The World According to Mitch

By the time our plane landed at Holguin, we cleared Passport Control, Security, and had retrieved our luggage, waited for everyone else, and then endured the two hour drive to the resort it was going on 2:00am.  To use one of my favourite British slang terms, we were knackered.  Still and all, after we checked in and got settled in our room we decided to go for a walk on the beach.  By the time we were really ready for bed, it was probably 3:30am.

The next morning (which is a relative term) we were sitting on the beach and decided to go for a swim.  Not wanting to get it wet, I took my Fitbit watch off and hid it in the beach bag. 

While I was in the ocean I thought about it… I have always enjoyed counting my steps on my FitBit, starting back almost five years ago when Karen recommended it to me.  It is just one more thing I keep track of.  I like statistics and accomplishments and measuring progress and achieving goals.

All of those were things that I did not want to do on vacation.  For the first time in I don’t know how long, I did not keep track of anything… I did not track how much I drank, how many drinks or cigars I had, I did not keep track of the time and I did not keep track of my steps.  If my legs hurt I had walked a lot; if the sky was getting dark it was getting on dinner time.  When the shows were over it was time for us to chat with friends, go to the disco, or go back to our room to sleep.  There were no alarms to wake us up – we woke up when it was time to wake up.

For the entire time I was in Cuba, and with very few exceptions, it was always I-don’t-give-a-damn-o’clock.

Stephanie and I had a wonderful time doing whatever we wanted to do, whenever we wanted to do it.  There were, of course, very strict appointments to be kept… there was cappuccino-o’clock and beach-o’clock, and a few others that we made a point of maintaining.  However if you asked me on any given day what time it was, the answer was ‘I don’t know.’  When is cappuccino-o’clock?  When Stephanie and I are ready for it.  Is it time for a cigar?  Probably.  How many have you had?  I don’t know.  You missed lunch! Okay, I’ll get a burger at the snack bar.  You missed dinner! Okay, no problem.

For the people who know me (and have known me for many years) this will come as a complete shock.  I cannot remember the last time I was completely off the clock.  I also cannot remember the last time I was so relaxed.

For the record, I-don’t-give-a-damn-o’clock did not actually have the word Damn in it… but I don’t like to use those words on the blog

So now I am back… I am wearing a watch and I am counting my steps and I am going to appointments.  It is sad, but it is real life.  I look back on the trip with great fondness, and look forward to my next one… which while I would love for it to begin tomorrow, I do not need for it to begin until… well, I’ll let you know.

Thanks for reading!