Relaxing is the main reason I booked a January vacation to Belize's low-key Ambergris Cay. The idea of taking time to sit in the sun, read a John Grisham novel and do pretty much nothing seemed more than a little appealing after the holiday rush.
So why I am lounging on the beach trying to avoid thinking about writing this column?
Why do I feel like the trip to a new country will be a waste if I don't go snorkeling every day, take a water taxi to the mainland to visit the baboon reserve or find a golf course?
Why is it so difficult to simply relax and do nothing? Isn't the point of a vacation to come away refreshed and ready to face life's challenges?
Many of us return from a vacation feeling as though we need to take a few days off to recover before returning to work.
We approach trips with the feeling that since we paid all that money to get to a place, such as Europe, Hawaii, Mexico or Belize, we'd better do as much as possible while we are there.
You would think that taking a cruise would be relaxing. Not so. There are shows, excursions, aerobic classes, shopping events, casinos, climbing walls, trap shooting, ship tours, dancing, midnight buffets, spa treatments and contests that can take every waking minute. You almost feel obligated to go into each port of call.
My daughter once worked at a small southern Utah national monument. The number of tourists who came rushing into the visitor center with checklists demanding to know "how much time will it take to see this place" amazed her. People rushed from place to place, trying to take in as much as possible in a short amount of time without ever stopping to savor what they were seeing.
On my first trip to Europe in 1973, my wife and I compromised. She wanted to see Spain and I wanted to explore Italy. We spent 10 days in each country. I planned the Italian itinerary almost to the minute. When we got to a small town in Spain, I asked her what we were doing. She shrugged and said she would like to sit on a bench in the city park, relax and watch daily life. I was incensed at wasting all that time and money. But, as much as I hated to admit it, she was right.
The "less-is-more" travel philosophy hit home for me during a Utah National Guard annual training exercise to Germany. Our unit was sent to a gasthaus - the German equivalent of a bed and breakfast - in a tiny town for two weeks of training. It was the kind of place a tourist would never spend more than a night, if that. But getting to know the regulars in the little bar, walking around town and discovering its ebb and flow gave me more of a sense of Germany than I would have ever imagined.
Still, I am a curious sort, which is probably why I have spent 35 years in the newspaper business. I find it difficult to stay still for long and have to force myself to relax. Forcing myself to relax? It shouldn't be this difficult.
Thus, sitting on the beach, I try to tune into the Jimmy Buffett songs on my iPod, force any coherent thoughts out of my brain and . . . relax.
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Contact Tom Wharton at wharton@sltrib.com or 801-257-8909. Send comments to livingeditor@sltrib.com.
