Are you a Coddiwompler?

The Coddiwompler sets off with gusto but has planned little beyond their arrival destination. Time is not high priority. Decision making will be made late and at the last appropriate time. They are chilled and likely have flexibility apart from their departure date home

To help you answer this question you need a definition. A Coddiwompler is someone who travels in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination. Thirty years ago the words ‘tourist’ and ‘traveller’ were intertwined. Changes in the industry have led to a number of new words being added to dictionaries. Tourist and traveller are passé. Today, there are many who are bed surfers, glampers, flashpackers, digital nomads, holiday trekkers, cultural vultures, beach bunnies , cruisers etc.

The Coddiwompler sets off with gusto but has planned little beyond their arrival destination. Time is not high priority. Decision making will be made late and at the last appropriate time. They are chilled and likely have flexibility apart from their departure date home.  If, like many people, you believe coddiwompling is only for the young at heart you would be wrong. Today, the retired ‘grey nomads’ - a term made famous by Australians - are masters (or mistresses) of coddiwompling. They rent out their house, load up the caravan or motor home, hit the highway with not a care in the world. Likely however to be relying on their mobile phones.

My retired sister is a coddiwompler. She regularly sets off to walk in the Himalayas with no real plan. They trek with strangers to unknown destinations. The only timeframe she imposed upon herself and hubby is the date to catch a series of trains back to Goa, where they live. 

Today, airlines are encouraging people to coddiwomple, dropping deals into your inbox on a regular basis. The departure and return dates are fixed, but the detail comes later, sometimes at the last minute. I have discovered one advantage of not planning is the great last minute deals on hotels, excursions and cheap domestic flights,  you can often pick up “in country” packages. 

I went to speak at a conference in Brazil, a country I had never been to. As a coddiwompler, we booked the return flights for one month later. On arrival, Jezzabel the wife went to a travel agent on day one. She booked some local flights and a tour of the country on Tam Airlines. Some hotels booked on the advice of the agent, others to be booked as late as possible. In Rio we got a last minute booking in the amazing Copacaba Palace Beach Hotel. After complaining the garden view at the back of the hotel was a six foot strip of grass we managed to get an upgrade. We then had a top floor executive room with a massive balcony overlooking the sea. 

 Watch out for my pending story based on “only 5 percent of people who have  a right to complain do so.."

 If you have freedom on your side, throw caution to the wind and become a coddiwompler. It will open up a whole new world to you. After all, travel is all about you and the experiences you have, both good and bad.

 If you are dithering, ask yourself:

“What do I have to lose? Do I really want to be sitting in my rocking chair wishing that I had done this or done that, feeling envious of others?”

Oscar Wilde gave us a statement that I totally agree with: “Life is too short to drink a bad wine.”