Finding Something When You're Lost

 

Imagine setting up your tent for the night in a forest. You take a nice evening stroll by the nearby beach. When the sun has almost disappeared into the sea you want to head back. But wait, where was your campsite? Everything is starting to look the same in the fading daylight...

That’s what happened to me once. Excited to be wild camping for the first time in Finland I hadn’t paid enough attention to where I was going. Night fell. After one hour of frustrated searching I was suddenly surrounded by bright neon green dots: fireflies! Never had I seen them before. Fascinated by the small glowing creatures my mood literally brightened up. A little while later I found my tent. If it hadn’t been for my carelessness I’d have been asleep already and had not seen the fireflies.

“You seem to run into a lot of bad luck on your trips”, someone once said to me. I was surprised, the opposite seemed to be true for me! Yes, I had found myself in a fix quite a few times, but isn’t that inevitable if you try something new? What is more, difficult situations had often turned around so much that in the end I felt incredibly lucky for my “bad luck”.
Don’t feel bad for messing up a little when you travel – after all, adventures happen when things don’t go as planned...

…Like that time I stranded at an airport in Rome. It happens to the best of us – missing a flight. When I realized the plane I was supposed to be on had left without me, my first reaction was to be slightly shocked.
Today I am grateful for my mistake. Why?
Before I came to Rome I had been oblivious to the fact that many people deliberately stay overnight at airports in order to save money. My eyes were opened to new ways of traveling on a shoestring! Some people even told me about a website where you can find tips and reviews about airports all over the world. The one in Rome was rated as one of the worst in Europe, so I knew it could only get better from there 😀

It was wonderful to be able to see a city as ancient and beautiful as Rome. However, I will always remember sleeping at the airport as the most adventurous part of that trip. During the night I met two lovely people from Greece. We spent hours talking while lying beside each other on the floor. In the morning they woke me with breakfast. I will always remember their kindness and the laughs we shared. Being cold and a bit uncomfortable on the stone floor was completely worth that encounter!

Can you gain something for missing something else?
Before arriving at Inis Mór, a small island on Ireland’s west coast, I had only vaguely informed myself about the place. Setting out on a rented bicycle I was keen to find out more.
Soon a rugged, steep cliff line stretched out before me. Mesmerized by the marauding Atlantic dozens of meters below me, I spent hours just walking along the coast, not meeting one soul. (Just for the record – I also spent quite a bit of time looking for my bike which I had randomly dropped somewhere, stunned by the scenery).

I also came across the black ruin of an ancient fort and wondered why I was the only tourist there.
Back on the mainland I learned that Inis Mór’s most famous sights include Dún Aonghasa, a prehistoric ruin (bigger than the one I had seen), and The Serpent’s Lair, a curious rock pool.
Do I regret “missing” these surely amazing places? No. I am thrilled I got to enjoy the beautiful coast all by myself that day 😊

Taking a wrong turn can lead to something unexpectedly awesome. Sometimes it might just lead to you trying something differently next time. Or to practising how to remain more calm in a crappy situation. And that’s cool too 💙