A Country I Would Like to Visit

On this post I’d like to succinctly talk about the topic of travelling, and specifically of a country I’d like to visit. That being said, if I was presented with the choice of visiting any country in the near future, assuming I wouldn’t have any specified constricting limits of money or time, I think I’d choose Ireland, specially the countryside. I think this is because of my affinity with calm and peaceful landscapes, which this country has a lot of (and quite beautiful at that), taking the form of rolling hills and green pastures, contrasting with its rocky shores and indomitable seas.

In addition to this, I have a strong interest in the diverse historical and archaeological past of the region (you could say this is kind of a “professional deformation” of mine, as archaeology is what I’m studying at the moment). This place has very rich and very deep cultural roots, dating back to pre-indoeuropean settlements, and encompassing several millennia.

If I was to plan on an itinerary, I would start in Dublin, and make my way through the middle of Ireland, visiting landmarks such the archaeological site of Newgrange, to end my trip in Gallway.

As a first blog post, I'd like to talk about a few topics: my favourite place, and other places I've visited in the world.

I would say that my favourite place that I’ve visited in the past is the highlands of Arica, while doing fieldwork for a course in Ethnology of the Andes. This region is notable for its amazing landscapes and bright colours, dry climate and altitudes reaching more than 4000 meters over the sea level. 

The people are very friendly if a bit less talkative than the people down in the coast, in Arica. When I visited, they were celebrating the aymara new year in the town of Putre, so I had the opportunity of trying traditional food and seeing a pasacalle consisting of dances and music.

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Concerning other places I've visited, in the summer of the year 2001, I was lucky enough to be able to visit Europe, and particularly Spain. I took a plane that took me from Santiago to Paris, and from there I traveled to Madrid. I stayed about two weeks there, and two more weeks in the city of Barcelona. 

While staying in Madrid I visited the El Prado museum of art, the Plaza Mayor, and the Parque del Retiro. From there I went to visit Toledo for the day, where I had the opportunity to see the beautiful medieval architecture. Later, while staying in Barcelona, I visited La Pedrera, La Sagrada Familia, and the gothic district.

There's one last topic that sadly I couldn't integrate in this first post, being about a place I'd like to visit someday. I plan on doing this on my next post.