Kindness #indie30

Another prompt from BootsnAll’s 30 day indie writing project: kindness.

I have encountered so much kindness on my travels…

1 – After spending a day hiking the Petito Moreno Glacier, I busted my knee but good. Self diagnosis: Knee brace! So that evening, the owners of the b&b where we were staying no only gave me several ice packs but taught me the word for knee in Spanish. At the pharmacy, the lovely ladies kicked the male pharmacist out of the back room and they patiently helped fit me.

Yes, I was in the back of the pharmacy with no pants on as these women were checking to see which brace would fit me best. They also helped me walk around the pharmacy which was probably no bigger than a small New York City studio apartment to ensure that I purchased the right medicine…thankfully the spelling of ibuprofen in Spanish is very similar to that in English. The pink liquid with the cartoon on front was the dead giveaway that it was for kids…just what I needed.

2 – I did need the ibuprofen and knee brace for the horse back riding we would be doing later that day. I had never ridden a horse before, and certainly never attempted to ride a horse with a busted knee. I was very nervous and I asked one of the women at the b&b if I fell or hurt myself that she would join us in the ER. She agreed. Thankfully she didn’t need to and I survived. Just knowing that we would have back up in the ER for my Spanish made me feel a little better.

3 – In Croatia, we were heading to hike Plitvice Lakes National Park on the only rainy day of our trip.

We met a couple at breakfast in the kitchen of the b&b who had hiked the park the prior day and were heading out to their next destination. The boyfriend and I had not even thought about raincoats, and this couple easily handed over their plastic ponchos to us.

The unexpected kindness that one encounters on travels certainly adds to the experience and the memories. Sure, we still got soaked, and yes, I was still petrified of landing in an Argentinian emergency room but the unexpected kindness that one experiences is never forgotten, as it becomes part of the story from the adventure.