Chile Day 19 - Well, That Sucked

Flight from miami to boston this morning. I was back on American soil for all of 10 minutes before I heard the word "insurgent" from some CNN talkinghead. You know you're home when surrounded by urgent warnings of threats from forces unknown.

I've said on a few occasions that this was the worst vacation I have ever taken. That may be an exaggeration. I remember one particularly painful trip out west to a an (ex) in-law's white-trash shotgun wedding. Curiously, it also featured a frustrated rafting trip. But that was only a long weekend, whereas this vacation dished out its parade of damp, frustrated inaction for over two weeks. I really spent almost every moment of this trip getting rained on, waiting for the rain to stop, in transit, or waiting for transit. The true sign that this vacation was a loser is that I actually thought at many times that I would have been better off on a cattle-herd package tour. At least an organized outfitter could make my connections work without multiple 24 hour layovers in nowheresville.

I figure that I just had a pretty good 4 day vacation. It's not like I had my passport stolen, lost luggage, got sick, or ended up in jail. This wasn't hell, not even purgatory. Just limbo. The reason I'm so unhappy is that it took over 2 weeks to get those 4 days of vacation. Plus, I missed three prime skiing weekends to make it happen. As I was leaving, I found a tourist brochure for the Aisen region which featured on its cover a happy cloud raining on a bus. This is to be the emblem of my trip, and should have been a big tip-off from the beginning.

Coming here, I had to decide between Aisen and Patagonia proper. Re-reading my guide, it looks like Patagonia has better hiking and better transportation. Not sure about weather. I chose Aisen to raft the Fu. Which was cool, but not worth the trouble. I remember a moment three weeks ago sitting before a LAN Chile website hovering my mouse over Puerto Natales, then Puerto Montt, then back again. If only Fate had directed my cursor 20 pixels south I would have had a very different trip.

Lest I be accused of excessive negativity, here are the things I like about Chile:

* Views. When the mountains aren't hidden by clouds and fog, the scenery here is exactly the kind of thing I want. Simply amazing!

* Perros. Most seem to view the ample supply of free-range dogs as some sort of nuisance, but I like 'em. It's such a pleasure to have a dog waiting to be greeted at every doorstep. I only petted the ones with collars, but praised any of them that knew how to sit.

* Smell. Most people heat and cook with indestructible century-old german-made cast-iron wood-fired stoves. Walking around town in the morning, you can see the smoke plumes rising in the still air and smell cheery smoldering hardwood everywhere. On Sunday mornings, there are always flower vendors clustering around churches and cemeteries, sweet scent wafting. Chile's towns lack the acrid stench of 2-cycle engine hydrocarbons so common to third world economies, as tuk-tuks and mopeds are either outlawed or simply not used.

* Booze. Unlike Norway, good cheap wine is always readily available here. I had to cut back once I decided that a half bottle of vino tinto for both lunch AND dinner was probably well beyond recommended FDA guidelines (and likely to give me headaches). Still, except for when I was extremely cash-strapped, I had at least a glass of wine every day. It's a good way to live.

For all the misery, I'm bummed that it's all over. I felt like things were finally improving toward the end and would have liked to stay, now that I've figured this place out. Next time, if there is one.

I'll close with gratitude for everyone who has been reading this and posting/mailing along the way. Travelling solo is a good way to talk with new people, but it's just as important to have some connection with home and the people there. Thanks, all!