Dreaming of living a life of travel and adventure, Andrew McCarthy hit the road about 20 years ago, not knowing what he’d find. Since then he’s covered thousands of miles, only to find himself.
Although he’s often lumped in with the Brat Pack of 1980s movie idols who starred in such coming-of-age films as "Pretty in Pink," "St. Elmo’s Fire" and "Less Than Zero," McCarthy, 50, has distanced himself from that image over the past two decades. He now serves as an editor-at-large for National Geographic Traveler and is a best-selling author of "The Longest Way Home: One Man’s Quest for the Courage to Settle Down," published last year.
McCarthy will be the keynote speaker at the 2013 Hawai‘i Tourism Conference taking place Thursday and Friday, sharing his insight into the transforming effect of travel.
His two decades of solo journeys began after reading Jack Hitt’s "Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim’s Route into Spain," about following the Camino de Santiago from the south of France across the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain in search of the burial spot of St. James.
In a phone interview from New York, which the actor/director/writer calls home, McCarthy said the work spoke to him, though he didn’t know why, and he felt compelled to duplicate the 500-mile walk.
"Something about it fascinated me," McCarthy said. "That trip really changed my life. I didn’t realize it before, but I learned that a lot of fear dominated my life. During the walk I had a lot of clarity on it. Most of us are much more afraid than we ever acknowledge. Fear is deceptive and masquerades itself as lots of things, like blame and caution. Travel obliterates fear to a very large degree."
While on the road, he said, "I tried to keep a journal, but I’m not a good journaler, so I’d write little vignettes of things that happen in Southeast Asia and Africa when you go alone. I saw that a lot of what I was experiencing wasn’t being covered in magazines, the kind of internal, transformative things that happened to me.
"Traveling alone is a way to get to know yourself. It’s a powerful thing. You’re putting yourself at the mercy of the universe and can’t help but come back changed, in a good way. I find that I become a better version of myself on the road, more open, more compassionate, more curious."
After a decade of compiling his vignettes, it took another year of cajoling to persuade editors of National Geographic Traveler magazine to take a chance on his writing. They informed the Hollywood pretty boy that there’s no money and — contrary to popular belief — no glamour in travel writing. But McCarthy wasn’t seeking glamour or the comfort of five-star hotels.
"I want to write about places of interest to me because I want to be passionate about what I’m writing about. I’m not in it for the free vacation," said McCarthy, who has continued to perform on Broadway and make guest appearances on such TV series as "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Lipstick Jungle," "Royal Pains" and "White Collar" and direct episodes of "Gossip Girl" and "White Collar."
"To me, you can’t write about a place if you’re staying at a five-star hotel, because you’re in an insulated place where a concierge tells you where to eat. If I had to sit by a pool for 15 minutes, with someone spritzing me with Evian water, I wouldn’t know what to do. That might be a lovely vacation, but it’s not a travel experience. There’s a difference.
"I like to travel as close to the ground as possible, where you have contact with the people who live there."
By sheer geography the United States has a history of isolation that has resulted in a majority that speaks only one language and fear of those whose cultures and traditions we do not share. McCarthy said he believes the world would be a better place if more Americans traveled abroad and opened themselves to discovery.
Through research he’s found that only 30 percent of Americans hold passports, and half of them are unused. While there may be financial and other considerations that get in the way of travel, he said, "People come up with a lot of excuses to justify all sorts of behaviors. Travel has to be something you want to do, and it can be done very cheaply.
"Most people don’t want to travel alone because they’re afraid of loneliness or for safety reasons. I don’t consider either valid reasons. When you go out in the world, you find it’s very different and safer than we’re led to believe," he said. Some caution is appropriate, but he added, "I don’t believe women will have a hard time traveling the streets of Paris alone."
McCarthy recently returned home from adventures in Seville, Spain, Paris and Ireland, this time in the company of his wife of two years, Dolores Rice, who joins him on about half his travels.
He said he still has many more places on his bucket list of destinations, including Myanmar, Bhutan and the American South.
But his third career beckons. As soon as the Hawaii conference is over, he’ll be on a plane back home to direct an episode of "Orange Is the New Black," the new Netflix series based on the memoir of Piper Kerman.
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The Hawaii Tourism Authority’s annual tourism conference, "‘Aha ‘Oihana Ho‘omaka‘ika‘i," will take place Thursday and Friday at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Cost is $190. For the full conference schedule and to register, visit www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/tourismconference or call 489-7238.
