Pale-Blue-Dot
Evernote and other technologies I used when I was in Morocco
When we entered the boarding area, my wife realized that she had forgotten her phone. In other words, gone were all the messages the travel agency had sent her. Thankfully, Evernote saved our trip to Morocco. At that point, we were unable to go back home and return in time, so I opened my Travel notebook on Evernote to assess the situation. But before I go any further, let me provide you with some context.
Usually, I am the one who organizes our trips, but this time it was different. My wife was doing it. On my side, as I have already shown in past videos, I was saving on Evernote all that she was sending me. Also, I am not a WhatsApp user.
Back to the airport
I had our boarding passes and all instructions in offline notes, but here’s my question. Why would a travel agency send all the information to its clients using WhatsApp instead of email? Also, why would the clients trust WhatsApp with all that information? And I’m not even talking about privacy. I’m talking about access.
Without a phone, which can be lost, broken, or stolen, there is no way to access the messages. However, on a public computer, one can open and even print information using the web client of an email provider or notes saved on Evernote, Google Keep, or others.
I’m convinced that this addiction to WhatsApp has already gone too far and caused many people serious problems. A few days ago, I even saw an article suggesting that people use the note-to-self feature to take notes.
NO! Please do not do this.
If you are not interested in dealing with all that Evernote or similar Apps have to offer, use Google Keep. It’s simple, and you’ll be able to access your notes even without your phone.
Okay, that’s that.
But, since we are here, I would like to share with you the other technologies that made our trip a success, even though we did not buy a local SIM-Card.
Google Maps
You have to do this before loosing Internet connection. Go to settings, select the ‘Offline Maps’ option, choose an area and download it. From now on, even if you do not have Internet access, that map will be available. But there is a caveat: there are no turn-by-turn directions.
The GPS will still work, and you’ll see the blue dot moving on the map. If you are walking as we were, it is pretty easy to follow a route towards your destination. Nevertheless, I’m not certain how efficient this would be for driving.
Google Translate
Just like Google Maps, we can download dictionaries on Google Translate. Before the trip, open the App on your phone, select one or more languages and tap the icon with an arrow pointing down.
For this trip, I downloaded the Arabic and French dictionaries, which were quite helpful.
Canon App
I love the way Google Photos plots all pictures on a map, and there is also a practical use. I often forget a restaurant or another place location, and finding the address is as simple as opening the photo and selecting ‘Open in Google Maps’.
For this trip, a brought my Canon, that doesn’t have a GPS. To fix this, I installed the Canon Camera Connect App, which connects to my phone via Bluetooth and uses its GPS to obtain the location of the pictures I was taking.
Garmin Instinct 2
This one was just for fun. I used my Garmin Instinct 2 to track all our walks, and at the end of each day, I saved the map in Evernote with some statistics, and a picture of the watch showing how much battery was left.
Each day, we walked more than 10 km, and I’m now even more impressed with the battery of this watch. You can learn more about my decision to buy it by clicking here.
Although I wasn’t expecting to need this, I added the hotel’s location to my watch, so I could navigate back there. Google Maps worked great, and we ended up memorizing our way back, but I had to try it. One day I did use the watch to go back to the hotel. It worked like a charm, and the geek in me loved it.
It’s better to be disconnected
My wife and I love to travel, but since the end of the lockdown, we’ve been only traveling within the EU. With the single currency, no border checks, and free roaming, things are too easy. There is no need to prepare thoroughly.
It’s great that we can just pack and go, but ultimately, you feel like you never really visited another country.
Morocco was, however, a different story. I went back to being prepared-for-anything mode, read a lot about it and watched some documentaries. Furthermore, without a local SIM-Card, we were disconnected from home most of the time, and we felt really immersed in an entirely different culture.
Getting away from the problem for a while often leads to new insights
Taking a break is as important as getting into the flow
It’s my belief most people come here for the free Wi-Fi. Not me. I have an office, that is also my studio, and even a comfortable home office. But I do my best to come to this Starbucks at least once a week to edit a video.
Why?
I call it my Coffee Office Day. And last Friday was a special one. The city streets are not empty anymore. On contrary, everything is getting back to normal. I’m hearing people speaking English, French, Spanish and some other languages I have no idea what they are.
Welcome back, Porto!
Randomness
Have you read The Click Moment, from Frans Johansson? One thing I’m looking for when I come here is getting away from my comfort zone.
You need to take time, even schedule time, to explore things that are not directly related to your immediate goal. You need to take your eyes off the ball in order to see and connect with the possibilities around you. —Frans Johansson
The Flow State
There’s more. When I’m here, I seldom ask for the Wi-Fi password, or connect my phone to the computer. My goal is to avoid online distractions, and, at the same time, enjoy people speaking a multitude of languages. I love to edit here. As soon as I sit down and open my computer, I enter the Flow State. It’s magical.
Flow is great, but one has to escape from it once in a while to avoid exhaustion and to break the blind alleys’ paralysis. At my office I have a different strategy, but here I do it by raising my head and looking around for a while. It never fails. In essence, this is how the Pomodoro Technique works.
During that moment, I try to guess what a person is doing. Is he working? Is she messaging a friend? Where are they from? I’ve seen it all. From job interviews to friends from different countries meeting accidentally.
It takes no more than a couple of minutes. Suddenly everything becomes background noise again, and I’m back to the computer.
Something tells me I developed this ability when I lived in Boston, back in 2015. But this is a story for another day.
Have a nice week!
Spring 2022
As in so many other countries, the first of May is Labor Day in Portugal. However, there’s also an old tradition linked to this date. It’s known as “Dia das Maias” (Maias' Day). In fact, it all starts on the 30th of April, when people put yellow genisteae bushes outside windows and front doors.
There are several theories that explain the origins of this tradition, most of them connected to religion. As an amateur gardener, what resonates with me the most is the symbolism of the end of the winter.
🌱 I love the way plants respond to spring. It feels so magic
Unfortunately, we don’t have giestas amarelas (yellow genisteae) bushes, but my wife picked-up some yellow flowers early today when she was walking our dog.
It feels like driving on a highway not wearing a seat belt.
When I arrived at the checkout counter, all the other cashiers were teasing him. I only understood all that buzz when I looked up. He wasn’t wearing a mask.
I was aware that the government was discussing new measures that day, but my brain took a while to assimilate that a store employee, that person right in front of me, wasn’t wearing a mask. He had this wonderful happiness face, replying to his friends:
—No, I’m not going to wear it anymore
That was a great smile. Made my day.
Starting on the last last 21st, masks in Portugal are only mandatory on public transportation and health related situations, like hospitals, home care, etc.
It’s remarkable how we humans get used to new habits. It’s a week after the new rules, and it still feels like something is not quite right when I enter a store without my mask.
😯 Feels like driving on a highway, not wearing a seat belt.
Will the world ever get back to how it was before?
Last month, after so many months in lockdown, I finally got fully vaccinated against the Corona-19, and now I’m gradually starting to enjoy simple things again. My wife and I went to some of Porto’s popular touristic sites the past weekend, but something was off. No busy people walking around, no crowds on most streets…
Where is my red carpet?
Back in the 80s when I was about 14 I boarded a Fokker F27 from TAM Airlines for the first time. The company was just another small regional airline in Brazil and to compete with the big ones part of the strategy was to provide a high-quality service. The memory of those early days is preserved by the phrase “The Magic Red Carpet” painted next to the cockpit windows of present-day planes.
Red carpets were actually placed by the stairs of each Fokker during the boarding process, but this was just part of a broader plan. TAM acquired other airlines and also gradually became a CRM master, at a time, no other company in Brazil was technically prepared to explore this kind of personalized interaction with clients. Among other magic moments, TAM call center would answer calls knowing the passenger’s names and agents would wish us a happy birthday at the check-in desk. It was remarkable, and it worked perfectly with other strategic moves. By the time I was finishing university, TAM was about to become the biggest airline in the country.
On the other coast of South America, another airline was also working on what would one day become an aviation giant. I didn’t have the opportunity to experience LAN’s services during their first years of operation, but I do remember flying with them when they were still Lan Chile, a single country company. And thereafter, while they were acquiring airlines all over South America I was visiting Chile, Peru, Equator and several other countries on board of those beautiful blue planes.
The two companies grew to a point where an acquisition or fusion was inevitable. Latam Airlines Group started as an agreement in 2010 and was officially born in 2011 after being approved by Chilean and Brazilian authorities. It was a logical move. They had strong operations in complementary countries, and it would be a combination of two amazing flying experiences. At least that’s what I thought. Unfortunately, after years of combined operation, costumers are still experiencing problems.
Since I was usually flying LAN on South America I ended up choosing Lanpass as my main frequent flyer program that, by the way, always had an agreement with TAM’s program even before Latam existence. But years after the merger and despite LAN’s Brazilian website informing visitors they should contact TAM, one cannot call or go to a TAM office to buy tickets or exchange millage points from LAN. The only option is LAN’s operation in Brazil, with few offices and a call center available only during business hours.
I ended up getting used to this crazy situation because there is no other option. But last Sunday I couldn’t believe on what was happening. I was trying to purchase a ticket from LAN’s website and the transaction wouldn’t go through. I tried it several times and the payment kept being rejected. I thought the problem could be related to some system at Visa working to prevent frauds, and I called the bank. They told me none of my attempts ever reached their system. That was the information I needed. Obviously, LAN’s website was to blame.
In a perfect world, calling LAN should be the easiest way to fix a case like this, but remember, there’s the crazy Latam situation. LAN in Brazil redirects calls to TAM when agents are off-duty, but TAM has no access to LAN’s system and therefore cannot help LAN’s costumers. Isn’t this crazy? Remember, this merger was approved 5 years ago!
After a lot of complaint, the TAM agent finally had an idea. She would create another reservation, and then I would be able to purchase the ticket. TAM’s new itinerary was created using the exact same flights I scheduled at LAN, and it would cost me an extra US$200. How is this even possible?
After four hours, trying to buy a simple ticket, I gave up and complained on Twitter. TAM replied using a pre-formatted answer, and LAN asked for my number and email address. Although I’m living in Brazil, I gave them my US VoIP number because I had already tried the Brazilian call center, and it didn’t work like I mentioned above.
Mr Rodrigo Ramos called me from Chile on behalf of Latam, and he was wonderful. He patiently guided me through alternative paths and one of them finally worked. Overall, it looks like the problem was related to the ticket being purchased from Brazil on LAN’s website instead of TAM’s.
Did I get this right? Are we supposed to pay more to fly the exact same routes on board the same planes of the same company just because we happen to be in the wrong country? And by the way, I was purchasing a ticker to depart from and get back to Chile and not Brazil.
But what really amazes me is the fact that I was treated in an entirely different way just because I was talking to the same company in another country. If the systems are not yet one, TAM should at least have the decency to connect me to a LAN agent in situations like this. Is it asking too much? I can’t stress this enough: 5 years have passed since the merger was approved. And moreover both companies recently promoted Latam using sentences like “Coming together to take care of people”, “Starting today LAN and TAM have the same rhythm” and “We care so that dreams reach their destinations”.
Gosh, how I miss that red carpet!
It is time to go to Cuba
The fact that President Obama is focusing on reestablishing diplomatic ties with Cuba is a significant development, but it also means that there is a good chance that things will begin to change there at a rapid pace. That’s why we decided it was time to visit Cuba and see the country as it is now.
