I think the excitement of it all is getting to me via insomnia. With this latest bout, I thought I might start this blog off...
I added the tagline for the blog tonight/this morning, ripped fresh from Kavalier & Clay, which I've been delighting in reading. Flush with the optimism of transit. True, ain't it? Whether its crossing a river on a ferry or an ocean on an airplane, the thrill of transport is undeniable.
Starting a new travel blog is equally thrilling. I've intentionally left the destination out of the title, so as to incorporate any and all travels under one umbrella. All this in an effort to centralize my writing efforts. El camino viejo literally means "the old road." In Venezuela, at least, this was the term used for a local highway rendered obsolete by a freeway or a route similarly made redundant.
They're the most charming, los caminos viejos, snaking through misplaced landscape and bisecting towns time forgot. It's why we travel, picking up a theme from India Byways, to connect with these old roads. I'm looking forward to finding, and getting lost on, the old roads my ancestors might have trod in Spain. I'm also in the middle of A Field Guide to Getting Lost (link to Village Voice review), a marvelous tome by Rebecca Solnit, about the latter phenomenon. A worthwhile endeavor.
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