Back on the road at last!!! The last few days were full preparation for us to leave for our backpack with no date to return home. The rush to get the last details right, the documents, and vaccines we need to take is a mix of longing and anxiety and it was almost visible the smoke coming out of our heads from so much thinking.
One of the most important points for me that I needed to make before we went on a trip was to say I love you and give a sincere hug to all the people important to me, it may sound silly, but I grew up in a family where displays of affection were important. the rare thing even though I’ve always been much more heart than emotion, it was strange to say I love you and get one back too. But I knew I needed to say and break this cycle that didn’t make sense to me, only in this way could I continue on the journey with a peaceful heart and having resolved everything I needed to resolve.
I felt like I was about to jump with a parachute as if after the next step, there was no more ground under my feet, and that gave me a strange feeling of freedom and at the same time, fear and insecurity and joy, to be honest, I thought that it was not possible for a human being to feel so many emotions at once.
We arrived in Porto Alegre and stayed at my fiancé’s childhood friend’s house, their house is in the heart of the city, close to several tourist attractions and activities to do. We were welcomed with open doors and open hearts at our friends’ homes, and never in my life had I been so welcomed as I was at their homes. On our second day of the trip we rented some bicycles that are available around the city and we went to the historic centre of Porto Alegre, I love pedalling, I feel light and alive, and it seems that the whole landscape takes on a more romantic air around me. The way to the historic centre was full of laughter and of us appreciating the curious architecture that the city has, to me it looked like a zombie apocalypse had just happened on one side of the street and on the other the houses looked like they had come out of a fairy tale. fairies.
Exploring Porto Alegre
We went to the Casa de Cultura Mario Quintana, Mario Quintana was and is an illustrious citizen of Porto Alegre, he was many in one, he acted as a translator, journalist, citizen of the world and poetess writer, with poems that are capable of giving colors to the most beautiful walks by the imagination of those who read what Mario writes, I’m suspect to say but Quintana’s poems are certainly among my favorites out of everything I’ve ever read. We can literally enter a piece of mario’s house, there was a replica of his room, as if he had only gotten up for a minute and gone to get a coffee in his kitchen, the poetry went out the window, literally haha, there were some haikais which are short poems that originate from Japan written on some parts of Mario’s bedroom windows, if you still don’t know, here’s a little preview of the Quintana world called “Let me follow to the sea”;
Try to forget me… Being remembered is like
summon up a ghost… Let me be
what I am, what I’ve always been, a flowing river…
In vain, on my shores the hours will sing,
I will cover myself with stars like a royal mantle,
I will embroider myself with clouds and wings,
sometimes children will come to me to bathe…
A mirror does not keep things reflected!
And my destiny is to follow… it is to follow towards the Sea, losing images along the way…
Let me flow, pass, sing…
all the sadness of rivers is not being able to stop!
To me this is enveloping and so beautiful. In her house of culture, some other exhibitions were also taking place, such as one about the also illustrious citizen of Porto Alegre, the Brazilian popular music singer of the 70s/80s, Elis was a true hurricane, a woman who was ahead of her time. and he spoke of the reality of the Brazilian people with his angelic voice, if you haven’t heard it yet, I advise you to listen to the song “Como Nosso Pais” and see the translation.
Porto Alegre and the Guaiba River
Porto Alegre is a port city, and on the edge of the Guaiba River there are some multi-sports courts for public use, crowded is the nickname for how the place is at the end of the day, there is the meeting point for young people, the edge of the Guaiba River has the largest skate park in latin america, and many young talents have already left there.
In general, staying in Porto Alegre was an important moment for me, the first time I was really away from my family and I was even closer to my goal, one step closer to what I really want and to have stayed with such friends. dear ones and who made us feel so good was something that transformed some feelings of uncertainty and fear that were still with me. Everything happened as it should, it certainly wasn’t the way I imagined it, but it was the way it needed to be.
Our stay in Rio Grande do Sul was ending and I got into a mode completely focused on organizing the next steps, after all, we would be leaving the country together for the first time! I was so eager to get going, like a kid who can’t wait another second to play with his new toy.
We’re heading to Uruguay, our first home in Latin America, a country that holds many mysteries, smiles and a beautiful culture unlike anything we’ve seen, I’m sure we’ll live unforgettable days and meet unforgettable people, and as Frida Kahlo says “Feet to that I want you, if I have wings to fly”.
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