Secret to Delightful Touring

Many of our fellow tourists have yet to discover the secret of happiness on the tourist trail. Now you can obtain these secrets for your future holidaying pleasure... but you must be prepared to absorb mind expanding thoughts... like 'Zen' on steroids.

Please understand that the brain is addicted to surprises... pleasant surprises. It is like 'crack' to the brain (or so I've been told). It is addictive... stimulating... euphoric. Take a little... you'll want more. The secret to delightful touring is to organise your itinerary to maximise the chance of surprise. There! You have it. Now you know.
Let me give you an example of how the absence of surprise can reduce the delights of touring. Today, we are taking a ferry (high-speed trimaran) from the island paradise of Korcula to the busy tourist centre of Split. We have read the Lonely Planet guide and know that the Roman ruins at the Diocletien Palace are the dominating feature within the city of Split. We know where it is... have seen pictures of it... know its historical perspective. We will turn up this afternoon... with too little time to make discoveries. There will be a minimum of surprise... and because of time pressures, we will miss out on hidden delights. Of course, we must visit the site... it is important in the whole fabric of Balkan history... it was built in the 7th century AD by Roman emperor Diocletien who was the only emperor to voluntarily vacate the big chair.. but will it be as delightful as Korcula?

How do you plan for a surprise? An example is our stay on the island of Korcula. Its history reflects a smaller version of Dubrovnik... and that is what we expected. Tourists. .. pushy merchants... poor quality food. We were surprised and delighted to discover the opposite. First, we were surprised by the host of our apartment. She met us at the terminal... insisted on carrying Joye's luggage... did our clothes washing... and even ironed the underwear. (Joan, you are not alone.)

We were delighted by a man pulling over from his drive to ask if he could help us. We explained where we were planning to walk. "No", he said, "the best walk is up this hill.. turn left and left again... etc". He opened the car door. "Hop in. I'll drive you to the top of the hill... it's not far out of my way."

We were delighted to discover that Croatian men lower the tone of their voices a couple of octaves when talking to other men. With other men, their gestures are very precise but in a very narrow range. They don't smile... but move their hands just slightly to give recognition... express thanks... emphasise a point. When in mixed company, they are indistinguishable from Italians... raised voices.. facial muscles as malleable as plasticine... arms waving in all directions.

We were delighted to see Croatian women with their children. They always seemed to be having fun... discipline and supervision seemed to be the last thing on their minds.

We were delighted to have a coral concert staged in the hall located beneath our apartment window. All the fine citizens of Korcula turned up in 'black tie' dress to listen to chanting from a quartet of youthful male singers. The place was packed.

We were delighted to take the local bus to anywhere and discover the little villages along the island's coast. Each had its own personality. At one village we wanted to see a cave where Neolithic bones have been discovered. We needed to pick up the key in the township to unlock the site located high on the hill above the town. The custodian of the key didn't even ask for Id!

I'm not sure who discovered the secret to delightful touring... it was certainly discovered before the time Simon and Garfunkel recorded their songs. The secret is written into the lyrics...

"Slow down, you move too fast, you've got to make the morning last
Just kickin' down the cobble-stones, lookin' for fun and feelin' groovy"