Salinas

The place that at first seemed so idyllic has shown its backside, yet I´ve learned a great deal about village agriculture and unfortunate drinking culture. Men drink from 1 am, and unfortunately, so does the mechanic, who in the end, ruined a part of my front break which they don´t have in the village. Couldn´t get him to fix it though. He was out drinking. No one had time to help me fix the kick- stand which suddenly broke, too. A part of me was relieved that I got stuck long enough for that to happen, instead of it happening on the way. Another part was pissed off, having to wait yet another day, and pushing my heavy bike around on the bumpy streets, while wearing all my hot gear because I was supposed to leave for the salt flats that morning. I was fighting for my way out of here, all morning. Seriously fighting, and asking everyone if they knew someone with a truck that could bring me to Oruro or Chatacalla. In the end, I was told that one could hitch hike from the main road, and there I met Grober. This is a little, little town, so everyone knows who he is. That’s comforting, as he loaded my bike onto the truck, and we´re off at four am. He´s bringing me straight to a mechanic, then I can go to Uyuni. Yet this town has turned me into a pessimist, and I´m expecting something to go wrong!







The reason why I´m now a pessimist is how unreliable people are. They really don´t mind making you wait, and often things don’t happen, to Ines´ dismay, as she´s relying on them to do her interviews. Yesterday, I went with her and the hotel owners family to another community, even smaller. We worked on their quinoa farm, which was murdering my back. I have a great respect for what they do. I followed Ines down to the houses for her to do her diet questionaries, before we jogged along towards Salinas. We got tired, started walking, rested, started walking, rested, and time just kept going without the others showing up. What had happened? We didn´t think they could work in the dark, but they did, and finally showed up 2,5hours after they were supposed to. We had been walking in the middle of nowhere, with only starlight, wondering if the car had broken down and how long it would take us to walk the 11kms to the next village.

Quinoa is everything here, which one could tell in the cooking competition, where everyone made quinoa soup and llama fricase. Its just that the people in the community have great areas of land, and are without right to sell it. Its decided that the land stays in the community, even though the kids don´t necessarily want to become farmers. Most of them don´t. Most of them want to get away, just like me and Ines. Maybe her attitude affected me a bit, but I really don´t have time to hang around! I´m going to New York on the 30th of April, and need to sell my bike. I´m all broke, because I needed to buy a brand new ticket, as the payment meant to change my ticket, several months ago, never went through.

She has saved me with a movie and sex and the city episodes, which was a nice break, after finishing all my books, too. I wrote today, instead, and felt at ease after rediscovering who I was again. I think this experience will be one I´ll have to digest, but I won´t forget or completely regret my wrong turn. At least I´m tan, at last!