The Naked Truth About Workations

This year I took a one-week workation in the south of Spain — Wednesday to Wednesday. I booked a hotel on the coast, on the 30th floor, with an incredible sea view. Full board, great food, a swimming pool, and the beach a few steps away. The kind of setup where everything just works: no errands, no dishes, no logistics. Only my laptop, a solid Wi-Fi connection, and that illusion that life can actually be balanced.

My rhythm was simple — mornings of work, afternoons off, weekend free. A little dream between deadlines.

The Weekend Companion

A friend of mine from Madrid joined me for the weekend. We’ve known each other for years; we’re both from Buenos Aires, living in Europe, and we’ve shared many trips together. That weekend was easy and warm: beach, good food, cocktails, and those long conversations about life that only happen when you finally slow down.

The hotel even had evening shows — flamenco dancers, singers — festive but not wild. We’re both in our fifties, so “party time” now means a good dinner and being in bed before midnight.

The Monday Surprise

Then came Monday.

At 9AM sharp, I had the weekly team call — twelve people, management included. The usual routine: updates from last week’s meetings, plans for the new one. I was prepared, focused, Teams open, camera on, background blurred. My friend was packing to catch her train back to Madrid. Everything under control.

Or so I thought.

Since I was presenting, I had my notes open and the Teams window minimized. I wasn’t looking at the video feed. When I switched back to the meeting screen, I froze.
Behind me, my friend — completely naked — calmly packing her suitcase.

I took a deep breath and said, very matter-of-factly:
“Oh my gosh — I need to tell you, I had a friend visiting for the weekend and she’s leaving today.”

Silence. Twelve faces staring back at me. Then, thankfully, a few smiles. Eventually someone joked that we should have recorded the moment and launched an OnlyFans. I laughed — what else can you do?

The Aftermath

After the call, my friend still didn’t realize what had happened. She genuinely thought that “blurred background” meant total invisibility. When I told her, we were both embarrassed for about thirty seconds, then burst out laughing.

At our age, you know there are far worse things in life. This one was just another anecdote — the kind that will make us laugh for years.

The Reflection

Later that day, I thought about how easily it could happen to anyone. Working remotely, traveling, living your life — the lines between personal and professional blur all the time. During the pandemic, we all saw far worse things on Zoom. Honestly, my friend’s naked backside barely qualifies as shocking anymore.

Still, it was a reminder: next time I’m not alone, I sit against a wall. Always.

Because that’s what the workation lifestyle really teaches you — not just how to manage your time zones or find Wi-Fi in remote places, but how to live with the unpredictability that comes from mixing work and life so closely. Sometimes, no matter how carefully you plan, something unblurs — literally.

Workation reality check: background blur is great — until it suddenly stops blurring.

💬 Has your “blurred background” ever betrayed you too? I’d love to hear your own remote-work or workation mishaps in the comments.

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💻 About the Workation Diva
I’m Caro, an early pioneer of remote work, studying IT in the ’90s when “the Internet” still made dial-up noises. I’ve been blending work and travel since before it was fashionable, from spa weekends during business trips to half-vacations at my family’s place in Buenos Aires. These days, I live the part-time laptop lifestyle — balancing motherhood, projects, and plane tickets, proving that freedom can come in Wi-Fi and family-size portions.