Traveling Companion

It's that time of the week - injecting a little geographic exploration into an otherwise sedentary life.

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In my myriad of travels over the years I've had the pleasure and displeasure of traveling with others. There is something about traveling with another person which can make you hate them or love them - let's hope it's the latter. Traveling alone can also have its plusses and minuses too.

I've traveled a bit on my own at various times - either for plesaure or work - and have found it to be both freeing and confining. After a stint on a kibbutz one summer I took off and backpacked around Israel by myself. No pesky companion to keep me from rising early to hike up Masada and see the sunrise. Alas, no companion either to accompany me out at night to walk around Jerusalem's Old City or to accompany me around the wall of the city. Both situations place a single person at risk of mugging or worse. I also ran into a similar problem while traveling for work in Morocco - a single woman out alone at night is thought to be a prostitute. Not sure what I would have been subjected to had I tested this theory.

On the flip side, traveling alone often afforded me the opportunity to meet new people, as I was not bound to any particular companion. In Benin for work, I spent most evenings at the hotel tiki bar by the pool chatting with the bartenders (in French!). Joining me were several other work travelers - an American selling a plane to the head of state and an Australian commodities trader loading a ship with cottonseed. I learned a lot about international commerce! In Savannah, I sat at the communal tables at Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House and met conventioneers and couples touring the town.

My travels with my sister are legendary and in some ways I found a new friend - we got to know each other in ways that staying at home don't reveal. How fast are you willing to run for a train? Would you eat something you couldn't pronounce or recognize? In how many languages can you say "ooh, that jacket is so cute, I wonder what it costs?". Two friends of mine and I backpacked around Europe on a tiny amount of money but we survived with each other's help. When one friend accidentally put contact lens cleaning solution in her eye, we other two navigated the Greek bus and medical system - in German! To this day, I don't doubt any one of us would travel miles to help the others.

Nowadays I'm traveling with my husband and it's been a learning experience. We complement each other well - something we had to learn over time. He's a planner and I'm more laid-back. There was some friction at first but then we realized how well we work together - one made the reservations, the other agreed not to criticize the choices. Hasn't steered me wrong yet.