Free Again
Freedom. It’s this thought that came to me as I stepped on the labyrinthine lanes of Palma in Spain. As if some long tied knot had opened up inside me. Why so, I wondered? Haven’t I been travelling lately? What makes me think differently on this week-long trip that I took on a whim during the Easter break.
It was snowing in Sweden, where I live, in April. “Klassiskt Aprilväder” — Classic April Weather — they call it here. I couldn’t step outside without wrapping myself in a woollen scarf and a thick jacket. I craved for the sun. That’s how the idea to travel to the warmer half of the continent came about.
Travel in Europe is finally opening up. Not far from where I live, a partially underwater bridge takes me to the Copenhagen airport. The airport felt like it had never experienced any pandemic. It was as crowded as it was two years back. Perhaps it was the Easter break, or perhaps the suffocation of staying at one place was getting the better — not only of me — but of everyone. We all spilled over the airport which seemed to come off it’s seams, while trying to hold us back safely.
My destination was the breezy island of Mallorca, off the coast of mainland Spain, which is a haven for sun deprived Scandinavians and Brits. This Mediterranean Island is home to ancient olive groves and rural mountain villages. However, for this short trip, I decided to stay put in Palma, the island’s capital, slightly unsure how I will find it transformed after the pandemic.
When I reached Palma, I didn’t find it in any mood of despair either. From my hotel window, I could see the palm-lined harbour, where yachts shilly-shallied in the cobalt blue water of the Balearic Sea. On the other end, I could see the Gothic spires of the Castell de Bellver, the 14th century cathedral that marks the city. I decided to walk towards it.
It was while walking along the sunny, harbour-side promenade that the thought of freedom stuck me. Yes, I have been travelling in the Nordics, but the cold and the fear of catching Covid had never left me in these trips. I had been to India but there also, I couldn’t walk outside freely. Moreover, India was home, and didn’t feel like I was stepping outside my comfort zone. Here in Mallorca though, I felt a different experience — I could stroll freely, I didn’t need to wear masks anywhere, and it felt like I had, after long, stepped into a world different from the ones I had spent the last two years in.
In Palma, spring was in full bloom. The narrow pathways of the city were treelined and at this time of the year, the yellows and the oranges and the pinks streak these trees. As I continued exploring the side-streets, I came across art galleries, pottery stores selling hand-painted platters and bowls, and of course, restaurants. These restaurants — many of which were Indian — and cafes, turn into party sites as the dusk gathers, and one could occasionally hear loud techno beats coming from inside. Otherwise, during the day, the seating area outside became a resting spot for both locals and tourists who sit there for long hours sipping coffee.
I claimed a slot outside one of the cafes, among a sociable crowd that perhaps was experiencing the same sense of freedom as I was. We sat there looking towards the horizon, sipping cava and eating bread with with fresh tomato. Occasionally we indulged in a light chat, enquiring each other how did it feel to travel again. “I feel lighter,” said the person sitting next to me on a long communal table who I had engaged in a conversation, “as if I am out of the jail.”
I smiled when I heard him say that. Perhaps he exaggerated but there was some sense of truth in what he said. Caged in our homes and cities, wearing masks throughout, being in Mallorca felt different. Like my neighbour in that cafe, I felt unbound too. That’s where the beauty of travel lies, I realised, for is travel not a way to escape? Escape to a different setting, to experience a different perspective than what our original world offers; escape to grow. That’s why despite all the pandemics and wars, this escapist within us, seeking new experiences, will never die.
