THE SPIRIT OF THE CANYON
The majestic red mountains. I had just summited them. I did not tame them, nay, I had simply monkeyed up and perched on top.
I had neither conquered nor had been conquered.
As I sat atop the ‘dune’ in bliss, from the physical effort of getting there, I felt the breeze caressing my face, my mind emptying and a strange stirring within, the beginning of a release. I cycled back downhill. Wings took shape. Where once they had been tied down by circumstances, they hesitantly spread out and I learnt to fly, once again.
The mountains speak to you, you’ll see, they said. The desert is a fountain of life, they said. Take a trip alone, they said. You will find yourself and come back with new understanding, they said.
Tel Aviv, Israel - The 'NOW' City
The pulse buzzes. The adrenalin rushes. Beauty abounds. The senses are in superlative. It is sexy. It is stylish. It is downright fascinating.
As my first exposure to Israel, Tel Aviv set the pace and tone for the time spent in the country. After spending a week in different parts of the country, I can easily say this is one place that beckons me back with the promise of more. Ostensibly, I was there to sample the cuisine and the food. But, what is food without culture and people?! Set against the interesting collage that makes the culture of Israel, food in Tel Aviv stands as an extroversion of its outlook and history.
It is without any hesitation an invigorating and entirely intriguing city. Not only does it offer the best landscape to study the congruence of diverse ethnicities, it does so with a remarkably calm composure. Given the geo-dynamics of the region, calm is hardly an adjective you would expect to connect with this experience. Yet, on the surface of this city, in the faces and lives of the people who live here, you only see a sheen of unruffled normalcy.
I in Ireland
The Magic of Spain and my article on Seville in Spenser Magazine
