Travel Stories: Meeting Alan

"I think I've lived a pretty safe life. I've been in a handful of sketchy situations, but I definitely think I could use a little extra character-building. It's tough to do that under the protective umbrella of a close family so I think of this trip sort of like sending the boy out into the jungle on his own. But the jungle is full of amenities and the boy is allowed to bring more than just a knife."

I found that note in one of several text files I have floating around in folders long forgotten. It was from February when GoneNomad was definitely a "go."

Now, having been on the road for near two months I've got a few (somewhat) sketchy situations to add to my mental canvas. I've been completely lost a few times, having to rely on the sun (or the moon), a stranger, or a storefront "we have moved!" sign to find my way.

But those aren't the fun stories.

First Meeting with Alan in Cork, Ireland

A late night in Cork, Ireland.

Alan and I had some trouble finding each other that first night in Cork. We had arranged to meet at the Clarion Hotel, at St. Patrick's and Merchant's Quay. The problem was, Clarion Hotel isn't really anywhere near that intersection.

I made the mistake of assuming that the Clarion Hotel would be big and easy to find so I didn't look it up. I just went to the intersection.

So at 10:30 pm, nearing the time Alan got off work that night, I was wandering around the area wondering where the Clarion was. Eventually, I decided I'd have to look it up.

One of the first things I noticed arriving in Cork was the abundance of internet cafés. Many restaurants, pubs, and cafés offer free access as well. Most of these were closed now but fortunately I'm a huge geek and I'd pocketed my Nokia N810.

Standing next to a restaurant with an open network, I grabbed the Clarion Hotel's address from Google and looked it up. A twenty minute walk. The path wasn't too complicated. I started out.

Nearing the end of the twenty minutes, I still couldn't see the hotel but knew I was close so I started to look for Alan. From a fair distance I saw a man standing on a corner looking around and fiddling with his phone. He was about the right height but as I got closer it became apparent this wasn't my friend from the good ol' Tofino days.

But too late, he'd already seen me eyeing him and stepped forward to speak.

"Hi, are you meeting some one?"

I slowed down, wondering if it was in fact Alan. It's possible he didn't quite recognize me and vice versa. I didn't say anything.

"...Daniel?"

That caught me a bit by surprise and I started to convince myself that it was Alan and I just didn't recognize him because of the facial hair.

"Yeah. Alan?"

Confusion. For a second we alternately said "Alan" and "Daniel" until finally I said, "Wait, wait. What is your name?"

"Daniel." He replied.

"Oh, okay. Me too, but I'm meeting some one named Alan."

With that I backed out of the conversation and started to turn away. The other Daniel had one more thing to say.

"Are you gay?"

I laughed inside. Figures.

"No. Sorry, man. Have a good night." I offered as I left, sounding unintentionally witty. I walked one more block and recognized Alan's rugby build immediately and wondered how I'd ever confused him with the other guy.