Armchair Travelling

Betty D'Couto

Covid came along and pressed the pause button on everything that we all knew as normal, and even took for granted most days of our lives. Travelling, for example. Oh, the joy of picking and packing every little and big thing for the intended journey!! Of kitting up ourselves, depending on whether it is going to be a summer splasher or a winter wonderland that we plan to experience! The period preceding a journey/voyage is the most exciting. Our goings-in and comings-out fall under the captivating category known as “blurred boundaries!” Shopping sprees and a salubrious stocking up of trip-ready essentials permeate our entire being, dominating our dream space as well. The diverse, exotic sights, redolent smells and delectable tastes of faraway lands is an allure not many can resist for sure! Once bitten by the travel bug, you automatically sprout wheels/wings that embolden you to take off on a whim. Travelling takes centerstage in the life of many, but more especially, in the lives of most retired folks, who, after years of being time bound, long to embark on adventures and encounter the gentle breeze caress their face, and for a sumptuous spread beyond their own table’s. The lure of locales – unusual, fascinating and breathtaking – coupled with free time and the finance to fund such escapades makes for an easy getaway via a competent and smart travel agent. But thanks to Covid, we were all grounded, all trips trounced.

And that’s when I discovered the joys of Armchair Travelling! Being a homebody, my best friend, Melwin and I (me having just retired from active service) loved our afternoons after lunch when we settled into our sofa to take short trips around the world, thanks to YouTube, Rick Steves and other travel writers whose travel series inspired our armchair travelling. Like Jules Verne’s “Around the world in 80 days, we too unearthed adventure, unlocked our spirit of exploration and the triumph of persevering this form of travel. Only thing, for us, Verne’s 80 days has stretched long past the covid lockdown.

Physically travelling to places and countries, is, definitely, incomparable, but we found our armchair travels no less enlightening, engrossing, enchanting and enjoyable. It gave us the comfort of our own time, space, clothes and pace with which to traverse those timeless territories with ease and in peace. Armed with cameras and drones fitted with the latest technology, travel vloggers today give us the best in terms of the most spectacular views, picturesque country sides, idyllic islands, enchanting fjords and pristine places, to me far more captivating than when seen through physical eyes. The Azores in Portugal is a paradise with its verdant valleys and steep ocean cliffs. We drenched ourselves in Croatia’s waterfalls, found ourselves driving up Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher, leisurely strolling the cobbled pathways of Capri, gliding on the ocean-front road at Amalfi, mesmerized by Iceland’s most romantic view of the famed Northern Lights. Switzerland and the Swiss Alps, my most cherished and treasured real-life experience never fails to come alive each time we watch this heaven-on-earth through someone else’s lens. Having been an inveterate traveller earlier on, our family of four, revelled in our sojourns at Malaysia, Singapore, Srilanka, France, Germany, Switzerland, Milan. Memories that live on.

Armchair Travelling isn’t an excuse for being lazy or miserly as I learnt from my awesome afternoons. As a matter of fact, it offers you the world with wide-eyed wonder and a fascination not far from the real and factual. Friends who drop in at our home are happy to join our armchair traveller’s club. What fun it is to share the sun in the shade of our living room and the snow slopes with feet firmly on the floor, with those we love, sipping cups of coffee and nibbling on snacks. You have to try it to experience this newfound joy of exploring the world sitting at home. Armchair Travel comes in handy when other crucial commitments curtail your physical wanderlust. It is actually a wonderful way around the world whenever you feel like it, and hassle-free. Armchair Travel to me, is something like the interjection “ship ahoy” to a sailor sailing the high seas.