As a constant traveler, I find my way around unknown spaces by wandering around map-less and by finding/making correspondences with the landmarks of the city where I was born and know fairly well. Sometimes the associations are quite literal, sometimes poetical, but more often than not, they only make sense to me.
During my time in Barcelona, I made two maps: one of downtown Mexico City and the other of downtown area of my new environment. At least that’s what they read. At closer look though, the map that says ‘México D.F. Centro” is actually the map of Barcelona and vice versa. Street names such as Alameda Central and Passeig de Grácia replace Las Ramblas and Paseo de la Reforma.
I gave away a few of these professional-looking pocket maps to unsuspecting visitors in each of the cities to assist them in finding alternate ways to transit space. Hopefully, at least one person welcomed the invitation to get lost and stumbled across happy accidents and undiscovered gems.
