Two weeks since returning and the tan has faded, yet the more valued replenishment from the winter break remains. There has now been time to sift through the photographs taken while away, although less shots than usual; it was a trip that did not warrant my usual approach.
As mentioned a week ago, this was a holiday, something I was unpractised in, especially in the all-inclusive package tour form. For most people on the flight from Gatwick, this was a fourteen day commitment to booze and basking in sunshine. From a photography point of view, this resulted in fewer moments that urged me to have my camera in hand.
To start with, I had my own intentions of laying motionless in the warmth of the Caribbean sun. Second, third and forth, was the notion that the surrounding punters and (very hard working) resort workers, were just either working hard, or relishing the precious days away from work back home and the other three hundred and something days of a rain soaked England. Either way, I didn't feel compelled to take too many photos, which, in its way was relaxing. It truly was a holiday.
This is not to say it was unworthy of some photographs being taken, in fact there were several moments that deserved attention. But I had a sense that this was not a place to roam around with a camera up to the eye and framing shots, certainly not as if I was in the streets of a town or city. Ironically, anyone with a phone could have been doing this, and they were, but mainly for selfies, of which there were plenty.
Upon arrival it became apparent that this was a fabricated vacation district, nonetheless a very welcoming one. Obviously purpose built to invite a transient global community that primarily had the same goal in mind – sun worship, and for certain parties, food & drink indulgence. The two overlapped very nicely.
The architecture remained the same, the foyer, the bars, the entertainment area, along with the food hall and adjacent restaurants, they all remained the same. During the day the beach and poolside sun loungers rotated to orbit the sun, with the most devoted worshippers dragging their sun-beds to the open beach to erase any chance of shade from a palm-tree or parasol.
Within this structure many moments caught my eye, the kind I guess we all enjoy to some extent – people watching. It's like a large sunshine filled airport concourse, with many people going about their own business, eating, drinking, coming and going, but all unlikely to ever set eyes on each other again. Add a seemingly endless supply of food & booze and there is a place that I had never visited before. This in itself struck me as being a worthy destination, working with the idea that travel can be to broaden one's horizons and to experience something new.
This was all happening in the country we were all actually in – Mexico.
This resort territory would change abruptly within a short walk, a guarded barrier would lift and the host country would begin. But that is for further posts.
The shots below are from resort world.
