Our weekend in Chile had its moments. And I use the word moments in loosest of terms, being everywhere has moments, as time and space HAVE to have moments. There were 8 of us to start: Sarah, a girl from Tariha, Bolivia. Rachel, the 2nd grade teacher. Danielle, the 6th and 7th grade teacher. South American Danielle, who is Danielle’s sister here in Bolivia. And finally, Drew, Scott, Brent, and myself, who are the current owners of this Blog-site.
So the details are as follows:
Moment 1: Danielle and the Bolivian Danielle didn’t get to go. Before we left, American Danielle got her bag stolen at the Bus terminal, which had her passport and money and camera and clothes and everything, basically, that she needed for the trip. Chile is one of those countries that requires passports at the border, so she had to stay back in La Paz. Naturally, the other Danielle, had to stay back with her (by virtue of having the same name). It was quite weird leaving 2 friends behind, but it had to be done. We had a destination.
Moment 2: Our bus-ride was extremely quite. No one wanted to say something insensitive to the person “partially” responsible for the losing of Danielle’s bag. This person reads our blog, so again, I have to be careful not to say anything insensitive. You can make your guessesof who it was, though, because we’d love to hear them.
Moment 3: We drove by Volcan Sajama, the highest mountain in Bolivia stretching to about 6,500 meters. During this time, Rachel was reading a magazine in Spanish and decided to translate EVERYTHING that had any sort of humor to us in English. She had good intentions, but we were driving past SAJAMA at the moment.
Moment 4: Arica, our destination in Chile which is on the coast, turned out to be sort of in the desert. The city itself was a little bit nicer, but if you looked anywhere to the north, south, or east, it just looked like desert. This desert “es el desierto mas seco en todo del mundo”. I think it’s called the Atacama desert, and it only rains there about twice a year, maybe less.
Moment 5: The four of us guys slept on the beach, and played a lot of Frisbee. It was relaxing, and a perfect temperature.
Moment 6, 7, and 8: I don’t want anyone to get in trouble, and I don’t know exactly who reads this, but let’s just say these were some good moments.
Moment 8: Someone, and I don’t want to mention their name, played a round or two or three of Black Jack at the Arica Casino. This person, won a round or two or three at the table, and left with enough money to pay for a day or two or three, or the whole trip. I know, it’s disappointing to hear that someone was gambling, but it has to be said.
Moment 9: The girls got a bit boring, so we decided to leave the city of Arica (the only real way of escaping them) and head out to the east of Sajama and camp somewhere. This area is also desert and super dry.
Moment 10: Drew needed to go to the bathroom on the bus, so he went. It was a number 2, in the back, a good distance from us. Immediately, the guy who serves the food and takes care of the people, came up to Drew in a very serious tone and told him the toilet in the back of the bus is only for peeing. You could tell he was really upset at Drew. Drew said something about how there should be a sign then. The bus driver said no sign is needed, the only thing that is needed is for a person to use their head a little. Drew sat there quietly as he lectured him. He finally left after a few minutes of this. Then after a few more minutes, he returned to lecture him again, only to leave again, and then return one more time…and then leave.
Moment 11: We asked the bus driver to let us out when he started through this canyon-type area. He was a bit surprised and told us that there was nothing here. No food, lodging, or anything. We told him that it was perfect.
Moment 12: We found the most gorgeous spot in the canyon. We climbed up to the top, and had a great view of Sajama and the twin peaks directly behind it. Brent climbed up a rock wall to get to the top, as the rest of us found a little bit easier of routes, by-passing the ever so dangerous top of the canyon. We set up camp in a little dried up stream that was all sand, and made a fire and ate all of the food that we had brought (mostly Scott’s). There was a native that walked by us earlier and told us not to go to far down the canyon (about 6K) because it is a place where people go crazy, and return crazy. At least that’s what I understood from what he was telling us. He also told us of a Donkey/Ass that wanders this area who has the head of a woman. We stayed away from the area that makes people go crazy, and unfortunately never saw the donkey that looks like a woman. Those would have been moments 13 and 14. Instead,
Moment 13: We waited on the side of the road for 3 hours, in a desert, trying to get a ride back to El Alto. No one would pick us up. Finally a min-bus did.
Well, that was our trip. Not nearly as exciting as I had hoped for, but extremely relaxing. It was a good way to spend thanksgiving break. I could tell the difference between Chile and Bolivia right away. I could tell we were no longer in a 3rd world country. It was a minor difference compared to how we live our lives back in the states, but it dawned on me again how hard it will be to adjust back to the conveniences that the states have to offer. I don’t want to adjust back, but I can only imagine that time in the states will change me as the hustle of American life causes a stress that I wish to never return to. The issue of poverty, while still apparent in the states, still finds a way to haunt me daily here as the gap between rich and poor is gigantic, and the idea of the middle class seems to be missing altogether. All I can do is to pray that my time here will be a part of me that never leaves, regardless of the pressures that American society will soon throw at me.
Question of this Blog: Who do you think was partially responsible for the loss of Danielle’s bag and utter destruction of her thanksgiving weekend?
