Get lost in it

People always ask me what was your favourite place when I get back from travelling. How do you explain that each and every place was amazing in their own unique way and that you can't compare them. How do you explain that it's about what you experience not what you see, it's about these experiences make you, who you are?

I guess you don't. That isn't what people want to hear. Travel is about the whimsical and the dreams so instead I tell the stories.

Most of my stories start with "well I got lost in....." And continue from there. Getting lost is sometimes the best way to travel.

When I was in Venice I got lost the most. I spent the morning with the group and then decided to explore on my own. It was a beautiful clear day. Blazing blue sky contrasting wonderfully with the murky waters of the canals. All of the gondolas gliding past with lovers, excited tourists and quiet observers. They really are much bigger in person and can really fit a string quartet on board if necessary. If only I wasn't single.

As I walked around all of the twisting alleyways, over bridges and past lively restaurants I thought this is it. This is the real Italy.

As I explored each twist and turn, getting lost and then doubling back I met some amazing people and found some beautiful little shops.

The day was at it end and I was due back on the vaporetto to join my group only to discover I had missed it. I eventually got another one and after getting off at the wrong stop I met a spirited New Zealander. Turns out she had been in the area for 6 weeks. We chatted the whole way home. I told her about nearly falling out of the gondola, buying three beautiful masks from a local artist and having them shipped home hoping they would actually make it and I hadn't been ripped off, talking to the book store owner who had me giggling with his passion, "feel it, live it breathe it!!" Trying to order lunch in Italian and getting it wrong, amazingly it was still delicious, seeing the vapaoretto going past with my group on it, kicking a ball in the street,where I was lost, with a group of kids and how much fun I had as a whole. When I returned to my camp after thanking the kiwi I rejoined my group for dinner. I retold all of the stories and we all laughed and laughed in true, hearty, Italian style.

That day I learnt that travel is about being somewhere and seeing it all, but it is also about immersing yourself, talking to strangers and most importantly getting lost.


Meisha LeCompte