Traveler or Tourist

I am not a traveler though I love to travel.

I am a tourist though I would love to be a traveler, at least from time to time.

Those have been the thoughts that have rambled in my mind as I have been reading Marco Polo Didn't Go There by Rolf Potts. It is a book that explores what it means to be a traveler, tourist, or backpacker in a postModern world. The postModern world, of course, is one where many of the old limits and boundaries have been shifted. We are more aware thanks to information systems, computers, etc. of a great many things. The different cultures of the world are being influenced in more ways more quickly than in previous eras.

As I have been reading the book during and after my recent vacation in Mexico it has helped raise some thoughts. Here are some quotes and thoughts to get started:

Potts sees postModern as describing

the increasing placelessness that accompanies ant information-age journey. (p. xvi).

In other words we know more about more places and bring a different set of expectations as a result. His themes include

the weird gap between expectations and reality; the challenge of identifying 'authenticity' in post-traditional settings; the realization that unexpected encounters help you better see the places for what they are." (p. xvi)

I thought of one of those "authenticity" questions that arises when you go to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. The "stop" signs are in English on the grounds of the resort. Not one sign had STOP in Spanish. Or the restaurants were of many different styles. True, "authentic" Mexican food was not a significant part of the service.

Or one of our tour guides talked about a tourist on a previous tour (and he insists it was true) was upset that he was in Mexico and there were no real Mexican restaurants around. "Where's Taco Bell?" he asked.

Which leads to the next quote from Potts: In the information age, travel "angst" comes from

our own media-driven notions of hos these [places] should be in the first place. We cannot hike the Himalayas without drawing comparisons to the IMAX film we saw last summer... The expectation robs a bit of authenticity from the destinations we seek out. (pp. 17-18)

I'll have some more thoughts on this in the next week or so and then later in the spring when I get to put together a week of posts and pictures on the trip.