Nothing on the schedule
The ideal vacation then is to have nothing on the schedule.
Avacation, which is too often defined simply as time away from work, can be even more hectic than the routine associated with going to office. After all, the mundane activities of waking up, dressing for work, driving through traffic, and attending meetings and putting out fires caused by others have a familiarity about them that makes even the tiredness we associate with work no different from a gym workout. The repetitions are ordained and intended to work out certain muscles and raise the heartbeat to a certain level — the idiot forgot to bill the customer again. Planned vacations, especially when booked a year in advance, are sure to squeeze in the most activities for the time allotted and the place being visited — if we’re in Venice, might as well book the night tour of St. Mark’s Cathedral after doing the Murano tour. This piling up of things to do exact a toll on an aging body. The itinerary designer, usually at least one generation down from the intended market, does not schedule such non-activities as afternoon nap, sipping café latte on a stool, and watching the sun set. These time outs are considered time wasters that also eat up time better spent on “real” adventures. Why even provide time for rest?
Isn’t a vacation intended for emptiness, a lack of activities? The Latin root word for vacation is vacare, which is to empty. It’s the same root word used for vacancy and vacate. The ideal vacation then is to have nothing on the schedule.
This rather lackadaisical approach to leisure is sure to elicit contempt from the hectic school of thought — why waste money on plane fare and hotels when all you’ll be doing is taking naps? Better to just stay home. The argument that doing the same thing like sleeping and eating in a different place makes all the difference is sure to bring out the economic argument of investment optimization from the otherwise non-economics inclined hectic man who resorts to absurdity to get his point across on a cheaper option — just change your bedsheets at home and look for a new restaurant.
It’s clear that the two points of view on what a vacation is all about are irreconcilable. Is it to be an adventure full of strange and new things to tire the body out and enrich the photo postings? Or can it be a leisurely unfolding of the senses, mostly inclined and meditative in a strange new room that comes with a breakfast buffet? The only reconciliation for these two approaches is to have separate sets of activities for this tour group; the adventurers off to the races with the oldies left behind at the hotel. Guess which group foots the bill for this bifurcated vacation?
Is there a middle ground between the adventurers and the slowpokes?
Maybe the reason cruises have picked up in their marketing appeal is their implicit offer of catering to the two groups of travelers. The lazy ones can stay on the boat and watch the waves as they take their popcorn with the tropical drink as the adventurers sally forth to the assorted city tours and hikes that are also on offer. The recent availability of short cruises originating from Manila has opened up this new combo that offers the irresistible package of unlimited meals and the option to just stay on the boat or actually disembark. The move from port to port does not entail packing and unpacking as the hotel sails along with you.
Still, the person used to routine and having something to do with a schedule to follow during the day seems at a loss when the calendar is blank. Isn’t this the biggest fear of someone retired from work?
We are supposed to be creatures of habit. Routine provides a certain structure to life, like three meals a day. A full calendar seems to define the usefulness of a person. Maybe, it’s time to consider a blank page as something that is not stale but simply full of possibilities... as well as missed opportunities.