We’re not travelling any time soon. With any luck, we’ll get that shot in the arm sometime in 2021 and start to put this pandemic behind us. I’m sure our first trip abroad will feel a bit scary after self-isolating for months, but that won’t hold us back. The reality is, travel at any time comes with a few risks, that’s in part what makes it worthwhile and exciting. I can think of a few scary moments from our travelling days that could have gone horribly wrong but thankfully didn’t. They are now part of our “adventures of travel” narrative.
Getting Robbed in Barcelona
The story of two men pickpocketing Steve in a dark alley in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona is a story we tell often because it’s dramatic and defies logical behaviour. It was one of our first major trips abroad, before having the safety net of being digitally connected at all times via smartphone, and it was late at night.
Two friendly, seemingly slightly drunk men asked us where we were from. Upon telling them we were from Canada, one of them put an arm around Steve and before we knew it grabbed his wallet from his front pocket. The two ran and Steve took chase.
The narrow streets of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter are even more difficult to navigate at night.
You can read the full details of this ridiculous incident in another post, but the short of it is that Steve left me picking up his ID and other remains the thieves discarded on the street to run after them. He ended up getting some of our money back but took a foolish risk that could have ended up tragically. We survived. We have an epic tale to tell.
Paddling down the Moho River in Belize
I willingly signed up for the Ultimate Adventure tour in Belize with the tour operator Island Expeditions. Did I read the description in full? I couldn’t have. The first few days of kayaking, exploring underwater caves, and snorkeling in the ocean were wonderful and I was looking forward to the next couple of days paddling and camping along the Moho River.
I was completely unaware that we’d have to navigate several waterfalls along the way. I mean, at the first set of falls, as our turn to plunge over the edge neared, my stomach dropped and I was completely baffled that I had agreed to do this. Neither of us had much experience paddling, we were uncoordinated, and grew up on the prairies for heaven’s sake!
We capsized at every one of those damn waterfalls. We never got any better at it, and to this day, I’m sure I could pick out the smell of that river in a blind test for the amount of it that propelled itself up my nose those couple of days. In all honesty, our guides were terrific and had our backs the whole way, but this felt like a very risky activity. We are no worse for wear and I remember that trip fondly.
Getting into a stranger’s car in Bangalore
I have an irrational fear of getting kidnapped in a foreign country. I have no idea where it came from, but whenever I hear news about a reporter or aid worker getting kidnapped abroad, the fear deepens. The fact that I occupy neither of those positions nor travel to any politically volatile hotspots does little to tamp my irrational thoughts. I was sure my nightmare was about to come true on the way to catch a flight in Bangalore, India.
The taxi driver that picked us up from our hotel for our return flight home took us to the wrong terminal. Traffic was very bad (because Bangalore) and we were running late–even later after we entered the wrong terminal and an agent told us the right terminal was about a 15-minute drive away. As we exited the departure area with our luggage, a car abruptly stopped in front of us and the driver summarized our situation at a glance. He invited us into his unmarked vehicle and offered to get us to the proeper terminal pronto for a small fee. I hesitated, Steve was more eager (natch), and the driver urged us to get in as he was stopped illegally. We got in.
That was the longest 15 minutes of my life. I was certain this guy was taking us to an underground cave somewhere where he and his fellow ransom-seekers would hold us until Justin Trudeau paid up. Panicky thoughts rushed through my mind: My mom would be frantic, I’d suffer terrible illness and hunger, and the press would choose the most unflattering of my online photos to use in its updates to the world on our plight.
As my mind continued to reel, the driver deposited us at the terminal and thanked us for our payment. As I began to breathe again, I chastised Steve for deciding to trust this random man in a car. He just laughed and shook his head. Perhaps this was not really a risk at all, but I BELIEVED it to be.
Shouting at a man in conflict with a woman in Istanbul
Ok, in this incident, it was me, not Steve, who took a foolish risk. One evening in Istanbul, Steve and I were walking by an alleyway and we heard shouting. The source was a man yelling at a woman he had pinned against the wall in what looked like a volatile domestic incident. On instinct, I yelled out, “Hey!” to let the guy know someone was watching. Before I knew what was happening, Steve pulled me out of view and we had our own brief conflict.
After some back-and-forth, I agreed that confronting a stranger in a foreign country, who likely didn’t speak English, in the heat of a conflict wasn’t a wise move. My action not only put me at risk but potentially Steve too. I did it without thinking — it was a gut reaction. We ended up keeping a safe distance to monitor what was going on. I don’t think the guy or the woman had heard me yell, and in the end, the conflict seemed to resolve and the couple walked off together. I’m not sure what we would have done if it had continued or if we had witnessed the man physically harm the woman. Luckily, that didn’t happen.
The risks of travel
Travel has risks. It comes with unfamiliar environments, language barriers, fatigue, cultural misunderstandings, and yes, sometimes health risks. You do what you can to reduce the hazards, learn from your mistakes, and carry on. I can’t wait to do it again.
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