Black screen. Nada. Rien de rien.
“Lorne,” I say, “I’ve got no power in my notebook.”
“Try rebooting,” he says, absently, not looking up from his book.
“No, I mean I’ve got nothing, no lights on at all.”
The diagnosis? A failed power supply. No way to charge the battery. And no way to replace the faulty charger while we’re still in Belgium.
The only other devices we have with us are Lorne’s Android phone and his tablet. I’ve been using Travelpod for my vacation blogging because it offers easy insertion of multiple photos. But it doesn’t have an Android app so using the phone to compose isn’t an option. And the keyboard on the tablet isn’t intended for touch typing. I’m writing what you’re reading now by tapping one letter at a time with a stylus. Inserting any pictures using this tablet is also going to be time consuming and ultimately too frustrating to include as a relaxing evening activity during the remainder of our vacation.
So – what did I used to do before I wrote a travel blog? I kept a handwritten travel diary and that’s what I’ll be doing for the rest of my Belgian vacation. When I get home, you can expect posts on our adventures in ruined castles and abbies and Gollum-like caves in the southern Belgian countryside, a tale of two tour guides, why we think fries are French when they’re not, and some yet to be determined topics that will no doubt sprout after we’ve had a week in Brussels. And while blogging has given me a virtual voice, I’ve still got the one I use during conversations on the phone, around the lunch table and over coffee so expect some stories using those media as well.
Until then I will say goodbye to blogging and to those of you who’ve been following our Belgian journey so far. Now let’s see – where is that paper the hotel gave us?
Wise Woman Travel 