To go back to the same places or to take a risk on new discoveries?
What is better? Let’s see the advantages in your family's choice of vacation
By Ronny Hein
The good thing is that it is always like this: at the end of each trip comes the time to plan the next one. If it includes the whole family, then even better. Everyone is debating their own desires and aspirations for the next journey, within the limits of the economic reality.
Where to? When? This is the most debated issue. To try a new destination or to repeat already successful trips? Those who have a beach house or one in the country or have a crush on a special place tend to opt for the happy times that they have already experienced. And there’s nothing wrong with that, even more so if it’s the family who looks after the vacation spot, with its maintenance expenses – renovations, painting, caretaker and equipment replacement – encouraging the frequent use of the property.
And if this formula generates an attachment and certainty of what is to come, it also produces, paradoxically, a certain obligation to always retrace the same path, with little chance of experiencing new sensations.
The problem, in these cases, is that life is so short for all the world that is around us. Exploring this planet that we have in our backyard is also to increase knowledge, reduce prejudice and be amazed, all at the same time, with the diversity of regions and their environmental, social and day-to-day issues.
In general, those who set out for a new experience, whether traveling abroad or on an adventure through the Brazilian ecosystems, always have so much to gain. Starting with the obligation to read and organize yourself in advance, through specific guides and books. Those who dispense with this preparation end up losing out significantly – both in the emotions of the preparation and in the enjoyment of the destination.
Let’s say that you and your family are traveling to Paris, New York or any of the main cities in the world. There is so much to see in each one of them, that, without making a prior choice based on reading (a kind of shopping list to select the ingredients for a feast), there is a good chance that everyone will end up lost and dissatisfied.
The best thing is that, on a second or third trip to the same place, you can change the items on your list, so that the same place appears to be totally different, especially if this destination was known before you had children or even grandchildren and you are now returning with your whole family.
Yes: visiting is good and revisiting is excellent. Places change with the weather, the winds, the vegetation and the aromas. The cities, mountains, beaches and fields gain new colors and always – because the sky and light vary depending on the time of the year – appear different and renewed.
Never mark a place as being “already visited” because it will always be waiting for you with a new look. There are people who, having spent two hours in Florence, for example, during a quick bus tour, consider their relationship with one of the most important cities in human history, the cradle of the Renaissance, ended. It is a mistake. This type of excursion, as is well-known, is just a kind of first course for the trips that will come later. Those who participate in them only establish a first contact with the places that they pass through, in order to decide which ones to return to on a longer stay.
In any case, however, traveling with those you like is always a good thing: it strengthens relationships and generates closeness and memories that will be shared forever.
When choosing your vacation home, the recognition of the place, the neighbors and friends is of enormous value. But, as we know, it is about a more relaxing time, where the objective is to rest.
There is more tension, of course, in pushing across borders, face to face with the unknown. On the other hand, it is this tension that is linked to what is new and unexplored that gives the experience more intensity and flavor – in addition, of course, to the knowledge that is being accumulated, as mentioned above.
In the light of all this, you can be sure that the only alternative that does not add value is to use the little time you and your family have to be together and free of commitment is by staying at home. The same television programs; the same video games as always. The old, worn-out couch filled with popcorn.
Wherever you go, get out of the house and away from the same routine. There’s not only an entire planet to discover. More than this, there is an infinite quantity of values that the act of traveling will awaken in you and your family.
Things the Way Family love to pack in their suitcase:
Gate
Eletronics for the travel: smartphone, drone, câmera, charger,…
Destiny
UV clothes, bikinis, caps, diving goggles, snorkel mask and other accessories…
