WE'RE NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER

A Field Guide to Friendship, Fun, and Your Next Adventure

What makes a good adventure?

Do you need to climb mountains? Travel halfway around the world? Sleep in a tent?

Not at all.

In this free collection of stories and reflections, Paula Baker shares lessons learned from hiking, cycling, kayaking, travelling, and preparing for an unforgettable journey to Machu Picchu with three close friends.

Funny, practical, and occasionally wise, this field guide is an invitation to think about what you love doing and who you want beside you when you go exploring.

Not a self-help book.

Definitely a free guide.

The truth is that you don't need my adventures. You need your own.

Inside This Free Guide

• Friendship and humour
• Travel stories and lessons learned
• Retirement adventure
• Finding joy in everyday life
• Hiking, cycling, kayaking, and travel
• Inspiration without self-help clichés

The First Chapter...

This is a reply to all the people who have listened to me carry on about bicycle touring, kayak adventures, ski trips, hiking in the mountains, and trekking the Inca Trail, then said, “I wish I could do that.”

I could cheekily reply, “You can. Just do it.”

But things are never that simple.

That may be one of the biggest lessons I took away from my trip to Peru. It was such a profound revelation that I came home slightly rewritten and felt compelled to write a book about the experience.

From the outside, Four Old Women Go to Machu Picchu is the tale of the amazing adventures of Jen, Margie, Holly, and Paula, four Canadian women in their sixties who set off to hike the Inca Trail.

But for me, it was much more.

Along the way, we met wonderful and generous people. Drivers, guides, cooks, waiters, and porters worked hard to make our journey unforgettable. They took genuine pride in our enjoyment, drawing on their knowledge, strength, enthusiasm, and warmth to create the best experience possible.

At first, their kindness made me uncomfortable. I am not used to being served. It felt strange to have people carrying my bags, preparing my meals, and looking after my needs.

Gradually, though, I came to understand that accepting their help was also a way of respecting the value they placed on their work. What I had initially seen as service, they saw as hospitality, professionalism, and pride.

That shift in perspective was transformational. I began to see not only the people around me but also the many forms a good life can take. In Canada, I move through a world shaped by my own expectations and assumptions. In Peru, I was invited, however briefly, into a different way of living and seeing.

I met people whose lives were very different from mine, yet who possessed a big-heartedness, resilience, and joy that made me question some of my assumptions about success and fulfillment.

Travel expanded me. It widened the boundaries of what I understood about the world and about myself. The greatest gift of the journey was not reaching Machu Picchu. It was seeing, through the lives of others, that there are many ways to build a life of purpose, dignity, and happiness.

Margie, Jen, Holly, and I are fortunate and are finally old enough to know it. As retired teachers, we have the time and financial means to seek out adventures. We also have our health. Not everyone is granted those opportunities.

So I won’t be cheeky. I won’t tell you to dash out and follow in our footsteps.

The truth is, you don’t need our adventures.

You need your own.

And you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to find one. There’s plenty of fun to be had closer to home.

Four Old Women Go to Machu Picchu is the story of friends doing what they love. We walked in the woods, challenged ourselves physically, and spent seven months preparing for a trip in ways that seemed equal parts exciting and ridiculous. That’s why the first twelve chapters take place in Canada.

So, what’s fun for you?

I’m not here to tell you what to do.

I admit, I am known for my impractical ideas.

So let it be known: this is not a self-help manual. Nor is it a philosophy text, a guidebook, a bucket list, a packing pamphlet, or a prescription for fearless living.

It will not tell you which adventures are worth having or insist that you leap outside your comfort zone.

Frankly, comfort zones are perfectly nice places to be.

This is an invitation to wonder what you want to say yes to and whom you would like beside you when you go exploring.

If it starts a single conversation, it has done its work.

Having said that, I fully intend to share my philosophy of life. It’s a good one—and you may choose to adopt it as your own. Plus, I’ll recommend a few things I’ve found useful and pass along some packing lessons that I’ve picked up along the way.

So, despite my best efforts, some self-help may occur.

But that is entirely up to you. I will not be held responsible.

What will you say YES to?

This field guide is only the beginning.

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What is We're Not Getting Any Younger?

A free field guide to friendship, adventure, travel, and saying yes to the things that matter.

Is this a self-help book?

No. It is a collection of stories, reflections, travel experiences, and observations about friendship and adventure.

Is this connected to Four Old Women Go to Machu Picchu?

Yes. The field guide grew out of the experiences that eventually led to the memoir Four Old Women Go to Machu Picchu.

Who is Paula Baker?

Paula Baker is a Canadian writer, retired teacher, librarian, traveller, cyclist, kayaker, and co-author of The Hawks fantasy novels.

Do I need to be a traveller to enjoy it?

No. The book is about friendship, curiosity, adventure, and finding joy close to home as much as it is about travel.

This field guide grew out of the experiences that inspired Four Old Women Go to Machu Picchu, coming May 2027.