I don’t remember if it was before or after we moved to Sweden that Graham started calling me ‘Magellan’. Although he is generally more organized and proactive about planning trips and figuring out travel and accommodations, I often end up with the map.
I like maps and mostly I we get where we are going, although I don’t think I have any special skill with it (Graham might be making fun with this nickname). I don’t think I am fast enough (wayfinding or running) to be a good orienteer-racer like Svend Erik. If anything, I may have a more intuitive feel to where things should be, or the vibe of a neighbourhood, or ‘shouldn’t we be heading uphill by now?’. Maybe I just listen to the feeling. Plus, if I am travelling to see the world, it doesn’t really matter if we take the long way… we just got to see more.
Sometimes when you are pulling a suitcase or it is late at night you do just want to get there quickly. On the other hand, often there are great hidden secrets in the back ways and alleys that are worth discovering. Split had lots of these, and was also an interesting case study in wayfinding, but that’s another post.
