Thoughts from a traveller

It has been a couple of weeks now since I posted in this space, and my apologies for that.  On the spur of the moment, I decided to join my far better half this year on her annual pilgrimage to Cancun, Mexico, as I decided it was time for a rest.

A busy winter delivering the mail, writing news for the Brock radio station and posts in this space had simply burned me out, so off we went for a week of rest and relaxation in the sunny south.

Having arrived home on the weekend, I come back with some thoughts accumulated from my travels I thought I would share with you this week.  I know it has nothing to do with the arts, but hey, bear with me on this.  I allow myself to run off on a tangent every now and again...

First off, my straw Panama hat is off to the exemplary staff both on the ground and in the air with Westjet, my favourite airline.  These people know how to make you comfortable, happy and relaxed, all at a reasonable price.  Even the captain on both our flights gave us a few good laughs along the way.

My second tip of the Panama is to the staff who take care of us at the other end of the trip, at the Royal Resorts location we stayed at along the so-called Hotel Zone in Cancun.  Pretty much everything is taken care of, and you are certainly treated, well, royally.  Thanks everyone for making us feel welcome at our home away from home.

Now, it's not all hearts and flowers this week, so here is the other side of the coin, if you will...

Even with luggage restrictions clearly spelled out everywhere you look these days, I still managed to get caught with something in my carry-on bag heading down that should not of been there.  I know about carrying liquids in your carry on, that is a given.  But peanut butter?  Well yes, they say gels are  included too, but I never for the life of me thought peanut butter fell into that category.  Oh well...I had to dispose of a brand-new jar of peanut butter in the trash at the airport as my checked luggage had already gone through, and buy a new jar at the resort when I got there.  You know where it was on the way home, though...

Airport crowds are not my thing.  Sorry, I just don't enjoy the hustle and bustle and looking for your gate and all that.  But it's what we do, so early in the morning we are walking the airport departure area like zombies in need of caffeine trying to find our way through the maze of passengers also doing the same thing.

Incidentally, when did dressing for the beach begin before the flight even started?  There was a time you actually dressed nicely while on a flight, and I still do that myself today.  But in most cases, flip flops, bathing suits and questionable t-shirts are the norm on flights today.  Maybe I'm old fashioned, but this has always irked me.

I know I have written before about the unavoidable digital world we now live in, but after two flights in the past week, I have some things to say on the matter - again.  Especially since when I last flew down there in 2008 the ubiquitous iPhone was only about a year old and still something of a novelty.

No more.  Now, they are everywhere, along with the larger iPads and all the Android brethren as well.  Choose your poison...

There was a time you had in-flight movies.  Now, people just connect through an app and watch their favourite movies and videos on their own devices, often from the moment you take your seat on the plane.  All very well and good, I suppose, but wait a minute.

Again, call me old-fashioned, but I still marvel at the fact this huge tube with wings filled with people can lift off the ground, fly through the air and land safely, almost always.  Not so the present generation, for whom the idea of actually watching yourself get airborne is yesterday's news.  While I marvelled at the scene outside my window on both flights, everyone around me barely noticed as they watched the latest shoot-em up or Disney flick on their personal device.

There was one man, however, who took my fascination to the extreme on the way down last week, as he trained his small video camera on a tripod at the window he was seated next to, and proceeded to film the entire takeoff and landing.  I had to wonder - who is going to watch this video anyways?  Who has not experienced at least one flight in their lives in this day and age?  Sorry, bud, but why not put the video camera down and just live the moment and leave it at that?  Mind you, he could send copies to the others around him who hadn't noticed we had actually taken off in a jetliner...

On the return trip, I was struck by the number of people around me who had iPads and used them the entire time during the flight to watch something.  I counted at least 10 in my immediate vicinity.  The young lady across the aisle from even had hers set up for a film while she held her iPhone in her hand, texting the entire time.  Do we really need to be that connected at all times, even while on vacation?

This was the same young lady who managed to lose her phone at the end of the flight and everyone had to wait while she found it on the floor underneath the seat, then commenting "Can't do without my phone!"  Well, maybe you should learn to...

Incidentally, what is it with people and selfies?  The young people in the seats across the aisle from me were busy taking selfies of themselves throughout the flight, and I can't understand why.  But then, the whole selfie thing is lost on me, frankly.

At the resort, the number of people having paid good money to get away from it all still managed to stay connected to it all while walking around like zombies with their devices was frightening.  For me, I used the wifi at the resort to check my emails at the start and end of the day only, and used the phone in airplane mode for pictures the rest of the day.  That's it.  I didn't feel I missed out on anything, really.

There is a tendency in this digital age to stop living your life because you are too busy filming and/or posting about it in social media.  It is a sickness, really.  I fear the day will come when social-media anonymous meetings will be held to help people cope with their addiction, and everyone there will be posting about being there.  Is this what we've become as a society?

Okay, other than that, I had a great time.  Walked a lot, read some books (remember them?) and ate far too much.  But that, from what I remember, is what makes a vacation a vacation.

Facebook can wait.  It will still be there when you get home.  Trust me.

Have a good week!

May 17th, 2016.