Alot of ground to cover

Program ended last week. It's weird to think that I now, offically, have absolutely no business being in South America. I said goodbye, probably for the last time, to alot of cool cats from EOD. Los extraño mucho. Then I went to Cajon de Maipo (east of Santiago and partially in the Andes) with Mom, Cheri, Chelsea ans well as my mom's friend and her daughter.  Maipo is pretty amazing. We stayed in this swanky house that was built right on the Maipo river and it was beautiful. Went to a stud farm, winery, white water rafting, horseback riding. It was all pretty killer. I learned that, apparently, a stud farm isn't a place to pick up men. They raise horses. I wasn't paying attention to our guide though because the horses were trying to bite me.

Got dropped off in Santiago when the week was over and met up with my friend Zach to make the trip to San Pedro de Atacama. San Pedro is essentially a desert oasis town that is, literally, in the middle of the Atacama desert in Northern Chile. It was first inhabited by a group of Chilean hippies with dreadlocks but because of its proximity to alot of gnarly geological features, has become a pretty popular spot for Backpackers from all countries with dreadlocks. There are salt flats there (pictured) that are the main habitat for 3 species of flamingos endemic to the Atacama desert. It's pretty amazing seeing literally flocks of flamingos in the middle of nowhere. I asked our guide if Chilean flamingos are endangered and, if not, are they delicious? He just stared at me.

We also went to some cool salt gorges and then swam in some of the saltiest water on earth. Due to the salinity, you jump in to this swimming hole and float like a buoy...it's bizarre. It's impossible to drown which was great to hear. I kept trying to bet a Swiss guy I met to drink the water, he finally asked me "Why don't you do it?" I just stared at him.

Zach and I separated from the group two days ago and made the trip to Arequipa, Peru.
The trip here was....treacherous. Here are the bulletpoints:

1) Being crushed by an entire Peruvian family that was using one seat for all of them and had it moved all the way back...into my knees.

2) Watching Cop Out, Punisher and Ghost Rider back to back on the 8 hour bus ride with Spanish dubs. It was the best time of my life. If you haven't seen Cop Out yet, SEE IT. It stars Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as bungling cops in New York. I smell an Oscar here folks. I'm willing to put 20 Peruvian soles on that.

3) Driving thru the mountains to Arequipa on this thin, winding desert road, looking down at the canyon 100 meters below us and then coming around the curve to see a gasoline tanker crushed and flipped on its side. It was a recent accident I know for sure. I didn't see any bodies but I'm sure the coyotes took care of that before we got there. I looked around in horror at the other passengers around me to gauge their reactions. Most of them were too busy watching Punisher to notice. The Peruvian kid next to me was picking his nose. I peed my pants a little. I have to make this trip again when I go back down to Argentina meaning that the chances of dying on it were just doubled. Done.

I'll be leaving for Machu Pichu with friends in two days and then Argentina where email communication will be almost nonexistent. To the three people reading this: sorry. Chau