For readers of my blog or Instagram followers, it may appear as if I were on a perpetual holiday, but like most people finding time to escape for a multi-day holiday is increasingly difficult. But lately, the stress of life was starting to effect my mental and physical wellbeing. I knew what I needed, a respite from my quotidian routine, in other words I needed a microvacation but not just any microvaction. I needed a solo microvacation.
La Colombe consistently appears amongst the Top 10 Best Restaurants in South Africa. Despite its proximity to Cape Town and my goal to eat my way through the best restaurants in South Africa, I had yet to dine there. Cape Town in July is ordinarily rainy and cold, so I had planned a quiet weekend in Constantia (a suburb of Cape Town) comprised of indoor activities – wine farm visits, reading, a massage, roaming Kirstenbosch gardens, and a long leisurely lunch at La Colombe.
The drive through the macadamia, litchi, and granadilla (passion fruit) orchards on the road leading to Summerfields Rose Retreat and Spa convinced me that my weekend stay on this working farm-cum-spa was going to be the an idyllic weekend retreat. But when the receptionist inquired, “what kind of champagne would you like to drink with your romantic bath?” I knew I had found a destination suited to my persona to a tee.
Traveling is how I relieve stress and recharge. Lately, I have had to scale back on my travels due to work commitments and while I try to build in stress reducing Pilates classes, massages, or explorations in Johannesburg, these activities are never as relaxing as my weekends away. Away from my daily life, I give myself permission to relax. At home I can’t quite give myself license to do nothing.
Travel is a choice and one that I make as often as work and life allows. In a bout of introspection, I have been examining what motivates travel – the need to jump on a plane and go at every possible chance. It seems that there could be a scientific explanation.
Numerous travel articles and blog posts extol the virtues of solo travel or offer (rather unhelpful) tips to combat the inevitable sense of loneliness that creeps in during sojourns for one. If you travel solo, you will be beset by moments of loneliness and at the risk of sounding obvious, being alone can reinforce that you are indeed alone.