June 27, 2003

These past two weeks has been somewhat of a traveling rollercoaster for us, filled with mixed emotions, uncertainty and most importantly, determination.

I had the misfortune of being in the wrong place, at the wrong time about a week and a half ago. After leaving an exciting soccer game in Cordoba, Argentina, I was unfortunate enough to become the target of a group of thieves. In the midst of the frenzied crowd, they were able to get me to the ground despite the surrounding riot police. I guess hence the expression, "I went to a riot in South America and a soccer game broke out!" The Argentine people however quickly came to my rescue and apologized over and over again for the behavior of the "5 bad apples"! While the robbery was unsuccessful (except for my $3 earrings) and the thieves were chased down the street by other Argentines, I walked away with some injuries that we have been trying to resolve since then.

After visiting 5 different hospitals, we finally found a private clinic with a doctor that kisses you on the cheek and a full set of x-rays for $26 USD! I found out that I did in fact have a minor concussion and a fractured jaw from being kicked, but nothing so serious as to stop our adventures! I have simply been spending a lot of time in pharmacies here and quickly learning to love the American medical system. My roommate Kristie, who is a nursing student at USF, has proven to be my life-saver, giving me shots and medicine even when she has to hold me down!

Needless to say, this whole experience has taught me a lot and made me even more grateful that I have been able to continue on in my travels! Our last stop in Argentina was Salta, a small city with horse-drawn carriages straight out of a country-western movie! Here, we took little day-trips to pre-Incan ruins and small indigenous villages built purely from mud. On a 10 hour bus ride, we waved goodbye to the sophistication of Argentina and crossed the Chilean border into the pleasant town of San Pedro de Atacama. In the small dirt town of 700 people, we relaxed with other travelers for a day, drinking Kiwi smoothies and preparing for our next adventure!

We took off from San Pedro at 7 a.m. in an old Toyota Land Cruiser surrounded by a group that would prove to make our 3-day trip into Bolivia unforgettable... a British couple, a 23 year old Israeli straight out of the military, a young German guy, an engineer from France, and of course, the three American girls. Needless to say, if one thing went wrong, we caused quite a bit of chaos, but I am positive that the trip was good for international relations! We spent the three days 4-wheel driving across a landscape of sand dunes, colorful canyons comparable to the Grand Canyon, and snow-capped volcanoes. We visited a red lagoon, a green lagoon, a lagoon full of flamingos and a lagoon full of small icebergs. The diversity of the entire landscape was more than breathtaking! We spent the evenings sleeping in small mud huts where the temperature dropped below zero and layering clothes until our bodies finally believed that a heater existed. We were freezing, but it was worth it to see the clear and immense southern hemisphere of twinkling stars. We were at 16,500 feet and between gasps for air, we marveled at the vastness of a sky unaffected by any electricity! The highlight of the trip was the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt lake in the world. It was quite eerie to stand in the middle of miles of white salt, that looked more like snow, only to be able to see the blue horizon in the distance!

Still in shock from the amazing landscapes we had seen, we arrived dirty and hungry to a small town in Bolivia where we became ecstatic by the sight of a fireplace! We traveled last night in a very rugged bus along a dirt road to where I sit now, the cute colonial town of Potosi. Bolivia's poverty is a stark contrast with Argentina, but from what I have seen, it is a beautiful country with smiling faces! With every day, I am more grateful for being able to be here and excited to continue on through South America!