Ted. This
morning, Judy and I were strolling along a pleasant street in Las Palmas when
we came upon a construction site. The equipment threw up a cloud of dust and a
cacophony of noises. Jogging over a couple of blocks, we were once again on a
quiet avenue. We then rested at the café in a park we like that has a little castle, a rose garden and is usually deserted, in spite of being three
blocks from the hectic cruise ship port.
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| Plaza del Castillo de la Luz |
It struck me that this often
happens when we travel. We can choose to walk along a touristy street filled
with "typical restaurants," souvenir stands and touts like Váci utca in Budapest, or walk along a
parallel avenue three blocks over that is sublime. Meander three blocks off the Champs Élysée in
Paris and you might find yourself in a peaceful neighborhood, not unlike a French village.
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| "Tipico" means "filled with tourists" |
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| Swimmers beach at Las Canteras |
The famous beach here, Las
Canteras, has quiet stretches and crazy parts that are packed. If the later is
all one ever sees, one may leave Las Palmas thinking it is wall-to-wall
sunburnt, Northern Europeans.
We, on the other hand see mostly Spanish
teenaged surfers and retirees enjoying a relaxing afternoon.
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| Surfers beach at Las Canteras |
Our journey is certainly
affected by our attitude, but the paths we choose make a difference as well.
Robert Frost, when faced with two roads put it nicely:
“I took
the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
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