Thank you for sharing. I got a real good chuckle out of you poking the
construction worker with your cane. I dont really travel especially alone
but I would love to experiment with GPS on my I phone 4s while Im in a
vehicle going from place to place do you have any suggestions? I am looking
for something for free and that doesnt require a lot of being tech savvy
because Im not that good with my I phone everything I do with my I phone I
do using voice-over. Thank you in advance.
Christina Stolze
From: gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Michael May
Sent: Wednesday, August 05, 2015 12:19 PM
To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [gps-talkusers] Travel stories from Mike May
In looking back at the evolution of GPS since we began working on it in
1994, the technology has certainly evolved from a 12 pound backpack to a 6
ounce iPhone. What remains the same is the need for and the importance of
accessible GPS as an alternative way of navigating and knowing what is
around you.
I am going to post stories from the past once a month to illustrate the
significance of accessible GPS in traveling independently, no matter which
device you use. I have always said, Any GPS device is better than no GPS
device.
Here is the first story from 2003 when I would have been using the first
version of the BrailleNote Classic, probably with Sendero GPS version 3.5 or
so.
Streets of Barcelona
June 19, 2003
I have been to Barcelona a half dozen times before and was looking forward
to exploring the city with GPS maps on the BrailleNote for the first time. I
wasnt even sure the maps would work until I got outside the airport and
sure enough, there we were on the map, at the Barcelona Airport. How about
that?
As we rode from the Barcelona airport to the Gran Hotel Catalunya, my son
was most impressed with the copious motorcycles. Once I went for my first
walk, I saw what he was talking about. The motor scooters were lined up
like bicycles on the sidewalks and nudged their way through the thick
pedestrian traffic. I suppose with the high cost of petrol in Spain,
motorcycles are an efficient way to get around.
A lot easier to find a parking place too.
We spent a good part of our first day, exploring the city via a
double-decker tour bus, open on the top. I had street names and some points
of interest in my BrailleNote database and the tour guide filled in the
blanks with an audio description including history of famous places. Sure is
a lot of antiquity in this city. My boys inssisted on going to the zoo with
the worlds only known albino gorilla. I wondered if he was visually
impaired.
My favorite way to see a city is walking, eating and walking more. We
quickly adjusted to the Spanish dining schedule finishing dessert at an
outdoor café in the middle of Las Ramblas, at midnight, seriously past my
kids bedtime back home. There was so much activity; it was hard to think it
was late with the temperature still in the 80s, very conducive to evening
strolling.
Besides the scooters on the sidewalks, Barcelona has some other big-city
mobility challenges. Most of the streets in this section of town are not at
90 degrees to each other. It is easy to think you are heading in one
direction only to learn after a while that you have significantly curved.
Many of the streets are very wide with inconsistent types of islands and
placement of cross walks. Pedestrians cross streets whenever they want and
arent to be trusted as a means of knowing when the light is green (verde).
In short, it is pretty chaotic on the streets of Barcelona and getting
around independently as a blind person is not for the faint of heart.
I met up with a local blind guy (Pep Llop, mayor of La Palma) who has a
dog guide from York Town Heights. His method of street crossing is to
increase his speed three-fold. He says, Once you are committed, best to get
to the other side quickly.
I was intrigued to see how well the automatic route calculation would work
with the latest Beta version of the GPS software. I left my family mid way
down Las Ramblas and set our hotel as my destination by typing in its
address, 142 Carrer De Balmes, Barcelona. The route consisted of 4
significant turns over the course of 30 waypoints. I had never walked, or
driven for that matter, this route before. Off I went, following the
BrailleNote directions like, Waypoint 15, Provenca and Ramblas, left 129
meters.
Because of the offset street crossings, I made a couple wrong turns but was
quickly informed by the GPS that my target waypoint was behind and to the
left. After a couple of these missed turns and absolutely no sighted
assistance, I heard the comforting announcement on the BrailleNote GPS,
Arrived at destination. I was 10 meters from the front door of the hotel.
It is nice to be 49 years old and still feeling like a kid, I did it
myself, not to mention saving a few Euros on a taxi ride and the
frustration of bad directions from well-meaning sighted pedestrians.
A footnote: As I approached the hotel, I picked my way through some street
construction. I saw a florescent green object in my path and tapped it with
my cane. It wasnt hard like a sign so I tapped it a bit harder as I still
couldnt figure out visually what it was. I was startled as a burst of
Spanish profanity came from the workman bent over digging out a hole in the
sidewalk. He didnt take too kindly to me poking him in the behind with my
cane. A little bit of vision can be dangerous sometimes.
_____
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