(It's a long one that first goes over the perils of futbol, driving and me, then onto last night, and then finally, talks about TODAY. looks for the ~~~ if you want to skip sections. ))
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Right now, I'm sitting at my hostel in Santiago. The hostel is in Plaza de Armas, a beautiful square in Santiago Downtown that has a park and fountains and....
the mixed cheers of a futbol watching population.
Apparently tonight was the game between Peru and Chile for the Semi-finals.
And after a....9+ hour drive we arrived minutes after the game started. As we walked around looking for something to eat (which we didn't need to go far, there were like 20+ food stands underneath the hostel) we noticed that every food stand, every worker, was looking at the game. Our hostel is on the 6th floor of this building and there's an elevator with and elevator operator.
He had his ear pressed to the radio as he ferried people between floors.
I saw cooks with their phones propped above grills.
Shit's legit.
And there's one more thing that....the ugly truth is, it scared me.
So, this drive that I'll go into more detail below....
it was supposed to only be about 6 hours.
And after the additional 3 hours, arriving in Santiago at night (when I had planned to get here at 4ish!) and finding myself navigating streets looking for my hostel and parking I was already stressed out when I turned down a street behind a bus and....
Stopped.
We sat there for a bit, when I noticed the very rowdy crowd moving towards us.
They were a huge mass of people decked out in the paraphernalia of the two teams, (I didn't know there was a game on, but I could easily guess) and they were loud and rowdy and jacked up.
And I've seen that there are people who celebrate AGGRESSIVELY when their team wins.
And I got extremely worried. People surrounded the car and some people were...not pounding, but they weren't tapping it either. They were slapping the car in an excited rhythm and the police were able to get them out of the street and away but...
it was stressful. I hate driving in downtown areas. Atlanta is about the most I'll do and that's because I work in downtown, but even then it's on the edges.
And I hate crowds.
And I don't care for sports.
So it was this giant culmination of things that immediately would have put me on edge, if I wasn't already there from a 9+ hour drive on the road.
And now that the car is safely parked away, and I'm curled up at the hostel, I can feel a bit better that the game is....now over.
And while there's celebration and disappointment, (Chile lost, 3-0 Peru.) I'm not in it.
If I had gotten here several hours ago before game started, I would only be focusing on the energy that's come from this city of futbol fans and this unity that comes from a bunch of people all rooting for their country. (And I guess there's a lot of Peru transplants because there's a bunch of happy noises.)
Honking is ringing out over the city. There's this buzz of human activity.
I like seeing people excited, I like people coming together, but I also need an *out*.
I have it now so I can enjoy it, I just wanted to share.
So! Let's step away from the introspective fears and move on.
I mean, to be fair there's not much more to say.
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What didn't get discussed last night was how, after the eclipse, we decided to watch the ACTUAL sunset, drink wine, drink tea, watch tv, and then once it got dark, we poked our heads out of the cabin to stargaze.
At first, we were thrilled. We could see the stars! And not just, we could also see the milkyway! Almost immediately!
But then clouds rolled in, so we went back inside, had some dinner (cause by then it was only 7:30ish) and watched some more tv. Right as we were deciding on getting to bed, I wanted to see the sky one more time, and man.
What a good choice.
The stars had come out again!
Jupiter was once again putting on a show, and the clouds had meandered off to where clouds go, and the milkway was not to be outdone.
We saw shooting stars and I saw Libra! And Scorpio!
I love the stars.
Nothing makes me happier than looking up at the sky and this was wonderful.
Our 'neighbors' came out at one point and I got to show them some of my pictures of both the eclipse and the stars.
If I haven't mentioned the neighbors-my bad.
The cabin we were staying at has two cabins on site.
Ours, and a second one.
Both were occupied.
The other was occupied by a family that just decided to have an excuse to come to Chile and the Solar Eclipse was a good enough reason. (Meanwhile, I'm the opposite. I will follow the eclipse and Chile was as good as place as any* to see it.
*within the eclipse path.)
They were super pleasant and even helped us get back into our cabin when we were stuck because we couldn't figure out the door. (It's a whole thing. Don't worry about it.)
So the neighbors came out but for a bit but they called it a night early.
I don't blame them.
But they mistook my enthusiasm for expertise and one even asked, "Are you a scientist?"
"No, ma'am. Just a hobbyist."
But I felt flattered.
So we watched the stars, my face all aglow while the rest of the area was bathed in darkness.
And then eventually, the cold and lateness of the hour got to us.
After all, we had a long day of driving ahead of us.
And packing.
I had put off packing until this morning.
Shame I know.
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But it didn't put us too far behind schedule.
We were able to hit the road by 10 am and off we went!
Except that my phone-while it could get me directions-could not anticipate traffic.
And here's where I messed up.
During the Great American Eclipse of 2017, most people left *the day of* the eclipse. At least in Wyoming and Nebraska.
Probably because the eclipse happened at noon. (ish! I don't remember the exact time though I will look it up.)
THIS eclipse, in Chile, had totality around 4:38.
So, here's what I'm guessing.
Everyone who had come up to the eclipse path, in bits and pieces, had collectively, decided that traveling back on the day of would be a hassle. After all, it would be pretty close to nighttime. Might as well stay the night and leave first thing in the morning.
SO WE ALL LEFT TODAY.
ON A SINGLE HIGHWAY.
WITH TOLLS
AND MINIMAL GAS STATIONS
It is the most short sighted I think I've ever been.
Of course no one would want to drive so close to night!
Of course people would want to stay the night!
Of course people need to get back to work!
So the 6 hour drive I had anticipated took an additional 3ish hours.
Tolls had opened up lanes on the other side to accommodate the GIANT INFLUX of drivers.
Remember how a few days ago I remarked on the 300 million people in Coquimbo?
Well probably 100 million were trying to drive today.
Luckily we had remembered snacks this time, but for the most part, I'm sure my lunch was Cocoa puffs and seaweed snacks, and Katelyn had bread and seaweed snacks.
It's what we had in the car!
The first few times I tried to stop for gas, we couldn't make it to the gas station.
I got to one with about 150+ km to go before empty, which, if you're an American, probably doesn't sound like a big deal.
but if you're an American, imagine driving for 5 hours, with literally, only 4 different gas stations between Point A of your 5 hour trip, and Point B.
Imagine that it's not equal depending on if you're heading north or south.
Imagine if you head north, there's a gas station after 87 miles.
Imagine if you're heading south, there's a gas station after 107 miles.
Imagine you're at less than half tank.
Do you get the stress I was starting to get under?
Now imagine that at those few and far between gas stations, there's only one bathroom with like 7 stalls and there's 30 cars with a minimum of 3 people each all getting out to use the bathroom.
Have I painted a good enough picture?
And no matter how pretty a drive is, (because it's still the same scenery from a few days ago) you can't enjoy it because every 16+ miles you hit stop and go traffic.
Sometimes it's a toll.
Sometimes it's just because.
And it's ALL because we all wanted to leave the Coquimbo region TODAY.
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Despite my complaints, Katelyn and I had a pretty nice drive listening to podcasts and music. We saw wildlife in the first hour which was AMAZING.
We saw foxes (not sure what kind??) Wild donkeys, Katelyn saw an Alpaca, and hawks and other native birds, and of course, the domestic cows and horses and sheep and cows.
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And that was today.
A lot of driving.
A.LOT.of.driving.
And a little more driving with some futbol celebration added in for flavor.
Celebrations are still going on, but I might be able to sleep through it anyways.
A lot of Peru transplants.
(Now it sounds like there's a parade??)\\
Anyways. Good night all.
Thanks for reading.
I've got one more day until I'm back in the states.