I just wanted to pass on that Garmin’s Nuvi is an absolutely first class piece of personal electronics. Steve D’Antonio and I were in Italy last week, visiting seven companies in four days, traveling almost 1,200km across the Italian landscape. It was an intense but exciting trip that took us into the lives/stories of businesses that pride themselves on innovation, passion, and family.
Our plan was to call on Italian companies that manufacture high quality marine equipment and accessories far from the sea, an oddity that still intrigues me. Why are such quality marine products coming out of the mountains of central Italy? It was a mystery that I hoped to solve.
I had loaded the Nuvi with the European travel guide and maps just days before the trip. I’d heard great things about the Nuvi product line for overseas travel (garmin.com//products/nuvi/), and was anxious to see for myself how well it served us.
Once we had our rented Ford diesel sedan loaded and ready to hit the road, we relied on the Nuvi 660 to get us around. We quickly found it so accurate and useful I never really looked at the maps we had, and the level of detail contained in the Nuvi was so much richer than any of the paper maps we had.
Despite the poor Nuvi-woman’s voice trying to provide directions while we sped along the many switchbacks on some of the mountain routes, notably from Sant’Agata Feltria to Pesaro, and the fact that few businesses have street numbers to allow pinpoint navigation, Steve and I praised the Nuvi every hour, every day. I was the navigator for the trip, and I routinely called out which of the confusing, in-rapid-succession right turn exits off the Autostrada was the right one, as I judged our progress on the Nuvi screen. And it would find shortcuts that took us on roads no tourist would ever travel. It was technology enlightenment on a grand scale.
And we had some fun experiences with the Nuvi as well. For instance, when we drove from Guissano to Sarnico, to visit Besenzoni, the Nuvi chose the nearest end of Via Foppe, the road leading to Besenzoni. We entered what was essentially a dirt cow path, drove under a waterfall of sorts, then through a stream, but we soon came upon the rear entrance to the Besenzoni facility, spot on. Later, we found the other end of the road was paved as it took us on to our next visit on the coast.
In all, we visited Veco, Besenzoni, C-Map, Indel, Vitrifrigo, CNP yacht builders, and Quick. It was a terrific trip that opened our eyes to Italian innovation, creativity, craftsmanship, and passion. And the food and wine was simply outstanding. From truffles in Sant'Agata to pizza diavolo in Pesaro, we got a taste of the cuisine of this magic land. Our hosts were gracious, informative, and we learned so much it will take some time for Steve, Natalie, and me to sort through it all. Which we'll do after the crew comes back from Trawler Fest in Poulsbo.
As for the Nuvi, I am convinced we could not have had such a stress-free travel experience, were it not for the enormously helpful Nuvi. If only our female voice spoke with an Italian accent, that would have been perfect. But as it was, we were thrilled to have it along, and it is now an essential piece of my travel gear.
Stay tuned to hear all about our travels and what we found to explain the mystery of this Italian phenomenon.
