"I was to discover an unexpected continuity between the melancholic self I had been at home and the person I was to be on the island", Bottom writes. We expect that we will be able to escape ourselves on holiday but yet our selves seem to follow us there. "It seems we may best be able to inhabit a place when we are not faced with the additional challenge of having to be there". This take on travel warms me with the hopelessness of humans trapped within themselves. The simple act of dislocation will not help you to escape your worries, your thoughts and your heavy subconscience.
Whilst we are in the country, the weighty presence of our body and conscience eclipse the most valuable aspects of our surroundings but when we are not there "there is a purity both in the remembered and in the anticipated visions of a place: it is the place itself that is allowed to stand out". The planning and reminiscing are as valuable as the trip itself.
I am going through a process of arm chair travelling at the moment. Exploring countries and cultures through books. However I would still like to feel the soil beneath my feet.
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