Behind every great trip there is often a great travel agent. For Herb and Agnes Bullock, whose Costa Rica travelogue appears here, that agent was United Spinal’s own Yojerdi “Jolly” Rodriguez of our ABLE to Travel program. And Jolly herself benefited from the knowledge of another agent with years of experience in accessible travel to some of the most unlikely spots for wheelchairs on the planet: Ed Rymut of Eco-Adventure International, based in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.
“My mother was a wheelchair traveler,” he says to explain how he came to devote a portion of his agency, which is not just for travelers with disabilities, to accessible travel. “She had an arthritic hip that made it progressively more difficult for her to get around. I got my love of travel from her.”
What makes Rymut so exceptional a resource is his attention to detail. He does not take for granted the international access symbol peppered indiscriminately through travel guides. “I check out every site personally,” he says. He is not afraid to dissuade people from tours he knows will be too challenging to be worthwhile. But he’s also always looking for ways to make his tours open to more people. Since the Bullocks returned from Costa Rica, Rymut has added an accessible van with a lift to the fleet of guide-driven vehicles available for hire to tourists with wheelchairs in that country, making it easier for people who use power chairs to travel there.
“We have a number of accessible vans in South Africa,” Rymut says. “We have totally accessible camps in Botswana and Namibia. We have vans with lifts in Thailand and Egypt, as well. I just sent our first disabled person to Antarctica, a woman who dreamed of seeing penguins in the wild. It took me four months of research, but my contacts in Chile really pulled through for me. Now we’ve got three accessible cabins on a boat to Antarctica!”
Rymut says his clients understand that these tours are full of challenges. “Our clients are people who realize there will be roadblocks along the way. That’s why we call it ‘adventure travel.’”
If you’re in the mood for adventure, be sure to call Jolly or Stephanie Acosta at ABLE to Travel (888-211-3635), and they’ll use their resources, like Ed Rymut, to get you the best deals on the you too will be ready to hit the road. most accessible travel available. I hope that after reading this issue, you too will be ready to hit the road.
Christofer D. Pierson
Managing Editor
