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semi-tropics fix

wow its hot here, Im finally getting what I aksed for! but my hunch about chile is correct - its expensive. so a few days exploring here, then I get the f out of this country.

we rented bikes for a day, and good ones at that! (finally) guys in a shop knew what they were doing (vulcano expeditions, info is below)! we set out all eager and happy - visited ruins of a culture first invaded by the incans, then by the spanish. sucked to be them. (a few days ago in a museum outside arica, they showed how a civilizations art suffers when they are controled by another society. the best artist were shipped off to support incan needs and those left end up just trying to get by.) after this we headed up a ridiculously bumpy road. I had no idea this would be EVERY road we were on that  day, lets just say sitting isnt very fun right now. for relief we had stream crossings over ¨rio mierda¨ (shit river) - I really tried not to look down....you could see the clumps floating by. ugh.

we hiked up a narrow canyon made of crumbling dirt and see-through rocks. in here, I found my favorite thing - absolute silence! I held my breath until suffocating just to hear more. I guess it only rains 1 week a year and the muddy hills just soak it up.

after a siesta break, we headed to valle de la luna to see the sunset. turned out to be a tourist trap, the chileans wanted to charge for the sunset! in my book, sunsets are free - I refused and we snuck out without paying. Im sure it was bad, but I dont regret it. and it just underscored that Im not feeling the chilean vibe.

after a rest day, I said adios to Guy (thanks for all the spanish negotiations!) and I went horseback riding - my first on the trip & it was fabulous. I had a spunky horse named India (ran UP a wall), we cantored over sand dunes and my guide Edison was great! this underscores that I really hope to do a multi-day horse tour sometime down the road (I met a swiss guy who actually bought a horse and traveled for 40 days...).

I had a great night of 'girl talk' with the three fabulous women from israel in my hostel. despite ages and countries, some things are the same everywhere. plus we found out we partied with some of the same people in cusco! I ask to buy a smoke but instead they just give me a whole pack of L&M brand bolivian cigarettes. they have a business idea - these cigarettes are so bad, after one pack, you'll quit forever. they're trying to get rid of them. I'm willing to give it a try.

I also bump into my dutch friends from the inca trail in cusco, jon & roderic! they just got back from the salar de uruyi - their pix are amazing. I'm so glad I've booked my trip - it's 3 days in a jeep at 5000m. luckily Ive never felt healthier in this hot dry air so Im ready to go back up and freeze.

ps - on the bus to san pedro I woke my self up laughing. and it was a dumb blonde joke dream... I was with deirdre in a museum by the ocean and this guide was talking about torpedos. I finally understood and said ¨oh, they used torpedos to attack the museum¨. he said ¨no silly, the museum is here -because- of a battle, no one ever torpedoed the museum...¨ deirdre just laughed. I think you had to be there but Ive never woke up from laughing before!

pps - if you're in san pedro de atacama, check out Vulcano Expeditions (caricoles 317, just off the plaza) and ask for Edison - he loves his horses and keeps them healthy, he also deeply understands and guides all the local mountains (6000+ m). plus they rent newer bikes that actually shift. vulcanochile@terra.cl  www.southamericanadventure.com (but this web address is changing soon).

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