Our Dacia Duster was pretty dirty on the outside; the rental assistant walked around and showed me where the documented dings and damages were. I couldn’t really see those. Was it the dirt, or my bleary eyes from the sleepless flight? Well, ok. How about this damage to the front that’s not on the paperwork? Its ok, only the photos matter. Hmm- I guess I should photograph it then? Already did.
That didn’t really sit well- I’ll be on the hook for repairs that are existing. Sure- ok.
We found this attitude prevalent in different scenarios over the next 3 weeks. Here are the rules, here are the consequences, and we trust you to do the right thing. No 3rd degree if you don’t bring it back full- maybe I didn’t hear that? Weird.
After a while it felt good to be trusted to do the right thing, whether that was parking, camping, or paying for the toilet.
That mental shift is one of the values of getting out of your element, a change of perspective. As we’re traveling again, there are still lingering doubts, and reasons not to go, or stay close to home. Let’s return to the reasons that we travel, explore, learn, inspire and see things a new (or refreshed) way.
We did bring the car back kind of clean, and there were no extra charges.
No Dusters were harmed in any way during the production of this adventure.