GPS Spellcheck ?

I have mentioned here occasionally  the danger that people can become entirely too dependent on their electronic gadgets and gizmos.  So I was amused to read a story on the Reuters “Oddly Enough” page about a Swedish couple vacationing in Italy, who wanted to visit the Isle of Capri, and the famous Blue Grotto.  Unfortunately, they mistyped the name of their destination into their GPS navigation system, and ended up in the Northern Italian town of Carpi, instead:

“It’s hard to understand how they managed it. I mean, Capri is an island,” said Giovanni Medici, a spokesman for Carpi regional government, told Reuters Tuesday

It seems that other parts of their pre-trip research were a bit lacking, too.  The mistake was discovered when they asked at the local tourist office how to drive to the Blue Grotto.  It’s been a while since I was there, but I’m pretty sure it is still a cave opening to the Gulf of Naples, and is accessible only by boat.

Fortunately, the couple appeared to take the news in good grace, and turned around to drive south.