if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours
that wait for me. - Pablo Neruda
that wait for me. - Pablo Neruda
A few weeks ago, the two of us fulfilled our desire of traveling together by going to Puerto Rico and Guatemala with a group of some of our favorite people and friends. We spent most of our time in Puerto Rico in Old San Juan, which your eyes could never tire of. Every hour is warm, colorful, and filled with music. Also, can I just say that being in any place with native spanish speakers during the World Cup is an experience in itself?? We watched a number of games in small cafes and really loved the camaraderie/pretending we were all rooting for the same team. Anila and I also have recently been reading a lot of poetry by the Chilean Pablo Neruda...his intensity, somewhat tormented but vastly beautiful words are, in fact, everything we love in good poetry. Safe to say that we read a lot of his poems to our friends on this trip in both spanish and english, even if met with the occasional eye roll. We did it anyway.
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| Old San Juan, PR |
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| Fort Cristobal |
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| Verde Mesa - one of the most magical dinners we have ever had. The decor was something out of Alice in Wonderland, sans the acid trip feel. The flavors in our dinner was so fresh and married each other so well, my goodness. Felt like a dream. |
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| Quenepas/Spanish Limes. We were, of course, very excited to try this new fruit which tasted a bit like sour candy. |
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| The guitarist, Felix Rodriguez, at restaurant Aji Dulce, decided to leave his post and come sit at our table and play for us for about two hours. Can't say that we didn't hope he would. He was exquisitely talented, a "master guitarist" as he called himself. Played some beautiful pieces that I had never heard before, 'Cavatina' being my favorite. It's from the 1978 movie, The Deer Hunter, and it is something that will give you peace, sadness, and chills all at once. |
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| Ponce, PR. Kimono Cardigan:Forever 21 |
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| Ponce, PR. |
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| endless color paired with beautiful cobblestone |
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| How pretty are the streets at night?? |
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Flamenco singer; Voice that carried its own soul. |
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| Ruins of the old spanish fort |
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| One should go to Old San Juan just to see all the beautiful doors. |
“By hook or by crook, I hope that you will possess
yourselves of money enough to travel and to idle, to contemplate the
future or the past of the world, to dream over books and loiter at
street corners and let the line of thought dip deep into the stream”
Besos,
S
