Knife Grinder. San Pedro
It was election weekend in San Pedro. The voting was due to take place on the Sunday and as a result all alcohol was banned from 10pm on the Saturday night until the polls closed at 10pm the following night. Even to tourists. In what was supposed to be an act of defiance the local 20 - 30 something’s had organised an illegal party. This was exciting. At about 11pm we all gathered outside a pub and by midnight about 40people were being ushered out of town and asked to keep quiet. It reminded me of the illegal raves they used to have outside Peterborough back in the early 90’s where no-one knew where the location would be until they got there.
We walked in the freezing cold for ages until we eventually got to the venue - a tiny squat. Everyone squeezed in and a few people lit joints - including Tim who had managed to score. The room was no more than 15 feet long and 8 feet wide. Most people didn’t bother going in because there was no room. All the windows were closed and they would not keep the door open for fear of someone hearing them. There was no music for the first hour and when it finally arrived it was put on so low it was barely audible.
Why am I telling you all this? These poor people were petrified of the police. They weren't even drinking. Nobody had bought any. We left shortly afterwards. I'm still not sure whether it was just a shit party or whether these people are still terrorised with memories of the Pinochet era. It sent shivers down my spine. They were so worried at being caught the music could only be heard if you were sitting right next to the tiny speaker. We were so disappointed. Will we ever get to party again on this trip?
We said goodbye to Maz in San Pedro. He was a good guy. He always seemed to manage to get himself into some sort of scrape or other. He got himself beaten up in Cusco when some guys had tried to rob him and he fought back, then he really hurt his hand when he fell off his bike on Death Road. By the time we left him he looked so battered and bruised. Poor guy. I feel bad that he hasn’t seen the real me. I was still suffering really badly with my nose after La Paz - the irritation was driving me nuts and water kept on streaming from my nostril. To add to my misery I was pre-menstrual when I first met him and on by the time he left. Between night buses and my bloody nose I hadn't slept for days. I guess what I am trying to say is that for all the time he was with us I was pretty miserable - Dana at her worst so far. He must have secretly been so relieved to get away. He went to Argentina - lucky thing.
We went on to Bahia Ingles - a really lovely little bay which would have been lush if it wasn't grey and freezing cold. What made it worse was that this weather is apparently unusual for November in northern Chile. Tim managed to score again from a local guy who we ended up making friends with and sharing a lush seafood dinner on the beach.
The local fishermen gave him a huge bowl of some sort of fish, a little like squid for free. He’d dressed it with lemon juice and invited us along. We picked up a bottle of wine, some bread and some chocolate for desert. It was a really nice night, and the first time really that we had spent any quality time socializing with the local people since Venezuela.
The problem we are finding is the language barrier. Most people on the tourist trail speak some English but not enough to be able to sit down and have a proper conversation. My pseudo ‘Spitalian’ is coming along nicely and I get by, but Tim ends up staying silent. He’s started to get really frustrated by it. What will tend to happen is that they will try at the start to engage him in conversation then they just give up and carry on as if he wasn’t there.
Masol was amazing – I have never seen anyone so patient. I guess it really takes someone who really cares enough about talking to you to put the effort in. He wasn’t a loner – he had lots of friends in the Bahia – he was just really nice. I remember reading in the Lonely Planet before I left the UK that Spanish lessons were a must before travel. Green as I was back then I thought they were going a little over the top. No way. I would recommend lessons to anyone. They would improve the trip immeasurably.
San Diago was a bit of a dull one for us to be honest. The weather was cold and a bit rainy. Wherever we go we seem to be dogged by the rain and people insisting that the weather is not normal which makes it even more annoying.
We arranged to meet up with Ian, a friend of Sonia’s from back home which was nice. He’s been living in San Diago for 10 years. It was really nice to go round to his house. We hadn’t seen a ‘home’ for so long. We really enjoyed a night slumping into a sofa, watching TV and drinking English tea. We also went for a lush meal. It was a really nice night and I’m glad I plucked up the courage to email him. Thank you Ian.
We visited a fantastic church that overlooked the city and dodged the cable cars that I was certain were going to hit us or fall off onto our heads.
Our hotel was funny. Bloody fantastic shower - hurrah! But the owners were odd (what is it with Chilean hotel owners??). The woman was the sweetest lady ever, but she was wearing a massive wig that threatened to fall off her head all the time. The only other person there was a chap who I think was her son. He couldn't speak properly and one eye stared out in the wrong direction. Forgive me, but had any small children gone missing I would have sent the cops straight for him. Tim kept freaking me out saying that there were secret cameras in our room. The only time in ages I get a lush shower with unlimited hot water and he goes and spoils my experience.
Unfortunately, my strongest memory of San Diago was getting my phone stolen from my bag right underneath my nose by two teenage girls. The actually took it out of my bag while it was on my shoulder!
We were not there long enough to explore properly and most of our time was spent looking for the police station to sort the phone out.
I was really nervous about dealing with the police, but they were so incredibly nice and helpful. The people here are really nice. There was one woman who after having waited ages to make a claim offered to come in and sit with me during my interview so that she could translate to the police for me. What a sweetie. Thank you nice lady.
At the station they told me that gang masters give the kids food and lodging in return for the things they steal, Oliver Twist style. I was annoyed when I first realized it was gone, but it’s only a phone. Daniela is coming out to meet us in Thailand for Christmas so she’ll be able to bring me another out if I organise it with the insurance company in time.
I’m upset more than anything because Tim kept forgetting to buy film, so most of our Chile photos were taken on the phone. Now they are lost for good and I am absolutely gutted about that. Why, why, why did we not buy a new digital camera at Heathrow?
I mean it when I say though, that I really hope those kids got a decent bed for the night and a good meal. I’d much rather they steal my phone than have to prostitute themselves or worse.
No comments:
Post a Comment