Good-natured people

On holiday in Barbados, I’ve just re-read Charles Darwin’s Voyage of The Beagle, the account of his 1831-6 study trip round the world.

As a seasoned traveller with an interest in history and science, I found the book every bit as enthralling second time as it was over twenty years ago. However, one passage caught my eye and triggered this post. In the conclusion, Darwin, having thoroughly enjoyed his almost five-year journey, advises other naturalists:

to take all chances, and to start, on travels by land if possible, if otherwise on a long voyage. He may feel assured he will meet with no difficulties or dangers (excepting in rare cases) nearly so bad as he beforehand anticipated. … Travelling ought also to teach him distrust; but at the same time he will discover, how many truly goodnatured people there are, with whom he never before had, or ever again will have any further communication, who yet are ready to offer him the most disinterested assistance.

Excellent advice, still valid  over 170  years later. My experience is that travel to new places is usually so enriching that the problems don’t matter much. This is even more true when going by basic means and being forced into close contact with local people. Predicted difficulties – bandits down the road, lack of accommodation or whatever – tend not to happen. Yes it’s wise to be wary, but foolish to suspect everyone. Most people, the world over, will help a traveller even if there’s nothing in it for them.

Here’s my latest, slightly surreal, example. Yesterday, wanting to return from Bridgetown to our hotel, we arrived at the bus station in the rush hour. There were no obvious signs as to where we should catch our bus. Solution: ask a local. He turned out to be drunk, but he knew which bus we should get and he was determined we should get it. He linked arms very firmly and almost dragged me to a bus which other people confirmed was the right one. Thanks very much, man.

The bus was ludicrously overcrowded, so much so that 99.9% of the windscreen was obscured by the wall of humanity in front of us. So we resorted to asking fellow passengers if they would let us know when we were there. And they did, bless them. Not a comfortable journey but far more memorable than a taxi ride costing ten times as much.

Advertisement