Toro Toro
Some of you may be interested to know about the photo currently in my blog profile. It is a photo of a place called Toro Toro, in the Bolivian midlands. I spent five days trekking through there when I was 12, with my classmates from a mission school in Cochabamba. It was an amazing, character-building trek, mainly because of the bonding with my friends and the challenges and adventures we had over that time. Looking back on my photos I think I'd appreciate the location and scenery so much more if I went back as an adult. It is an ancient location, with a canyon, underground caves, large boulders, dinosaur prints on a steep rock slope, and I even found a bizarre shell like a seashell - 500 km on the leeward side of the Andes mountains. Maybe someday I'll scan these photos and post them. The only link I could find on a quick Google search was this one.
In the background of the photo are rock formations that looked to me like giant tombstones, sloped backwards with age. There are over 20 of them lining both sides of the Toro Toro valley.
I like the photo, even though I'm not the person in it, because I've tramped that same track. It is a metaphor of my life's walk through an old and intriguing world, where others have walked before me, and will walk after me. But I enjoyed the journey so much more because I walked it with friends.
In the background of the photo are rock formations that looked to me like giant tombstones, sloped backwards with age. There are over 20 of them lining both sides of the Toro Toro valley.
I like the photo, even though I'm not the person in it, because I've tramped that same track. It is a metaphor of my life's walk through an old and intriguing world, where others have walked before me, and will walk after me. But I enjoyed the journey so much more because I walked it with friends.
posted by Andrew | 10:07 PM
2 Comments:
Interesting. I just figured it was the Tongariro National Park, or one of the other more barren tramping landscapes. The imagery you describe is one that is quite attractive to me - I myself use the term pilgrim occasionally (when pushed for some denominational belonging, or just to invoke the "passing through" sentiments attached at a physical and more spiritual level), in deference to that fine piece of literature...The Pilgrim's Progress.
Funnily enought a picture of me tramping would show one of two things - passing through scraggly bush and sidestepping gnarly roots, or else crawling on hands and feet on a wind battered mountain (using the various above bush line plants to hold on as the wind takes you horizontal and airborne). Aah, the lovely Tararua's....
I know what that's like! I grew up in the Wairarapa, and lived in Wellington and Palmerston North, so the Tararuas are my mountain range.
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