For me travel is about the people as much as the places. I’m a lover of humanity and along my journeys I have met many different characters who have enriched my experiences. Too many of these acquaintances have faded from my memory over time, which is a great shame. I’ve decided now to compile some little character profiles on these varied souls who have made an impression on me, be it a fleeting moment, or a longer connection, these have all made me stop and reflect on the loveliness, and sometimes the ugliness of humanity.
Toilet cleaner
Vondel park, Amsterdam
16/07/14
While to many people cleaning toilets might seem like a joyless job, this lady in Vondel park made me smile. She was sitting at her little desk, covered with a pink checked table cloth, collecting 30 cents for the use of the toilet. The radio was on in the background and as I entered she was cheerily singing away to the music, rocking on her seat with a happy smile playing across her face. The song sounded like something by Chef’ Special, one of my favourite Dutch bands, so I asked her what it was but she didn’t know, we both laughed and agreed it was a good song. I could still hear her unaffected singing as I left.
Street Scape
Trinidad, Cuba
03/12/14
The best part of my afternoon was just sitting on a step next to an old white Cuban man while waiting for my friends in a supermarket. I could sit for hours watching the street go by in this city. It is the type of street that books are set in. A bike taxi rolled up with a dad and young daughter in the back. Dad got out of the taxi but daughter stayed sitting, clutching her doll while Dad tried to coerce her into going with him and finally had to just pull her out while the driver chuckled at her obstinance. They disappeared into the store while the driver waited patiently, listening to bachata playing through his phone loudspeaker in his pocket and joining me and the old man in watching the street go by. Another bike taxi rolled past in the opposite direction, a young driver at the pedals, pumping reggaeton from a sound system wired into the bike. A couple of school girls in tidy uniforms chatted as they ambled past, stepping off the side-walk and onto the road to let three generations of women pass, the mum on her phone laughing as she balanced a huge cake on a scrap bit of cardboard.
Shortly after a tiny old lady with a walking frame in one hand and a richly decorated cake balanced in her other hand slowly made her way toward me pausing to look at me and wish me ‘Buenos’. She had only advanced a few meters down the road, glancing back at me a few times, before my friends returned and we headed off. I clasped her shoulder and laughingly said ‘Buenos dias’ to her as we passed by and she stopped to look up and laugh a big genuine smile into my eyes.
Taco vendors
Göthenberg, Sweden
18/08/15
Whilst visiting friends in Sweden, we spent a day exploring the dignified yet playful city of Göthenberg. It was close to lunchtime when we arrived, so we wandered the streets in search of a decent place to eat. After turning down many cafés, too generic, too expensive, too bland, too clichéd… I was becoming so ravenous that I was want to accept the next McDonalds before collapsing from starvation on the cobble-stoned street! Next minute we came down a back street, followed a staircase down to a busier road below, and found a little pop-up taco stand in a beautiful old Citroen H Van. There were only two options on the menu; 3 fish tacos and a drink, or 4 fish tacos and a drink. Knowing that my eyes are usually larger than my stomach, I chose the first option and picked out a raspberry lemonade which the vendors told me was typical of Sweden.
As my friend and I waited hungrily for our bearded saviours to cook up our tacos, I decided I must have a photo of these two charaters and their impressive facial hair. After receiving my food, I commended them on their brilliant facial attire, and asked if I could possibly take a photo as I have a great deal of respect for a good beard! The older fellow looked at his moustached colleague and then said to me, “what, even his?!”, to which I responded that I had a lot of awe for his impeccably waxed mo! The younger guy twirled the ends of his moustache with a self-satisfied grin as he told me, “I think that’s the first time a female has ever complimented me!”. We all laughed and they posed for a quick photo before getting back to the grill and cooking up more of their incredibly fresh and deliciously zingy tacos.
Spaniel
Nice, France
20/9/15
As I was walking to our crew apartment, tired and sick, juggling my overnight bag, lunch box, work backpack and two sets of sheets, a spaniel and his owner appeared on the street ahead of me. The master held a glossy covered news paper, and the spaniel was trotting along beside him, mouth open in an impatient grin, his eyes glued to the paper. Every so often he’d make a small little nod with his head towards the paper, and master told him “attend une minute” as he fumbled with the leash and the paper. As they neared me they stopped, and the master bent down to put the paper in the eager spaniel’s open jaws! The glossy paper made it hard to get a good grip, so the master held on until sure the spaniel had it safe, then he straightened up and the two continued on, the spaniel ecstatically marching along, tail wagging as he carried the paper for master! I was left behind, gazing after the pair and chuckling with a huge smile on my face.
Polish Farmer
Near Zakopane, Poland
2/11/15
The Polish farmer I saw whilst travelling from Zakopane to Ždiar, Slovakia struck me as the epitome of the world today. I was stuffed in a tiny minivan bus making my way to the Slovak border, craning my neck to see out the small dirty windows to gaze awestruck at the spectacular mountain scenery around me. Everything was bathed in the golden light of a rapidly setting Autumn sun that blended with the fiery fall colours of the trees. Coming towards us on the narrow, windy road was a rickety old cart pulled by two jet black horses. At first glance I took it for one of the tourist horse-drawn wagons that loiter in the streets of Zakopane (I’m yet to actually see tourists take a ride from town), but as we got closer I saw that it was a working cart, loaded with hay and other farming what-nots. The driver was standing up, dressed in his traditional Goral outfit of the highlander people of the region. I marvelled at the antique novelty of this scene, his folk costume pairing wonderfully with the old-fashioned mode of transport still being used by the farmers of the region. As we passed by him, I noted with an ironic chuckle that he was busily chatting away on his iPhone as he snapped the reigns with his other hand and they disappeared into the amber dusk behind us.
German Lady
Bus from Berlin to Ulm
24/11/15
I first caught the eye of this older German lady at the Berlin ZOB waiting to board the coach to Ulm. She must have been visiting family, as another lady and gentleman of her generation were there to see her off. The lady must have been her sister, they looked identical. Both sisters at separate moments had caught eye contact with me and beamed a big friendly smile and winked. Eventually our bus was due to leave and the group blew kisses to each other and exchanged waves as we drove off. About an hour into the journey we were in stand-still traffic. An accident just ahead kept our coach stranded for more than 2 hours. I love travel for moments like these, which suddenly break down the social barriers keeping each individual in isolation and suddenly everyone begins to communicate in the atmosphere of mutual impatience. My old lady began by offering an apple to the coach driver. After 2 hours of highway parking, everyone had begun to occasionally exchange conversation. Then suddenly my friendly new Oma walked through with an assortment of fresh fruit neatly peeled and cut, laid out on a napkin, and offered it to each passenger. When my turn came I politely took a segment of mandarin, then she encouraged me to take an apple slice and several grapes as well before moving on to the next person. A few minutes later and she was back, making a second round before declaring that the remaining fruit is for her, and settling back with a book of Sodoku and her napkin of grapes.
Drunk Hungarian youth and old German man
SBahn to Munich airport
29/11/15
While taking a crowded SBahn to Munich airport, a small commotion occured on the seats across the aisle from me. An extremely drunken youth had entered the train and sat down, causing a stir as he started talking to people in a borderline aggressive manner. I tensed, getting ready to move if he didn’t calm down. Other people DID move. But a dignified elderly gentleman entered the train at the next stop and sat opposite the drunk. The kid immediately started muttering to the old man and I was prepared for trouble. However the old man stood his ground and smiled kindly at the youth, and began to engage him in conversation. The kid revealed he was Hungarian, and then in a conspiratorial voice revealed (to no one’s surprise) that he was very drunk. The old man smiled and kept chatting to him until finally the boy reached his stop and got up to leave, shaking the gentleman’s hand and staggering his way off the train. I caught the eye of the gentleman and we both exchanged a laugh, before he exited the train at the next station.
Christmas market
Munich airport
29/11/5
After checking in for my flight, I discovered that there was a Christmas market at Munich International airport. With an hour or so to kill, I decided to check it out and was swept up in a beautiful wave of humanity, full of Christmas cheer and good spirit. There was a cover’s band playing old rock and roll music and most of the party was going on in front of the stage, with people young and old drinking Glühweine from shoe-shaped cups and bopping away to the music. Right down the front of the crowd an old man was absolutely rocking out to the music, completely by himself, completely unashamed! Nearby, a little girl was dancing with her Dad, then she made friends with another little girl and the two started to play tag, darting around through the crowd. While they were playing, her parents began swing dancing together on the sidelines. Not far away a group of 50-something year old ladies stood around a small table filled with empty Glühweine mugs, evidence of the amount they had already consumed. At the back of the crowd I spied two old hippy guys, enjoying the music quietly from the background. Suddenly the band broke into “go Johnny go” and the whole crowd sang along, until one of the band members stopped and told one of the singing 50 yr old ladies “Nicht “Charlie” – “Johnny!”
As the song ended, an Austrian stepped up to the stage with a tray of Glühweine for the band to tip them for the great music and atmosphere they were creating. The lead singer whole-heartedly thanked him and the band began to drink!
Finally their set had finished and they packed up to leave. More great old-timer music was pumping over the speakers, and a man from the crowd bravely went over to the group of 50-something’s and asked one of the ladies to dance. She laughingly accepted, and they began to swing dance right there in front of the stage as I reluctantly headed off to my flight gate, my heart full of love for humanity.
Old Hippy
Munich Airport
7/11/16
While waiting at my gate for yet another long flight, I sat opposite this wonderful old hippy. He was completely engrossed in a message on his old Nokia mobile, with a beautiful smile on his face as he obviously was reading a sweet message from a loved one. After a while he started to text back, and with obvious long-sightedness held the phone as far away from him as possible as he painstakingly drafted a response, all the time with the same tender smile playing across his bearded face. I couldn’t help but snap a sneaky photo!
Polyglots
Munich SBahn
02/01/17
Completely exhausted from a long flight back to Munich, I was on the SBahn leaving the airport when a family with young children sat down near me. Through my fatigue, I listened curiously as the mother spoke to one child in Arabic and French, spoke to the father in English, and I heard another child mixing between Arabic and German. I tried to guess where they were from as I eavesdropped. Eventually the mother struck up conversation with me in English as they saw me looking at my train ticket and kindly asked if they could help me figure out where to go. I remarked to the mother that her children speak a lot of languages, and asked where they were from. She told me she was Tunisian, her husband from Mauritius and they are pilots who have lived in many places around the world. Her child speaks French, Arabic, English, and is learning German, and the other boy who was in fact her nephew, speaks Arabic and German. She told me she loves languages herself, and speaks French and Arabic as her native tongues, as well as speaking English, Spanish, German, Swahili and Afrikaans. In addition, she is currently learning Russian! She told me of their lives, living in many different parts of the world including Kenya, where she learned Swahili, and South Africa where she learned Afrikaans. We connected over a mutual love for language, travel and adventure, until they reached their stop and had to leave. As she stood up, she asked her husband if they had a business card to give me, but he said they’d run out. With no time left to exchange details, we shook hands and they exited the train. For me it was yet another beautiful experience of human connection, whether or not we exchanged contact details, I love those fleeting moments of entering another person’s life and learning yet again that there are so many wonderful people in the world and it is not the dark and terrifying place that too often we are led by the media to believe.
The Beach Child
May 3, 2019
Playa del Carmen, México
I was two beers in, just relaxing and enjoying the sea breeze cooling me down at a beach bar in Playa del Carmen when a few children passing from table to table caught my attention.
Mayan kids, selling various things. I watched as one approached a table with a girl around the same age who was enjoying a family holiday, free from all cares, just being a child, happy and playful.
The contrast was striking. Just the luck of birth leaves one walking the beach trying to sell whatever she can to help pay for her family, the other with as carefree and blessed a childhood as mine was.
I beckoned the girl over to see what she was selling. She beamed at me when I called to her and skipped my way, placing several intricately beaded bracelets on the table.
“Do you make these?” I asked her. No, her mum does, but she can almost make them herself now. She is 12 years old, her name is Erika and she is sick with a cold. The red bracelet is her favourite. They are 100 pesos (about 5USD) and it takes her mum about 2 hours to complete one….
I bought the red one. She grins at me as she attaches it to my wrist. Are the other children your brothers and sisters? No, cousins. One of the smaller girls comes up as I’m paying and smiles sweetly at me.
I just can’t help but think of how a simple stroke of luck at birth, nothing else, has meant that I’m sitting here in Mexico enjoying two beers for the price of that one bracelet that represents 2 hours of work. …and this young girl is selling beads on the beach.