An essential step to popping the comfort bubble…
“What’s the biggest lesson adventure has taught you?” asked a client the other day who is going on the India tour in October.
“First, decide you will do it then find a way,” I said.
I went on to explain that sometimes it’s not possible to plan, despite best intentions, you can’t pre-organise, pre-book or pre-arrange things to achieve an outcome. In some cases, you’ve just got to make a decision that you’re doing something, charge ahead and find a way. I used to be a compulsive planner and organiser. I wouldn’t step out of bed without knowing what I was doing next, yet I always had a yearning to take a chance, to roll the dice and just see what would happen next.
This chance came in our year away. We were travelling through the north of Argentina and had arrived at town where there was no bus service to take us to the next town. The guide book said we would need to either grab a taxi or hitch hike. Seemed simple enough when we first looked at it although I was more than a little anxious.
When we first arrived and stepped off the bus things looked promising with cars and people everywhere. With in a couple of minutes though the place was deserted. I was waiting for the tumble weed to blow down the main street as this was truly a one horse town – one road in – the same road out – move along folks, nothing to see here. It wasn’t long before I realised we were stuck here – no taxis, no cars – the place was just deserted.
As the minutes and hours started ticking by our chances were not looking good. Earlier in the day, I’d felt quite positive about having a car turn up and offering us a lift. Unfortunately, my hopes were evaporating after many hours and so was my patience. I was ready to throw in the towel and declare the experiment over. I was ready to give up, spit the dummy and book us into one of the local hotels or catch the next bus back to where we came from.
And then it happened.
A white car seemingly appeared from no where. Kaz and I took off with our backpacks to try and get to the road before they left again. We knew there was a good chance they would drive in, find out that there wasn’t much to see, turn around and go out the same way. We waved them down.
“?Vamas a Cachi?” (Are you going to Cachi?) Kaz asked in her best Argentine accent.
“Do you speak English?” the young lady said back in a very Australian accent.
We couldn’t believe our luck. They were an Australian couple heading our way and were spending the night in the same town we wanted to go to. We had to cram into the back of their two door car but we didn’t care, we had a lift! After a couple of hours, we arrived at our destination and bought them dinner to say thank you.
These days, I’m getting more comfortable with this approach. I’ve found that when I decide to do something, I always manage to find a way. It is also the most effective way I’ve found to pop the comfort bubble.
Nick, I booked a room in a hotel in Riomaggoire on the Cinque Terra. When I arrived the room hadn’t been cleaned but the proprietor allowed me to put my pack in the room to free me up for roaming. After a long, hot day hiking between villages I returned to my room to find a dirty towel in the bathroom, used sheets and pillows on the bed. When I questioned the desk clerk whether my room had been cleaned he became incensed, claiming “of course” my room had been cleaned. When I asked for clean sheets so I could change the bed myself (I wasn’t keen on sleeping in a bed which clearly had already been slept in). I was shown the door and told to “go”.
I was almost beside myself. I was in a village, far from home where few people spoke my language. It was late, I was tired and I had never been treated so poorly in my life. As I wandered down the street, almost in tears, I wasn’t sure how to precede given that I’d planned my accomodation from Australia in the comfort of my living room using a booking agent. To make matters worse most accomodation “houses” didn’t look like motels in Australia.
Anyway, long story short. I came upon a doorway, entered, asked the elderly gentleman, who spoke no English, if he had a room. By some chance we muddled through the reservation process, he took me on a long and windy path to get to my room. It was tiny but it was magnificent. The sheets were clean, the bathroom was clean and, best of all, I had a view of the ocean.
Planning ahead is great but I would never have had the lovely exchange with this man or the good fortune to enjoy the view from this room if fate had not intervened and my plans had been dashed.
Shannyn
Wow Shannyn – what an experience! There must have been some anxious moments for you while you were looking for some where else to stay. The language barrier as well just to make things even more interesting. Great story – thanks for sharing.
For sure, the biggest lesson travel has taught me; there s no point listening to those nagging fears before going on a long-term trip or moving countries. Everything always turns out great. And the thought of staying at home and never taking that risk is far more terrifying anyway, so I might as well just forget about all my paranoid worries and enjoy the ride! Love the post and the photos!