Back Tracking

I've realized I forgot to update about one of my weekend adventures.

Saturday, April 16th, my friends and I revisited Cajon de Maipo (the place where we had previously celebrated the largest full moon in 18 years).


Melanie's mom, Patty, invited us to stay in a cabin in Cajon. As I arrived, Patty and her friend Christian had already started the grill and opened a bottle of Late Harvest wine.



We passed the time chatting and making new friends while the meat slowly cooked on an overcast day. After our meal, we moved inside, where I quickly got distracted by playing with the settings on Melanie's camera with my new knowledge from Photography class.

 One of the highlights of the night was a Reiki (read about it here) session I received from the newly certified Melanie. I relaxed and let go. Here are some results from my wandering mind.



When she moved her hands across my forehead from the center out, I had the image of her opening a book in my mind. The book then turned into a tree, and I was thinking of how a good book is a beautiful thing for a tree to turn into. The tree then took roots, and I felt planted here in Chile. I suddenly felt her pulling the roots out of the ground as if telling me I shouldn't be permanently planted anywhere, open to change. She then placed one hand on my left foot and one of my right hand. Then reversed. I took this as a time to center myself and my energy, to connect the left and right side of my body. More peaceful thoughts passed through my head as she finished the session. I got up feeling energized and ready for the night.

We passed the night with good company and good cheer, with some funny memories for all of us. The next day, we took our time getting out of bed, and relaxed while the grill was going again. Here's a picture of part of the group, and part of the feast we enjoyed.

Feeling grateful,

Lauren Adele

P.S. I've added a map of the places I've been to the links section on the right.

A Trip within a Trip

After discussing our prospective trip to Valle Elqui for what must have been over a month and almost backing out at the last minute, we finally did it! And let me tell you, it was well worth it.

Melanie, Anna, Chris and I set out Thursday morning "early," around 12:30 p.m. Less than an hour into our road trip, we pit stopped for roadside empanadas that were nothing short of delicious. 

After 8 hours of driving and a hectic grocery shopping trip in the last town before the valley, we arrived at our campsite in the dark. Starving and grumpy, our designated camping chef, Melanie, cooked up some choripan (chorizo suasage and bread, a staple in the Chilean diet) and we set up camp. Finally, we took a moment to look up, and saw the clearest sky full of the most vibrant stars I've ever witnessed. It was truly breathtaking. 

One chilly night in the tent later, we woke up to see our campsite in the full day light. We were pleasantly suprised with our surroundings. 

Alongside our wobbly tents we had set up in the dark...

After eating our leftover chorizo with scrambled eggs, we took on the small town of Pisco Elqui, a town on the far side of the valley. The valley is full of vineyards, but these grapes are not used for wine, they are used for the Chilean liquor, Pisco. It's a staple drink here of which, unfortunately, I'm not a fan. Of course, the first stand we ran into I bought the first necklace I saw. It is made with wood and has a citrine stone in the middle and I am quite pleased with it. The town was also full of murals, of which here are a few favorites.

We then headed back to the campsite to wait the arrival of two more friends, Renato and Peters, coming by bus. We helped them set up their tents then cooked a family meal and made a campfire. 

The next day we woke up hungry for an adventure in nature. We drove a bit outside of the town, picked a mountain on the side of the road and decided to climb it! Instead of describing the mountain and type of climbing we did, here's a picture of the mere first level we encountered. 

With more than a few breaks, we kept on and made it quite a ways up there. Along the way, nature rewarded our hard work with a small patch of grapes that we happily munched on. Near the top, we turned and soaked in the view from the top. Each of us found our own spots for some alone time, where I enjoyed my view, soaked in the energy from the mountain and let my thoughts flow freely through my mind for about 2 hours.

 The view

Renato's spot

We convened again and decided it was time to depart our mountain before the sun went down. This was arguably the best part, as we basically surfed and slid our way down the gravelly mountainside. 

Mel's dirty feet and the rocky slide

Before making our way back to camp, we set up the self-timer to take a team photo. 

Mel, Me, Peters, Anna, Renato, Chris

We made it back to camp, cooked and had a good night's rest before the ride home the next day.

The long awaited and poorly planned trip was a complete success and one for the memory books (as my dear mom would say). I left Valle Elqui with a sense of peace that I did not previously have.

Also, these photos are courtesy of Anna, Melanie and Chris. In additional news, according to the Canon store, I'll be back in business with my camera by Friday! 

Channeling the mountain,

Lauren Adele

P.S. I recommend clicking on the photos to enlarge them.

Panorama

I wanted to get lost in the dark as dawn broke around me, gradually revealing a landscape I'd never before seen.

Video and audio from Anna Pope.

Lauren Adele