“May the 4th be with you”
“May the 4th be with you” , so they congratulated on May 4, 1979 at the London Evening News Margaret Thatcher for her new position as Prime Minister of Great Britain. "May the Force be with you" ('May the force be with you'), the followers of Star Wars wanted to understand.
And so, with this simple anecdote –narrated on the official website of the saga–, the star wars day , the one we want to join today, reminding you of those reasons why "the force will be with you (traveler)... always" (Obi-Wan Kenobi to Luke Skywalker in A New Hope).
Do you know why today, May 4, we celebrate Star Wars Day?
BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT AFRAID OF INTER(STELLAR) CONTINENTAL FLIGHTS
A new war has begun and this time it is not fought in a galaxy far, far away, but in Earth's airspace to dominate ultra-long-distance flights (up to 20 hours).
The airlines know you control your fear – much like Luke Skywalker did during the lightsaber duel in The Empire Strikes Back – and don't suffer from flying hours. To you, who have made more than three stopovers just to get to know a small island in Polynesia, Starting from one point on this planet and reaching another directly seems like a luxury to you, no matter how much you have to stay more than half a day inside a plane.
Thus, the first victory went to the Emirates airline, which in 2016 completed the longest direct flight in the world in 17 hours after connecting Dubai and Auckland (New Zealand). Half an hour later, the Boeing 777 that Qatar Airways sent from Doha to fight back in 2017 landed at the same New Zealand airport.
And just over a month ago the Australian company Qantas boasted of this same feat, who traveled without refueling in 17 hours and 6 minutes the 14,875 kilometers (340 more than the Qatar Airways flight) that separate the airports of Perth, in Australia, and Heathrow, in London.
We will have to be attentive to this fight in the heights, since it seems that the new scenario to conquer will be the American continent: The ultra-long routes Dubai-Panama and Doha-Santiago de Chile are already resounding in aeronautical circles.
There is a war to control ultra-long-distance flights and no, it is not in a distant galaxy.
BECAUSE YOU LEARNED THAT TO EMBRACE THE STRENGTH IS TO EMBRACE THE WANDERLUST
“Focus on the moment. Feel, don't think, use your instinct," Qui-Gon Jinn told Anakin Skywalker, prior to Boonta Eve's run in The Phantom Menace. And this Wanderlust philosophy (or could it be a gene?) has been your traveling companion ever since, in 1999. Traveling keeps your brain active, pushes you to overcome challenges and activates your dopamine levels thanks to the social interactions, the foods you try, the extreme experiences you live...
From renting a van and touring the Californian coast (here another 1000 more routes) to eating insects in New York (there is an adventure what is traditional cuisine in other parts of the world), change the routine and live the moment to the fullest without letting other thoughts interfere with it is the correct way to travel, it is your way of travelling.
Live in the here and now, let the Wanderlust spirit guide you.
BECAUSE SINCE 1977 YOU KNOW THAT THE FUTURE WILL BE IN SPACE, OR ALMOST
It's not the first time Mr Richard Branson talks about the influence of Star Wars on his futuristic projects and ideas. In fact, in 2015, on the occasion of the world premiere of The Force Awakens, he participated in promotional videos for the Government of Great Britain that recalled how indispensable British talent has been and is for the filming of the saga, which encompasses in total more than 40 years.
"Star Wars shows us a galaxy of incredible ideas and innovations (...) . Star Wars inspires me to imagine what a future world that takes advantage of these technologies would be like," said Branson, who last month successfully completed its first rocket-powered supersonic flight.
The VSS Unity vehicle, built by the team of aerospace engineers and technicians from The Spaceship Company for Virgin Galactic (a British tycoon's company), reached 84,271 feet (about 25 meters) above the Mojave desert, which represents an important milestone and a boost to its commercialized suborbital flights (which exceed the Kármán Line, stipulated at 100 km of altitude, leave the Earth's atmosphere, but are unable to complete an Earth orbit), those that future space tourists have been reserving and paying for (250,000 dollars a ticket) for more than one of each.
Other private companies participating in the race to champion the so-called space tourism are Space Adventures, which has already transported the first civilian explorers into space, SpaceX, which until recently had the intention of sending two space tourists to orbit the Luna, Blue Origin, which has already launched a prototype manned suborbital capsule, and Orion Span, which ensures that its Aurora Space Station will be ready to host visitors in 2022.
BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT THERE ALWAYS HAS TO BE TWO
"No more, no less. A master and an apprentice," Yoda taught in The Phantom Menace. That is why when you track down a new chef who stands out, it is because you know in advance that he has previously worked under the orders of a prestigious chef. Like the Jedi Masters, the Master Chefs teach the secret that the Sith have sought for thousands of years: that of retain one's individuality after becoming one with the Force.
Thus, Andoni Luis Aduriz, at the head of Mugaritz (which turns 20), was for years a mentor to Paco Morales, from the also star-studded Noor restaurant. And, as if it were a young Anakin, David Muñoz, DiverXo's chef, was first a diner and later an apprentice at Viridiana under the orders of Abraham García, Obi-Wan Kenobi's alter ego in this comparison.
BECAUSE TRAVELING CAN MAKE YOU FLIRT WITH THE DARK SIDE OF THE FORCE
There is no other context like the traveler to bring out the worst in you. "Don't underestimate the power of the dark side," Darth Vader threatened Luke Skywalker as he clashed with him in Return of the Jedi (1983).
At the moment it is not a widespread practice among Spanish travelers, but rather the opposite, it is our hoteliers in the Balearic and Canary Islands who suffer the tricks of British law firms claims experts.
The way to proceed is simple, the Claim Farmer (collector of claims) He parks his van in front of the door of a hotel, convinces the tourist to go for a medicine against intestinal pain and keep the ticket. Already in the United Kingdom he files a claim (he has up to five years to do so) and finally the hotelier is forced to accept it for not facing a lawsuit that he knows he would lose, since he has previously signed and accepted a clause imposed by the British tour operators .
Such is the scope of the fraud that last year the Minister of Tourism of the Spanish embassy in London, Enrique Ruiz de Lera, was forced to create a report on the crisis of gastric claims.
Oh! Magaluf, but how beautiful you were.
On a less organized scale, you, traveler, who arrive at a hotel and think you have the right to change the towels in the bathroom every day (Isn't that something you don't do at home?) Or to be under the water of the shower for half an hour without important the future restrictions that that coastal town where you spend the summer will suffer, a little you are also on your way to the Dark Side.
So stop, think and reconsider, before we all end up as in Cape Town, where a state of emergency has been declared and the daily water consumption limit for the inhabitants is 50 liters. This while waiting for the dreaded 'zero day' in which water will no longer come out of the taps of this South African city, a threat (ghostly rather than ghost) scheduled first for the month of April, then for May and finally for the day 9 of July.
oh! And remember that the excesses when you are traveling are not good for the return to the routine, that later The dreaded post-vacation syndrome arrives and you do not sleep, you are sad, tired and irritated. Luckily we have already investigated about it and we present you the atypical Decalogue to overcome it.
Atypical decalogue to overcome post-holiday syndrome
FINALLY, YOU CELEBRATE THIS DAY BECAUSE YOU ARE ONE OF THE GOOD ONES
Today you will dress up as your favorite Star Wars character, take part in a viewing marathon of the entire saga, buy Lego dolls with up to a 30% discount on Amazon and LEGOWatches.com or visit the Star Wars Identities exhibition (in Brussels until month of September) because you use your powers and abilities in a good way.
Otherwise, you know well that the 4th is not your day, but tomorrow, since May 5 is unofficially considered the Revenge of the 5th. A joke that began on the networks back in 2010 and that, again, was born from a phonological parallelism, this time with the title of the film Revenge of the Sith ('Revenge of the Sith'). In fact, since 2012 there has been a website called Revengeofthe5th.net, where any joke, mockery, meme or funny video about Star Wars is welcome.
We recommend that you do not go to see it, because if you are a Star Wars fan you may feel offended and, if you are not, you'll probably find it so much fun that you'll definitely want to go to the Dark Side. Be that as it may and be on the side you are: "May the force be with you", and on a trip, too...
Detail of the Star Wars Identities exhibition, in Brussels.