It would have been cool to announce that I am a dry land tourist who loves to explore Jamaica, but I have been outside of Jamaica a few times. According to the urban dictionary, a dry land tourist is a Jamaican term:
“A ‘Dry land tourist’ is someone who has never traveled outside of their country. Though they would love to travel to other countries, ‘dry land tourists’ never wait for an opportunity to travel, they make it their duty to take any opportunity to explore the corners and crevices of their own country.”
Nonetheless, just six days before world Tourism day, September 27th, I celebrated my birthday on September 21st and I am using my voice to permit you to be a dry land tourist or even a domestic tourist amidst the unsureties of the year 2020 and covid19.
I must confess that I didn’t always find it extremely exciting to explore Jamaica until I was exploring Colombia on a weekly basis where I was reminded about my need to rejuvenate in nature.
So, for my birthday, I spent a few days at Lux Beach resort in Discovery Bay, Jamaica. Although we had only received a voucher towards food, but I did not travel for food this time around. When I was in my room, I actually enjoyed gazing outside at the view from the pool out to the sea...into an horizon of endless peace and bliss.
Mind you, I was mainly gazing and daydreaming when my girlfriend was sleeping, almost as if I did not want to leave the room without her and have her miss out on any fun that I am likely to stumble upon.
Creative Care
Anyways, the gazing made me realize that if I am going to be teaching or lecturing online, it would be nice to do work in an environment which promotes eye-calming relaxation.
Moreover, having the option to access a private beach with beach cabanas, kayaks and such felt empowering
Of course, I couldn’t afford the $2000 US rent per month right now (asking questions don’t always provide favourable responses) , that is, if I had wanted to prolong my stay, but I will work on having a pool to swim in at the place I call home.
If I get extremely needy, I might have to bring home some sand and hope that my surest company will not mess it up- sometimes the neighborhood cats get very demanding even though I am not their parents.
Takeaway #1: It can prove to be very relaxing to incorporate some DIY’s projects ( do it yourselves) in and around your home. For me, investing in my own white towels and bed spreads have certainly made a difference in my life, but you will definitely hear more about this soon.
Camouflage
I took pleasure in kayaking my way across the clear Caribbean waters alongside the beach. I was fortunate to see a school of tarpons or silverkings only because someone else ensured that I saw them and had stopped the canoe. These fish certainly know how to camouflage as they were the same colour as the water.
Takeaway # 2: Like the tarpons, we do camouflage.
We mask our way around to protect our professional image and standards: from presenting that jacket attire on the zoom camera while ensuring that your almost naked bottom half of your body is hidden or populating the zoom chat with messages and comments to compensate for not paying attention to the speakers at all while you finish some unrelated business or personal hustle.
Basking in nature calls for us to be natural- our true selves. May we connect with mother earth as often as possible when we choose to celebrate life.
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