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Day of the Dead

There’s probably something you look for immediately on your first day exploring a new destination. Maybe it’s the most interesting museums, delicious street food, local markets; everyone has their go-to travel highlights. As for me, after a long journey to a new city, I often steer myself toward the places where people rest—eternally, that is.

A morbid fascination? Not really. I certainly mean no disrespect to the dead in my enjoyment of the world’s cemeteries. There’s just something about them; all essentially the same, but so different in their designs. Some grandiose, others modest or even run down. Some orderly and geometrically precise, others rambling and maze-like. Recoleta in Buenos Aires, and Pere Lachaise in Paris, like small cities in their own right. Some to honour a loyal canine companion, others to commemorate national tragedies.

No matter the details, I am not spooked by cemeteries. Perhaps because I have successfully avoided The Walking Dead and many of its kin. Instead, I am immediately calmed as I walk along these silent paths. No one power walks or blares music here. The day moves along slowly and quietly, exactly as it should in a place of rest. Sometimes the living need such places, too.

Amy is our longtime Sounder editor who spent last year wandering through some international cemeteries… among other travels.

No one power walks or blares music here. The day moves along slowly and quietly, exactly as it should in a place of rest.