A little R&R

People’s ideas of holiday heaven are as varied as their ideas of holiday hell. Those seeking a return to the simple life go camping, others book a 5 star spa break for a taste of luxurious living they don’t get at home. Some explore different cultures in museums, galleries and city cafes, and can’t understand the adrenalin junkies who crave adventure. And while a new destination is an annual treat for some, just as many return to their favoured destination year after year. And then there are the people who buy a holiday home.

After 11 years, I’ve finally realised that I am not a natural holiday home owner. Mine is essentially a rental property that I visit every year or so to make sure everything is in order for incoming guests – and to try and have little R&R of my own. But my ideal of Rest and Relaxation, quickly turns into a round of Repairs and Rewnewals. Inevitably, I find myself my stressed than I am at home.

The first day of is spent making lists of things to be fixed, things to be replaced and things to be painted. With an extra column for things that I’d arranged to have fixed or painted the last time I came, and which haven’t been done. Manana can stretch several years on a Caribbean island.

The second day is spent shopping. At home I am an expert shopper. I know which stores will have exactly what I am looking for. If I don’t, I can look it up on the internet, and within a few minutes have the answer. I can even order online and get the item delivered to my door. But this is Tobago, where even buying a kettle involves five different staff in the transaction. And that’s after you’ve found a shop that actually sells kettles.

The third day is also spent shopping, and probably the fourth and the fifth, as there is always at least one item you can’t find anywhere. This year it was patio chairs. I finally returned triumphant on day ten!

By day three, I am multi-tasking, and trying to get quotes for the paintwork that should have been done last year. I compare my peeling balustrades with my neighbour’s pristine woodwork and wonder if I can pinch his painter. I ask him, and discover that he does the painting himself! He’s not the only one. All my neighbours arrive at their villas equipped not only with sandpaper and paintbrushes, but with a DIY toolbox and gardening set.

Whereas I want to get all the property maintenance stuff out of the way so I can relax, read a book and go the beach, they jump out of bed in the morning ready to start a full day’s work. Unlike me, they have what it takes to own a holiday home. Not just a toolbox, but the luxury of time to use it. While I visit for two or three weeks, everyone around me is here for two, three or even four months of the year. If I was here for that long, maybe I’d get a tool box too – though I suspect I’d develop a little black book of local painters, plumbers, carpenters and gardeners, just like the one I have back in England!