In a beautiful moment of clarity, Meg and I (Cat) came to realize yes, yes we are indeed soaked to the bone in front of a gaggle of semi-formally dressed co-ed summer-campers aged 10-14. Why hadn´t we thought of this before? Our meal ticket, from here on out, is ¨no no, nunca nunca,¨ a theatrical skit of the highest quality passed down to us by our dear friends tyson and rayne miller. i mean rayne zawesome. zawesome.
And so we sang for our suppers in La Serena, where we were welcomed into a student dorm that empty for the summer, save the police force (why?) and a summer camp. we slept in a classroom, attended their annual dinner and dance, and watched painfully as 10-year-old boys danced on tables to the applause of young girls - an apparent adolescent dance tradition not taken on among the northamerican crowd.
Next came a fated visit to the magnetic center of the universe, sight of UFO sightings, haver of the magic river, and cleanser of the power crystals. we searched for Ziggy the white in vain, but salvaged free grapes and apricots from the side of the road and passersby.
we were wowed by our first genuine tourist experiences - pisco distillery tour and observatory tour - all in one day. the former resulted in little more than a free sample of pisco, the latter in the viewing of SATURN in a telescope. SATURN! we are now slightly better versed in southern hemisphere constellations. (upside-down Orion, taurus, gemini, the southern cross, sirus, etc).
yesterday´s fated occurances included our adoption by a stray dog who followed us many kilometers from the last town, the subsequent close-range death of said dog by passing car, our subsequent grief, followed by the random handoff of a a chocolate bar (accompanied by well-wishes) by a random woman in a passing car. we slept behind a truck stop restaurant.
Meg is the most recent recipient of day-an-a-half-long-traveler´s-illenss number 28. She is resting plesantly in a luxurious hostel in Vallenar, from which we will head north through the Atacama Desert. TAKE HEART! we have been told by cyclists (internet and in the flesh), that the trek is doable, and will be carrying ample supplies. Be forwarned, however, this is the kind of desert that doesn´t have internet. We will be in contact as soon as possible, which will likely be a good long whle, when we reach Copiapo.
no no, nunca nunca.
