Jan 26 - Line for the day

'The duikers are a collection of antelopes found only in Africa.'
-Pg 89, The Overloaded Ark, by Gerald Durrell

No matter how many times I have read this book, I did not remember this animal. Gerald Durrell creates fabulous portraits of animals, places, people and cultures with his word. And they are all real. Not pieces of fiction. Real honest to God experiences. Makes me realize how inexperienced I really am...in life. They say travel broadens your mind. But today, when we travel, it is on set routes with set itineraries and with similar minded people. We sightsee from a checklist, and zoom about like clockwork toys, too busy to 'be there' and 'do that', than actually imbibe the atmosphere of a place. For all that imbibing, there is television and internet surfing. So we know about the cultures of a place from various sources, but when we are actually there, we are too busy 'seeing' the sights, to actually feel the place. How is this broadening my mind? Hell, people even want to eat the same foods! Now I'm not against having a set menu to keep the old digestion ticking during a vacation. But really, not even sampling the local cuisine? I remember a group trip to Italy where the group actually had to revolt right down to the last person for us to have one Italian lunch. Otherwise it was Indian food, morning, noon and night. And I don't blame them. I know many travellers who demand this of the tour organisers. But really, 10 days in Italy and not having pizza even once!!

And that is just gastronomy. In a recent trip to US (my first), we did the usual sights. But then on a road trip from DC to Canada, we detoured into random villages, ate at a diner, climbed the local observation tower, chased down covered bridges, and generally had the time of our lives. I'm not saying that I did not like seeing Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building or the other postcard places. But they didn't warm my heart as much as those detours did. They didn't broaden my mind...come on we've seen them in countless movies by now. But walking around in those anonymous parks and lost village roads ... ah ... thats where the charm was.

And this is where I envy Durrell. For he lived a life that held many many lifetimes of experiences. He found charm in the little unknown places. In anonymous people. In forgotten fellow living beings who inhabit this earth with us. Like the duikers.