Once again, I am going through some of my old diary entries and posts from my old blog. I found this write up about Chile:
We set out at 7:30 AM headed towards the coast. We were to drive almost two hours and then meet our skipper and the boat that would sail us around a few islands in the Beagle Channel (discovered by Charles Darwin, whose ship was the HMS Beagle. This has nothing to do with Snoopy!) We busted our butts on an old bus for nothing, as it turned out to be a gray, overcast and windy day.
We travelled in an old bus that looked like it was from the 1960's. I was surprised it survived the journey. The first big hill was a challenge…we had to back up and give it another try. I didn't think we would make it. Hill after Hill, we barely would reach the top. The bus was sputtering and motor was gasping. I thought the bus was having an asthma attack! About 30 minutes from the coast, we were overcome by a horrible smell. It smelled as though the clutch had gone out and the grinding and burning smells were filling up the bus. We were crawling along at about 15 or 20 MPH. Immediately, everyone opened the windows, but the bus was surrounded by smoke. The open windows let the smoke fill the inside of the bus.
Finally, the driver stopped and let the bus cool down for about 15 minutes while we all walked around. The driver tried to start it a few times but it was of no use. The clutch was gone, we were miles from anywhere, it had just started pouring rain and the wind was ferocious. Some of the locals tried to use their cellphones, but they could not get a signal. We were literally "Off the Map." We waited and hoped for a passing car, but I knew that was unlikely. For the past hour of driving, I had not seen another vehicle going either direction.
Two groups set off to walk in each direction, hoping to find a vehicle. They would walk for one hour and then walk back. The rest of the people waited. I started walking with the group towards the coast, trying to make small talk and learn about the local culture. Luckily, after only about 15 minutes of walking, we saw a truck approaching in the distance. It turned out to be a truck from the nearby Chilean Naval base out for a drive. I guess there isn't much to do on a a Chilean Naval base because they said they do this every few days just to escape the boredom of the base. Anyway, they took a few with them and told us to wait. They would send a couple trucks to pick all 35 people up in about an hour.
I stayed at the bus and we just sat around. We waited and waited. I started getting nervous after an hour and a half and no trucks, but I kept reminding myself that this is Latin America and they go on a whole different time system than us. Here, when someone says an hour, it can mean two or more.
Finally, the trucks got there. It was an open flatbed with huge fuel tanks on board. There was hardly enough room for all of us, but we somehow got packed on there. It was a miserable ride. Pouring rain and biting cold winds made for a terrible half hour drive to the base.
Then, at the first hill, we have trouble. The fuel tanks break loose on one side and come hurling into us….one of the women ends up on her back with gasoline splashing all over her. Then a couple others get drenched with gas. One boy is screaming has he got a cut on his leg and the gas is pouring over him. Gas on open cuts is not a good thing! All of a sudden, a girl slips in the gas and falls over the side. The truck stops and we get the girl. Luckily, she only has a few bruises. The soldiers tie the tanks back up and we are back on the road with many frightened Chileans clinging on for dear life. Luckily, I was sitting up by the cab and missed the gasoline bath, although my bag does get soaked in gas.
We finally make it to our destination at about 2 PM (we were supposed to be there at 10 AM). I find out the the port was closed due to the weather, so no boats will be going out. I was supposed to sail down the coast to my next destination and hotel before heading over to Ushuaia, Argentina. There would be no bus going back to the hotel I was at last night and I was now stuck on a Naval base with nowhere to sleep and nothing to eat. The Naval commander was very nice and understanding. He made a few phone calls and talked to a few of his friends. One of his friends agreed to let me stay in his house. The commander took me there and cooked a nice dinner and started the three fireplaces up in the house. We ended up talking until well after midnight.
The next morning, the weather was better, but not good enough to sail. The Naval commander told me that some boats would be patrolling the water today and they would take me over to my next destination. The Chilean Army was super nice. They even let me fire the big guns on the bow of the boat!
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