![\"September](\"http:\/\/charlottamiles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/1-1280x939.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSeptember 9, 2014
\nPeru\/Chile Border
\nThe drop from Arequipa (Peru\u2019s second largest city), at 7,500ft elevation, to sea level was mercifully rapid. While 7,500ft was better than 15,000ft, with asthma and pneumonia, I was still struggling to breathe and was praying that sea level would be better. I was on another course of antibiotics from the clinic in Arequipa, but they did not seem to be working.
\nThe scenery became more beautiful as the world\u2019s driest desert unfolded before us, but, sleeping in the back of Charlotte, I once again missed most of it. With Ned still not feeling well and my fever hovering around 101\u00b0 we found ourselves merely surviving, unable to savor or even appreciate our surroundings. The black cloud was still with us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nSea level brought not only a bit of relief for my breathing, but sunshine too!
\nI was dreading an arduous border crossing into Chile and popped Tylenol to help endure it. Thankfully, it turned out to be relatively painless, and the hour and a half passed in a fog of semi awareness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nBordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Andes Mountains on the east, Chile\u2019s geography is quite unique. While merely 217 miles at its widest point, Chile is 2,670 miles long, reaching down through Patagonia toward the Antarctic Circle.
\nOur drive from Arequipa (shown on map) and through the Chilean border brought us to the northern coastal town of Arica where we got yet another hotel room. It was incredibly frustrating to be surrounded by gorgeous desert and not only being cooped up in a hotel, but paying for it too! However, still choking, coughing and feverish, I was happily accepting any comforts I could find.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nAfter Charlotte\u2019s alternator bracket repairs in Cusco, she was back to running well. Her only ailment was that thousands of miles of rough dirt roads were causing the feet of the roof rack to break through her rain gutters. It was a bit disconcerting, wondering if the whole roof rack would abandon its post and fly off somewhere along the way, but it would have to wait until Santiago. It would be a big welding job, and in Santiago we had friends with shops where Ned could do the repair.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nFrom Arica we set our sights on the town of Copiap\u00f3. As we had thought, Chile was a lot more developed than any other country we had visited, so I had high expectations for good medical care in Copiap\u00f3. Also, from there it would be a quick flight to Santiago where I knew there was an excellent private hospital if needed.
\nThis was the most incredible stretch of the Pan American Highway yet. Ned made 400 of the 700 miles to Copiap\u00f3, and we never saw so much as a blade of grass or even a single town. For desert rats like Ned and me it was sheer bliss. We love the stark beauty and wide open vistas of arid climates and this was the ultimate.
\nAlong the way we were delighted to see the Mano de Desierto (Hand of the Desert), an iconic concrete sculpture grandly poking out of the sand beside the Pan Am.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nMost of the towns in Northern Chile are situated along the coast, so we dipped west off of the Pan Am to get some dinner in Antofagasta just after dark. It turned out to be a mistake. The seedy city was full of bars and casinos and was singularly devoid of decent looking restaurants. I was still miserably choking and coughing, and we settled on the speed and convenience of McDonald\u2019s in sheer desperation. We left the city as quickly as possible, and, back on the Pan Am, Ned was able to find this funny hidey hole where we could camp, unseen from the highway. The night passed peacefully, and I woke feeling a little better.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nWith my fever lower, I was able to sit up front with Ned, have a nice conversation and enjoy the wonderful scenery of the Atacama Desert.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nThe great Atacama is the driest place in the world, with some weather stations having never received any rainfall. It is also the oldest desert. Most areas have experienced \u201cextreme hyper aridity\u201d for at least 3 million years and some as many as 200 million years.
\nThe terrain of the Atacama is reminiscent of Mars, not only visually, but scientifically too. Research on the lifeless soil has assisted in space exploration, while filmmakers have enjoyed the unlimited Mars-like landscape as sets for their sci-fi movies.
\nWe finished our mad dash to Copiap\u00f3 the next day and stayed for five days. The medical clinic was clean and modern, and the doctor there gave me another course of antibiotics that she insisted would work.
\nFollowing is an excerpt from my travel journal: \u201cClinica Atacama way more civilized! Modern, clean, efficient. Unfortunately urgent care full of very sick miserable babies. At one point, waiting to get chest X-ray and blood work, had two screaming, in pain babies in the room and I ended up crying too. This is just too much. How much more can I handle? I\u2019ve been very sick for a month. Have not worked out or enjoyed myself, have lived in fear of being this sick far from home, and I\u2019m so tired if it all. This is where I could give it all up and go home. Somewhere I have to find the strength to keep fighting. I need my spirit back not just my health.\u201d
\nCopiap\u00f3 was a cute desert\/mining town, but we didn\u2019t get to see much of it. The doctor had ordered bed rest for me, so I only ventured as far as the hotel restaurant. Ned, on the other hand, spent his time doctoring Charlotte. Not only did her brakes need changing, but also, as he predicted in the last blog, the monster reinforced alternator bracket caused one of the two puny 8mm mounting studs to sheer off in the engine case. Ned had to drill the whole mess out, and then tap the hole for a 10mm bolt. He was also elected to restock our food and water.
\nIn general we found Chile to be relatively modern, but just as expensive as the United States.
\nCrossing the border, there were two things that changed dramatically. First of all, the time jumped two hours ahead, which meant that it didn\u2019t get light until 8:00am and dinner was eaten around 8:00 or 9:00. The second and most wonderful phenomenon was that the food became miraculously delicious! After months of dreary Colombian and Ecuadorian food, we found our meals in Chile to be diverse and tasty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nWe left Copiap\u00f3 and drove into the desert where we wandered around and camped for four days. The temperatures were perfect, and the air was dry and crystal clean. The Atacama had been high on the \u201cplaces most excited to visit\u201d list, and we were thrilled to be there. Surely this was where I could get finally well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nMining is the greatest economic asset of a desert, and here in the Atacama, copper and nitrates are the most common minerals extracted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nHow to make a new mountain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nOne of our goals was to visit the famous San Jose mine where, in 2010, 33 miners were trapped and dramatically rescued after 70 days. We had no idea what to expect when we arrived, and were hoping for a mine tour. We found, instead, that the mine had been turned into a giant museum commemorating the rescue, and no tours were available that day. The place was deserted, and the lone caretaker said we were free to wander around on our own. Oh goodie. In my feeble condition, I had been hoping for the golf cart tour!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nWe did explore a bit, but I was so weak and breathless that Ned had to continually stop for me to catch up. Among the museum displays were these giant victory photos of some of the miners as they were brought out of the mine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nThe rescue effort included not only locating the miners, but also boring a tube 2,300 feet deep through solid rock. This was the capsule that was built to retrieve the miners one at a time. That had to be an incredible feeling; to be lifted to freedom in that capsule after being trapped for 70 days. Look closely\u2026Ned\u2019s in there!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nThis is the carved reproduction of the first note written on a scrap of paper by the miners once they had finally been located. A small bore had been drilled first to pass food, water and communication. The note says: \u201cWe 33 are fine in our refuge.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nAfter visiting the San Jose mine, we drove several miles completely off of any roads, settling into this fantastic camping spot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nYou can see here that Ned was definitely feeling better, and having been the one to stock up our food supplies, had giant burgers on the menu.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nI got out of bed long enough to munch down a burger patty while Ned attacked his masterpiece. He then took an exhilarating hike to work it off. Climbing to the top of a giant dune, he got to run back down the sandy slope barefoot like a little kid. I crawled back to bed in Charlotte, green with envy. Ned returned just before dark, exclaiming, \u201cI feel alive!\u201d Yes, definitely jealous.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
We meandered south for the next couple of days, and signs of life began appearing. Huge swaths of purple splashed across the hillsides turned out, upon closer inspection, to be beautiful fields of flowers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n One of our contacts in Santiago was a man named Sebastian, who was friend of a friend. We had yet to meet him in person, but he had already been incredibly helpful to us. Sebastian had told us via email to visit some friends of his who owned a beach resort in the north called Basecamp. This remote sand track leading to Basecamp looked promising.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We were not disappointed. Jos\u00e9 and Marcela were warm and gracious, laying out a gorgeous lunch of barbecued beef and lots of yummy fixings. Their little resort is the perfect remote beach getaway place, sporting luxury dome tents, camping spots and a kitchen. We enjoyed a leisurely afternoon chatting with our new friends, but opted to continue pushing south rather than stay the night. My fever had subsided, but I was still having difficulty breathing. The hospital in Santiago was looking like our next big hope.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The antibiotics, while not working 100%, were at least keeping the fever down, and I was able to continue putting one foot ahead of the other. We passed the next couple of days in solitude, enjoying beautiful scenery and camping in gorgeous spots.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Nice place to check on a few things.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Our meandering eventually brought us to the town of Huasco where we needed to get fuel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Coincidentally, it was Chile\u2019s Independence Day, and we watched as people and horses lined up for a big parade. Oddly, when we looked back on our photos we noticed that there were not many big smiles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We eventually stumbled upon this cool pageant being performed in the town square.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It appeared as if the history of Chile was being played out, and it was fun to see in spite of not feeling well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Leaving Huasco, we could see that garbage is a universal problem.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n From Huasco, we decided to take another dirt road south. Being sick makes the risk of remote roads a bit higher, but we had been enjoying the desert so much we were not quite ready for the Pan Am. This whole area reminded us a lot of Baja.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Small mining claims dotted the hillsides, and all of the dwellings looked liked this \u2013 ramshackle and poor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sebastian had suggested that we visit the Valle de Elqui, which is a lush, river valley known for growing the grapes used to make Pisco. Pisco is a brandy-like liquor and is widely enjoyed in Peru and Chile in a drink called a Pisco Sour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Valle de Elqui runs east\/west, inland from the city of La Serena<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We stopped to explore the tiny but touristy (mostly Chileans and European backpackers) town of Pisco Elqui.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dinner in Pisco Elqui was delicious and included a sampling of Pisco\u2026straight\u2026just to see how it tasted. It was not delicious. We had the bartender turn it into a Pisco Sour and it went down just fine floating in a tasty sweet and sour mix.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Continuing south, we found ourselves on yet another dirt road. We kept saying that we needed to spare poor Charlotte for the arduous roads through Patagonia and Bolivia, but we just can\u2019t seem to stop seeking the roads less traveled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The landscape became lusher, but the mining communities were just as rough.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On September 20, we cruised right in to Santiago. Surprisingly, there was no traffic and no navigation fights. The only bad thing was the horrendous smog. Santiago is in a gorgeous setting surrounded by snow capped mountains but you can\u2019t see them! We drove right to Hotel Acacias de Vitacura, and were instantly charmed. Sebastian had made the reservation for us and it was perfect \u2013 a balcony overlooking a lush garden, a fridge, and HEAT again for the first time in the whole trip. The room was done all in white with a white carpet and we cringed knowing we (dirt bags) would trash it! We discovered a big indoor mall near our hotel and spent a couple of hours enjoying modern comforts and escaping Santiago\u2019s damp, smoggy air. We were even entertained by the parking garage (have we been in the sticks too long?). The red lights indicate that the stall is occupied, while the green says it is available so you don\u2019t have to drive up and down the aisles looking for a spot. Wow, who thought of that?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We finally got to meet our new friends, Sebastian and Luz, who were introduced to us through friends in the jeeping world. We had a wonderful meal at their beautiful home, realizing instantly that we were kindred spirits. We are looking forward to spending more time with them when we return in December.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sebastian, ever helpful, introduced us to a friend of his who provided this cozy, temporary home for Charlotte. See you in December, Charlotte! [For those of you who are either not signed up to receive email updates or who somehow missed the last two emails, I have posted copies of them below. The first email, from September, explained that we were coming home … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nI had finished my last course of antibiotics two days before and was already struggling with another relapse. I pulled out a business card Jos\u00e9 (from Basecamp) had given me and began to experience the true kindness of Santiagans. Jos\u00e9\u2019s brother was a doctor at the Clinica Las Condes, the very hospital I had found on Google, and Jos\u00e9 had given me his cell phone number. I hesitated to call on a Saturday night, but I was beginning to feel desperate.
\nDr. Bravo could not have been nicer. Far from being annoyed by my call, he was expecting it. Jos\u00e9 had filled him in previously, and he was ready to set me up with a specialist. I was to call him back on Monday morning at 8:00am. I was close to a melt down at this point, but had high hopes of the specialist being able to cure me.
\nBy Monday I was feeling even worse, but Dr. Bravo came through. In spite of it being the Monday after a long holiday week, he was able to get me in to an Infectious Disease doctor at 1:00pm. Ned had arranged to work on Charlotte\u2019s roof rack and replace the worn out upper A-arm bushings and upper ball joints at a friend of Sebastian\u2019s, so I took a taxi to the clinic (which was serendipitously only a mile away).
\nI waited less than five minutes to see the doctor, who came to greet me personally. Dr. Blamey then proceeded to listen, in detail, to all that had happened since the illness began in August. He also asked pertinent questions, gave me an exam and patiently spent an entire hour with me. In the end, he said I still had a raging sinus infection and prescribed another antibiotic, a steroid nasal spray and an expectorant. As I departed, Dr. Blamey gave me a big, warm hug.
\nInterestingly, when I arrived at the clinic, I had noticed a lot of hugging going on between doctors and staff and I experienced a moment of uneasiness at first. After all, here in the United States, we are well tuned in to the potential pitfalls of sexual harassment. But here in Santiago, Chile I found it heartwarming, and my hug from Dr. Blamey was a welcomed comfort.
\nDr. Blamey had also set me up to see an ear, nose throat doctor who was equally as patient and kind. Unfortunately, he said I was battling allergies as well and prescribed four more drugs, on top of the three I was already on, one of which was oral steroids. I have for years, chosen alternative, natural medicine over traditional pharmaceutical medicine, even for Lyme disease, and the thought of taking seven drugs was horrifying. Ned and I had a long hard discussion, weighing the option of \u201cdrugging up\u201d and continuing on or flying home. It was a hard decision, but once made, home sounded like paradise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nCatch up with us again in December when we return to take on Bolivia, Patagonia, Argentina and the very tip of the continent\u2026Ushuaia\u2026this time brimming with health and energy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"