Starstruck

A typical opera, in general, consists of 3 or 4 acts. The first act is usually a kind of introduction where key players are introduced. It’s also a chance to get a sneak peak at sinister characters that may come back to play a role at a later time.

Act 2 involves some kind of significant conflict or adversity. Act 3 is about fallout, death, despair, – the consequences of Act 2. And Act 4 is reserved for resolution/reconciliation.

The last 9 weeks have often felt like an opera, sometimes comic and, at times, verging on the tragic.

Chile is all of these things and more. I had a sense of this, even as a tangential participant in the planning of the itinerary. My previous experiences with humping across the Middle East and Europe told me that the distances involved and the ambitious travel schedule would be a test of our endurance.

Our first month in Santiago was our Act 1. We had a chance to get familiar with the language and culture before setting out. We also got a taste of the forces at play here – the Yin and the Yang of Chilean society.

Act 2 was our time spent in the North, picking up Howie, and the prep for the W trek in Patagonia.

The indescribable experience in the South – our week of Agony and Ecstasy – was a life highlight, as it is for almost everyone who survives it. Act 3 for sure.

And the last 2 weeks of our trip, Act 4, travelling through Wine Country, and driving up along the Pacific Coast to the Elqui Valley, has been a journey that has helped to heal our broken bodies and wounded spirits. 

The aches and pains and bruises of the W Trek are mostly healed. However, all three of us dream nightly of horrors on the trail, and imagined near-death experiences, despite the warm embrace of copious amounts of sun-kissed fermented Chilean beverages.

Being in the Elqui Valley is very much a dreamlike experience. We arrived in Vicuna a couple of days ago, happy to leave the better known Fort-Lauderdale-like La Serena. Vicuna is a genuine agricultural pueblo,  with a slow and friendly vibe. Tourist season has just ended here, so the locals were in the process of reclaiming their town. We stayed at Hostal Michel, which was what paradise would look like, if it was run by the Swiss. High walls and multiple caged entrances secured by locks, chains, and security cameras on the perimeter. On the inside, and oasis of fruit trees, local plants, restful sitting areas, and more CCTV. 

Our vehicle was locked inside Gate #3, cell block B. When Truus announced that we wanted to leave to visit a local craft brewery, and asked if Frauline Lila could open the door, she looked us straight in the eye and said “No… no drinking and driving. Absolutely not, I will not let you go.” We convinced her that we would be having Truus as a DD, she relented, but not without another strern warning.

The next day, we spent the day driving through the Valley. We stopped at an artisanal “Pisco” distillery. Pisco is the National Spirit of Chile. It is not unlike the Chileanos – strong and underpaid. We lucked into a great tour of the place, and took the winding road back to Vicuna feeling slightly buzzed and quite contented, with a sober Howie at the wheel.

Our final adventure in Vicuna was a midnight “Star Gazing” tour at one of the many observatories in the Valley. The night skies here are some of the clearest in the world. The astrophysical/astronomical scientific community in Chile can’t get money from the government to fund research. However, foreign governments and organizations pay for the construction of high-powered telescopes here in the Valley. Chile lends them the sky, and the partnership has led to many very important discoveries.

Our tour was very detailed. We were able to view constellations, stars, and nebula through various telescopes. We were shown pictures and videos of astronomical events and given a 101 on our universe. All very fascinating stuff. Being in Patagonia gives you a sense of how small you are versus the natural forces of the earth. Being in the Elqui Valley Mamalluca Observatory reminds you how our entire planet is but a spec of cosmic dust in the infinite expanse that is the Multiverse.

So it ends as it began. The trip to Chile started with a dream. We wanted to see South America and learn Espanol. We had a primal instinct that Chile was a place of great interest and complexity. This has proven to be an understatement, to say the least. But at its heart was the curiosity to explore uncharted ground, and a willingness to do the hard stuff to turn the unknown into the familiar. Just like all forms of discovery, the most profound revelation is not what you have learned, but the knowledge of how much more there remains to explore.