I started to value the things that were not important for me early. These things I learned in Toastmasters. For example, I hate traveled early and enjoyed or have not enjoyed. Now I do not see surroundings only. I take into account the stories.
I see often on Facebook the pictures about friends' journeys to Buky canyon in Cherkassy region. I would like to share my observation as Toastmaster about it.
If I would be not Toastmaster I would say about the road to this place by one word: terrible. Really there are many bumps in the road. I would say "bad, terrible road. What are these people thinking? If you want to have visitors, make the road first!"
Now I think: "If the road to hell is always smooth, it should be paradise in village Buky because the road there is not royal!" I see the meaning in such sort of road. This is almost biblical story but on the contrary. Terrible road with many bumps to the special place.
I was were with the group of tourists. We were walking with the tour guide along canyon. A tour guide showed us rocks and called their names. Some rocks called after Kosaks and peasants lived nearby.
There were a woman with the daughter among the tourists. A girl was teenager. She was sad and serious and was busy by the phone most of the time. Suddenly she asked the tour guide about the name of one cliff. "This is without any name, call it as you want" answered the tour guide. A girl said "This is good. I like model in clay and call my figures. Mom, look at this rock. It looks like a dove." A woman said: "This is very similar to a dove. I see body, wins, tail. But where is a head?" "Yes, there is no head", calmly answered a girl and they went forward.
I heard this talk and thought: "A rock is named after killed dove without head? Probably this girl plays to much in Headless monster on her phone. Such picturesque landscape needs more romantic names and stories."
We were going further down canyon. Not rocks but big stones along the river had also the names. For instance The Hippo, because this stone was big and round. Goldfish just because goldfish. Who could call a stone for instance A Pike? And of course there was a stone called "Broken Heart" because there are many couples in love among the tourists. How can they stay calmly without the reminder of the end of love?
I asked our tour guide about the backgrounds of these stones' names because there was the difference between the names of rocks on Ukrainian manner and the names of stones. He said that there were no backgrounds. The stones' names were invented during last years when the fame came to Buky canyon. It was made just for the tourists for taking pictures.
I asked: "Can you imagine that hippo lives among the rocks?" "No," was the answer. "But who does live among the rocks? Only goats! But who would want to take picture with the goat?" I said: "There is the creature who lives in the rocks and there is literary background. This is a line of poetry by Maxim Gorky: "The foolish penguin shyly hiding his fat body in the rocks."
The weather was fine and sunny that day. We had picnic near the river. Everything was excellent. However it was a little crowded in the canyon. The length of canyon is a few kilometers. The problem was that the tourists were camping at the very beginning of the canyon.
I thought: there were many couples in love among the tourists. If it will be the cliff of Eternal Love giving eternal love to everyone who steps on the cliff at the end of canyon it would be less crowded. People who seek eternal love would go further. I could create more space for other people who had already found it. Only children and elderly people would stay at the beginning of canyon. I told it the tour guide.
"Eternal Love cliff at the very end of canyon?" he asked. "Probably NO because the idea about eternal love is already used by local guy who sells honey that gives men's power to men and eternal love to women. However I like your idea of making the story for sending the tourists to the end of canyon."
Dear friends, I like the quote by Joan Rolling "There's always room for a story that can transport people to another place." And I agree. This quote is not about fantasy or flying on the broom. It is about real life. I wish you, friends, travel much, explore new territories and make the world better by telling the stories.