ART OF KEEPING SANE MIND
I’ve travelled a lot and have visited many such places. Each and every time, I’ve ended up feeling enriched with new experiences and my newly acquired knowledge. So many times I’ve come across things that were either completely unknown to me or, perhaps, I may have had some vague idea, but without proper understanding.
However, it’s impossible to know everything. Certainly, the world is too big for that. Travelling and visiting other countries gives us an opportunity to acquire that knowledge and, hopefully, end up being more in harmony with the world in which we live and, more importantly, in harmony with ourselves.
This post is about some of the places that I’ve been lucky enough to visit in the past. They are places that I vividly remember either because of their amazing natural beauty or because the experience became unforgettable.
However, despite the fact that I’d be able to write about many such places that I’ve visited in my life time, I’ll have to limit myself as otherwise this post would be too long. But keep in mind that everything that I am going to mention deserves its own post.
This short retrospective is also an introduction to my future posts. I intend to write about places that I consider important and interesting enough to be written about. Thus, I’ll be able to revert to these essays in the future and revive my memories. It’ll be my travel diary, my art of keeping sane mind.
CHINA
I went to China for the first time in 2009. Among other places, I also visited the city of Xi’an. This is where the famous and magnificent Terracotta Warriors can be seen. It was phenomenal to see so many terracotta statues, most of them so well preserved.
COLOMBIA
I travelled across South America in 2012. The trip started in Colombia, then I went to Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and finally to Chile. I visited so many wonderful places, I’ll mention some of them in this post:
Starting with Colombia, I would highlight:
BOTERO’S ART
Before visiting Botero Museum in Bogota, I’ve never even heard of Botero. However, I ended up completely in love with his very unique and special artistic style.
There are 23 sculptures that Botero donated to the city of Medellin and they are all in Plaza Botero, in the city centre. It’s absolutely fascinating to see his works of art in what really is a permanent exhibition for all citizens of Medellin or whoever happens to be in the city.
TAYRONA NATIONAL NATURAL PARK
The Tayrona National Natural Park, near Santa Marta, is on the Caribbean sea. It was like being in a perfect tropical paradise. I spent one day in this beautiful park and would love to visit it again.
ARVI PARK
The Arvi Park in Medellin probably has the most spectacular access of any parks that I’ve ever seen. Basically, you have to take a cable car from the city and that part of the journey takes you uphill over favelas. It was very interesting, but also very disturbing to see how many people live in poor conditions. You reach another cable car that takes you to the park. The second part of the journey lasts approximately 15 minutes and it’s absolutely phenomenal as you literally glide over a beautiful forest.
ECUADOR
From my stay in Ecuador, I would highlight:
OTAVALO MARKET
The Otavalo Market is very colourful and interesting. There were many different things on offer and, although the market is very popular with tourists, it primarily serves as the market for the local population. There were, of course, stalls with souvenirs and similar things for tourists, but in reasonable numbers. Thus, the authentic feel of the market was very much present. It was a perfect day trip from Quito.
PAPALLACTA HOT SPRING SPA
The Papallacta Hot Spring Spa was a day trip from Quito, however it was a place where I would’ve happily spent a week. A place where you go to find your inner peace and get in touch with yourself, the best place that you can go to for keeping sane mind.
There were many pools and each of them contained water with different temperature. I spent the whole day submerged, it was the most relaxing day. The spa is high in the Andes, exactly at the point where the Amazon jungle starts. This spa couldn’t be in a better location.
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
It is really not necessary to say much about Galapagos. That was the absolute highlight of my entire journey throughout South America.
It was also the most expensive of everything I did during that trip, but worth every penny. The experience was so magical, I’ll remember it forever.
I don’t really think that it’s possible to convey the feeling that you get when you walk between various animals and you realise that they don’t fear you. They don’t move or fly away and try to escape. It’s the nature in perfect harmony.
PERU
In Peru, places that I visited and that should be mentioned are:
MACHU PICCHU
No photograph can truly convey its magic. It really has to be seen together with the whole surrounding area because, only then, you can comprehend the complexities of building a city in that particular location and its sheer beauty. Apparently, this was only a minor place in the Inca world, yet it’s now the most iconic historic monument of the long gone Inca civilisation.
MONASTERY OF SANTA CATALINA DE SIENA
The Monastery of Santa Catalina de Siena in Arequipa is something like the Forbidden City in Beijing, a city within a city. The whole monastery complex is very big and well preserved. It contains rooms and houses where nuns used to live, kitchens and everything else required for a completely self-sufficient and secluded life. This monastery is a truly impressive site.
LAKE TITICACA
The Lake Titicaca, in Peru and Bolivia, is beautiful and I visited both sides of the lake, in both countries. In Bolivia, from Copacabana, you can visit Isla del Sol, it is usually a day trip.
BOLIVIA
Bolivia ended up being my most favourite country in South America. The most memorable things that I did in Bolivia are:
PAMPAS
I spent three days in the Bolivan pampas. It was a fantastic experience, especially seeing so many different animals: pink dolphins, alligators, caimans, different birds, small monkeys and also capybaras, which is a mammal native to South America and the biggest rodent in the world, like a big rat.
SALAR DE UYUNI
The second biggest salt desert in the world, Salar de Uyuni, was so strange and at the same time so beautiful.
EDUARDO AVAROA NATIONAL RESERVE
The Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve is a vast desert south of Salar de Uyuni. Beautiful landscapes and even more beautiful “lagunas coloradas”.
CHILE
The trip around South America ended in Chile. The most amazing place that I visited in Chile was:
ATACAMA DESERT
The Atacama Desert near San Pedro de Atacama, a totally surreal landscape, is something that you can probably see on Moon. But the most memorable experience was the stargazing.
Apparently, that is the best spot on Earth from where to observe the Universe, because the air is dry and clean and there is very little light pollution. There are no big human settlements in that area. I have never ever imagined that there are so many celestial objects in the sky.
EUROPEAN MUSEUMS
Another aspect of my travels is connecting to art and history of places that I visit. Probably the best but not the only way to do that is to visit museum. I will mention just several of many fabulous European museums that I’ve seen:
The Louvre Museum in Paris is so worldwide famous, that it doesn’t really require a special introduction.
The Vatican Museums is in the City of Vatican. Surely, the Sistine Chapel is the most important thing that you can see in this museum, where you can admire the genius of Michelangelo in its full glory. But I also need to mention Stanze di Raffaello (Raphael’s Rooms), containing beautiful frescoes by another great Italian Renaissance master.
“Expulsion from the Garden of Eden” is a fresco by the Italian Early Renaissance artist Masaccio, in the Brancacci Chapel, in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. The Italian Renaissance truly started with Masaccio, who followed in Giotto’s steps.
Camera degli Sposi, by great Andra Mantegna in the Ducal Palace in Mantova, Italy. Sublime beauty.
TURKEY
Additionally, I’m also fascinated by places with an immense historical significance. One such place is the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. It was the centre of the Ottoman imperial power for many centuries. The harem, within the palace, is very interesting to see. I’ve always tried to imagine the life within its confines and everything that was happening there.
Ottoman heritage is all over the old part of Istanbul. It’s fascinating and very captivating especially when you learn a bit about the Ottoman history and the way its society and, especially, the Ottoman dynasty functioned.
KEEPING SANE MIND FOREVER
There are, of course, many other places that I could mention in this post, but I will stop at this point. If I ever visit them again, I will write about them.
In the meantime, I look forward to new places that I’ll discover in the future and I’ll certainly share my experiences here. It looks like that keeping sane mind forever will be a very enjoyable task.
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