As part of the Education Abroad Program in Chile, we can participate in three cultural activities which include a snow/ski day in the Andes, a trip to Valparaiso, a day spent learning about Mapuche culture and heritage, a viaje (trip) visiting Chile's agricultural valley and a trekking weekend in the Andes.
At the beginning of the program, I was disappointed because I was not chosen to go on the weekend trekking adventure. Nonetheless, I was determined to get on the trip somehow. Monday morning (August 24th) I emailed the EAP coordinator asking if there were any more spots available for the trip. Ten minutes after I sent my email, she sent a message to everyone on the trekking waitlist saying that an extra spot had opened up and the first person who sent her a response would get the spot. So the spot was mine! On Saturday, August 29th, we met at 11:00pm at Campus Oriente and after an hour and a half bus ride deep into the Cordillera, we began our trekking adventure. On the first day, the hike was very pleasant, not strenuous and by 5:00pm we made it to our camping ground. Since the trekking weekend was booked through an outdoor adventure company, our six guides did all the grunt work and carried the tents and dinner for thirty five people. Dinner consisted of ravolis and a packet of kiwi flavored powder to make even more delicious the taste of the nearby stream water where we all refilled our waterbottles (I'm joking, the water tasted like dirt). Around 10:00pm, we headed to the tents to sleep. We woke up at 6:30am the next morning to begin our long long long day of trekking up to the Cerro Durazno.
This is where we started on Saturday morning and the top of the mountain is where we ended up by Saturday afternoon. It was a magical/my butt still hurts when I think about it experience.
The second day of trekking was unbelievable. We literally climbed straight up the back of mountain. As we climbed, we began to see increasing numbers of snow patches and eventually, we were trekking through the snow. Unfortunately, most of us had no idea that trekking would involve climbing up the mountain in snow drifts up to our knees so we were ill prepared with our running shoes, sweatpants and jeans. From 12:00pm until I returned to Santiago at 9:00pm, my shoes and socks were completely soaked. As you can see from the picture below, we followed the foot steps created by the guide but frequently, the snow steps would give way and you would be stuck in the snow past your knee or for height challenged people like myself, around mid thigh.
And we begin our climb.....up! up! and away we go!
The most memorable part of the trip was climbing up what felt like a practically vertical surface. At one point, we were reaching for branches from nearby bushes to prevent falling down the mountain because of the slippery sludge created by the dirt and melting snow.
Where's Waldo? Ten points if you can find me.
Still smiling! And representing UC Davis Women's Rugby from the top of the Andes.
After an exhausting climb, we reached the top, took a 20 minute break and proceeded to climb back down the mountain.
Climbing/running down the mountain.
At 7:00pm, we were all very happy to climb on the bus back to Santiago.
Byebye! Have a good weekend! I will be writing papers all weekend for my classes so email me and tell me about your life because I will be looking for distractions! ecwhite@ucdavis.edu
Words of the day: consejos=advice, voy a morir=I am going to die, mojado=wet, mis zapatos y mis calcetines son mojados=my shoes and my socks are wet, dolor=pain
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