When a GPS gets lost and quits: Part 2

In Part 1, I shared one of my finest GPS betrayals.

A perfectly planned trip from Segovia to Seville – coffee ready, playlist on, optimism high… and a GPS confidently guiding me.

Until it didn’t.

What I thought was Seville turned out to be Sevilla la Nueva – a lovely town in the north of Madrid that, while charming, is not exactly Andalucia.

So yes, technically the GPS was “correct”… just in the least helpful way possible.

A reminder that even when technology sounds confident, it doesn’t always know where it’s going. Is that right AI?

Now, my last tale with this navigation tool was in Portugal, travelling from Tavira to a small inland village in the Algarve.

A good hour on the A22, also known as the Via do Infante de Sagres, running across the southern coast from Spain to Lagos.

And to my surprise – the A22 is now free. No longer a toll road. Driving in Portugal can be tricky because many roads used to require advance or online payment.

So if you’re heading to the Algarve by car – don’t worry. It’s now a free ride. And not just the A22: the A23, A24, and A25 are also toll-free.

But I must disclaim any possible inaccuracies – please check your route and confirm official information from the Portuguese transport authorities. So hereby I disclaim myself from the above.

So the next quest was from Tavira to our hotel in the rural Algarve. Spirits were high. Car loaded – only 16 bags this time – GPS ready… and off we went.

For about an hour, it was smooth freeway bliss. One of those rare moments where you start to trust life again. Until the exit approached.

We thought it would be a simple turn-off, but rural roads had other plans.

So there we were: left, right, another left, two rights… “Everybody in the car – shhhh, please! I can’t hear. What did it say? Left? Right?”

Except this time… no queue of cars behind us. Just us. Alone. In the middle of the countryside. The wind through endless fields and trees, like the land itself quietly laughing at us.

Teddy stared at me with his big brown eyes, barking in perfect translation: Are we there yet? Meanwhile Sue was getting dizzier than on a cruise ship in rough seas – and that’s really saying something.

At that point, I would have honestly preferred being in a spacecraft about to be launched out of Earth’s orbit. At least then someone would be in charge.

So there we were, circling the Algarve wine country – unable to drink a single drop, as I was driving – like extras in a rural drama no one signed up for. At least we had phone coverage.

Until the GPS finally said:

“Sorry. I quit. I have no idea where I’m taking you.”

And that was it. Silence. Chaos. No refunds.

TO BE CONTINUED… next week’s rural road adventures.