TOUR GUIDE CAMPS HER WAY THROUGH EUROPE By Jim Boyd

Traveler:   Joanne Danelz of Seal Rock turned her love of European travlel into a business as a custom tour guide while living in Montana.  She and her husband, Greg, a retired county school superintendent moved from Montana to the Oregon Coast in 2001.  Her business as a tour guide dropped off sharply after Sept. 11 and the dollar's decline, although she still maintains a Web site.  Her husband doesn't share her love of traveling so, when not guiding others, she usually travels by herself or with French-speaking travel groups that allow her to practice the language while touring non-European places such as Thailand, Turkey and Tunisia.  "After our youngest son graduated from high school, we acted on my husband's dream and left our jobs and gathered our resources and built a log home in Montana," Danelz says. "And after that task was completed in 1989, I went on a solo pilgrimage to England for six months."  That trip, in a microbus she purchased there and later had shipped home, was designed "to test my self-reliance and renew my spirit." she said.   Apparently the test was successful because it led to numerous other trips in Europe where she camped with vehicle and tent.  Car-camping in Europe is cheap and convenient, she said.  ....Camping Municipal remains a bargain despite the dollar's decline compared to the Euro.  "Basically where I camp is Camping Municipal in France.  Often it is in the center of the city..In any big city there unusally is a large city campground -in Florence, in Rome.  And then you have public transportation from the campground.  You can leave your car there (and avoid the cost and difficulty of parking in a city).  She keeps her luggage down by using a small duffle bag on wheels to carry a backpack tent, a 2-inch foam mattress, a down sleeping bag and other camping gear.  "And then I just take a small suitcase," she said.   "So I can actually carry my luggage from place to place by pulling one with each hand.  Danelz' camping trips in Europe led to her offering customized, individual and small group tours for clients who prefer to stay in hotels (although she offers a camping option).....  Favorite Destination: "France has a particular magnetism," she said. "Most particularly, southern France-the Riviera, the Bouches-du-Rhone.  This region has enormous diversity -culturally, topographically, historically.  ....."The local markets occur all year and are delightful.  The weather is good all year as well.  You can lunch in proximity to the Med or up in a high mountain village overlooking a canyon or the sea.  "I met a couple that were renting an apartment for a month in Cap-Martin near Nice, and every day they went out to lunch in a small cafe, always in a different village or a town, and it was just a great way to become acquainted with the region," she said.   That's why I like southern France.  It's easy.  It's easy to be somewhere that's foreign where you are comfortable and you can get to know the people and deepen you experience."....Most memorable experience:  "My most memorable was in Safed, Israel," she said.  Her experience followed a two-week trip with a client after which Danelz went camping in Crete and then decided to visit Israel.  "This was a whim.  Luckily, I got the last flight out of Athens to Israel that would work," she said. "And following a couple of days in Tel Aviv, I picked up a car and drove into the countryside where after a day of exploring the villages around the Sea of Galilee, I headed into the mountains to the ancient city of Safed, which is famous for Jewish mysticism. "When I called the BandB as I was on my way to town, I was told he was renovating his second apartment and couldn't rent it to me.  Then I pleaded. And he said, 'Oh, I'll rent it to you at a reduced price becauase it's in progress.  "Well, because it was in the old city, he met me at a gas station on the edge of town, jumped into the car, and we drove to the parking lot, because I couldn't drive to where I was going to stay.  We got out of the car as the sun was dropping behind the hills in Galilee.  It set everything ablaze.   I've never seen such a sunset....."That began a magical 24 hours," she said. "It included an incredible apartment in an ancient stone building on the sheer edge of a hillside that was overlooking the hills of Galilee.  "And he gave us a private tour to boot - a French couple that was staying upstairs and myself.  Just threw it in. "   "As we did this private tour, we're stopping to chat with rabbis, we're viewing classes studying the Torah, and we're visiting an ancient sacred spring in a cave above an equally ancient graveyard.  It was an unforgettable experience.  I felt transported to another time..... Advice:  It's pretty simple.   I would just say, 'Be a local.' Sit in the park and watch boules (a French lawn bowling game) or children play, and buy lunch at the local market, and camp.  It's a great way to meet people," she said.  "And I think when you travel alone, you have less distraction and more ability to be part of the place you are visiting.   And even if you travel with a friend or a group, take time to wander on your own.   I think it's really, really important to do that.  And to expect the unexpectied.  And most of all, she reminds travelers "that when you trvel, you are a guest, and that it's wisdom to treat your host with respect."

e:mail: jodan@casco.net

   Just Your Own, Joanne Danelz

5554 Pacific Coast Highway, Seal Rock, Oregon 97376

telephone:  541-563-3672

fax: 541-563-5876

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