DISCONNECT TO RECONNECT

I came across an article in a travel magazine that said the new frontier of tourism is disconnection. This is something most people already sense: when we go on holiday, we want to relax, unwind from work stress, traffic, and the fast pace of urban life — or simply enjoy meaningful time with our loved ones.

Disconnected holidays to reconnect with ourselves.

In fact, this trend goes beyond the justifiable desire to take a break from our daily obligations. It’s about unplugging our phone chargers, and more broadly, disconnecting from all electronic devices — second screens, televisions, everything. It’s about putting ourselves in airplane mode for once, free from multimedia noise.

Some hotels now choose not to offer televisions or Wi-Fi. Today, you don’t have to retreat to a remote hermitage to find disconnection. Sometimes, it’s enough to leave your phone behind and simply savor a sunset — giving it your full attention and experiencing that beautiful moment in tune with yourself, without the need or impulse to photograph it.

How many times have we placed a camera between ourselves and the sky, trying to capture the beauty of morning light? If we don’t film something, it’s as if it didn’t happen — but the truth is, it’s right there, in front of us, in all its power.

I remember a stunning sunset in Formentera. The sun looked like a red marble being swallowed by the sea. The colors were extraordinary. And in those few moments, almost everyone present — trying to film it — missed the actual scene. That was nearly twenty years ago. Mobile phones recorded with very few pixels, no stabilizers, and hands waving in the air trying to frame what was meant to be experienced, not just recorded.

How many of those people, all these years later, have wanted to rewatch that pixelated, blurry footage of a Balearic sunset? Chances are, those videos were lost or left on an old Nokia, never transferred to a hard drive...

Before mobile phones, we had cameras — but we didn’t photograph everything (certainly not our meals). A photo was a symbolic moment, a physical testimony of a place. Something printed, something sacred. Vacations lived on in our memories — and in a few prints, not in the cloud. They were moments we clung to, which perhaps made us long to bring home a piece of that time.

All of this is just to say: enjoy your holiday and leave your phone in your bag. Slow down from the frantic pace of everyday life — sometimes, simply not looking at a screen is enough.

So dear friends, let’s enjoy this postcard-perfect sea and its crystal-clear waters. Real life — unfiltered — is always better than Photoshop. And if you wish to take home a little memory of your time here, choose something tangible:

Wishing you good sun… or better yet, BonSoul!

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