We Got Shook

(Our friend Jonathan Cort created the term ¨to get shook.¨ If you got shook, then you had your world rocked--in a bad way.)

We Got Shook #1

... so that critical decision to visit Uspallata sent us into a bit of a tailspin. I was legitimately cranky when we arrived (hungry, sleepy, had to pee, sore throat, waah waah waah) and we couldn`t find any information on hiking or backpacking. After lunch, we found out that the treks are an hour away and you have to go with an expensive guide. Our plan was foiled! The town was tiny and a bit sad, so we thought, ¨no harm done. We`ll just take the first bus back to Mendoza in the morning.¨ Our flight out of Mendoza was two days later, anyway.

Next stop: the bus station, where the ticket saleswoman told us that there were no buses leaving the next day. We panicked because there are typically five each day. She said something that we didn`t understand and then said that she didn`t know when the next bus would be leaving. We have heard about bus strikes a lot down here and my heart sank. Clint said, ¨I don`t want to believe it yet, we`ll go back and ask again in the morning.¨But I spent all night with visions of having to hitch-hike through BF-Argentina. Thank goodness, Clint was right. The next morning the same girl said, ¨no problema¨and booked us on the first bus. We still don`t know what she had been talking about the night before and are just thankful that either she was wrong or we misunderstood her.

We Got Shook #2

Between Mendoza and Lima, we had an overnight layover in Santiago, Chile. We planned to leave the airport, find a hostel, sleep, and come back to the airport for a 7 am flight. We went to get our luggage (which we had checked to Santiago for the night) and found out that Chile charges an entry tax (only to Americans, Canadians, Australians, and Mexicans) of $131 USD! Just to get our bags, leave the airport for 10 hours, and check back in! Then they charge us another $30 USD to leave the country again. Between fees, a hostel, and taxis, this night`s stay in Santiago would have cost us $500. We couldnt stomach spending so much for a night`s sleep, and I didn`t want to pay those taxes on principle--man, I was mad that Chile separates out four countries to rob every time they want to visit.

So we checked our bags the rest of the way to Lima and scouted out the most comfy place to rest in the airport. We used a couple Ambien that we had left (thank God and thank my mother for those) and slept on a bench in an airport Ruby Tuesday`s. After the 7am flight to Lima, we caught a cab to a bus terminal and took an eight-hour bus to Huaraz, Peru. It was so wonderful when we finally arrived and slept in a bed and took a shower. Ah, the small pleasures of long-term travel. I`m not sure what it will feel like to be back home with food in a cabinet and a bed and shower that you don`t have to shop for every few days.

The Moral of ¨We Got Shook¨

Clint made an analogy about these experiences: anyone can steer the ship when the seas are calm. It`s nice to know we made it. As exhausted, filthy, and miserable as we were for a day or so during these experiences, I am thankful that I had Clint as my partner. And now we are well fed, rested, and getting ready to embark on the next adventure: trekking in the Cordillera Blanca for four days.