Are you a wrangler too? I wrangle with my fears prior to going on adventures, big or small. Usually through being prepared and good tools at my disposal.

For example- I don’t speak Portuguese. I’m not so concerned about casual conversation- that can be fun. But when I have a medical need it’s better to be right in communication. I use Google translate, and can set up phrases in advance or on the fly. It’s good to down load the dictionary for off line use. I like the feature that lets me point my camera at the print and have it dynamically translate what I’m looking at. Great for menus or self guided walks where there are narratives posted in the local tongue.

Like many others, I have downloaded the country maps onto my phone for offline use. When paired with apps that support my adventure I find my fears well tamed.

For my Camino Portuguese I’m using two apps to take the best from both. I’m using Wisely+Camino Portuguese (by Wisely) and Buen Camino. One is free and the other has a small purchase fee. I like being able to compare advice and choose or correlate best practices.

For travel arrangements on the fly I’ve added apps like Rome to Rio and FlixBus while in Europe. I can make travel decisions should I change plans on the fly. I found FlixBus very useful in Croatia and Slovenia where buses make the better option than flights.

For weather I use Wunderground which lets me see local weather and forecast up to 10 days out. They have rain predictions close to the hour – this helps me decide the time of day I want to do my exploring.

A new one I’ve added lately is Marco Polo, which lets me record videos to others and they can view them at their leisure and respond in kind. It solves the time gap of calls when we’re both awake. I setup a family group so I can send a video to all my family members.

Right now I’m writing this blog on my Microsoft Universal Foldable keyboard which connects to my phone via Bluetooth. It makes blogging a easy effort.

Finally I’ve used reading and Facebook groups to get smart on travel and preparations. There is good free advice on both of these. I remember though that free advice can be risky so it’s important to correlate it with well researched advice. I’ve been an online reader of travel groups and hiking for several years – benefiting from what not to do as much as what to do stories.

So wrangle those fears. Read and ask questions. You will expand your mind.