The Weyburn Travel Club is back from a 10-day tour of Greece and Italy over Easter break, where the all-ages group of 84 Weyburn and area residents took advantage of all there was to see in both countries – some seeing more than originally planned.
Group Leader Andrea Kerr said they had two buses for the tours, beginning in Athens, where they saw the changing of the guards, the Acropolis, and a museum. In Olympia they stopped at the Corinth Canal as well as the ancient Olympic sites. A travel day along the countryside afforded some beach time in a seaside village while some toured a castle. A ferry transported them to Italy, touring Brindisi, and then Pompeii, where they took in the village that was covered by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
“That was really an amazing structure to see. From there we stayed in Sorrento and the next day we went out to Capri, which is the backdrop for the Mamma Mia movie. That it was a very picturesque island that we took the ferry over to and returned back to Naples, where we then went to Rome that evening,” she shared.
“We learned on the trip over to Pompeii that the Pope had passed away. That was a little bit of uncertainty as to what might happen with us when we were in Rome, because we weren’t sure what was going to be open. But when we got to Rome on the Wednesday, we were able to go to the Vatican Museum and see the Sistine Chapel, and there were about 30ish members of our group that decided to wait in line to try to go into the [St. Peter’s] Basilica to see the Pope that was laying in state.”
Kerr said while those group members took in the unique experience, the remainder of the group took that opportunity for some free time in the area to explore their interests.
“On our last day in Rome, we started off at the Coliseum and then ventured into the Forum that is nearby with some guided tours, and then we had a bit of a walking tour to finish our last day in Rome. So we went to the Spanish Steps and we went to the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, and we finished in Pampino Genoa. So there was quite a bit of sightseeing on that last day when we were walking through the historical section of Rome.”
She noted some of the Weyburn Comprehensive School Grade 12 students, decided to take their Grade 12 pictures within the Coliseum.
With each person’s interests varying somewhat, Kerr said being with a larger group allows for a more enriching adventure.
“Some of the things are just so amazing, like, ‘How they could construct the type of buildings on the top of a mountain?’, ‘How could that Acropolis actually get there?’ Like, that’s unbelievable. It’s such a huge feat with the technology of the time, as well. So I think that grandeur of some of those structures, it’s just amazing to see and the wonder how that goes, and, ‘how did that actually happen?’ “
While there is safety in numbers, Kerr noted this was the largest group they have ever taken on one of their trips, with which comes a variety of needs to ensure all 84 peoples’ needs are met throughout the journey.
“We had one student get injured on our trip and we had to just manage how we were going to get them to be mobile and able to move around and still take in those locations and not be limited because they had an injury,” she explained.
“It takes a lot of organization. It takes time to get people prepared and comfortable about what it might look like while we’re on trips, especially if the traveler is a youth traveler going by themselves, and we want to make sure that they’re prepared and their parents are comfortable with them traveling with us as well.”
She said they want their travelers to see as much as they can, and to get the most out of their trip as possible.
“We don’t like being idle. We want to see, we want to do. Kids are going there – they want to see, they want to do. We want to give them as much opportunity as they can to see what is there, and we’re only scratching the surface of some very amazing locations, in hopes that maybe they return and explore on their own, and maybe they just have that confidence to be able to explore something they never thought they would ever get to.”
Kerr said it’s common to see youth travelers inspired to want to travel more after their first trip, but it also happens sometimes with adult travelers.
“We had one a couple that joined us on our trip with one of our youth travelers and they said that they were reluctant to hop the pond and go on a bigger trip further than North America, and now that they took the plunge with our trip, they said, ‘we’re going to do it again, like this has sparked an interest for us and I see what things are out there for what we could possibly do’, and the comfort level has grown for them to be able to want to go to other places as well.”
Kerr said their next all-ages trip is planned for France and Spain over Easter break in 2027.
“So the main locations there would be Paris, Barcelona, and Madrid, with a little bit of in-between. Again, some really unique places with lots of stuff to see and a different type of cultural aspects for us to experience as well.”
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