This is a separate post and it is not
related to this trip. It has been inspired by a comment made by one reader and
it seeks to explain my position on tourism, since I am fully aware that many of
the comments I write ranting about it might be misunderstood and taken the
wrong way.
There are several ways of traveling around the
world. From the the most ephemeral, like a quick journey somewhere to visit
only major tourist attractions, to the longest and most profound that leads to
a high degree of penetration in a different culture. While they are all valid
ways of traveling there is only one that is the best one, and that is the one
that fits one's personal goals. Not everybody has to enjoy visiting the Statue
of Liberty or spending days walking around the Louvre. Likewise, not everybody
has to be willing to jump on a fully loaded bicycle and set off to ride across
a desert or walk the world at 20 km a day. However, regardless of the way we
choose to travel, I believe that we all have an important responsibility at the
time of visiting a foreign country. Just like when we go for a visit to someone
else's house and we generally adapt to its codes even putting them above our
own, when we visit a foreign culture we should do something similar.
