Monday, November 27, 2006

SELF PORTRAITS of a SOLO TRAVELER

... yesterday I thought a lot about what I did and about the meaning of the word ... vacation ... when I left LA ... more than 1 month ago I thought and I told to everybody that I was going on vacation ... but now that I am back ... I have realized that ... what I did during my last month .. wasn't a vacation ... that was my life ... and what I am doing for the rest of the year is just a break ... in my life ... waiting to go back to the road ... waiting to put on my shoulder a backpack and look for bus to go somewhere else ... or look for new friends ... or for a new hostel ... or for the good tip to continue your journey ... yep ... probably the right word for what I did ... is ... journey ... more than a simple vacation ... a real journey ... a solo journey ... but not so solo ... a journey with a lot of new friends ... but of course there are a lot of moments where you are by yourself ... and you need to have someone around you ... and I guess ... these are the moments where you end up taking self portraits ... I did that too ... this is a small gallery of the Chile & Argentina Andrea self portraits ... of course each of them ... has a reason ... at least for me ... this is the first one ... after 3 days into my journey ... I realized that I didn't have a picture of myself ... so when I found this window mirror ... I decided to go for it ...... this is in an empty restaurant in Chiloe ... while I was waiting for my dinner ... I decided to play a little bit with the camera ... and this picture came out ... that was the night when I was invited by the restaurant owner ti eat with them in the kitchen ...... this is a picture that I took in a bus station ... while with my backpack I was waiting for a couple od hours for a bus ... I guess sometimes you have to do your own stunts ... like when I did sprain my ankle ... here it is ... the selfportrait ... ehehe ... the ankle still hurts ... after 3 weeks ... but I guess that day was the worst ... I still can't believe how it did happen ... :O ... ... this is a good memory ... and a nice picture ... in my opinion ... the day that we left the boat ... after 3 days ... and we got to Puerto Natales, Chile ... in the middle of the Patagonia ... and I loved that wood hat ... that I was wearing ... I bought it 5 days before ... after I lost my previous one ... the gift of a friend ... but I lost this new one as well ... after 3 days ... what a shame ...... and this is a picture in Puerto Natales, Patagonia ... while I was going to an Internet Cafe ... to write about the cargo ship trip ... and on the background the incredible Patagonia mountains ... really nice ...... and this is of course in front of my beloved Perito Moreno ... really nice only thinking about it ... I would love to be exactly there now ...... and here other selfportraits in shop windows ... I guess all of them had been taken in moments when I felt alone ... because of course you do feel alone when you travel SOLO ... you walk in a city by yourself ... you know that at the end of the day ... you will meet a new friend ... but in the meantime ... you are alone ... you have time to think about yourself ... your life ... what you want to do out of it ... and at the end it happens also that you take a picture of yourself ... just to demonstrate that you really exist ... and to understand better who you are ... I guess ... at the end of the day ... all the solo travelling is a small challenge ... I guess ... and ... here an unwanted selfportrait with flash ... the result is pretty funny ... looks like the camera got tired of my face and decided to blow it up ... with the light ... ehehe ...... and here the last one of the journey ... in Santiago, Chile ... the mirrors are a artcraft ... called DEL OTRO LADO (i.e. ON THE OTHER SIDE) ... of a Chilean artist ... and I guess the idea ... is to help the people to look at themself from different point of view ... or maybe ... just help a solo traveler ... to take a decent selfportrait ... ehehehe ... I really look tired and dirty and trashed ... in this picture ... and probably I was tired and dirty and trashed ... not sure how I get always at the last day of my journeys in that way ... :o ...I want to believe it is because I tried my best to enjoy it ...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are so funny! I just love that about you - your views, your sense of humor, how you live life, everything :)

So glad you started this blog! Makes me laugh and smile... and think... and sometimes sad....

PS: have many self-portraits as well

Andrea said...

... mmm ... too many compliments ... but ... honestly ... I think this blog is one of the the best achievements of my life ... which tells a lot about my life ... :O ... mmmm ... not sure if I have to laugh or be worried about it ... :D XA

Anonymous said...

you have nothing to worry about :)

... and this is only one in the future long line of many 'greats' ...

you are never alone......

Andrea said...

... yes ... please do so ... I think photography is one of the most accessible forms of art nowadays ... everybody should excercise a little bit more of it ... because ... create art makes us better people ... I believe XA PS And send me some of your selfportraits ... :D

 
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