Travelling is not romantic (and some tips on Getting Lost)

Travelling is in itself not romantic; I repeat, not romantic. There it was: on the shower wall, in my hostel in La Paz (this is a little while ago, but I had not remembered it until now), wiry and black, as if growing directly out of the wall, at eye level. Somebody’s pubic hair.

I just stared at it, and continued washing my hair.

The next day, somebody having loud sex in the communal showers while I was brushing my teeth in there.

In San Pedro, another backpacker showing me his rash on his inner thigh, whilst I was eating my breakfast.

Lumpy mattresses and bed-frames you fall straight through. Room-mates with diarrohea (never learnt how to spell that word). Bed bugs. Mosquito bites. The list goes on!

I repeat: travelling is not romantic.

But do it anyway, of course.

And now some tips getting lost, as promised, from the world’s Expert. I get lost so often, that I have eventually learnt that there is a way of doing it properly, and in style. The same applies when it comes to losing oneself in life or life’s directions (I believe, anyway).

Tip #1: If you are going to get lost, get lost slowly. Take your time to look around. Don’t just look around, but up and down as well. There might be someone on a terrace above you who might wave at you (Everett taught me this, thank you Everett!). Or there might be someone stuck in a drain waving his hand around for attention. You might get medal for rescuing aforesaid man in drain. This has never happened to me personally, but you never know.

Tip #2: When lost in a residential area, say hello to people in their yards. You might learn how to say ‘hello’ in Hebrew, Spanish or any one of the hundreds of languages that are spoken in the burbs. Don’t forget their pets either. Stop to let a dog lick your hand through the fence. His day might be playing out monotonously or he hasn’t been for a run so he’s bored; meeting a stranger may have made his day.

Tip #3: When lost in the city, take time to look at the walls and the footpaths—they might have cool graffiti art on them. People actually pay to go on graffiti tours you know. You could do your own graffiti tour, on the way to wherever you are going. (Where was I going again?)

Anyway, soak it all in, whatever’s on the way to wherever you are going. Because say you never actually find your destination. Not only will you have never got there, but you will have missed everything on the way. Who wants to live like that? I know I don’t.

Today’s activity: getting lost in Ushuaia. Did I have a good time walking around and around in circles? Of course I did. :)