Just two more days before I leave freezing cold Toronto for the steamy heat of Fiji. Another adventure as a solo baby boomer traveller. My first trip alone was to Bali two years ago and the experience was so energizing that I wrote my first book, an illustrated (I'm an artist), travel memoir, Two Journeys: Swimming from Darkness to Light. My daughter likes to describe it as a cross between Eat, Love, Pray and the First Wives Club.

Whether the writing bug will bite during my month-long trip remains to be seen. Talking of bugs, will two different brands of mosquito repellent work on Fijian mosquitoes? I'm travelling the backpacker circuit, off the beaten track, way off, so need to be prepared for anything. My fellow travellers are likely to be young Aussies and New Zealanders who my daughter warned "Like to get in your pants!" Apparently she speaks from experience as part of a group of young people doing the "Contiki" tour of Europe. I don't think I have anything to worry about seeing as she was in her early twenties and I'm in my early sixties.

Goodbye 15 below zero; hello 30 above and handsome young Aussie backpackers!