While in Mallorca recently, I had a chance to visit Valldemossa which boasts of (amongst other things) having hosted Frederic Chopin and George Sand during the winter of 1838-1839 (ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Sand).
In a small gift shop in the town center, I picked up an English version of one of George Sand's books - "Un hiver a Majorque" (A winter in Mallorca). The book was of interest due to the fact that both Chopin and Sand had a 'nightmarish' visit to Mallorca and this had largely influenced the tone of her book. However, it was something other than Sand's characteristic 'French' attitude and perspectives on the trip that caught my attention. In her introductory note, Sand asserts "It is not so much a question of travelling as of getting away; which of us has not some pain to dull, or some yoke to cast off?"
As I had been on a journey myself, a journey that was as spontaneous and open-ended as it was without concrete objectives and one that lasted several weeks, this assertion had me thinking a lot about why I left for this trip and what I sought. Was I getting away from something? Did I need to cast off some yoke?
I tried to both understand the author's perspective (I am still in the midst of the book) as well as attempted to reflect on whether that assertion could be so generally applied as the author had intended.
So, why do we travel? I dare to think that George Sand was very much motivated by the bitterness of the experience in Mallorca. When I think of the long lines in front of Cuevas Del Drach where people sat and waited to get in to see the spectacular stalactites and stalagmites (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanjiva/sets/1232068/) or the sunbathers on the beach in Soller (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanjiva/54588186/in/set-1183193/), I couldn't imagine that everyone there was trying to get away, although 'getting away' is definitely one of the reasons.
So why were they in Mallorca?
I believe they sought:
A change of pace and rhythm of daily life,
To explore and learn,
To seek isolation, focused time
To recharge,
To escape (aka get away),
To seek something that they couldn't find in their everyday environment, i.e. to seek something that would help them complete their lives.
I don't believe that they were all trying to 'get away'.
So, why do you travel?
Sanjiva, Orinda, 11/11/2005
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