Dry Peace

Dry is a relative term. When I read that the Atacama was the driest desert in the world, I thought, ¨huh, that´s neat.¨ When I fully experienced the fact that they only average 1 MILIMETER per YEAR (and that certainly didn´t transpire during our visit), I was very impressed. Now, that´s dry. We probably doubled the yearly average with the tears within our group when the town announced there was NO water and would be NO showers for three days (not even the meager drip showers). Not me of course... what a great excuse to be ¨natural¨(my word for what other people term ¨dirty¨or ¨grungy¨).

In case you don´t know where an oasis fits into the whole supply and demand scheme, supply is essentially absent which skyrockets the prices on everything. Luckily, JooYeon has been rapidly developing her culinary skills and training Gyu as an assistant chef so our meals were bare minimum and we did all the sightseeing etc. on our own instead of with paid tours. Our hostel was a particularly entertaining one (despite the lack of water and electricity) so we found ways to kill the midday heat fairly easily...

The one (very worthwhile) exception where we paid for some entertainment was our last full day when we all rented bikes and rode off into the Valle de los Muertos (Valley of the Dead).

The landscaping was surreal and it definitely helped that we virtually had the place to ourselves. Joo hadn´t ridden a bike much before so our ride on some of the narrow rocky ledges was a bit horrifying (probably moreso for me to coach her through it!) Anyway, although she loved the views, the tension was a bit much after awhile and Gyu was feeling tired too so they returned to town while Kiwi and I charged on deeper into the desert.

There was no straight path since the Valley of the Dead is essentially a valley full of high sand mounds. I never did find out if there was anyone actually buried beneath the mounds, we were just doing our best to stay on the crusted waterway (from whenever that 1 milimeter fell) because whenever we broke through, we would sink down into the sand making biking impossible. We eventually came out to a clearing where we proceeded to walk our bikes up a large sand dune. And, remembering our isolated situation, you can imagine our surprise when we finally reached the top and found... Gi Sawn! If you go back a couple entries, you´ll see that she was the Korean girl we met in Arequipa, Peru (the one that had been mugged). We had a happy reunion chatting for a bit and then headed our separate ways.

We climbed even higher to a baby mountain peak where we had a 360 degree view of the surrounding landscape including the entire Valley of the Dead we had just biked through. We were alone, except for a handful of stone towers. I remember reading in the Old Testament about how several religions had ¨high places.¨I can easily fathom why, with the feelings created on top - the mix of adrenaline and absolute peace is quite a high. We stayed up there for awhile - I meditated/prayed while Kiwi pretended to be dead and then built his own little tower.

Next, we jumped on our bikes and did some roughriding to reach an overlook on what I think was the Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon)... the disadvantage of not having a guide along is that you don´t really know for sure where you´re at, but the advantage is that you get to fully savor the ¨where you´re at.¨ And this is what we did. We both just found our own little spots and sat quietly for awhile... eventually we laid down to soak in the sky as well as the land. I´m not sure what it was about the moment, but it was transcendent for both of us. There was no sound except a slight breeze shooting past our ears and the crisp desert air of sunset cleared both of our minds. As Kiwi told me later, it was the first time in his entire life he has ever experienced such a moment of deep inner Peace. Hearing that, coupled with the fact that it had been quite awhile for myself also, made it the most special moment of our journey so far.

Feeling energized and refreshed, and with large grins, we biked a little further to an entranceway where we could actually descend into the Valley of the Moon. One whole face was a steep sand dune and Kiwi took a deep breath and then lunged off the edge, running down the face with huge leaps. I was next and decided to mix it up a bit by rolling down and eventually climbing back up and doing somersaults down which quickly accelerated to an exhilirating pace. Laughing, we regained our balance and dumped out the sand from our shoes...

Since the sun had just set and we were still quite far from town with no flashlights, we said our goodbyes to the lovely valley and mounted our bikes for the 16 kilometer ride home. We made it about a half mile. I should mention that, at this point, we had no idea we were 16 kilometers from home or we probably would have started home sooner. Anyway, a half mile into the ride, Kiwi got a flat tire. We both stared at it for awhile and laughed, still feeling high from the great day. We did have a tire fixing kit with a spare tube, but unfortunately we had given it to Joo and Gyu several hours earlier when they had went home. So we started walking. And walking. Night fell, bringing with it the most glorious arrangement of stars we had seen yet (even in the oasis, there had been occasional lights or the moon blocking out some of our vision, but here there was nothing except the stars and two dark silhouettes pushing their bikes home).

Two hours later, we rolled into town to find Joo and Gyu waiting for us at the front edge of town of the oasis, discussing whether they should try to contact the police (which I´m not sure how they would have done since I don´t think the oasis has any police). Happy hugs were shared and we returned to our hostel where the two chefs had a huge candlelight dinner waiting for us. The next morning, we packed up our bags, said goodbye to the desert and Chile (and hello to Gi Sawn who happened to be taking the same bus as us) and got on the bus headed for Argentina...

Chile CON carne

Ever wondered what it´d be like to be stranded in the middle of a desert? Well, guess where we are right now... and not just any desert, the driest desert in the world, the Atacama Desert which stretches its dusty lengths across Northern Chile, Argentina, and has even been invading Peru with recent climate shifts.

You might, justifiably, wonder, ¨if they are indeed stranded, then how would Daniel be able to update the blog?¨ Fair enough. Luckily we happen to be stranded in an oasis, so it´s not like I´m crawling on my knees through sand reaching for water...

And like any good modern day oasis, there is electricity (on occasion)...

In fact, there is even a bus that leaves down the dusty road every 3 days, but unfortunately the next one is booked, so we´re stuck here for at least 5 days. Not a bad place at all to be stuck actually... the daytime scenery is great, and the nighttime stars are unbelievable- you have to look hard to see small spots of black (sky) in between all the bright stars. I do feel a bit bad for the boys who only have 9 days left before they have to fly home, since it means we will have to travel fast and hard once we do get the bus out, but they´ve both been good sports and seem to enjoy the desert.

I read a sign soon after arriving claiming that, in an oasis, WATER IS GOLD. Boy, they weren´t kidding. I´ve had my share of bucket showers and I´m a longtime supporter of the drip dry technique (wet towels make for stinky travel), but yesterday was my first Drip Shower. I had to collect the drips for a minute at a time in my clenched hands and then quickly use it sparingly.

Before I go further, I should shatter any illusions of the four of us camping beside a small pond surrounded by palm trees, surrounded by Arabians in turbans. Though our oasis may have originally resembled that, Spanish cattle ranchers began building it up into a proper town hundreds of years ago. So, there are hostels, markets, and restaurants. But go a kilometer (or 100) in any direction and you´re smack in the middle of a hot, DRY desert.

And more importantly, we´re in a financial desert. No money. There is an ATM in town, but it´s been broken indefinitely and no one seems to know when it´ll be fixed. So I collected everyone´s spare spending money and rationed it out for bread and water until if and when we get money (I´m using this internet instead of eating bread for the second half of today, just because YOU are so special to me and I want you to share in the adventure!) JooYeon had to fight off the dogs who went viciously after her rations today. Plus, the internet room is warmer than our chilled bedroom where we use the candles sparingly...

Actually, it´s not just bread and water. Here in San Pedro, we eat choclo pate (smashed super corn) and drink mote huesillo (some kind of long-boiled peach and grain drink)...

In final news, and in reference to the title of this particular blog entry, JooYeon and I have finally relinquished our vegetarian vows. It was a great idea and we may take them out partially now and then in the future, but it simply wasn´t healthy enough here in South America given that it is such a carnivorous society. Here is a picture of the First Supper...

Chile sin Carne

For starters this time around, some pics of Joo and Kiwi modeling their dream vehicles... and then several more shots of the parade (before we started joining in)...

And then a few more pictures from Arequipa, Peru that I didn´t have time to load last time... this was JooYeon finally figuring out the secret of Peruvian cafe con leche... it´s a clever little three part cup with the water on bottom, the grinds next, and an empty container on top. As the water boils, the vapor rises through the grounds and creates an extra rich coffee syrup that can then be poured into a cup of hot milk... but it´d be easier and tastier for me to just make a cup for you whenever we next meet!

And a couple shots in and out of our mansion guest house, which was really hard to capture on film, so you can´t tell that it´s anything great except for the look on JooYeon´s face (the volcano in the background is Misty.)

Well, we did in fact make it out to Chile as planned. We had treated ourselves with a final 7 hour bus ride on the illustrious Cruz del Sur, the Rolex of Peruvian buses (it was only 1$ more per ticket). JooYeon loved it as we had our own enclosed waiting lounge and, most importantly, a secure hold for our luggage.

There remained some tense moments at the border town, the final chance for Peruvian thieves to steal our goods. I guess that sounds kind of racist... I should clarify that the general populace of Peruvians were absolutely wonderful, kind, and lovely. I had just never had to watch our possessions and doublecheck safety concerns in all of my travels (although India came close). I even started taking pictures of people we talked with and cars we rode in to have evidence for if and when things went wrong. Then again, I guess all of this comes with the territory whenever there are economic differences between people. And ideally, if I weren´t as attached to my possessions, it wouldn´t bother me as much. The love of money... I remember getting two detentions in fourth grade for refusing to write a report on money because I felt it was so evil. But much more than possessions, I think I´m a lot more conscious of dangers this time around, since I´m travelling with Joo instead of alone...

And, although this would actually belong much further up in the blog with the Arequipa parade, my scroll function on this computer doesn´t happen to be working, so here is a quick clip of Kiwi joining in on the parade dancing...

In any case, we all had a WONDERFUL time overall in Peru, with loads of good memories and experiences, but it was still a bit relieving to cross the border into Chile, where our economic battles were more likely to be with the price tags. Or so we thought. But Peru had gotten deeper into our blood than we realized, as was made clear when JooYeon first saw our room we´d reserved in Arica, Chile. (Even I was surprised how dirty it was, as it had specifically been advertised as clean by the lonely planet.) She immediately made her sour lemon face and proceeded to sing about 50 verses of ¨Take me to Arequipa¨to the tune of ¨Take me home country roads¨, and asked me several times if I remembered how clean Heather´s bed had been back in Arizona.

I found myself really enjoying the first day (and night) in Chile, even though nothing particularly special transpired. Granted, we are still in the border town of Arica, and so I´d imagine the cultural differences between Chile and Peru thicken further inland, but it´s certainly a different country. I remember being curious about Chile ever since reading La Casa de Los Espiritus by Isabel Allende in my EMU Spanish class - it´s had a quirky history due to it´s very eccentric geography. In Arica, we walked around a pedestrian street, near the beach, and down a market which was the thinnest and longest market I´ve ever seen (designed after Chile itself perhaps?)

In India, the cars stop for the cows in the road. In Peru, it´s the goats or the dogs. In Arica, Chile, they have to stop and swerve for the pelicans which absolutely refuse to move for them!

Until next time... may your dreams be free of IBBs!