“Seeing the canyon under approved circumstances is seeing the symbolic complex head on.”

Upon reading this sentence in “The Loss of the Creature”, I felt overwhelmingly compelled to exclaim “THIS IS THE MOST FRUSTRATING THING ABOUT TRAVELING!” Of course everyone gets annoyed by tourists who are so clearly touring for superficial reasons, but some attractions, which may have incredible value to visit, are only available if you abide by “approved circumstances.” Additionally, many travelers may not know enough or feel comfortable enough to bypass said approved circumstances. While in Prague, I became frustrated by visitors who essentially thought Prague was a quarter of the size it really is because that quarter is the most photographed, historical, and symbolic place that people think of when someone says “Prague.” I would try to coax visiting friends out of this bubble, but the first question they always had was “is it safe that far away from the city center?” I found this misconception that the place less photographed and less present in the collective world mind is somehow unsafe and unfit for visitors. I feel that Percy would agree in that assertion since he discusses that learning the theory of or how an individual or thing should be can so significantly detract from ones experience of said thing.

Although this phenomenon rings true with visitors to Prague, I found that the most painful to watch obliviousness to true experience happens in Amsterdam. The common tourist thinks of two things when they hear the name “Amsterdam”: prostitutes and marijuana. For that reason, the red light district of Amsterdam has become a vile cesspool for shallow tourists who spend a ton of time and money without experiencing one bit of the true meaning of Amsterdam. On my one walk through the red light district, I kept hearing people saying they were going to have the time of their life because they were going to experience the only two things that could possibly be valuable to do in Amsterdam: seeing naked women through windows and legally (kinda) getting stoned.

I agree wholeheartedly with Percy’s critique of tourists, but in a way, I’m glad this is the case. If every tourist was trying to experience the true essence of a place by spontaneously exploring and leaving expectations behind, they wouldn’t be so conveniently quarantined to the most recognizable places and I wouldn’t be able to avoid them so successfully.