why accessible design segregation (disabled passengers as special afterthoughts) rather than Universal Design integration was not used to begin with.

Design considerations clearly went into making the coaches. The problem is its superficiality.

Each coach looks like an old red trolley - complete with parkbench-like wooden seats (retrofitted with thin padding due to passenger complaints one imagines) and leg room for the average nine year old Disney denizen.

I'd rate the system a marginal "good enough" for now but he cost in time and emotion due to thinking only as far as "cute" in the design phase and not doing the real work of human centered development must be quite high especially at peak tourism season.

Back in Northern California

Back home again, the team at Shared Adventures in Santa Cruz, California continues to amaze me. You can find more photos for their first annual Day in the Sky with Challenge Air at: http://www.dayinthesky.org/photogallery/

By the time you get through the all it will be time for their 13th annual Day on the Beach. Less than one month later they co-sponsor the first annual country-wide baseline study of Universal Design

Northern California is getting a feel for Inclusive Destination Development.

Taipei Plan of Action for Accessible Tourism

The Taipei Plan of Action for Accessible Tourism has just been released.

We, the participants of the International Accessible Tourism Conference, held at Taipei from 5 to 6 May 2005:

Recognizing that tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in Asia and the Pacific, and that people with disabilities and older persons are beginning to enjoy newly found opportunities for travel, sports, cultural, educational and entertainment activities;

Recalling that, to implement the extended Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Person, 2003-2012, the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Conclude the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002, held at Otsu, Shiga, Japan, in October 2002, adopted the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action towards an Inclusive, Barrier-free and Rights-based Society for Persons with Disabilities in Asian and the Pacific;

Recalling also the recommendations and Bali Declaration on Barrier-free Tourism for People with Disabilities emerged from the Asia-Pacific Conference on Tourism for People with Disabilities, Bali, Indonesia, in September 2000, and endorsed by the Committee on Transport, Communications, Tourism and Infrastructure Development, held in Bangkok in November 2000;

Recognizing that people with disabilities have equal right of access to all tourist infrastructure, products and services, including employment opportunities and benefits that the tourism industries can provide, and that people with disabilities should be provided with the same choices for all consumers, to ensure their full participation and protection of the individual�s right to travel with dignity;

Appreciating that the Eden Social Welfare Foundation and the Asian and Pacific Disability Forum have taken the initiative to organize the above Conference to discuss the major issues relating to accessible tourism for people with disabilities, with a view to formulating action plan to promote barrier-free tourism in the Asian and Pacific region;

Noting that, while the inclusion of universal design in tourism development can create environments, products and services that are useable by a wide spectrum of consumers, irrespective of their experience, knowledge, skills, age, gender, as well as their physical, sensory, communication and cognitive abilities, most tourism service providers do not yet recognize the importance of this issue, in the absence of explicit government policies and strategies, as well as a lack of training for tourism personnel on the rights and needs of tourists with disabilities and a shortage of tourism programs that are accessible by people with disabilities;

Observing that, Inclusive Destination Development facilitates the social participation of people with disabilities and enables barrier-free economic development by systematically applying the principles of universal design to the creation of tourist destinations;

1. Affirm our commitment to promoting accessible tourism for people with disabilities in countries in the Asian and Pacific region;

2. Develop and implement our empowerment programs, focusing on advocacy, facilitation and negotiation to work more effectively with the tourism industry, government agencies and regional and international organizations to improve existing practices relating to accessibility and to support the tourism industry in introducing universal design principle to tourism for all;

3. Assist in: (a) development of training materials on disability awareness in tourism education and training for use by the tourism industries and related fields, and (b) education and dispatch of experienced trainers with disabilities to training sessions on accessible tourism organized by the tourism industries and government agencies;

4. Ensure that information on accessible tourism be obtainable in accessible formats, including print materials such as brochures and pamphlets, as well as audio and digital medium such as Internet websites, by information and communication disadvantaged groups including older people, and people with hearing and visual impairments.

5. Cooperate internationally in the area of accessible tourism, building upon existing cooperation among countries in the Asian and Pacific region, especially through information and technology sharing to enhance barrier-free environments and transportation, as well as access to information;

6. Initiate collaborative efforts with governments, non-governmental organizations, as well as regional and international organizations concerning traveling and tourism, including International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the World Tourism Organization (WTO), UNESCO, International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Pacific-Asia Travel Association (PATA) and other institutions relevant to tourism, to include disability concerns into mainstream tourism activities;

7. Advocate that upcoming regional and international cultural, sports, entertainment and educational events, programs and sites be fully accessible by people with disabilities, including Hong Kong Disneyland to be open in 2005, and the 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympics Games;

8. Form a regional network of concerned individuals, associations, organizations and agencies concerning accessible tourism to exchange ideas and personnel, share information among all the stakeholders and promote study on barrier-free tourism to improve the quality of life through accessible tourism, with a view to achieving world peace;

9. Organize regularly a regional conference on accessible tourism for people with disabilities and older persons every two years, beginning with a Tsunami affected country, to ensure continuity of our efforts to promote accessible and universal tourism.