OH MY WORD! I'm being robbed by a sexy bandit! Oh, wait, it's just you.:)
My family are professional globe trotters, except Kipling the dog who is a professional playboy.
Ever since I was little we made it a habit to have an annual holiday venturing anywhere from the States, Spain, Italy, Greece, the Philippines, Cuba, Tunisia, Egypt, France, and Dubai. The wonderful delight is there are still places that have not been explored and that my friend, is a very exciting thing for both you and I.
To travel is an opportunity to explore the unknown; to see, smell and taste things that you have never experienced before. Therefore a traveler to me is a fascinating person with memories, stories and a glow in his or her eye (not to inflate my own giant head). Personally I carry a writers notebook wherever I go, ready to soak in inspiration from the languages I speak, the music I hear and the people I meet along my journey to make that glow all the brighter.
Which leads to the fact that it is a very natural thing to want to meet people from different creeds and backgrounds. We share this world with billions of other people and I feel it's a little rude not to acknowledge our neighbours and their gorgeous countries. The borders and immigration control while inescapable are artificial illusions. There is nothing more unnatural than bringing your home country with you on holiday. Expecting, for example, that everyone should speak your language or eat your food. I am talking about those who, when dining in the hotel restaurant, refuse to try the local delicacy or tropical cuisine, and instead adopt the option of french fries because it is safe and familiar. Correction my dear boy--it is mundane and boring. From my Cuban holiday I tried the most delicious grilled fish and lobster I have ever tried in my life and the experience enhanced my holiday and created a sensory memory that stayed with me long after I landed. So, try the lobster :)
The beautiful thing about holiday resorts is that every person is experiencing the same. I love to think of resorts as being way stations where all frames of mind and social conditions of wealth, race, creed and upbringing are all left behind. The resorts are places where people can all come together and be happy. Thus, holidays are strong metaphors for life itself, and one realizes that the experience of relaxation is what life really is all about: a place without worry or fear; a place where all dreams can come to fruition, a place where you can finally be yourself. The difficulty that we face is returning home.
Which is why I leave you with this last grain of truth. There are paradises away from home; white sandy beaches and clear blue skies but this doesn't mean that you can't take it home with you. While out in Cuba, walking on one of the most beautiful beaches I've seen in my life, I realized that paradise exists within all of us and the memories of paradise never die. Bring paradise everywhere you go, rain or shine, to every new person you meet. These places of wonder are reminders that there are still beautiful people in the world. For remember that the world is a reflection of the soul, and we make our world the way it is by being beautiful, by being that paradise.
Until next time, stay safe :).
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