Endless Rolling green…
… , the only words that come to mind to describe the terrain out here. I had asked my shuttle driver if it was always this green. He said that this year is an exception because of all the rain. But all this week, there has been no rain. Because of El Nino there is lush green vegetation everywhere. I suppose the only thing I can liken it to that I’ve seen in my lifetime would be the Adirondacks in New York, and perhaps what Colombia was like for my Mother, judging from the brief amount of old movie footage I’ve seen.
Today I found a new road of which my friend was not even aware. Within about a mile or two, I encountered a huge field resting adjacent to some more of those large rolling green hills. It reminded me of a place I once saw in a commercial where Clydesdales play football. As I sat down amidst the land on a beautiful sunny day without a cloud in the sky, it seemed I had no reason to ever move again. I leaned back against a rusty but sturdy fence, looked and listened…
There was the sound of a gentle wind (on this particular day, it was very gentle). It was rustling the grasses and selectively placed trees. I heard the sound of an animal from the other side of one of the hills. Its source I could not see, but I assume it was a bull, or some sort of large four-legged mammal with giant horns.
Then there was the sound of a large bird; maybe an Eagle, maybe a Hawk, maybe a Condor; like the kind you hear on the discovery channel. I saw them circling over and about the hills. They have one particular flight pattern where, from my perspective, they appear to be hovering motionless with wings outstretched for several seconds before they soar into flight again. Even though it is the middle of the day, I hear the sound of crickets coming from the huge expanse that lies behind me; a sound I would not have heard if I hadn’t stopped and sat for this unmeasured, indefinite amount of time. I wanted to walk out to the center of the field and just sit there until night fell.
There is an image from a book I read as a child of a Bull named Ferdinand. I don’t remember what the book was about, but this place was right from its illustrations. If they ever make a movie of the book, it should be filmed here… Until the crews arrive to use it for their own gain, it will remain, undisturbed, secluded, pure, honest, serene, and with a magical, enchanting power over me that calms my soul and reminds me what it means to live again.
