25/7: I guess, in a way, Grand Canyon is the closest thing to a holy place that a physical geographer can come. There is something so extremely non-human over it. Just to imagine how a small river has managed to dig such a deep scar into the bedrock – the time it has required – that all the other landscape altering processes has allowed the fluvial processes to do their job, without interrupting with earth-quakes and glaciers – it makes my head spin.
The utter force.
It makes it so clear just how tiny we are, in perspective, that the Earth was here long before us and will prevail long after we are gone. It gives me hope.
But, most of all, it is beautiful. So breath-takingly beautiful.
This was Vladimiro’s special place, and in the beginning we were all by ourselves on this brink of eternity. After a while, three youths arrived, but still it was quiet and so harmonious. Not at all the intense pressure from all other tourists that was so overwhelmingly present at all the more famous spots.
And sitting there, with the wind caressing my feet, watching the sun go down. The rocks changing colour from brown to orange and red, to purple and blue. It was incredible.
Grand Canyon is an incredible place. It really is.
Katja Malmborg 