“It’s life that matters, nothing but life — the process of discovering, the everlasting and perpetual process, not the discovery itself, at all.”
— Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Happy Monday, friends! It’s a blue sky-and-bright sunshine kind of morning here in Buenos Aires, and I’ve just arrived on a quick flight from Montevideo — my first of two flights for the day. I’m sitting at a cozy café table for one, sipping coffee and orange juice, and enjoying an airport breakfast of three small croissants, known as medialunas in Argentina and Uruguay. But I won’t be staying in Buenos Aires for long — in just a few hours, I’ll board my next and final flight: to Santiago, Chile!
The idea for this trip came to me a month or so ago, when I realized I’d need to briefly leave Uruguay to renew my tourist visa. At first, I simply planned on catching the ferry to Buenos Aires, where I loved studying Spanish last year. But when I thought about returning to the city for a third time, I could already picture much of what awaited me there — such as the sky blue domes of the Russian Orthodox cathedral in San Telmo, and the beautiful stained glassed windows in Recoleta Cemetery that left my uncle and me filled with such wonder in November.
That’s when I realized that although the trip’s impetus might be practical in nature — the need to renew my visa — it could also be a chance to experience somewhere new and discover a different corner of South America. And with affordable flights between Montevideo and Santiago, Chile suddenly became the perfect alternative for a visa run.
Again, I closed my eyes and tried to picture what awaited me in Chile — and the fact that I couldn’t conjure a single image had my heart racing.
* * *
As I packed and prepped for the trip last week — which included the most essential step of procuring a fresh new sketchbook, of course — I began thinking back on other trips I’ve taken to entirely new destinations; places where my only mission was to sketch the unknown world around me. In anticipation of the new sketches from Chile that I’ll hopefully have to share with you next week, I thought it would be fun to first look back on three of my favorite past sketching adventures:
Vietnam
Up until my trip to Vietnam in May of 2013, I’d only ever created one or two sketches in each place I visited. But then I received a dream assignment with Ethiopia Airlines’ in-flight magazine — to create six sketches on-location in Ho Chi Minh City, for a feature article titled “Sketching Saigon.”
I loved the experience of sketching a single place from as many angles and perspectives as possible — because the more I sketched Saigon that week, the deeper my connection with the city seemed to grow.
* * *
Colombia
Up until 2014, I’d focused my travels on Europe, Asia, and the Pacific; at last, it was time to head in another new direction — to South America. I spent the first month of my trip traveling solely through Colombia: from the colorful colonial streets of Cartagena, to the wide-open deserts of the Guajira Peninsula, and finally to the dense verdant jungles of northern Colombia, home to several indigenous tribes and a pre-Colombian archaeological site called La Ciudad Perdida, or the Lost City.
In each corner of Colombia, my sketchbook raced to keep up with the ever-changing, always-inspiring landscapes:
* * *
Myanmar
As soon as the idea for this post came to me, I knew the final sketches I had to share with you were from my 2015 trip to Myanmar, also known as Burma. If Vietnam was the first time I filled my sketchbook with several sketches from a single place, then by the time I went to Myanmar two years later, this had become my absolute favorite way to discover a new country.
Here’s how I wrote about it in a post for G Adventures last year:
“I’ve always loved the process of discovery that traveling allows us; how our blank-page knowledge of a place is slowly colored with detailed perceptions. But, I’ve never watched it unfold as tangibly as it did in Burma, as though my sketchbook were a mirror of my mind.”
* * *
And so I sit here now in the Buenos Aires airport, with another new sketchbook in my backpack and another new destination to soon explore. I’ll be spending my five days in Chile in the coastal city of Valparaíso — known for its street art, colorful buildings, and even the home of Pablo Neruda — and I love arriving with such a visceral sense of anticipation, but not a single expectation.
For you, too, I hope this week will bring you color, discovery, and fresh inspiration. Whether in the world or in our work, here’s to going somewhere new!
Ooooooh Candace. Can’t wait to see what beauty you bring to us this week. Excited that you’re going on a little adventure, wrapping the magic into the practical of visa renewal. Loved the little memory lane sketch walk as well.
“Wrapping the magic into the practical of visa renewal” — I love how you put that, Gayle…thank you! And I also just have to share that in my backpack is the beautiful “be kind” notebook you so thoughtfully sent me…I’ve loved taking notes in it so far, and can’t wait to keep using it throughout the week. I thought you’d enjoy hearing that a little piece of your care package is traveling with me this week! <3
Nice! Glad it could be put to use. That photo of the Andes from the plane was stunning. I want to hear your always wonderful written impressions on Chile as well as your sketches. There’s only so many hours in a day, I know!
Seeing Chile through your five senses is worth waiting for!
Can’t wait to share the first sketches soon! Heading out with my sketchbook now 🙂 <3
Looking forward to seeing the new sketches of Chile. You are such a wonderful peripatetic & I am so enjoying your travels vicariously as my traveling days are about over. Very fulfilling, I might say. I recognized some of your sketches & enjoyed them all over. Happy trails.
Thank you so much, Roberta! Even though our paths have yet to cross in person, I still feel so blessed by our connection, and by the rich wisdom and insight you share with me here. I’m so glad you enjoyed recognizing some of the sketches in today’s post, and I can’t wait to share new sketches from Valparaiso with you next week! <3
Sooo exciting! Have a great time! I love that you don’t mind (even embrace) travelling solo!
I had to do visa runs as an English teacher in Turkey, so I went to Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria. Oh if only I’d been reading you then! And sketching!
Here’s a Chile joke for you:
Q. How can you tell a person is from Chile?
A. They walk like this. [Walk sideways]
😄🙊 Get it?
Thank you, Brenda! I definitely do embrace traveling solo — and after traveling with family or my boyfriend through the majority of this past year, it’s such a fun change to be on my own again here in Chile 🙂 I also loved hearing about your own visa runs as a teacher in Turkey, and having briefly been to Bulgaria and Greece myself, I can easily imagine the wonders and adventures those trips held! PS — thanks so much as well for bringing a smile to my face tonight with that joke 😉 <3
Candace, past few days I have been searching for words to describe my feeling for our up coming trip to Sarajevo, without success! And here your timely post just delivered the 2 magic words..anticipation without expectation!!! Thank you so much for sharing, and can’t wait for more.
Have a lovely lovely trip. 😙😙😙
Hello, dear Kar! Thank you so much for your wonderful comment here–I was thrilled to hear that I could help put words to how you were approaching your journey to Sarajevo. I loved reading about your time there in your email, and can’t wait to write more to you soon. As always, it’s such a blessing to be connected with you! <3
Here’s wishing you a wonderful time in Chile! I can’t wait to see the country through your eyes 🙂 xxx
Thank you so much, dear Veena! I’m just finishing up my first post of Chile sketches, and can’t wait to share it with you soon 🙂 xxx
Thank you for taking me all of the world! So good.
And thank *you*, Aurora! I adored following your journey in Oaxaca a month or two ago 🙂 <3
Hi Candace. Another awesome post! I can’t wait to see your work and wonderful words from Chile! I have just returned from a very relaxing, healing, inspiring journey in Mexico. It was beach and jungle. Paradise actually. We invested a lot of time relaxing, hiking to small pueblos in the area and soaking up the amazing nature that surrounded us. Sketching moments happened sporadically and not as often as I idealized.
Looking forward to your next post Candace!
Thank you so much for sharing about your recent journey to Mexico, Treava–it sounds incredible, and I love that it was both healing and inspiring for you. Also, please know I completely understand how sometimes, we don’t pull our sketchbooks out as often as we expected to on a trip. Sometimes I’ve found there are journeys where we’re simply meant to slow down and be still and open to the world around us–and it sounds like your time in Mexico was exactly that…a chance to just be open and breathe more deeply as the landscape inspired you. Thank you for sharing that with me here! <3
Hey Candace, loved your sketches as usual! I just wanted you to know that I read each & every post of yours. I have not been able to make much progress with my art, but I plan to change that soon.
Thank you so much for your kind comment, Devika! That truly meant a lot to me to hear 🙂