Reach Out and Touch Someone
My mother-in-law (Ethel) and sister-in-law (Kathy) are in Greece this summer. They are visiting friends just outside of Athens and are due to fly back in the coming week.
Ethel in Greece
Even if I didn’t have family there now, the news of the continuing wildfires in Greece would be disturbing.
The Peloponnese region in the south is covered in forest fires that are being fanned by gale force winds. The city of Olympia (the birthplace of the Olympics) is being threatened and about 50 people have been killed. Fires are also raging on the outskirts of Athens where buildings have been burned and the road to the airport has been closed. Despite the distance, the smoke has drifted north into Athens and covered the city in ash.
Yes, dramatic, but my point is not to jump on the disaster bandwagon. Instead, this brings up the importance of staying in touch with family and friends when you’re on the road and providing a way for loved ones to contact you in case of an emergency.
Ethel has been blogging about her trip so we’ve all been able to stay up-to-date on their adventures over the last two months. But it seems that power is spotty in the country right now and we’re unsure if landlines are working. While she hasn’t updated her blog in the last week or so (leading us all to worry), we did hear from her this morning via email. All is well with family and friends.
On your next journey, make communication a priority. Provide loved ones with phone numbers and an itinerary (as best as you can) so that they can contact you and vice versa. In remote or potentially dangerous regions, check in with your nearest embassy to let them know your plans or call them after an event (think: earthquake) has occurred so that family members can locate you easily.
All this is not to take the fun out of travel – continue to be open to new experiences and serendipitous events that could take you off your planned course – reaching out and staying in touch can take stress out of your travels and keep your family at ease.
Happy Travels!
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1 comment
Yes, my mom and aunt traveled to India about a year ago. Their itinerary took them to many parts of the country. While they were over there, U.S. news reported a bomb going off in a Mombai train. We didn’t really have an idea if they were caught up in that, and having some sort of communication plan would have helped out. It turns out, they were in the mountainous region of the country, and didn’t really have cell phone access … I’m not even sure they knew about the bomb until they returned home to the US.