2011 commences

Starting the New Year in style I boarded a 17 hour overnight bus to take me to the Elqi Valley where I would be visiting a spa. Rather inconveniently I had a slightly upset stomach but the bus was very comfortable with fully reclining seats so I slept for most of the journey. I dreamt of bad driving but in reality I was to learn that all the buses in Chile are fitted with a digital speedometer for passengers to read and when the bus reaches 100km/h it beeps and the driver slows down. At 10pm the bus stopped to refuel and passengers were allowed to disembark for 20 minutes. Although I had spoken to the driver about the procedure I still doubted my comprehension of spanish and so spent the 20 minutes filled with apprehension that the bus could leave with my bags but without me! This however was the first of many long bus journeys and I would later be the one to advise other confused passengers of the procedure!

The long and winding but good surfaced road took us through the desert and when I awoke in the morning we were following a pretty coastline with what looked like rough seas. I suddenly noticed how the incessant use of car hooters I had become accustomed to in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia had ceased!
On arrival at the bus station in the large town of La Serena I approached various people with my noted down questions, the answers to which I found either unhelpful or did not understand / both. Feeling burdened by my luggage I noticed a bus going to my next detination Monte Grande. Rather than navigating a city for supplies with my heavy luggage I jumped on the bus hoping I would be able to get supplies etc later on. Monte Grande however was a very small town with limited supplies with only a few restaraunts and a small museum, no internet and not much in the way of shops / a telephone. And here is where I begun to learn that sometimes you just have to trust people even though the situation is less than ideal, something that those of you who have already travelled will know all about. Without a telephone, how was I going to call the Eric, a guy who would come to collect me to take me to my final destination? Whilst in the small shop/ restaraunt his nephew (apparently) who spoke a little english tried to call him from his mobile. With no response he said I could leave my luggage at his restaraunt across the road while I went to find a library with internet which was closed! Back at the original shop the girl used her mobile and managed to get an answer eventually and soon enough I had dumped my luggage in the back of his pick up and was travelling along a dusty track to the spa. The language barrier I was experiencing felt larger than the huge dry sparse mountains surrounding the otherwise fertile oasis of the valley. The valley itself was dotted with large scale polytunnels, fruit farms and wineries capitalising on the sun and fertile soils.

The Elqui Valley is said to be the magnetic centre of the world (in the now Age of Aquarius)so there are a few alternative spa type resorts to be found there. The Valley also happens to sit under one of the clearest atmospheres in the world. Out of the way of city lights and maintaining a gentle, steady climate with little precipitation it makes star gazing magical. For me it was like looking up into a soft rolling quilt of space and stars. The depth of field and the amount of stars was incredible. On a moonless night, the starry skies can be seen up to the eighth magnitude with the naked eye and although there are observatories in the area I did not get to visit these this time.

At the small infomal and uncommercial spa resort the buildings of mostly natural materials were dotted about the site in between gardens of drought tolerant plants, hammocks and wind chimes. It had a very relaxing feel to it and I spent three days relaxing, reading, walking (accompanied by the dog from the spa which to be honest was more of a burden at times), indulged in a Reiki and reflexology session and a herbal bath. Interestingly I enjoyed the latter the most, although climbing into a bath of black water consisting of charcoal, oil and petals seemed a bit of an odd thing to do initially. There were no other English speaking guests and with no internet / TV / mobile phone I was completely cut off from the outside world for the first time in ages.
Amongst all of this tranquility and stillness I was however alarmed when the door to my room began to shake then the windows and doors in the whole bulding rattled and shook violently. I found myself crouching on the floor with many thoughts racing through my mind. Aside from the obvious questioning of what the cause might be, I remember thinking how I must not die in another country, so far away from friends and family! Now I can laugh about it but for that moment of uncertainty it was an interesting concept. By the time I had pondered what it could be and what I should do to protect myself (I did not have a clue), the shaking and the noise slowly subsided and my heart rate slowed to a normal rate once again. It was later confirmed that indeed I had experienced a mild earthquake, interesting I can tell you!