My Guilty Little Travel Secret

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A Cafe in Saint Martin

I love hostels, tasting exotic food and drinks in a foreign country, and mingling with new people while sharing a local beer. I like the excitement of discovering a new place each day of my trip, indulging in the countries' culture, learning about its history and present, and taking the road less travelled. I really do. 

But something I've learned during the last 1 and 1/2 years (since I started on my full-time job) is that traveling this way, although rewarding and fulfilling, is not relaxing. After returning from these kind of trips, I have 2 memory cards full of pictures and a lot of fantastic new experiences - but am exhausted. I then spend the following week dragging myself from home to work and back and hope for the weekend to recover from my vacation. 

But this summer, things will be different. 


... I will wake up whenever I feel like it.


... I will get a perfect tan.


... I will watch the sunset from the terrace and toast with a glass of wine!


From time to time, the little explorer inside me needs a break. A day without schedules. A week on which my only calendar entry is playa. No museums. No city walks. No hiking. No road trips. No GPS. No sleeping somewhere else each night - just playa.  


It has been so long I haven't taken a real time off that I'm not even sure if I can make it. Maybe I spend those 7 days checking my e-mails every 2 minutes, reading books about the petroleum industry or learning french, so I feel like I'm doing something proactive. But I'm almost sure that as soon as the sand touches my bare feet, I'll be somewhere near the Limbo. 

Fernando de Noronha, Brazil

PS: Watch out for the next blog posts to find out about my destination! 

Do you also need a cultural break from time to time and enjoy a vacation doing nothing? Which is your guilty little travel secret?