For the last couple of years, I have been contributing to Google Maps as a local guide, mainly to aid the spirit of discovery amongst fellow travellers. This ‘spirit’ of discovery can be of any kind. This could, for instance, be a charming lodging in Morocco where they serve the best traditional tagines, somewhat more adventurous venues such as the Triglav peak of the Julian Alps, or simply a hidden Spanish gorge that offers a quiet little beach to enjoy a relaxing afternoon.
However, besides being a great tool for sharing and discovering experiences amongst fellow travellers, Google Maps offers a particular advantage that has already aided me countless times. As a fervent rock climber and hiker, I often end up in rather more desolate environments where connectivity is quite limited to simply non-existing. Google Maps in such cases have helped me out through the very beneficial feature of offline maps, where my exact location can still be found. Moreover, switching between the terrain and satellite view has already saved me numerous hours of wandering about in search of my destination.
Google Maps has in this respect been a wonderful means to not only share unique places and venues amongst travellers but by also aiding me countless times in finding my way in foreign lands, for which I’m very grateful. Below, an illustration of how a good old fashioned map failed us and where google maps eventually saved the day!