INA WO(A)NDERS: About travel fatigue
Whether by van or sailboat: our author Ina loves to be on the move. But sometimes you get out of breath when traveling, she admits in her column. Is there such a thing as travel fatigue?
10.000 kilometers by land and water: In the last 14 months I drove my van from Germany via France to Spain and Portugal and then by sailboat to Madeira, the Canary Islands and across the Atlantic to the Caribbean sailed. When asked “how was it?”, although I’m never speechless, I sometimes don’t even know what to answer.
From wild and free to strenuous!
Wild and free, a voice calls inside me - and I remember how I did that in the van Travel alone discovered for me. Brave and Abenteuerliche, trumpets another voice - and I think of the moment when the anchor was lifted on Gran Canaria and the great Atlantic crossing began. Beautiful and exotic, enthuses the third voice - and brings back memories of white beaches, lush green rainforests and colorful underwater worlds. Exhausting, whispers the fourth voice – and then falls silent, embarrassed. Because no one likes to listen to her.
FOMO makes you tired
In my Column about podcasting I've already mentioned that working and traveling don't always go together perfectly for technical reasons alone. A lack of equipment or a lack of internet is not a luxury problem, but can cost me my job - and that's stressful. In order to be offline for weeks on the Atlantic, I had to do a lot of pre- and post-work. A long day at the desk is even more difficult when everything outside screams vacation. Then FOMO, the Fear Of Missing Out, becomes noticeable. How to replace FOMO with JOMO, My colleague Nadine wrote an article about this, which I can warmly recommend to you. Sometimes I manage to implement Nadine's tips. But often FOMO just makes me really tired.
Tired of traveling = longing for routines and familiarity
In my column about Mindfulness when traveling I was recently reflecting on how traveling helps us be in the here and now. Because our autopilot doesn't work when we're on vacation and our minds have to be much more alert. But this constant need to be awake can eventually make you tired of traveling. And then I want nothing more than little routines and a certain familiarity.
For example, a supermarket where I know exactly what I can find and where. In which I can routinely reach for my favorite products without a translation app and be confident that there is neither gluten nor genetic engineering in them. Or a fixed place where I always dispose of my garbage. With the knowledge that it will be picked up separately and recycled as best as possible. Or just old friends to whom I don't have to prove anything. Who understand me before I even open my mouth.
That is why I am now looking forward to the coming homeBut before I can do that, I have to cross another ocean.
Have you ever been tired of traveling or can you just never get enough of being on the road? I am always happy to receive feedback, suggestions or questions - please send me a comment or send me an email directly [email protected].
© Photos: Ina Hiester, unsplasch / Annie Spratt
Ina Hiester
Ina is a digital nomad and travels through Europe by land and sea. The journalist is always on the lookout for special places for Good Travel, philosophizes about travel in her column, takes photographs, makes music and writes articles on all kinds of environmental and sustainability topics.
Jens
Great articles. Thinking, traveling and fun go together...