We haven't always had a fascination for obscure places, not until we visited the Balkans anyway. But the thing is once you've been to a place it doesn't seem so obscure at all, and it certainly isn't obscure to the people living in it.
Obscurity is really just a mask for fear of the unknown. We know little about the countries farthest from our own and so we perpetuate myths based on what we hear and read, based on the country's history, its past or its political climate. But times changes, and normal people are just normal people going about their lives. Landscapes have the power to take your breath away; they know no borders or bounds. Boundaries may shift around the mountain but the mountain never moves.
Fear of the unknown is the most illogical fear; how can you be afraid of something you don't know?
Slowly, once we realised that a country's image doesn't necessarily reflect its day to day life, or its beautiful scenery or its hospitable people, our curiosity began to grow. Instead of saying, "We can't go there…” we started asking, "Why not?"
Suddenly nowhere seems off-limits, nowhere seems out of bounds or confined by borders. We have an insatiable desire to lift the veil of obscurity, to see a country for what it really is, to experience it in our own way with our own eyes and tear down the brick walls and bureaucracy that hold us back.
I guess you could say that the adventure bug has bitten us, hard, or I guess you could say it feels more like stepping off a funfair ride; even once you’re stopped, part of you feels like you’re still moving.
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