I Have Seen Marvels, A Journey to Paraguay 1630
By Kathy Keeler
A glimpse of an experience distant in both time and space.
In 1630, a Spanish aristocrat is given an opportunity to travel by sea to Paraguay.
As a youngster, Doña Inés of Plasencia, Spain, dreams of adventure and travel and swoons when she hears tales of exotic lands. She marries Don Carlos, a prominent count, when she is only 15 years old, and those aspirations are swallowed by her obligations as a wife, mother, and, eventually, grandmother.
After 43 years of marriage, she finds herself a “sheltered noblewoman,” one who has never traveled on the open sea, but she still longs to see the world. Finally, an opportunity presents itself: Don Carlos is compelled to travel to Paraguay to deliver priceless family heirlooms to his nephew, Don Luis Felipe, a Jesuit priest. Doña Inés convinces her reluctant husband to take her along on the trip, calculated to take about a year.
Despite her anxieties, Doña Inés embraces her chance to explore with an infectious gusto: “I will not live forever; no one does . . . It is not for me to determine—God will take me to Heaven when He chooses, which is not a fate to fear—but while I can, I want these experiences. New foods, new fragrances, exotic landscapes.”
Take the voyage with Doña Inés by way of her journal as she writes of her experiences and captures her impressions through her drawings.
In 1630, a Spanish aristocrat is given an opportunity to travel by sea to Paraguay.
As a youngster, Doña Inés of Plasencia, Spain, dreams of adventure and travel and swoons when she hears tales of exotic lands. She marries Don Carlos, a prominent count, when she is only 15 years old, and those aspirations are swallowed by her obligations as a wife, mother, and, eventually, grandmother.
After 43 years of marriage, she finds herself a “sheltered noblewoman,” one who has never traveled on the open sea, but she still longs to see the world. Finally, an opportunity presents itself: Don Carlos is compelled to travel to Paraguay to deliver priceless family heirlooms to his nephew, Don Luis Felipe, a Jesuit priest. Doña Inés convinces her reluctant husband to take her along on the trip, calculated to take about a year.
Despite her anxieties, Doña Inés embraces her chance to explore with an infectious gusto: “I will not live forever; no one does . . . It is not for me to determine—God will take me to Heaven when He chooses, which is not a fate to fear—but while I can, I want these experiences. New foods, new fragrances, exotic landscapes.”
Take the voyage with Doña Inés by way of her journal as she writes of her experiences and captures her impressions through her drawings.
Paperback Books
$11.99
ASIN: B0BT17WWYB
ISBN: 979-8370411991
Book Length: 150-320 Pages
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