seguir las estrellas

I've found the stars.

The first things that attracted me to Antofagasta for my semester abroad was a two sentence excerpt from the location description of the UCN (Universidad Católica del Norte): "With the clearest skies in the world, with no more then 20 cloudy days in a year, this region of Chile is internationally recognized as an ideal location for astronomical observation. A number of national and international observatories and some of the world's largest telescopes are found here."

I distinctly remember reading this one cloudy morning in Texas, sitting alone at the table in the lobby of the guys dorm. My study abroad application and final decision on location deadlines were approaching rapidly and I had very little time and resources to do sufficient research. Some of the best stargazing in the world would have to suffice.

Personally, I have nearly no experience with formal astronomy. I've never taken an astronomy course at university, nor did I take one in highschool. The closest astronomy classroom experience I can recall is an elementary school science class with my dad (sup home school days). I remember a large foam ball illuminated by flashlight in my pitch dark room and some really big numbers that confused me. Then in middle school I once went on a field trip to a planetarium (double props to the good old home school days and benefits) and distinctly remember the mystical constellations ellucidated and spinning around my head, explained by some smart guy.

Nevertheless, these "balls of gas burning billions of miles away" (Pumba) have always fascinated me on a deeper level and never fail to stir up that child-like awe and wonder within; and often in retrospect, I find the stars (and incredible night skies in general) preserving my most nostalgic and vivid memories--kind of like bookmarks of my recollection.

Of more significance, they´ve now served as my life compass on more than one occasion; this is the second time they´ve brought me to South America. October of 2007 I found myself sitting on the DTS (first YWAM school) classroom floor, my heavy head in my hands, five minutes before the outreach decision deadline. I had to write my name on the white board, under one of the titles: Brasil or South Korea, committing to one month of service overseas...and I was perfectly balanced on the fence. I had a list of practical reasons why Korea made sense (so many past connections and relationships), but my heart just wasn´t in it and I didn´t want to spend my month overseas in the city. Brasil sounded fun and exotic, but looked potentially similar to my experience in the Dominican Republic, was really expensive and I really didn´t feel called there. ¨Yeah, I guess Korea seems more practical...and I have so many relational ties to Korea in my life...¨ was the best thing I could come up with. But I stepped outside on the lawn to have a moment of silence and clear my head before picking up the blood-red Expo marker. And there in the silent texas sky dazzled the stars, underwhich I´d spent many a night gazing and contemplating, relating, worshipping and listening to their Creator...and at last came the voice of peace and clarity: ¨You won´t see the stars in Korea.¨ Images of the two Korean outreach locations, light-polluted Seoul and Asan, quickly shuffled through my mind. It was enough to step out in faith on...and I was filled with joy and peace of mind the moment I finished writing my name on the board beneath Brasil. And the naked Brasilian skies did not disappoint. I know I was supposed to be on that outreach.

Anyway, jumping out of Brasil, eastern Texas and Asheville planetariums, I´m now in Antofagasta, Chile--entirely satisfied with my second decision to follow the stars. Ironically, however, these renouned southern skies remain hidden from me, robbed of their glory by the fixed city lights. Antofagasta is a city of 300,000 persons with enough city lights to fascilitate their extravagant night life, and unfortunately offers no city transit outside of the city (as there is nothing but lonely desert). When I finally made it into the desert town of San Pedro de Atacama, 2 months ago--where everyone raves about the unrivaled night skies--I found a full-moon in the sky, which made for an equally unique and surreal experience in the open desert, yet once again trumped my brilliant stars and foiled my hunt. I was beginning to wonder if these extraordinary heavens really existed outside of my phosphorescent halo that I couldn´t seem to escape.

4 weeks ago, I escaped...

Over a long weekend (who knows, another random Chilean holiday with thursday and friday off), May 21-24, myself and 3 other intercambios/foreign-exchangers headed 12 hours south to the joined cities of La Serena and Coquimbo and Valle de Elqui (Elqui Valley). These are beach cities that are pretty dead this time of year, but normally packed throughout the summer as the centralized hot vacation spots. The two cities have a very unique climate, due to their coastal location at the mouth of a valley and river marking the start of the Atacama desert. The cities are nealy always cloudy and foggy this time of year, with a very wet chill in the air...a pleasant change from my consistent climate in Antofagasta. However, directly to the east of La Serena, working your way through Valle de Elqui, you find the clearest skies on earth as well as a host of observatories, some of which house the largest telescopes in the world.

We spent the first day in the two cities: perusing the markets (buying some delicious, hand-mad/artesanal candies and whatnot) walking along the coastline--observed a crazy sea-gull vs. pelican feeding frenzy in the sea, checked out the fisherman´s wharf and fish market, ate some incredible seafood empanadas, explored an old, abandoned military fortress in the rocks of the coast by night, and found a late-night reggae bar (Babylon) with live marley-tunes that carried us into early morning and then to our hostal. But first thing in the morning the adventures began! We departed through the fog and hazy streets to the nearest Korlaet, the Ingles or Food Lion of Chile, calculating and buying all the food supplies and rations to get us through two nights of camping in Valle Elqui (less than 10U$ a person for hot dogs *and all appropriate dressings, cookies, a mountain of fresh bread and rolls, crackers, cheese, ham, apples, a box of wine, toilet paper and a few other odds and ends). Done! From the trusty Korlaet we regathered in the hostel for a minute to distrubute and pack up the goodies and then headed to the bus terminal.

On the 1-hour drive east we passed a beautiful resevoir and little town, Puclaro (literally translated Pureclear, or very clear), maintained by a huge dam. This lake owned up to its name, showing off the clearest fresh water I´ve ever seen. It looked like it belonged in the Carribean much more than the driest desert in the world. Unfortunately, the bus didn´t stop so some snap shots of wind surfers from the bus window had to suffice. About 30 vineyards and 20 minutes passed quickly before our arrival in Vicuña. We spent the afternoon there, in a very interesting entomology museum, more street markets and the Capel factory. If you´ve been following this blog at all you´ve definitely heard me mention Pisco (Chile´s mascot drink, a liquor distinct to Chile and Peru). It´s made from a particular grape grown exclusively throughout this valley and is quite tasty. The biggest pisco company in Chile, Capel, runs its distillery out of this town, Vicuña, and offers several daily tours for less than two dollars. Very fun, very interesting.

By the end of the tour, the sun was getting low in the sky and we still had a lot of road in front of us. We caught a taxi back to the center of town where we found some empanadas and boarded the next bus headed east, further into the valley. A half hour later we were dropped off in Montegrande, a tiny town that offers a large church, grassy park with a dry fountain,some little mini markets and a Gabriella Mistral museum. This little town is on the map because it was the birth place and home of Chile´s nobel laureate-winning poet, Gabriella Mistral. But we didn´t stay. From here we found a little dirt road with a sign for Cochiguaz, our destination. We split up, 2 and 2, loaded down with our packs and headed down the road with our left thumbs greeting all passing vehicles. Sure enough, within 15 mintues we were cruising in the back seat of a large SUV with a nice young couple from Santiago.

Cochiguaz was perfect! It´s too small to call a town or village, basically just a congregation point of hippies and

country Chilean folk. The location offers one minimart (actually just a window) where you can buy basic necessities, cans of tuna, crackers, beverages, batteries, etc; two restaurants; a hostal; a large-house that functions as a hotel; 2 campgrounds; and Cancana Observatory. We found a campsite in the forest *we were the only people camping in Cochiguaz*, along ``the magic river´´ and quickly set up our tents as the first stars appeared over head. I conveniently spent some time inside the tent, unpacking/repacking things, rolling out the sleeping bag, finding myself a snack, etc--just long enough for night to set in and the curtain of heaven to be lifted. Oh boy. I was satisfied with the sight above my head outside the tent. ..Umm...hmm...and now that I've sat here for about 5 minutes contemplating how to describe it, I'm pretty sure I will leave it undescribed with words. Simply know that it was by far the most incredible sky I've ever seen, the milky way perfectly distinguished from horizon to horizon. We were many miles away from any light source and it was the weekend of the new moon--at last I believed the location advertisement I had read one year prior.

Four hours later, we entered the observatory, Cancana, for a 3-part, two-hour tour of the night skies. First part

was outside, with the guide and the most incredible lazer pointer I've ever seen (maybe the highlight of the evening...hand-held, green lazer beam that shoots "maybe infinitely" into the night sky to pin point individual stars, constellations and galaxys to the naked eye). He explained the history of a few constellations, the rotation of the night sky, and tought us what black constellations are--random black patches in the milky way (which looks kind of like fog in outerspace) where there aren't any stars, which form wild shapes and patterns (i.e. a serpent and a llama). Second part was in the downstairs of the observatory where we received a slide show presentation of crazy hubbel photographs and more crazy information about how freaking tiny we are and how massive and scary the universe is. Lastly, we spent an hour in the dome, behind the lens of the telescope. The highlights included saturn (perfectly visible ring), the sombrero galaxy, and an extremely old star (don't remember it's name) that has probably already died, that is, exploded as a supernova, but is yet to be observed on earth as we're waiting for the light to arrive.

I left that observatory so incredibly satisfied...immediately deciding that I could not sleep under a tent roof with a clear conscious, despite the near freezing temperature. Two of my companions lasted until about 1:45 or 2am gazing under the chilling skies and the third until about 4am, when I think I drifted off for a couple hours (oops). I remember quitting the count of shooting stars once I reached ten (one shooter actually startled me *I think I ducked too* by it's incredible size and brilliance right over me head...I think I smelled it burning) and that was about half-way through the night. WOW, a night to be remembered.

Hmm...wrapping things up and moving right along. The next day was fabulous checking out Chochiguaz and its surroundings. I climbed a big rock (apparently disrespecting the sacred stone) with ancient petroglyphs (rock carvings/markings), which supposedly marks a magnetic center in the universe, this particular one being a sexual energy portal or something like that. Hmmm, I must say I felt the same rush and stoke I feel any time I sexcessfully climb a rock or complete a bouldering problem. Fun stuff. Anyway, we hitchhiked out of there midday, had a picnic-style lunch in the grass of the park back in Montgrande and hitchhiked to another little town a few miles further down the main road, Pisco Elqui. There we found a steller campground along the river again, in a valley outside of the city, at the foot of a very large cerro (desert hill...definitely a mountain by Appalachian standards). We explored the town in the early evening and then sat in the house with the campground owners and chatted about, or just listened to all the stories about the aliens that had visited that valley and that very campground throughout the years as witnessed by our dear elderly host. Goodness I wish I remembered his name. We eventually got out of there with very grumbly tumblys, started ourselves a legit fire, and thoroughly enjoyed some hot dogs. Later that night I did some more stargazing under skies nearly as epic as the presceding eve and had a quality conversation with Galia (my good mexican-hippie friend and fellow intercambio) about religion, Jesus and spirituality.

The next morning brought the second highlight of the trip for me, after the stars of course. I woke up rather early and set out for the peak of the cerro we were sleeping beside. It was Sunday morning, the sun was rising over this tranquil, lush valley and I was ascending a mountain alone (concerning the presence of other humans). The geography of this valley is incredible. Understand that it is on the rim of the driest desert in the word, yet is itself a valley with a river in the bottom of it, therefore full of life, vegetation and particularly a LOT of vineyards cultivating the famous grapes for pisco. Yet, all the surrounding desert peaks and land formations are completely dry and desolate, making for a radical, unique contrast.

This hike ended up being much more intense, long and STEEP, than I anticipated, making the pay off at the top all the more rewarding, where a large white flag awaited my arrival. I spent about an hour on the peak alone, raptured in my sunday morning celebration (the best I've experienced in Chile) before I began my decent--this took less than half the time of my ascent because it was so steep and the earth/stones were so loose that I literally skied down over half of it on my feet. I arrived back at camp around 1130, right when my travel campanions were waking up, perfect time to start packing things up and start our journey back home (after I took the COLDEST shower of my life in the riverside bathroom...ice headache washing my hair).

We caught a cheap bus back in town that took us straight to La Serena (our entry city on the coast). And I thoroughly enjoyed the ride back sitting next to two gentlemen from some little town in North Carolina by the name of Boone. Yes, that would be the same Boone that is about an hour away from my house in Asheville. One guy was a recent masters grad from Appalachian State (touring Chile on a Rotary Scholarship) and the other is a professor there...yes, the world is incredibly small. We arrived back in La Serena late afternoon, relaxed in a nifty japanese garden, chilled with some condors, deer, llamas and other fun animals in a free zoo, ate some num nums and cought our bus out of the terminal at 10:30pm (it arrived an hour late) for the 12 hour overnight haul to Antofagasta. So satisfied and content...I'm LOVING Chile!

At last I've gotten my butt into gear and uploaded some photos onto my flickr page, which there is another link to at the top of this page in the left column. All the surfing pictures are from a pro surf competition (WQS World tour) I went to two weeks ago in Arica (10 hours in the opposite direction from Antofagasta, border city with Perú). This trip was equally as thrilling as my La Serena/Coquimbo/Valle de Elqui adventures, but I will not be sharing it now. Hope all you northern hemisphere folk are enjoying your summer! Love and miss you dearly, and can't believe I'll be seeing many of you within 6 weeks--I touch United Statian soil in less than 6 weeks (Miami, FL august 1st).

You know you live in the driest desert in the world when (inspired by personal experience):

1-You hang your wet clothes on the clothes line after sunset, 9pm, and find them dry at 9am the next morning.

2-Large portions of sidewalk beneath streetlights and overhanging trees are painted white with bird poop on the few streets that don't get washed by street cleaning crews (gives a whole new meaning to the term "rain shower" doesn't it?).

3-You walk out of your way on campus to pass a man mowing THE patch of unnatural grass in hopes of catching a nostalgic whiff of freshly cut grass.

sentirme como en casa

I'm still around...and still living la vida Chilena.  Conveniently, I have done some traveling since my last post--Iquique, "the Miami of South America," according to some.  However, we'll leave that for another time, as I believe I'm about 2 and 1/2 months overdue for a post regarding my home front.

Despite common belief, or perhaps just some floating rumors, I am in Chile as a foreign exchange student...enrolled full-time at the Universidad Católica del Norte--here for five months taking (mostly journalism) classes in a spanish-immersion environment alongside the local university students.  Fun stuff.  This is a part of my studies at UNC Asheville, running parallel with both my spanish and communications/journalism majors.  **This is not related to YWAM (but check out Tyler's hot, new webpage), nor is it me traveling around South America/the world on sabbatical...although, I must say it often feels like the latter.

A slice of my campus--from the road (in front of my house)

In short, I've found the university to be significantly easier and more laid back than what I'm used to in the states--partially due to the fact that I'm only taking four classes, two of which are first year.  For example, while last week marked the half-way point in the semester, I'm yet to have an extensive exam or test in any of my classes, have had one quiz, one essay (film critique), two group projects and a dozen or so fun photography assignments.  Thankfully, however, my program and geographical location forces culture/language immersion in and out of the classroom...making every daily routine and activity a learning, growing and educational experience.  And I'm keeping myself quite busy.

The exceptionally hospitable, open and relational Chilean culture (generally speaking) has brought me a host of new friends, acquaintances and social outlets, perhaps rivaling those of my circle back home in number and certainly in diversity.  Apart from my scheduled classes monday-friday, a typical day may consist of any of the following activities: a tennis match on the campus' clay courts (doubles against my chilean tennis mates or a singles match against my fellow gringo-Suheil Shaikh, CA.); an epic surf session at la puntilla (20 min. walk from my house); dinner at a friends house (generally followed by some pisco or "chela" and a guitar on the front porch); a pick-up game of competitive beach volleyball; or chilling in the sand/chatting and swimming with friends at the beach.  Weekends are another story!

A surf buddy shredding a clean line at la puntilla.

If I'm not traveling to another city, distant mountain or national/regional park, baseball keeps me busy most of the weekend. Yes, baseball in Chile! I was shocked too (especially after being informed that it doesn't exist here). One ordinary night, my first week here, I was leaving the campus at about

eight oclock.  As I exited through the large-gated entrance, the nighttime guard approached me in search of a flame for his cigarette, only to find that not only did I lack a lighter or match, but a chilean accent as well.  After establishing I was United Statian, the first question he asked was what sports I played.  Fortunately for us both, the answer was baseball, as I soon learned that he is the coach for the team at the University, and I received a personal invitation to the first practice of the season, starting three weeks later.  Although it's a "University team," it has much more of a rec-ball feel, with practice once a week (Saturday 12pm) and games on Sunday (10 or 12).  I'm having a blast, finally putting on another uni. However, I must say, the three-year hiatus since my glory days in highschool is evident.  I went way too long without swinging a bat.  Or, specifically, without facing a live picture in game mode. But, as a team we've done alright, with a current winning record of 2 and 1 (gulp, and the 1 loss is mine...not a good way to start my pitching career).

Falta Césped: the local ballfield--all dirt

I've also been spending time on the field during the weekdays, helping out with the highschool team that practices a couple times a week, leading their practices with a team mate from the University.  Just putting on a pair of cleats and being on the field again is so refreshing and nostalgic.  Now this is the part where I'm supposed to mention the smell of the freshly cut grass, the screaming fa...*screech*  I can't quite go that far.  Because, in fact, there is no grass.  This is one more of the funny, little, daily reminders that I live in the driest desert in the world (I'm gonna start a list).  So, yes, it's baseball, exactly as I know it...but it doesn't lack the chilean/foreign flavor that motifs all aspects of my life down here.

At the beginning of my time in Antofagasta, I was convinced I was on a brief vacation or just passing through another beautiful country.  My mental and emocional disposition was in hyper-go, while-offer-lasts mode, exhausting moment after moment and filling every block of time with Chile stuff.  That was a lot of fun, expensive, tiring and restless.  A couple weeks ago I actually realized  that I'm here for five months, and this must become my home.  Chilling in the house and reading after dinner a couple nights a week is quite alright.  My goodness, it's actually down right lovely and I had no idea how much I was missing it (thanks Hemingway and Brother Lawrence)!  Things are finally slowing down into "real-life" time and I'm thinking.  This is a very good thing. "In all things, intent"...I hope to one day see that in the rearview mirror of my life, and slowing down and just living here is a step in that direction.

My life box: The bedside comfort-zone and pensive corner.

Antofagasta has become my home.  I will say, it took some time and tailoring, 6-8 weeks, but it fits well and makes mighty comfy.

You know you live in the driest desert in the world when (inspired by personal experience):

I-You hang your wet clothes on the clothes line after sunset, 9pm, and find them dry at 9am the next morning.

arena y sol

Alright, we're going with one more travel post, just because they're so much fun and I've got material. Myself and nearly all my fellow foreign exchange students (12) spent Samana Santa (that is, Easter weekend) in the renowned San Pedro de Atacama.  San Pedro is the geographical bookmark of northern Chile--yet shockingly small in physical dimensions and population considering its international accolade. It's a simple town in the middle of the desert (picking up on the theme around here yet?) comprised of a few dozen hostels, a couple nicer hotels and a bunch of restaurants, pubs and travel/tour agencies.  Oh yeah and...por sopuesto...a large catholic church in the center. Essentially, the only piece of nature it has to offer is a lot of sand and a lot of sun, oh! and unrivaled night-skies due to minimal light pollution and the clearest skies in the world.  But the town itself is quite basic and simple.  So, what's all the hype and buzz about this San Pedro?

Volcán Licancabúr

First-off: San Pedro is one of the only slices of civilization in the heart of the driest desert in the world.  This fact alone makes for a worth while visit--epic no? Beyond that fun fact, the greater San Pedro area is home to some of the most extraordinary natural phenomena in the world, including salt flats, salt lakes, geysers, active volcanos and hot springs--all within a few hours via mini-bus, jeep, horseback or bike. My personal favorite experience was walking atop the world's second-largest salt flat, Salar de Atacama--741,313 acres of salt.  One of the strangest natural substances I've ever stood on. 

Salar de Atacama (salt flat)

From a distance, you think you're looking at snow. Standing on it feels like ice. Then digging into it with your toes and fingers feels like sand, becoming wetter and less substantial as you go deeper...and the field stretches on and on--quite surreal-like. The salt lakes were equally entertaining and baffling. After about a one-hour trek, bumpy and rugged through the desert sand and pitiful grass-like shrubbery, our tour bus arrived at Leguna Cejar. This is a rather large, natural lake with a salt content 3x that of the ocean you're farmiliar with. Quite the phenomenon, I really don't get it to be honest.  However, it made an epic swimming adventure--quite the chilly one at that due to its subterranean-fed water sources/natural springs and extreme desert climate, around 0

degrees celsius at night.  Highly concentrated salt content in a large body of water = effortless

floating upon the surface (like the Dead Sea), ice cube in a beverage style.  Crazy fun!  It was also fun looking at my skin after exiting the lake and air drying in the sun, as the salt clung to my skin and hair doing me up like a poorly dressed crépe. Thankfully Orlando, our tour-guide, was prepared with about five milk jugs filled with fresh water (aqua dulce) to rinse.

El Tatio at 13,780ft above the sea

The other equally impressive tour I went on was Los Géisers del Tatio. Heh, a lot of geysers in a place called Tatio.  This tour is particularly fun because you get to wake up at 3:30am (*3 o'clock if you have a tent, sleeping bag and backpack to pack-up) for a 4am departure.  It's a two hour haul before you arrive at Tatio--a national park in the Andes mountains over 13,500ft above sea level, boasting more than 80 active geysers.  The idea is, arrive at sunrise for the big show: water spouting from holes in the ground at 86 degrees Celsius (186 farenheit. wowzers!), while the air temperature is usually between -10 and 0 degrees Celsius (15-32 F.). And quite the show it was!  After a tour around the geyser field with our guide, we sat down for a nice breakfast: a hard boiled egg (cooked on the spot in geyser water), ham sandwich (that's what they call bread and butter with a couple slices of ham...sometimes cheese), and coffee or tea. ¡Rico, at 4,200 meters above the sea!

After breakfast we bathed in natural, hot-mineral springs next to the geysers, and enjoyed a slow return journey with various viewpoint stops: herds of wild llamas and vicuña (umm, mix a llama, white-tail deer and gazelle =/ ish), lakes, an indigenous village, and other fun stuff.

Okay, but the fun part came after the scheduled stops.  My good mexican friend Raul and I asked the bus driver to drop us off near Valle de Guatín in the middle of the desert (with our packs and supplies), about 15 miles outside of San Pedro.  The previous day, a guy in San Pedro told us we could probably camp out there in the wilderness and survive the night because there's some protection from the cold wind (his name was Jesus...it's gotta be safe!).  But it was noon when the bus driver dropped us off, so we decided to make our way north along the road in search of a small, bathing creek we had heard about and hoped was within a few miles north.

After hiking about two miles down the road (mostly uphill), the midday sun was hot overhead and my pack was getting heavy, with nothing but sand, rocks and heat-crawling asphalt on the horizon...I was getting slightly uncomfortable and kept thinking of Fievel Goes West...until a little red pickup pickup appeared on the horizon behind us.  After a bit of smooth talking (that is, as smooth as a gringo can speak spanish) Raul and I were cruising across Chilean soil in the back of a pickup, the first of many more "hacer el dedo" (hitch hiking) trips to come.

After nearly ten minutes in the back of the truck (and we were cooking), we saw a cluster of vehicles parked ahead, off the road a bit and near a cliff that dropped into a valley...where we found our oasis!  Some less than graceful scrambling and sweating brought us to clear waters and a friendly chilean family.  We found the local spot, Puti Pobre, at the bottom of a rocky gorge, about one mile below the tourist swimming hole, Puti Tama, which charges a $15US entrance fee.  At this point we were feeling pretty good about ourselves, particularly after a long, cool swim, followed by a chilean cerveza and a couple more hard-boiled eggs from our new Chilean friends--a truly perfect afternoon.  We headed out several hours before sundown, in case we didn't have the same luck of transportation for our return trip.  Yet, sure enough, after another mile or two on foot, an affable pickup came to a halt.

Did I mention the cactus were large?

Raul and myself were feeling quite unstoppable by the time we reached the valley...amped about our succesful afternoon and ready to explore the valley of gigantic cactus and find a place near the rocky-river canyon to spend the night.  But unfortunately, it didn't end so well.  After 30 minutes or so in the breathtaking valley, two very suspicious middle-aged men appeared out of nowhere and passed us by dropping some unsettling comments.  After a second encounter with the two and more disconcerting vibes, Raul and I decided against spending the night in the foreign valley and made a quick, yet arduous exit, scaling the cliffs out of the canyon.  We made a b-line in the direction we hoped lead to the road back to San Pedro, our shadows getting longer by the minute.  After less than a mile of rocky scrambling, we were relieved to find the road not far below us.  Fifteen minutes later, we were even more relieved to find two friendly German's, Gwendalf and a name a didn't understand (something like Micah...but not), in an extended cab pickup.  They were headed to San Pedro of course and took us the whole way.

UGGH!  Yes, incredible day. Great trip, memories and experiences.  But it will now always be the trip that was ALMOST perfect...Sometimes I don't get locals, or whatever those two were.

hair-like salt crystal-formation en Salar de Atacama

geyser shy

Puti Pobre: our oasis

La Casa del Sol Naciente

camping: hippie-hostel style

Other highlights of the trip included midnight sandbording (think snowboardingt on huge dunes) under a full-moon in the famous Valle de la Luna, and a fascinating museum covering over a thousand years of the region's history with ancient indian artifacts and tools.

Thanks for reading.  I'll get back to you soon!

el camino

Considering I spent a week on the road in northern Chile and southern Peru (plus the following easter weekend/semana santa in San Pedro de Atacama), it seems appropriate to include one more travel post.

Let's spend some time in Peru...

Cuzco schoolyard: i spy blue

As previously mentioned (no hay palabras post), I spent a lot of time cruising through southern Peru in various tour buses. While this means of "new country orientation" falls way short of the prefered

 backpacking/camping/hitch hiking option, it proved to be an excellent alternative on all levels...practicality, time-efficiency, cost, and cultural exposure. Plus, I enjoyed a healthy portion of the latter means of tranport the ensuing weekend in the desert.

So how about that Peruvian culture?

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Peruvian people offer the most diverse and particularly distinct

culture I've encountered in my short traveling career. Actually, the image of the buses above offers a pretty good projection of the culture. I'll settle with colorful and resolute. A motley sample of alpaca sweaters, scarves and hats, new foods and lots of coca leaf products greeted us at the border city of Arica (still Chilean soil)--where we met our first speed bump and "veered off" our charted course.  No wait, we were forced off by the Peruvian border officials.  *NOTE: Mexicans need a visa to enter Peru.  Quite inconvenient for myself and my two travel companions...particularly Galia who is in fact Mexicana.  "Denied...but not defeated."Unfortunately it was Sunday, which meant the consulate was closed. Therefore, we explored the city and found a small seaside mountain (el morro) to climb with a flat bald peak that offered a museum and war memorial of the historical battle of Arica between Chile and Peru, Cristo del Paz (a 

huge Rio de Janeiro-style Jesus statue overlooking the sea with arms wide open), as well as an incredible view of the whole city with snow- capped Andes on the far eastern horizon.  The sun soon fell into the sea and we descended back into the city and found some pizza (yup, same stuff you eat), then a cheap hostel.  Okay...I gotta start speeding things up, forget the details. After spending all day waiting outside the consulate (think DMV...but double the red tape), we finally crossed the border at 5ish monday afternoon.  Our unfortunate, yet enjoyable, setback meant dropping the 1 day and night stay we planned for Puno (to check out Lake Titicaca) and booking it straight through to Cuzco...but the 20ish hours at 99kph behind tinted glass gave me a great survey of southern Peru.  We started off in the northern rim of the Atacama Desert (same desert I live in in Antofagasta), we're talking sand...and rock and not much else of anything.  But most of it was really hilly and mountainous with occasional daunting cliffs and bulgy peaks--rugged/uniquely beautiful landscape.  After hours of lunar desolation I caught glimpses of vegetation here and there, between my intermittent REM, and before I knew it the sun was rising over lake Titicaca on the eastern horizon.  We were entering Puno.  I spent all of about 45 mintues there, in a bus terminal, too tired to barter with each bus agency and unaccustomedly acepted the offer of the first screaming man that found me, "Cusco...CUSCO!!!"...which was actually before I got my bags out from under the bus (they're pretty aggressive).

The 10 hour haul to Cuzco was almost as beautiful as the city itself.  Puno seems to be the dividing line between the harsh desertscape and lush mountain scenery.  We climbed for hours, through green fields with grazing sheep and bushy alpaca, taking in the enormous snow-capped peaks, reflected in still waters and dwarfing the foot-hill pueblos like stubble...hundreds of miles away from any familiar civilization.  But the Peruvians live out there.

We passes random women swinging hoes, in tandem with their thick swaying braids, dressed in long blue dresses

 and bowler hats. Others hunched over, trekking with enormous striped bundles of food and goods strapped to their back while children herded llamas.  All of this took place miles from any home or building...life in the planes 

and valleys.  I wondered if many of them had ever seen the city before and kept coming back to images of

Abraham, Ruth and prophets.  These folks were truly indigenous, and it seemed to me the closest thing I've encountered to the "Old Testement".  At any rate, this "inside the cover of National Geographic" exposure stirred my spirit and weighed heavy within me.  The simple life, as simple and basic as it gets--so peculiar and novel.  Maybe that's how it's supposed to be?  I mean honestly, in my mind the lives of folks like Abraham and Moses appear a lot more epic and exciting than mine.  Okay, I'll spare you.  But the experience left me with a pool of ambiguously spiritual and philisophical questions to ponder and talk

 over with God until I arrived in Cuzco.  *The only resolution I reached was that next time I won't just be "passing through" (YWAM???...you wanna come with me?)

While Cuzco bears a heavy touristic weight, I must say it's done very tastefully (if tourism can taste good). We thoroughly enjoyed our 24 hour stay there. Nearly all of the streets and a great number of the buildings in this very large city are stone, and this is not the smooth/well leveled cobblestone or brick you've met in Charleston or under your feet on N Main St. in downtown Aville.  This aspect alone adds a particular enchantment to the city.  El centro (or main plaza), oriented around the enormous catholic cathedral of course, was filled with overaggressive vendors, taxis, foot traffic, and an occasional alpaca at all times. Whether you're a shopper or not (I'm not), you can't help but enjoy spending at least a few hours jumping from tienda to street kiosk to random street people carrying a trunk load of blankets, sweaters or scarves, bartering for that perfect deal on whatever distinctly Peruvian article that fancys your liking.  And we're talking dirt cheap prices!  My bartering pride is wrapped up in an alpaca wool winter hat that I got down to 5 soles (that's $1.66 US).  We're talking a quality hat too.  You know the ones, black with white alpacas encircling it, with the styling ear flaps and tassely strings...same style as columbia and north face like to 

sell for  $30 a pop.  It kind of matches my long, wool, alpaca print socks that I bought for 8 soles (about $2.50 US).

Moving right along...we found a solid hostal (yay baño privado...but no hot water), Hospedaje Samani, for 15 soles a person (little less than $5 US).  After finally dropping our heavy packs and cleaning up a bit, we headed back out for the evening and sat down to our first formal Peruvian meal, bartered down from 25 to 15 soles--not half bad for a four course meal including a glass of Peru's famous pisco sour and dessert.  Turns out alpaca is quite tasty!

After exploring the city for half of the following day, we caught a $3 (US) taxi out of Cuzco and snaked up, down, and around more breathtaking mountains, through prairies and planes and finally into a deep valley where we met our last village between us and Machu Picchu's Aguas Calientes.

The name of this town is Ollantaytambo (it took me three days of asking taxi and bus drivers how to get there/how much it costs before I could say it without studdering).  Umm, because I'm running out of ways to

describe these enchantingly beautiful and mystic towns, I'm just gonna say it was great...and I wish we could have spent more than one night there. This town gave us a little teaser before Machu Picchu, as it has its own ruins nestled in the cliffs, which we ascended just in time to catch my first sunset atop Andean peaks.  In the evening we found a small market to buy food for the rest of our trip, and then another hostel, which turned out to be the best overnight deal of the trip, yes obviously after a little bartering (10 soles per person/ about $3 US). 

We had the lights out by midnight and the 3:30am cell phone alarm came all too soon to catch a 5am train about a mile down the road. The funny thing is that I planned on sleeping an extra two hours on the train ride, not really taking into account that it's the final two hours of 

travel before arriving at the foot of Machu Pichu. More mountains, cliffs, clouds, vegetation and now waterfalls falling into the Urubamba River, a partially navigable (class 5 rapids) waterhead of the Amazon river which our train ran alongside for the entirety of the trip. I sipped on matte de coca (tea made from coco leaves) as 

a substitute for the two hours of sleep and marveled at the verdant Andean scenery through train windows, trying to spot Mogley or Jaguar Paw in the foliage.

In Aguas Calientes we opted out of the $7 bus to arrive at the entrance of Machu Picchu and chose the stairs...45 minutes, staight up, and up...and up.  VVV For Machu Picchu, you can check the post below VVV

After a LONG (8-10 miles on foot/scrambling--4 of them extremely steep), life changing day, we found a hostal in Aguas Calientes (another $5 US) and slept, quite soundly.  And the next morning we began the return trip *reverse the transportation routes above and drop the hostals.

I love you all and wish that some of you could have shared this trip with me.  Give me a holler when you can afford it.