The other day Dave and I ran around the Spanish coastal town of Tossa de Mar in Costa Brava. We were in a tizzy thinking that we had to get as many photos and videos as quickly as possible.
Rediscovering Our Love of Travel – Going Slow in Spain
Geoff and Katie Matthews of Wandertooth were coming to stay with us the next day and we knew the following week would be filled with shooting video for a travel video project we were working on together. For some reason, we had it in our heads that this was our one and only day to take photos of the medieval city.
…Then we took a breath.
“Wait a minute!” we said, “we're staying in Spain for an extended period of time, and unlike our more recent travels, we actually have time to sit down, relax and breathe.” If we don't see everything in one day, we can come back.
We've gotten so used to running around from place to place with limited amounts of time, we've forgotten how to enjoy our travels. We are working to rediscover that love for travel as we slow travel through Spain. The past few years have been all about documenting all there is to see and do in a place. And I don't think we're alone.
Slow Travel in Spain
To us, plugged in travel isn't as fun as the “old days” of hopping on a plane and losing yourself in a destination. In a world of selfies and Instagram, everyone spends more time running around taking photos of themselves in destinations to post online rather than stopping to take in the beauty and culture of a place. I rarely see tourists just sitting and being present in the moment.
Learning to Slow Down
We used to be able to spend hours just watching leaf cutter ants blaze a trail through a rainforest or enjoy spying on a group of monkeys playing in trees. We used to take a day to hike up a hill for no other reason than to watch the sun go down over the ocean. Many times, not one photograph would be snapped.
These days, many people never really enjoying the moment. As long as it looks good in a photograph, they don't really need to do the act of traveling. It's like that commercial where a group of friends set up a photograph of themselves camping in the woods.
Once they got the photograph, they packed up all their gear and drove back to town. They were like, there's no way I'm really going to camp, but I sure want it to look like I did. It's not about doing anything, it's about looking like you are doing something. I think many people are guilty of that.
We on the other hand guilty of doing too many things. We always feel that we have to share some spectacular adventure or incredible view with our readers and followers. While we actually do the activities we photograph and share, we don't really take the time to enjoy the moment. We're too busy taking videos and photos of every single event.
It's our job after all, and if we were to completely stop, we'd lose our livelihood.
But that doesn't mean we can't slow down. During our day in Tossa de Mar, as we both became more irritated walking up the hill to view the old city, we paused for a moment. We hugged each other and said “I'm not having fun are you?”
We stopped everything and realized that this isn't the way we want to travel anymore. Sure, a snapshot from the top of the castle would make for an amazing Instagram or some video of the back alleyways would get us a few more subscribers.
If we spend our day bickering over having to get the right shot in the right light at the right time of day, how truthful is that to our readers? We say, “Go to Tossa de Mar because you'll get great photographs” but in reality we didn't have an ounce of fun there ourselves.
…Until we took that breath.
Once we relaxed, we abandoned our goal of climbing to the top of the hill and walked back down hand-in-hand with our mood uplifted. We didn't snap a single photograph and instead ducked into a cafe, ordered a cappuccino and fruit smoothy and watched the world go by.
We spied on fishermen getting ready to go out to sea, we watched people walk by our sidewalk café and we talked about what we wanted to do in the coming days and weeks.
We were inspired again and we didn't move for at least an hour. Time ticked by and the sun rose in the sky, but we didn't care. We were discovering what we loved about travel again. It's the little moments of being with each other that's important.
We felt the warmth of the sun on our faces, we savored the delicious Spanish coffee and we stopped to really take in the extraordinary view before our eyes. We were sitting on a terrace in Costa Brava. This is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and here we are. We never in a million years would have thought we would end up here.
For accommodations around Costa Brava, visitCharming Villas. They have apartments, villas and rooms all along the coast.
Our time in Costa Brava was sponsored by Costa Brava Tourism, all opinions are our own.
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By lukas kae June 1, 2017 - 6:38 am
so amazing
By Alisha Paul May 25, 2015 - 3:47 am
One of the various reasons I adore living in Spain. I’m without a doubt an alternate individual (and far less Type A!) following eight years in Southern Spain!
By Would you Like to Stay in a Luxury Spanish Villa? May 23, 2015 - 5:09 am
[…] Read: Going Slow in Spain, Rediscovering our Love of Travel […]
By singhmonika May 22, 2015 - 8:10 am
I am going Spain i love this places it’s so very interesting moment.
By Frank May 20, 2015 - 7:39 am
Since we left Canada last summer we’ve been travelling slow and gaining appreciation for places where we can see ourselves spending extended periods of time. Over the last couple of months we’ve been in the Balkans and have fallen for two places: Split and Kotor (Montenegro). We’ve lived in Split over a month and would come back. Kotor blew us away and it is another place we would come back to for at least 2-3 weeks. I hope you don’t mind if I link it here, but we just came back and we are just so wowed by it that I wanted to share it: http://bbqboy.net/photo-essay-why-kotor-montenegro-totally-blew-us-away/
Dubrovnik on the other hand, while spectacular, is not that kind of place. We were impressed but it ended there.
So my point is that certain places are just meant for slowing down, enjoying, and smelling the roses. And others are just ‘photo opportunities’ and are on that ‘bucket list’ (uggg, I hate that term).
Glad you enjoyed Tossa del Mar. I have good memories of being there 30 years ago (my first independent trip) and falling asleep on the beach after too many shots. Beautiful place and I’d like to go back one day.
Nice post,
Frank (bbqboy)
By Amrita Das May 20, 2015 - 7:05 am
I’ve seldom travelled slowly but after a couple of trips now, I see myself more and more drawn towards it. Spain looks beautiful and sometimes, we’re not left with any other option but to live in the present 🙂
By Katie Featherstone May 18, 2015 - 12:02 pm
Thank-you! I really believe that slow travel (if you have the opportunity) is by far the best way to enjoy your time in the present. The selfie culture drives me mad and I think that everyone put down their phones for a little while they might remember why they wanted to be there in the first place. I hope you find some more time to relax!
By Shawna @ Active Weekender May 17, 2015 - 7:13 pm
I had the pleasure of visiting Tossa de Mar last year while staying in Girona. What a beautiful town, eh? Your pictures have me itching to plan a return trip 🙂
By Tajirul Haque May 17, 2015 - 12:31 pm
Nice to know about your story of traveling in Spain… it is such a wonderful place to visit… I have never been to Spain ….. but it’s on my bucket list…
By Aaron May 14, 2015 - 11:56 pm
Great article, in this growing online world of social media, its all about putting pictures up so people can see you having fun, but whats the point of doing that if you are not having fun yourself!
By Renuka May 14, 2015 - 11:24 pm
There’s a different joy of slowing down on travels. I think I also sail in the same boat when it comes to running around and just snapping photos! But, on my recent trip, I got a chance to slow down naturally. I didn’t have to make an effort to do it. The atmosphere was such that I had no option but to take it easy like lazing around on a beach or taking a stroll, etc.
By Amy May 14, 2015 - 9:47 pm
I love this… we’re two months shy of packing up our whole life and embarking on full time travel, and we are building a website and blog to document our travels and I’m so conscious of not letting this be us.. I’d like to think we capture a bit of footage and a few shots here and there and don’t even think about editing and sharing until the end of the day, after we’ve been able to immerse ourselves in the world going by and take it all in. Thanks so much for the invaluable advice, will be bookmarking this!
By Jess May 14, 2015 - 1:45 pm
This is a wonderful post, reminding people what traveling is actually all about! I love your point of view and it’s true that many people who travel, travel for a picture perfect shot. Instead I also believe that going slow while traveling and absorbing the places and peoples around one, is the true precious travel memory! Enjoy your travels…
By Cat of Sunshine and Siestas May 14, 2015 - 4:32 am
One of the numerous reasons I love living in Spain. I’m definitely a different person (and far less Type A!) after eight years in Southern Spain!
By Jenia May 13, 2015 - 7:04 pm
We totally commiserate with how you feel — it’s hard work to be able to travel for living, and once you achieve the dream, you can’t quite stop, can you? But just like with any job you love (or any other big commitment in life, really, like parenthood) if you take the time “to smell the roses” , to pause and take in the moments, you enable yourself to enjoy it so much more 🙂 Glad you are back on the road and slow traveling!
By Anita Monson May 13, 2015 - 1:31 pm
Thanks for reminding us of what traveling should really be about…enjoying yourself!