Volcano (Vulcán)

Today was the second cloudy day I´ve experienced here in Chile, but living in Northwestern Washington for 4 years given me the opportunity to become accustomed to ¨ugly¨ days. In fact, there is a sense of security in the clouds that from a ceiling over my head. Although clouds would actually do very little to stop me from being flung far into outer space if, for some reason or another, gravity reversed itself. From my comfortable perch on the beach, I can see an immense smattering of houses that seem to blend right into one another on the hillsides. Each hill plays host to at least one high rise apartment building, precariously placed near the middle of each hill. Cranes and lifting machines that resemble the AT-AT walkers from George Lucas´ Star Wars movies line the edge of the water where the bay wraps around further to the south. Uniform in shape but not in color, shipping containers form a banner in between the bay and the city. Looking straight out into the dull green Pacific, a handful of ships are packed to the gills with these containers. It´s difficult to tell if they are even moving without examing them carefully with another object in view. This is something that has always fascinated me. Where are these floating steel ogres going? What are they transporting? My guess is food that inexpensively produced in South America that can be sold at 10 (or more) times its cost in another land. Or possibly immigrants are awkwardly packed like sardines awaiting the start of a new life. Perhaps there are kilos of marihuana or cocaína destined for Miami or Singapore in the containers. I would absolutely love to travel aboard one of these mighty ships to complete the trans-ocean journey one day. It might be better to organize a documentary for some academic purposes rather than pay a smuggler $10,000 dollars to ship you out in a storage container. Just maybe.

Yesterday during a rest between basketball games, the oldest fellow proceeded to explain to myself and another German student about his experience traveling through Mexico. He said that in the Mexico City airport, the federales asked to see his money to prove that he wasn´t just a vagrant looking to take advantage of Mexico´s numerous state benefits. Haha? They took his $3,000 dollars, quite a substantial greasing of the palms I would say. Somehow, yes there are gaps in this story, he managed to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border and hired a coyote to take him across to the "Promised Land". He made his way to the Bay Area where he lived for 15 years studying engineering. Next time I see him, I´m going to ask questions such as if he had family in the Bay Area, if he knew English before embarking on the journey, and where his journey originated. Even temporary immigrants´ stories are some of the most intriguing I´ve ever heard.

Since I wrote to you last, Ecuador´s president, Rafael Correa was taken hostage in a coup d´ etat. This is nothing new for the country, it has seen 7 presidents in the last 13 years, 3 of them being overthrown in coups. Correa leans toward the left side of the political spectrum siding more frequently with Venezuela´s president Hugo Chávez and Bolivia´s president Evo Morales. 10 hours after soldiers took Correa hostage in a hospital in Quito, military officials managed to liberate the Ecuadoran president. The presidents of the Union of South America (UNASUR) met shortly after the violent incident. The country is still in a declared state of emergency. Being one of the countries I originally intended to visit, this news startled me substantially, but only time will tell if it will be safe to travel there when the opportunity arises.

But my first journey out of Valpo will be to the south. Next Sunday or Monday, I plan on making a solo voyage to Patagonia. I´ve begun to get restless staying here in the city although I´ve had the chance to experience some truly wonderful happenings. Waiting one more week is necessary because the nice ladies at la Cruz Roja, or rather, the Red Cross, said they could use my help distributing clothes and other necessary items to homeless people aroung the city. Finally something constructive to do with my time! It´s a little bit tough because most people have jobs or in school while I get to walk around the town getting to know its ins and outs. A week or so in Patagonia will be great to do some hiking, camping and overall communing with nature in an environment unlike any other. Shortly thereafter, I think it will be time to start the journey north to Peru. With an entirely necessary stop in San Pedro in the Atacama desert, it will be life on the road once more. Quoted as "the driest desert in the world", you can rent bicycles or hire a guide to explore its vast expanses.

Well folks, I think that is surely enough out of me. After "bummin´ around" this beautiful place for a while, the need for change and travel has struck me once more. To quote the legendary anchorman, Ron Burgundy, "You stay classy San Diego, you stay classy".