Well arriving in little Pisco Equi, Chile was about the most rewarding end thus far but we are still babies on this journey yet. After staying in a squat house for four days in Valparaiso we had not showered and all of our winter clothes were filthy. It was back to being dirty traveling hippie kids.
guess I should start with watching POint Break with as we were cruising past the Chilean coast. Unbelievable! For all you outdoorsy types you have the best of both worlds. I could just see my mom relaxing on the raw coast on the beach over the sand dunes and my pa on the other side climbing through the Andes. Stunning views for seven hours straight, all the while with Patrick Swayze´s passion for the waves taunting us on. The buses in Chile are also pretty plush for very little pesos. Comparing my bus stops in Nepal where little women with aprons scooped rice on to a plater with their hands to this modern experience was quite a contrast. We stopped at a place that could be compared to a nice new truchk stop in the states. we had rice, a beet salad, corn and tomato salad and papas fritas. greasy but vegana (spanish for vegan). anyways after a butt numbing trip we got to La Serena, a coastal city, to the bust stop to take us on our last leg. bus was late, i lost my bus ticket, I couldn´t stand the smell of own self , Summer had to pee the whole trip, I was woozy on the dark mountain zigzag roads and we were starving by then and tired, but we made it two hours after the bus finally left.
you know when you build things up in your head, especially when contrasting it with your current experience. well, i thought this was going to be the mecca of all that was missing in comfort and tranquility. but guess what there is no pero (but), it was just that, minus the frigid shower.
we came in to this perfect little mini hostal with a clean kitchen and private room with even nice lighting (pretty sweet, huh dad?). we stripped off our offensive clothing, banished it to a corner in the room, we showered very quickly but we actually smelled good again. then we proceeded to the communal kitchen and cooked up some quinuoa and corn with an avo and tomato salad. it wasn´t bad for the last vegetables left at the mini market around the corner. we slept so soundly under blanket piles.
the next morning we walked outside to find these barren towering hills around us with snow tipped mountains towering over the hills. we are high, not sure how high but close to liberation in the sky if you will. which is why i was drawn here- the stars. Astronomy is the reason to be here plus it is considered to be a sort of spiritual mecca. there are observatories every hour or so in the surrounding hills. we have a date to visit one tentative for tonight but may be canceled like last night because of the clouds. last night though there was a halo around the moon.
we ended up walking down to the next village south of here yesterday to visit Gabriela Mistral´s museo, she was a famous Chilean poet that won the nobel prize. I don´t know her either but i am excited to check out one of her books of poetry. its been mostly about calm and peace an simplicity here.
last night i was cooking some beans and potatoes and corn for dinner while summer was outside making a fire. a couple came in to the hostal, which seeing as we were one of three tourists in town before the third one left, was a surprise. but to go even further, they walk in¨, "HOla", "HOla", "hello", "Hello". "you speak english?"; "me too"; "where are you from?"; "United States"; "Me too" ; "actually from Dallas"; "Me too". huh, weird. we laughed and they shut there door and that was it for last night. we haven´t run in to any kids from the states and we hardly run in to english speakers unless in a hostal. it is not as touristic here as most places i have traveled. well the fire faied due to wet wood and the black beans never fully cooked down but all in all, great evening under big skys.
this morning as i went for our little habatacion 3 plate of breakfast, i ran in to the girl from dallas. we all decided to eat breakfast together in the garden. long story short. we are all traveling for three months in south america. she is going to UTD for her masters and her husband is at UNT working on his masters. he grew up in denton, where they still live. she has a sister who is getting married to a muslim in Egypt soon (hello, my sisters in Egypt currently with her husband. her sister converted to islam and is a sufi ( a religion i just personally studied for the past year or so) and her sister was a comparitive religions major in school which is my passion. the girl we mets husband´s father is from bolivia and summer´s father is argentine. they both speak spanish and me and the girl are learning. we all blew our morning gracefully over tea and laughs and commom interests. they were very inspiring in many ways and mostly in the way that they are trying to only speak spanish with eachother in the house. that is what summer and i have tried but its a struggle.
we all agreed to go horseback riding in the valley tomorrow and go for a walk under the stars tonight after a group dinner and before a fire outside tonight. we all have agreed to speak spanish solamente while with eachother. we were all destined to be friends and inspire one another. i will tell you how it goes.
sorry for the long ass blog but i have been soaking in the goods and this is what i have learned so far. wish my luck in my second language. i need it. they are all ahead of me and i am definitely the most timid to speak but its getting better. i love you all.
ciao
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