Nicole, Richelle, and I ended our trip in Salta, Argentina where Lorena, my friend I met from couchsurfing in Mar del Plata, Argentina, was coming to meet me and continue travels together. On my trip, it has always been most difficult for me when parting ways between friends and it was even more difficult now that some of my best friends had left me. We had a big hotel (think more like apartment once again) and I seriously thought of spending the cash to stay there so I could be alone. I didn’t want to go through the effort of making new friends and I sure as hell didn’t want to go back to hostel life. I think I texted my sister, as I do with all my indecisiveness and internal debates, and reminded myself I still had 5 months left of travel and I’d better get back on that budget lifestyle. Anyway, I had a few days to explore before Lorena arrived in Salta. I got into planning mode and it didn’t make me feel good. I think I plan most in my life when I’m on my own so I don’t ever feel lonely and therefore, I keep myself busy. In this instance, I hadn’t made new friends yet (by choice) so I was texting Lorena, A LOT, about what she wanted to do and what we should do. I started to feel anxious and a bit trapped in the ugly city of Salta so with Lorena’s permission, I made my way to Tilcara, a pueblo in the Jujuy region of Northern Argentina where she’d meet me.
This bus ride was the freakiest instance of fate I’ve experienced. As I said, I was feeling anxiety about planning the next part of my trip and from feeling trapped in a city with where I was feeling I had no outlet for exercise. I ended up sitting on the bus, next to an older bald man, dressed all in black. Sitting next to people on a bus is an interesting experience. First, you wonder if you should start the conversation in English or Spanish (based on his appearance I was guessing English). Next, you wonder, do I want to strike up a conversation with them in fear that I’m stuck talking to them for hours on the bus? What if I don’t want to be talking to them anymore? Another thought, many older men are pretty creepy in South America and they all think they have a shot with women regardless of appearance or age. I ignored these intuitions and went with Spanish and struck up conversation with the man. Turns out he is a monje (monk). A monk? I’m sitting next to a monk?! How random. I just sat there and listened to him talk. He was incredibly knowledgeable. The thing I remember most was he talked about living in the present. This is something I’ve practiced in yoga, but it’s always a challenge to live in real life. The past does not exist. The future does not exist. If you are depressed, you are likely living in the past. If you are anxious, you are likely living in the future. Duh, that’s what I was doing here, plan, plan, plan = future, future, future! I think the times I am happiest and making the most of my experiences, I am thinking only in the present. I am acting only in the present. Hey friends, that means get off your smart phones and talk to your friend while you’re getting coffee rather than worrying what someone put on SnapChat or Facebook! It’s not real!
Anyway, the monk gifted me an Om symbol charm. He told me to wear it as a reminder to stay centered and he also invited me to do a meditation session at his temple. I followed up on his offer and Lorena and I went to his house for meditation. It was Lorena’s first meditation session so it was challenging for her. For me, it was amazing. He led us through meditation by first having us seated in a comfortable position and then talking us through images/stories. I recall he had us imagine ourselves slowly walking to a stream, exploring the stream, and finding a colored stone that represents ourselves. This part was seated and an active meditation. Then he led us through a relaxation pose where we laid ourselves on our mats. He played some music and spoke to us but all I remember was laying there. Then I believe I fell asleep or was led into an even deeper relaxation. My point is, for me meditation has been most successful when I’ve had a teacher to lead me through it. He also has videos on YouTube that people use when they have difficulties falling asleep. I think I should try this at home when I’m stressed and can’t sleep, plus I’ll be working on my Spanish!
On Lorena’s second day of travel, we had decided to make a day trip to the Hornocal near Humahuaca.
What we didn’t think about was the fact that we were at a very high altitude and Lorena had just arrived from a very long trip from the coast/sea level. From the pueblo of Humahuaca, you take a 4X4 pick up truck to the mirador (look-out point) of the Hornocal. We opted to pay a little more to go inside the truck to avoid the dirt. In the truck, we climbed about 2,000 meters in one hour to reach an altitude of 4,200 meters (13,779 feet). We arrived and Lorena wasn’t feeling very well but the rest of our group continued on a short walk downhill to another viewpoint of the Hornocal. We snapped some pictures and had to climb uphill about 10 minutes, but, man, were we out of breath. When we got back, our driver told us one of the girls was sick so we needed to head back down to town. The best cure or relief for altitude sickness is go to a lower altitude. Then I learned, it was Lorena! Poor girl had lost her breakfast. We fed her some coca candies and had her sit up front in the truck. We saw some spectacular views from the truck as the sun was setting and some darker clouds rolled in. Here is where we also lucked out on paying more to sit inside the truck – it started raining! Not only was the group caked in dirt from the road, but now they were soaked. Pobrecitos.
The next spot Lorena and I knew we wanted to visit was called Purmamarca. It’s another very small pueblo with a short hike called “Cerro de Siete Colores/Mountain of Seven Colors”. We began the hike just outside of town. It was only about 2-3km but it was magical. Seriously magical. It was only Lorena and I, mixed in with nature. As we turned each corner we saw new colors springing out of each cerro (small mountain). We slowly explored and eventually reached a mirador. We were still the only ones on the trail. Since we had just meditated with the monk the day before, we decided to sit there and meditate. I focused on the colors, silence, and beauty around us. There were no animals or insects. I just heard silence. Peaceful silence in nature. I heard one bird fly by, but other than that, it was just Lorena and I experiencing a feeling only mother earth can provide. A sense of unique beauty, a sense of calm, a sense of being a minute part of the universe. It was so perfect. It was the first time in my life I could meditate with my eyes open.
Following the North of Argentina, Lorena and I had a long trip to cross the border into Chile. We’d first go to San Pedro de Atacama, which is a big traveler’s destination, and make our way north to cross the border to Perú. There, tours are offered of the desert to see unique landscape and natural wonders (e.g., salt flats, lagunas, geysers, valleys, etc.) We finally arrived to the Chilean boarder after an overnight bus to Chile. We arrived and we had to all get in line to get our passports stamped and bags checked. We weren’t allowed to cross with any fruits, vegetables, etc. We got through the line and then were waiting outside near the bus for all the passengers to complete their customs check. There was nothing around us but the customs building and wide open desert. I enjoyed some fresh air and sunshine, but after waiting about a half an hour, I looked inside customs to see who we’re waiting for and realized that there was no one in line. The bus passengers and I started asking questions to the chauffeur for why we’re waiting. We learned that one of the passengers on the bus went up to customs but there was an issue with their passport. They couldn’t cross the border and they just up and disappeared! How this happened, I’m not sure. We were in the middle of the dessert. There was nowhere to go. I was thinking, how inadequate are these people at their job? How insecure is this border security? Unfortunately, the border control manager or whoever was in charge decided that since this person
disappeared, none of us or our bus could move on. What? Excuse me?! This is not our fault! We all grouped together and re-entered the customs building to try to find someone to talk to. This was ridiculous. We tried to speak to a manager but of course no one was available to talk. We eventually returned outside where the chauffer of the bus gave out our morning snacks. We sat there, unknowing what would happen. This was so typical of South America. No one tells you anything and you just have to wait. You don’t know if anyone is working to resolve the problem or if you are waiting without good reason. In the end, I believe we waited a couple hours and then were given the go to move ahead. I don’t know what changed and I sure as hell don’t know where the passenger ended up that fled the scene, but we continued our journey to San Pedro de Atacama.
We knew that San Pedro Atacama was known for it’s unique landscape (e.g., salt flats, lagunas, geysers, valleys, and so forth) and you reach these places through tours. We booked a 2-day tour package because you save money. It included a half-day tour of the desert one day of Moon Valley, Death Valley, and the sunset over the desert. The next day we would have a sunrise tour of the geyser field (80 geysers) and then enjoyment of hot springs. Let me tell you, both were a bust. The Moon
Valley tour, yes, you will see in my pictures amazing landscape, however, the downfall was the fact of how touristy it was. You jumped on a bus packed with gringos (tourists) and I knew immediately, when our guide began speaking on a microphone that it was over for me. I lost interest. Plus, the microphone was shitty quality. It kept cutting out and he’d hit the box several times (every 2 minutes or so) to make it start working again. Even worse, the air conditioning wasn’t working well. You can imagine how hot that bus was in the heat of the desert with about 25 tourist bodies packed together. Here are some pictures from the first tour.
Despite the lack of interest I had in the first tour, something was drawing me to the geysers and I was excited to wake up early and see the sunrise, however, this did not happen for me. The night before, I got sick from the food I cooked (salad) or from rinsing off the veggies in the water so I was awake in the bathroom all night, my poor roommates. This was the kind of sick where you think at some moments, I feel so awful I should probably go to the hospital. When is the moment I should go to the hospital? Should I go wake up Lorena and tell her I feel I’m on the verge of death? But you are so weak and so tired because it’s the middle of the night so you just deal with it. I don’t know why I didn’t take my prescription pills, but at about 5am when I was still sick and told Lorena I couldn’t go on the tour with her, I finally took them and within an hour I was well enough that I could finally sleep. I hadn’t slept all night so I fell asleep for several hours and was woken up by the receptionist because I had slept well past check-out. Unfortunately, this said receptionist is a very attractive South American man. Picture Brazilian and Chilean and you get the picture. I was so embarrassed to be woken up by him and had to explain to him that I was sick and why I hadn’t moved from bed. He was so kind, told me he had also gotten sick when he first stayed in Atacama, and told me I could stay and sleep for a bit longer. My roommates were also all so amazing. I was in a room with 3 Australians. One was a couple and left me a hydration tablet and a note instructing me how to use it. The other left me saltine crackers because he said that when he got sick just a few weeks ago, that’s all he wanted to eat. They were both a god-send. Exactly what I wanted/needed. Thank you, friendly traveler friends!
I do have one tour I can recommend for San Pedro de Atacama and that is the star gazing tour – truly astonishing. We went with the number 1 company from Lonely Planet for this one out of pure luck that they had spots open or us. When we arrived, Lorena and I had the option of an English or Spanish tour. Now, normally, I jump at the opportunity to do anything in Spanish, but really, astronomy, star gazing, space, am I going to understand any of this in Spanish? On top of it, it’s Chilean Spanish. They speak horribly unclear! We started the tour late (10pm) and they drove us out in the middle of the desert to where we began the tour under a starlit sky. I had never seen so many stars in my life. Our teacher led us with the use of a laser pointer and drew on the sky. We learned about all types of constellations, planets, and stars. It was incredibly interesting because being in the Southern hemisphere, I was seeing other constellations that don’t exist for us in the Northern Hemisphere. She outlined each horoscope that was in the sky so we could easily see them. Hey- there’s the tail of scorpio, my astrological sign! The company, Space, also had the largest amount of telescopes in a public observatory in South America. These telescopes were HUGE! We ended the tour by looking through the many telescopes and then went inside the observatory for a hot drink and information session with the astrologer on staff. To me, San Pedro de Atacama was worth it just to experience this tour.
Mi Mochila Y Yo 
Your posts are so well written! The monk story is so special and unique. Impeccable timing too. Amazing pictures as always. The stars in San Pedro de Atacama was definitely my favorite part of Bolivia. Jealous you got to look through telescopes too!
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Thank you! I have such a hard time expressing exactly what I want sometimes, I appreciate you think it’s well written. And yes, the stars in Bolivia were amazing as well and extra awesome that they were from hot springs!
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Sorry you got so sick!!!! I was wondering how/if all the food was okay to eat. That’s no fun.
Loved reading about the astronomy tour! It’s so neat to think that there’s different constellations that you’re looking at seperate from us here. Xoxo
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