Electronic breadcrumbs

Modern vacationers are more frequently traveling to out of reach places easier than before and sometimes get lost in unfamiliar lands.

There are relatively few modern Richard Burtons who are willing to obsessively study a language, culture and dress of local people to blend in. Modern travelers are  frequnetly lost in foreign cities with difficulty reading local signs or effectively using local transport.

Modern electronics provide shortcuts and valuable crutches for weekend day trippers.

Current 3rd generation cell phones can provide a beacon to home and even making local calls (police, taxi, EMS ) easier. Adding a SIM card upgrade can even convert some older models for overseas function.

Some use only text messages to cut down on rates but these are sometimes delayed and not as useful for real time discussions.

There are still many areas where cells and even satellite phones do no not work. Travelers going outside regular satellite or tower distribution can still bring along warlike talkies. This is particularly useful on cruises and for families with members going to different areas.

The GPS is being used more and more in day to day life. The auto map feature can allow travelers to return to the beginning of a hike so they constantly know where they are even if they don’t know the language.

Some of my patients even found my office by using coordinated they downloaded from the internet.

Well established websites like GoogleEarth and MapQuest can even help those without a computer or blackberry. Travelers without tech can someone print out detailed directions beforehand and carry directions with them. These may even be in local languages to assist local cabbies.

In Beijing cabbies had trouble understanding my very poor Mandarin but printed characters of my destinations gave instant understanding. If you plan to have specific must-see destinations on your vacation making your own personal map may be superior to local tourist maps

Every single method listed above has one huge problem. All can be lost, stolen, broken or run out of batteries just when you need them.

Many search and rescue instructors lament people's overreliance on GPS and advocate at least some familiarity with "old school" tracking skills.

When ever planning a group excursion agreeing to meet at a specific place and time always helps sort out confusion if something breaks down. (The food court is always a favorite)

Travelers should understand these new technologies a little before depending on them and several Manitoban groups exist to have fun while learning about navigation.

Some sports have evolved out of direction finding.

Manitoba Orienteering runs several courses and competitions for those interested in learning navigational skills

http://www.orienteering.mb.ca/

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a GPS to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure," usually toys or trinkets of little value. Today, well over 800,000 geocaches are registered on various websites devoted to the pastime. Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world including Antarctica . www.mbgeocaching.ca/

For the next week there will be a special Geocache suprise to find at:

The answer was our clinic! all those who successfully reached 264  Tache were awarded a prize!

This is now over but check out many other geocaches locally!