IN a holiday letter, a very wise friend shared an apt saying: "Life is not measured in the number of breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away." Thought-provoking, isn't it?

Perhaps after the holiday rush and accumulated bills, you're beginning to feel Scrooge was a much maligned man. Along about this time, there are those tempted to slip into a "Bah, Humbug" mood.

The temptation is understandable. Increasingly we live in a world where the only certainty is uncertainty. At a season where the message should focus on peace on earth, it's difficult to find a place where peace is universally guaranteed.

An American consular official's daughter is killed in an attempted Bolivian car-jacking . . . yet another clergyman is murdered in Colombia for protesting drug warfare . . . an English citizen meets disaster innocently picking up a visa at Istanbul's British Embassy while nearby, bank clients meet death in a suicide bank bombing.

And these are just a few of many chilling items that have made news from November until now. It's easy to sit back and look at the negative side of life, because there's plenty of it. But as my brother Jim is so fond of philosophising, "You can get bitter, or you can get better." And truly, the choice is yours.

The more one travels, the further afield they've ventured, the more shattering the impact of daily headlines. How can there have been so many killings last year in the beautiful Vale of Kashmir where one of those wonderful gingerbread houseboats became our peaceful home for a few days?

Why did innocent pilgrims become victims of a gunman on the border between Jordan and Israel? Will it ever be safe again to wander through Istanbul's famed bazaar and bargain for oriental rugs?

In a year where travellers' dreams of exploring the world have been challenged, in some places shattered and memories of exotic places visited often bloodied, one can still find reason for hope and a tempting collection of places where safe travel experiences await.

It's always interesting to look back at year's end reviewing remarkable ? and not so remarkable ? experiences. People who colour those experiences can definitely have a positive, frequently eye-opening effect if you take time to stop and talk.

Seeing sights is one thing, but coming away from travel destinations with a better understanding of people living there very definitely enhances your trip. Those person-to-person encounters somehow bring a place alive, personalise it, take it off pages of a sterile guidebook. It should be a learning experience as well as a travel one.

Just weeks ago, we enjoyed one of our year's most colourful people-to-people encounters. In a remote part of a little travelled but super-scenic western state, we got into a really different conversation . . . the kind which would definitely make an interesting plot for a mystery novel or movie.

Gorgeous to look at but not a place to earn much of a living, one wondered why such a multi-doctoral type with degrees from the University of Chicago had landed there.

He sized us up carefully before confiding the reason. Not that we had asked, but for some reason my talkative family seem to inspire such "confessional" ? like meetings with total strangers anxious to share their life story and unburden their problems.

For some reason the subject turned to crime and law enforcement. When we mentioned our father as a young man had been a deputy states attorney in the Chicago area during the Capone era, this individual apparently decided he could trust us and told all.

out his federal attorney father had federally prosecuted a mafioso so infamous, his name would be instantly recognised in most far corners of the world. Consequently, death threats had been issued not only against his father, but the entire family.

After the trial resulted in a subsequent conviction and bloody headline murder, the family had been moved to this remote location by the government for their protection.

"It was an earlier version of the witness protection programme. My father liked it so much he retired here . . . and so do I."

After receiving his doctorates, the son took off to spend his early career in a place more isolated than Timbuktu, learning the region's complicated dialect. Although we didn't have nerve to ask, one suspects he, too, subconsciously harboured a fear of retribution from this notorious gangster's henchmen . . . which is why we're not naming any names.

And it just so happened we'd visited portions of the ultra-remote region of his self-imposed exile. He's not a person we'll soon forget and meeting him gave a new dimension to that experience.

In one's travels one sometimes meets people who seem to be running or hiding from something. It may not be your imagination . . .we've encountered haunting experiences involving such people, enough to fill a book.

From the opal mines of Lightning Ridge, Australia to a former government drug enforcement agent seeking safe refuge near the Mexican border. Somehow just talking to someone willing to listen without being judgmental lightens their burden.

Talking not only opens many doors, but often a "lesson in life" look at personal lives far more intriguing than what's seen on television or films. It can also suggest interesting travel ideas.

An example was the first class flight attendant on a segment out of Dallas. After very efficiently serving an excellent dinner far superior to one we just had on our connecting international flight from Frankfurt, this sparkling personality confided she really lived to travel.

"Since you're so involved with travel, you might be interested in what I did this summer," she volunteered. "I took a walking tour all alone across southern Scotland and it was fabulous, one of the most fun things I've ever done. I'm doing it again next summer with my 75-year-old mother."

Intrigued, we didn't need to ask for further details because she was so excited about that unusual trip that she forged ahead.

"It's all arranged for you . . . the bed and breakfasts are chosen, your luggage transported between places, then you walk back country lanes where there's no traffic. It was absolutely sensational."

ERTAINLY for someone who spends her working life quite literally catering to people, it was probably a joy to be alone. She's used to serving their dinner, refilling drinks, being pleasant to often unpleasant passengers. She admitted it was a joy to get completely away from such responsibilities and have people taking care of her.

"It's definitely one of the best trips I've ever taken . . . not strenuous or difficult even though it sounds like it could be. It was exciting to become part of rural life among hospitable Scots." Sounded tempting. If you're interested, she found it on the site www.walkscotland.com.

The real secret of having a wonderful travel experience is doing something you truly want to do . . . not what's considered the "in" thing, fashionable or pushed upon you, pressured by someone else interested in a destination or activity that doesn't appeal to you. It can be doing absolutely nothing if that's your preference.

Like the cardiac-care nurse from Bethesda Hospital under such constant stress and pressure that her idea of a totally relaxing escape weekend was to settle down watching movies at Black Walnut Point Bed and Breakfast on a wave-lashed peninsula near St. Michaels, Maryland in Chesapeake Bay.

March to your own drummer, not someone else's, and consider talking to some interesting people while marching. Which brings us to someone we met a couple of weeks ago, who did just that.

"You've been to Santiago," exclaimed a lively, very personable volunteer who helps at Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly where we were delivering cartons of Christmas gifts recently. We looked at her in surprise. Was the woman clairvoyant, how could she possibly know?

"You're wearing the emblem on your hat!" she explained.

And then the light bulb went off in our brain. Those who visit Spain's Santiago de Compostela come away with the distinctive emblem of the city . . . a stylised red pin depicting a sword that can also be described as a cross. Once seen, it's instantly recognisable and I'd forgotten mine was still pinned to my straw hat after our recent visit.

non-denominational charity was started in France after World War Two by a nobleman distressed by the lack of any joy in lives of those left totally alone. With the motto, "Flowers Before Bread", he set about trying to improve the situation. His work has spread around the world, with its goal to bring some brightness into lonely lives.

In this area, volunteers visit more than 1,100 elderly who are totally alone, bringing friendship, flowers, wine, gifts, food and assistance. They also have holiday dinners, birthday parties and a summer home where some of those elderly spend assisted vacations. Bermuda has a number of very similar charities helping others.

We regularly buy and donate cases of Yardley English Lavender soap, nicely decorated pill boxes, appropriate stuffed animals, men's and women's cologne sets, fancy hand lotion, holiday centre pieces and so on. It was on just such a delivery that our paths crossed.

"You probably didn't know I've walked the Camino Santiago," said this very stylish, fiftyish woman who looked like she'd be more comfortable sipping tea at Fortnum and Masons. "Actually we spent several months in Europe and walked portions of it at a time."

, we were almost speechless. She didn't seem a type to take on something quite so strenuous, a route covering hundreds of miles originally followed by pilgrims across Europe en route to that famous Spanish shrine. A few weeks ago we'd mentioned Shirley MacLaine did the same . . . but this woman looked as delicate as fine porcelain.

"It was very exciting. I did it with friends and we took it in stages, that way it wasn't quite so strenuous." And, of course, if the trip is planned right, there are some dazzling Spanish paradors along the way where walkers can rest and recuperate in comfort.

, what's ahead in your year? Rafting the Colorado, hiking the Appalachian Trail, trekking between Swiss mountain huts? Possibly a cruise. Or perhaps taking advantage of Bermuda's seasonal resident rates and totally unwinding close to home at a lovely property and avoiding airport hassles?

Wherever you do go, remember talking to colourful people you meet can be a great learning experience. Why not begin with one of any country's greatest sources of information . . . your taxi driver.

Ours from Lisbon's dock to the airport for car pick-up was a great source of information about Portugal's changing economy. From the north of Portugal, he had lived in Goa, France and the US because economic hardship at home kept him away seeking work.

"It's better here now, but costs increasingly more to live. I'm 50, but it will be over 25 or more years before I could dream of retiring."

Retired Illinois US Senator Paul Simon recently died of complications after open heart surgery. During eulogies following his death, many Illinoisans pointed out his willingness to stop and talk to everyone in the friendliest way, especially taxi drivers. Our paths crossed a few years ago in Frankfurt Airport where he was returning with his grandchildren from vacation. He had all the time in the world for us, even though he wasn't running for election!

If you just sit in a hotel lounge or tour bus talking to fellow tourists, you're missing out on some interesting possibilities. Yes, you'll see great scenery, interesting attractions . . . but learning about the world's people, cultures and lifestyles enhances the experience even more.

4 Not too late to plan a winter sports trip