We recently had someone ask us if we ever got lost while traveling. My husband carries maps in his head. He is one of those people who can look at a map, review it once, gets his bearings and then has it firmly in his mind which way the streets run, which roads to take and even which direction to go in.
I need mapquest. I haven’t mastered a GPS device but I know that if I didn’t have Mike, having a GPS would have been in my life much sooner.
Even after 30 years of travel the only city I was ever lost in was Venice, Italy.
I was traveling with family at the time and we went shopping in the labyrinth of streets that is Venice. I stopped to buy a pair of earrings at one of the many jewelry stores that line the streets but my family didn’t hear me when I said I would be stopping to buy something and so they kept on walking. I wasn’t particularly concerned that they didn’t enter the shop with me figuring I could just find my way and catch up with them.
When I came out of the store and no one was around I realized that Venice is made up of a series of streets where the walls are high and you can’t see the water front nor can you tell which direction you need to go. All I saw was empty white-walled walkways. I do not speak Italian so I had to figure out how to find my way back to San Marco square (our pre-arranged meeting point if anyone got lost).
I knew that I needed to start by calming myself; I then listened for the sound of the water and I watched the streets to see if any of them had traffic. It took a few minutes but finally I began to see other people walking towards me so I went in that direction. As I walked I could hear other tourists talking. As I kept walking in that direction the sounds of many people talking got louder and louder until I found myself in San Marco square. What a relief to be in that noisy square with the sun shining and the pigeons waiting to be fed. My family was standing around chatting and couldn’t wait to see what I had bought.
They never knew of my little Venice adventure.
Today Mike and I both carry maps around with us when we travel. We ask locals for assistance whenever we need too and we mostly pre-plan our walks and tours before we head out so that we have a general idea of where to go.
Getting lost is no fun, and when it happens in a foreign country it can also be scary. Being found however usually comes with great stories to tell and lasting travel memories.
Florence Lince
The Expat C.A.F.E. 