I Didn’t Mean To Hitchhike, Okay?!
It was a full week into my stay in Naples and I hadn’t actually seen Naples. There was one attempt when Melanie and I went into the city one afternoon and it quickly became clear that navigating Napoli is not easy.
I knew that if I were going to see Naples properly I would need help.
I decided to turn to Bumble. I noted that I was looking for friends to explore the city with and soon the matches were lining up.
I struck up conversations and had willing participants to show me the city for the day, but the problem was I had no way to actually get to the city. Lago Patria is about a 30-minute car ride from Naples, but there’s no public transit to get there. Actually, scratch that… no GOOD public transit to get there.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way!
I researched and found a supposed bus that was supposedly leaving from just outside of our community. Supposedly. I made my way to the “stop” (there was nothing there at all indicating it was an actual bus stop) and waited. As I did, a man pulls up in a car and tried to speak to me in Italian. I attempted to take advantage of the situation and ask him where the bus was, to no avail. The language barrier was too great… but I did understand that he was trying to tell me to get in the car. After shouting NON enough times, he finally drove off.
When the time came and went for the bus to arrive I walked into an empty “fast food” spot and tried asking the man who worked there, who also did not speak any English. I tried my limited Italian and finally he understood my, “Dove… autobus to Napoli. E qui?”
And he said, “Oooohhh AUTO buuus… Nononononono.” And pointed down the road.
Me: “Ohhh e li?”
“Sisisisisisi.”
“Grazie!”
I set out and looked down the street in the direction he pointed… Non bene. There was nothing in sight, and I had already missed whatever bus was theoretically coming anyway.
As I contemplated my next move, another car pulled up!!! I guess this is a thing??? Except this person spoke English quite well. He explained to me that the bus was about a mile away, although it ran inconsistently and was pretty dodgy. He offered to give me a ride.
“To where?” I asked.
“To the bus stop, if you want… or to the train station in Pozzuoli if it is easier?”
After prodding him I found out that he worked for the Italian government as a film commissioner. He also rented out homes in the neighborhood- perhaps my friends rented from him? He told me his name and pulled up his IMDB page to prove his identity. (Go figure.) He also happened to have lived in Los Angeles for a while. Lago Patria is a small town. I was an American girl in need of help, and he wanted me to enjoy my time in his beloved city.
I skeptically agreed and for the first time in my life, did what you learn from a very young age NOT to do, and got into a car with a stranger.
We shared good conversation as we talked about movies and the industry, and how bizarre it was that two people from the film world were in Lago Patria having a chat. He was perfectly pleasant and offered me a ride whenever I needed it. He spent a good amount of time warning me about the dangers of Napoli (which honestly did not make me feel better about my decision to jump in the car with him) but he got me where I needed to go safely, so I could meet up with the next strange man on my list!
This wouldn’t be the last time that Pablo and I would meet. He would become another first when he picked me up on his motorcycle for a ride around the neighborhood on a lovely Sunday afternoon. We text regularly, him checking in to make sure I am okay, and wanting to connect me with friends. We have even discussed collaborating on a film!
In short, I would not necessarily recommend hitchhiking, although in my experience it turned out okay.
** My phone (along with all my travel pics so far) was stolen in Brussels. This week’s illustration was by Carolin, a wonderful German student who I crossed paths with at Ilma’s.
