Wednesday, September 12, 2012

August 9th, 2012 Chile Bolivia Border

8AM  I was picked up by a van, after negotiating the price from 6,000 CLPs to 5,000 CLPs.  The manager at Intipara liked me just enough.  I met a German astrophysicist Christopher, with whom I had a very interesting conversation about food and history.  He knew a little bit about China as well.

10AM  We were at the border, which gave me trouble about not being born in America.  We left the van and went on jeeps for the tough terrain ahead.  The weather changed as soon as you opened the door.  It was certainly the strangest surrounding I have experienced.  It would be summer inside the car and then you would have to feel -5 degrees outside, not mentioning the altitude sickness I was experiencing.  There were 2 Brazilians, an Italian girl named Lara, and Erin from Marine county.


4PM  We arrived at the "hostel" and had lunch.  It felt cold when we walked in.  Lara and I took the tough road out and stayed out until 6PM.

 








 









10PM  I listened to the Brazilians talk until the cold and the headache forced me to sleep.  The -20 degrees Celsius was cared for by 5 blankets: I took 2 from another room.  The edge of the bed didn't have good insulation so I kept my sweater on.  I had my down jacket to try to keep my feet warm.  It didn't work for several hours.  It wasn't the cold that kept me awake.  It was the ongoing headache.


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