Some Buffs Prefer Traveling in Herds
When Doug Madison(Econ’76) visits aforeign city, he wandersthe streets with hiscamera in hand. Healways tries a local beer.It’s not uncommon for him to spendeight hours alone in a museum.
“I’m a bit of a culture vulture,” saidMadison, who is retired from a careerin foreign currencyexchange.
Usually the Boulder resident travels solo,but that has started to change.
In fall 2010, Madison saw a tour toAfrica offered by the Roaming Buffs,an Alumni Association travel program,and decided to give group travel one try.He went to Tanzania and Kenya, where agroup of 17 went on safari with a personalguide. He was mesmerized by the animals,especially the lions, cheetahs and leopards.He swapped his camera for binoculars.
Madison was hooked. He visitedAfrica again with the Roaming Buffs in2012, and has now been on four othertours with the program. This Junehe’ll goto Paris with CU.
“I took a shot at the safari and really hada good time on that,” he said. “Now I keepgoing because they are all so interesting.”
Madison’s job took him around theworld. He has visited about 40 countriesand has lived in London, Brazil and HongKong. Now, at 62, he is interested in seeingmuseums, art and learning a city’s history.
On his travels with the Roaming Buffs, hehas hiked the Great Wall, strolled the streetsof Myanmar and visited the Black Sea.
One Roaming Buffs moment standsout in particular. In June 2013, he and afew others were in Istanbul and happenedto witness thousands of young Turks protestingtheir government at Gezi Park.
“When traveling one often finds oneselfstanding on the site of historic eventsboth ancient and modern,” he said. “Inthis case we felt as if we were witnessing abit of history in the making.”
For more information about the Roaming Buffs travel program, emaillisa.munro@colorado.edu, call 303-492-5640 or 800-492-7743 or visit Colorado.edu/alumni.
Photos courtesyDoug Madison