Raf's Travel Diaries

Concentrarme en leer y generar contenido para cosas que no me interesan me resulta casi imposible. Hace días que le doy vueltas a algo para el trabajo que me aburre demasiado. Y me pregunto, habiendo tantas cosas que me interesan, cuál es la necesidad de hacer algo que no? Por qué me pongo excusas para hacerlo? --- Por qué nos cargamos con responsabilidades inventadas sabiendo que lo que tenemos adelante es meramente una zanahoria colgada de una caña de pescar con la que el sistema, que viene montado en nuestras espaldas, nos hace seguir avanzando casi ciegamente? De hecho, tengo una extensa opinión sobre la teoría del burro y la zanahoria. Pero se las comparto otro día.

I have a soft spot for abrupt change of plans. Raf

This is where I live now. 

Every inch of my body is in so much pain, especially my arms, back and neck.  Apparently the most important thing in surf is to have a good paddle: You need to paddle to get in the water, you need to paddle while you're in the water, and you need to paddle like your life depended on it to catch a wave. Raf

One week after we moved to Arraial do Cabo, a guy we met introduced us to this other guy who had opened a bar that same day. It's 2 blocks from where we live and we've been going there ever since; the few regulars there always have anecdotes to tell, surfing tips and the owner makes the best shrimp ever. Anyways, I always order Coke and after about a week they ran out and apparently the delivery guy never brought them coke again. So now when I go there I take my own drink and if I don't they tell me I should get it from the bar across the street.

I sometimes stop and look back; and to my surprise, I realize that I don't have a clear picture, a lot of it is blurry, like it was a dream, or someone else's life. I am not sure what happened there; some events, people that used to be key at some point of my life, wishes, desires, are inexistent to the extent of being surreal.  Raf

Can I please have my head back?

Suelo pensar que escribir aclara ideas amorfas que divagan por mi cabeza, pero hasta ahora han estado tan amorfas que me siento y no logro escribir nada. Raf 

Endless possibilities, yet I can only chose one when paths divert.  There are no right or wrong turns, there is just the wonder of what was in the other direction. Sometimes I go down one path, then go back to take the other one, but it is no longer there or it has distorted in a way it is no longer recognizable. And I am lost, but it doesn't really matter. It's an infinite labyrinth with no map.  Raf

I was just randomly remembering a 10Kg cheese that sat on a chair in the barn of a farm I was living in. Boy did I eat cheese those next few weeks. The cheese looked something like this, except it was on  an old chair and was cut with a rusty knife. Raf

Year 2007- Ezeiza- Hand-luggage inspection before boarding the plane. Four people in front of me in the queue; the first guy puts his man-bag through the x-ray. The immigration officer checking the screen frowns in disbelief, shakes his head and squints. He calls a second security man and points at something showing on his screen. In a matter of seconds, they are surrounded by at least half a dozen more staff from the airport. Some can't conceal their smiles but try to look serious. They take the bag, hand it back to the owner and ask him to open it. The guy does as he is told. The Security man puts his hands into the open bag and takes out a frozen chicken wrapped in a plastic bag.  Damn! we were thinking of grilling the chicken on the plane, it sounded a lot more promising than the plane food. It looked something like this. Raf

La libertad, como concepto, es inaplicable a la realidad, es una utopia inalcanzable, siempre estamos limitados por algo que coarta nuestra libertad como ideal. Raf (Tomando unos mates y soñando despierta) 

Nacimos, crecimos, fuimos educados en un mundo consumista; nuestro Dios es el Capitalismo.  Mamamos consumismo, competencia y mas competencia en una desesperada carrera para poder llegar mas lejos. Aprendimos que somos tan buenos como lo que tenemos en bienes y divisas.  Nos inculcan que si conseguimos no sentir demasiada piedad, podremos pisar a los demas, escalar y llegar mas alto. Que los que estan abajo, no son nuestros pilares, sino que son casos de caridad, consecuencias inherentes del sistema. No tenemos chances si no logramos convertir nuestra humildad en falsa modestia. Tenemos que pensar, pero al mismo tiempo, no salirnos de los esquemas, solo pensar en pos de este sistema.  Amen. Raf Graffiti en Montevideo, Uruguay

Street Art - Montevideo

"Do not go where the path might lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" Ralph Waldo Emerson

Making travel plans calms me down, eases my anxieties and makes me smile.  Raf (that's probably why I'll always be erratic).

B-day present for a friend.  For other designs, check out www.rafschucks.com

I've gotten this advise twice in 2 days: "Keep busy working, think less" Raf (yay! let's all become automated working class robots).  

Knit Graffiti in Lagos de Palermo, Buenos Aires. Came across it while taking a Sunday walk. Loved it!