Paul Theroux on "the aging traveler"

As I begin to think about “the adventure travel” I’ll embark on in late June, I’m heartened by the perspective I read in Paul Theroux’s, Dark Star Safari.

The travel writer describes how he is often referred to as “an older traveler” while on the road collecting material for his books. Now beyond 60, Theroux argues, “A face is misleading, the old are not as frail as you think. They are full of ideas, hidden powers, even sexual energy.”

He writes, “Don’t be fooled by the thin hair and battered features. In our hearts we are youthful……..for we have come to know that the years have made us more powerful and certainly streetwise. Years are not an affliction……...age is strength.”

When asked by others if he’s retired, he replies, “No, I’m traveling……not business, not work, not retirement, but the process of life…how I choose to pass the time.”