Peruvian ways

Travelling is one of those challenges that always opens the mind. No trip is the same. Even when traveling to someplace we’ve already been before, we always have to face new challenges, meet new friends, find new roads and, definitely, learn a lot about socialize with different kind of people. I can recall traveling to Peru this summer to discover a culture, much alike my own but, in many ways, completely different. Cheerful, friendly, talkative people who opened their arms and hearts to teach, this foreigner, about their way of life and a life lesson I’ll never forget. One thing I learn for sure is that it’s not the possessions you have, but the richness of your heart and soul, what makes you the happiest man in the world. Not less important, another thing I learned, is that you must try everything when it comes to food, it may surprise you.

As I was traveling alone and no clock was hurrying me up, and no map was telling me where to go or not, with my GPS on hand, and the wise pieces of advice of a Peruvian friend of mine, I had come to meet places no excursion would dare to show and no naive visitor would get to know. Peaceful, quiet, open landscapes, ruins of what once was, so imperfectly crafted and yet so mysteriously preserved. And among this landscape, and contrasting with the arid, colorless environment, lived those joyful, cheerful people who were always ready to lend you a hand and share all their knowledge about the mysterious, millenary history of their land. So humble and yet so happy, their colorful clothing blended with the little, handmade houses on the hillside. I learned then that no possession did have the power to make men happy but the possession of his own will of happiness.

All these cheerful in colors is found even in food. Every region in Peru has its own typical food. The amazing variety of foodstuff makes it very difficult for a foreigner to chose what to eat. I had been a vegan for many years therefore, when I got to Lima and found all that variety of fruits and vegetables I felt so very happy that I tried almost every single fruit and green I found, it was heaven on earth to me. Never could I have imagined the things I came across while trying so strange kinds of food. To make a long story short, let’s say that, finally, I decided never to ask for the ingredients. “Just eat and enjoy” I told to myself. Certainly not a single day will I ever regret it.

All in all, I presume every country has more to give than just a bunch of famous landmarks. Travelling is not just passing through. Getting to know a country or city, is about knowing its people, its culture, history, food and traditions. Only then can you say that travelling opens your mind.

Adriana Terzian

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The World is My Oyster!

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” I’ve always like travelling and getting to know other cultures. Although it was not till the winter of 2008 that I was able to fulfill my dream of travelling overseas, nowhere did impress me more than New York city back in august of 2013. It was love at first sight, and an unforgettable experience that I cherish down deep in my heart. It was one of those mind-opener trips, not only because it was the first time I was travelling on my own but due to the fact that I encountered an astonishing, lively city that can be so warm and cold at the same time. Nowhere in my wildest dreams did I imagine to find myself in such a place. But among many things I could recall to have learned from this trip, one of them is that it’s likely to come across respectful, nice, friendly people even in a big, cold, cosmopolitan city as it is New York.

My experience started right on the plane, on my way from Miami to New York where the respect of the people in general and the organization were obviously different from my experience on the flight from my hometown, Montevideo, through Miami. Heaven in earth!, I thought. Everyone respecting each other naturally. But one thing I remember that called my attention walking in the streets of New York, was the quiet, long, tidy line of people waiting for his hot-dog in one of those hotdog stands in the 5th. Av. alongside the Central Park. This is certainly one scene you don’t see in Montevideo where everybody is trying to take advantage and get in front of the line. That kind of behavior that may look so trivial and for many people just pass unnoticed, really got my attention. I got really amazed by such community made up from very different cultures and religions that can blend and coexist in such an harmonic and cordial way.

But even though as a cosmopolitan city it was full of people from different countries with different native languages, the only way to communicate was, of course, through english. Therefore I finally came to the conclusion that the first thing I would do just arriving at Montevideo, was improving my english skills in conversation. Even though I was able to get myself understand, I’m convinced that the experience would have been richer if I could have spoken a more fluent english. Even though people in New York were eager to understand what I was, so hardly, trying to say, I was very insecure about my speaking skills. The most frustrating experience in this sense was when I was trying to ask for some coffee milk on the plane, and no one could understand what I was asking for. On my way back to Montevideo, one task lengthen my to-do list: “practice english. NOW!!”

The Big Apple, as it’s usually known, was quite an enjoyable, unforgettable city for me. The city that blowed my mind. Its wonderful, amazing, well-developed landmarks, and its beautiful, breathtaking landscapes, along with the large variety of foods and goods made an indelible impression on me. It’s one of those places I definitely want to go back; not before, of course, I have make a good improvement in my english skills... and that’s for sure!

 

Postales de Montevideo - Las Carmelitas

En medio del ajardinado barrio de El Prado, en la ciudad de Montevideo, se eleva un monumental ejemplo de arte gótico, la Iglesia conocida simplemente como "Carmelitas".
Esta maravilla arquitectónica que data del año 1929, fue refaccionada recientemente para recuperar su esplendor, deteriorado por el implacable paso del tiempo. No deja de sorprender lo detallista de sus esculturas en toda su fachada.

Postales Montevideanas - La luna sobre Pocitos

Bajo un cielo limpio y despejado, se puede disfrutar del más hermoso paisaje en el horizonte, desde la rambla de Montevideo. Una muestra maravillosa de la perfecta armonía del viaje de los cuerpos celestes a través del vasto infinito, que nos demuestra noche a noche la magnificencia de la obra de Dios. 

Comparto algunas imágenes donde puede verse asomar la impresionante luna en su fase mas brillante, desde el horizonte de la playa Pocitos, y por detrás de la Isla de las Gaviotas.

"Cuando veo tus cielos, obra de tus dedos, La luna y las estrellas que tú formaste, digo: ¿Qué es el hombre, para que tengas de él memoria, Y el hijo del hombre, para que lo visites?"

Salmos 8:3 y 4 (La Biblia)

Nuestra Señora del Carmen - Postales Montevideanas

Fundada en octubre de 1835, primera en ser construida fuera de las murallas de Montevideo, con varios cambios luego de su reconstrucción, tras el gran incendio que la destruyo completamente, la Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen se erige en la que es hoy nuestra principal avenida. 
El campanario que puede verse desde la calle Colonia es lo único en pie de aquella construcción original.
El bullicio y el trajinar diario que se vive en el exterior, contrastan con la tranquilidad y humilde hermosura de su interior que con gran agrado recibe sus fieles y visitantes que llegan de paso a descubrir su singular arquitectura y belleza en cada uno de sus detalles.

Hora de siesta en un decadente Zoo

Lo que tal vez debería ser un agradable paseo educativo para grandes y chicos, se ha convertido en un paisaje decadente y lastimero. Animales viviendo en malas condiciones de higiene, jaulas en malas condiciones y muchas de ellas hasta vacías hablan de la pobreza, no solo material, sino cultural de los uruguayos que al parecer no han aprendido a cuidar las vidas que se han puesto a su cargo. 
Aunque más no sea para cuidar el turismo, si no es por el amor a los animales y la naturaleza,
lograr el cambio depende del esfuerzo de todos, ellos lo merecen...

Único

Mucho se habla de igualdad, pero eso no significa que dejemos de ser únicos y diferentes. Aunque parezcamos iguales, cada uno tiene una personalidad única, con valores, pensamientos, sueños e ilusiones que nos diferencian y nos hacen ser quienes somos. 
Ser auténtico ante todo, eso nos hace únicos.