My Hike to the Summit of Cerro La Campana
Would you believe me if I told you that there are wild cows living in the mountains of Chile?
Okay, I’ve been on a good number of hikes in a few different countries, and this was only the trial hike for my time in Chile, but I can honestly say that this was the worst hike that I’ve ever been on. I’m accustomed to going on spectacular hikes that are nothing more than nature with a beautifully kept trail to accompany the beautiful landscape. And what’s even better is that they are typically free! Cerro La Campana, once climbed by Charles Darwin (he has a very inconveniently placed plaque commemorating his visit that I climbed to go see), was not free. Which wouldn’t have even been a huge deal! But it was also not well kept and it lacked a lot of safety. What was perhaps most surprising was a park ranger parked at the halfway point of the mountain whose sole purpose was to collect the names of those advancing to the 6,170 foot summit and check them off as they came back down to assure that everyone made it safely… that and the cow I discovered in the woods. I was trippin’ for a second until I saw six more right where the park ranger was and realized they were very docile.
To start, the first half of the mountain was at steep-ish incline on a clear walking path, probably mild to medium difficulty. Along the way, the view was excellent wherever there was a lookout. You reach the halfway point and continue on a similar path and a while later, the final checkpoint “Placa Darwin” (right by his plaque). Immediately after passing this sign, you come upon a warning sign about loose rocks. I was told by friends that completed this trail that “you will have to climb rocks and it’s hard”. What would a hike be without climbing a few rocks? What they should have said, perhaps, was “half of the trail is loose rocks that fell from the top of the mountain at some point. You have to climb these on a trail that is neither clear, nor marked well for about two hours and try not to step in the wrong place and fall down the entire mountain.” While this is a little dramatic… It’s not that dramatic. The view from the top, from the Pacific Ocean to the Andes Mountains, was spectacular. Was it worth the climb?
Moving on
I don’t usually complain or write about bad things, but this is a part of travel, too. And hopefully this is the only time I’ll address this. I tell you about the amazing experiences and show you the beautiful pictures. You know, the things that make you jealous of where I am and what I’m doing. Moving to somewhere different for six moths will have challenges. Obviously my biggest challenge here is not knowing the language. I knew this would be challenging, I knew this would be frustrating. What I did not consider was that people from here would tell me how quiet I am. Anyone that knows me will tell you that I am not quiet. The issue at hand is that I don’t know what to say in a conversation that I don’t understand, and in the parts that I do pick up on, I don’t know how to form the sentence that I would want to say. So then you beat yourself up for making people think that you are one way when you typically wouldn’t be. My brain is constantly working to try to communicate to the point that it is confusing. I had a girl ask, in English, if she could use my phone. I told her “no hablo español” and walked away. I later realized that I had just mistaken my own language for Spanish and gave up too quickly. I also have a reputation around the house of saying “buenos noches” (good night) in the morning and “buenos dias” (good morning) before bed. Baby steps.
but replace "Spanish" with "English"
I’ve traveled a lot, including to other places that have foreign languages, but it’s never been a huge issue, as I know that in a week I will pick up and leave. Here, in a week, I’ll have another 13 weeks. Before, if I didn’t understand, I’d whip out my phone and translate to what I have to say and hold it out for them to read. Here, I know five students that have had their phones stolen for making it known that they have them! I always considered Africa and Asia to be the places that weren’t the “western world” and everywhere I’ve gone had fit that classification. Perhaps I was naïve to think that Latin America had a “western” way of living. Things are different here!
And then comes not knowing where you are at certain times. Typically you’re supposed to travel in packs, but one night on my way home, I was alone after a party at 3am. I got off the bus in the wrong place, but said it was fine and started off on-foot to my destination with the help of my trusty iPhone. Until it died at 17% and dumped me at the top of a hill I didn’t recognize around houses and buildings that looked more or less abandoned or run-down. Luckily, a collectivo picked me up and drove me off-route to my home, which he also could not find. He pulled over other collectivos to ask where the hell I should be. I arrived home at 5:30am in a drunken stupor.
As much as study abroad and travel is fun and games, it is not ALL fun and games. And that is part of the experience! I wouldn’t trade where I am for another place, because that is the loss of an experience. To be worldly you have to see all of it. I am happy here. It’s been just over a month and it just takes some time to adjust.
Chilean fun fact of the day
I was asked why I only have one last name. “Why would I have more than one last name?” Well, everyone here has two last names. That of their father comes first, and that of their mother comes second. When women get married, they never take their husbands name. Everyone’s name remains the same from birth until death.