No Regrets

As our group of not-so-merry travellers rode along the Bolivian landscape in our 4x4 jeep along with our guide and cook we took in the scenery that unfolded before us. Beyond every pass another spectacular view point presented itself, more unique and awe-inspring than the once before it. A diversity lagoons, packs of wild llama and apaca, thermal springs and rolling mountains that I simply couldn´t imagine picturing anywhere else but the southwest corner of Bolivia.

But after 3 consecutive 7 hour days packed in a jeep, journeying through the desert that burned us during the day and froze us at night, suffering the affects of altitude sickness that the local medicine couldn't seem to alleviate and wanting for a hot-shower there wasn´t a lot of cheer to go around. We idly glanced at the towering cacti, the vivid rolling rock faces and the perfect snow capped volcanos set amongst the painted desert. The Brazilian girls continued jabbering away in Portuguese but the Canadian guy and I had run into a lull in our conversation. My thoughts turned once again to how fast I could make it to Lima if providence worked in my favor.

I´ve seen more splendid sights in the past several months than I previously thought possible. And while every beautiful mountain, ever winding river and every white-sand beach made me stop and ponder the masters plan that created these sights none of them tortured my thoughts the way a single human soul did.

I´d started this four-day trek not knowing where my next destination would be, but hoping and dreaming that somehow fate and fortune would find a way to deliver me back to where I wanted to be most. Arrogance, pride and insecurity kept me from absolutely throwing caution and reason to the wind and doing the inadvisable. But I told myself to be patient, not to fret about what I couldn´t control and wait and see what the world presented me. Those words brought me comfort but I still found myself imagining what messages might await me once I was finally connected back with civilization. No matter how I tried, I couldn´t control the anxiety that boiled inside.

The fourth day of our journey we finally came to the Salar de Uyuni. The largest, highest salt flat in the world. All of us were in a little better mood after a decent night sleep and finally having had a shower. The Korean girl even managed to make a few jokes and jump into the conversation. And when we found ourselves in the middle of the 12 thousand square kilometer, 8 meter deep, remnant of a long forgotten sea we forgot our trifling complaints and marvelled at this surreal sight.

This great salt flat is nothing like I previously imagined. And I continued to be shocked at the thought that this scene wasn´t known throughout the world and recognized as the one of a kind spectacle that it was. As we stopped and lunched at the Isla de Pescado, an ancient coral reef that died and gave way to a land of mass jutting above the flat stretches of salt that seemed to go on forever, dotted with towering cacti older than the civilization that now protected it, that for thousands of years lay at the bottom of an ancient sea which vanished once the neighboring volcanos forced this entire region towards the heavens, we counted our fortune and being able to witness this sight ourselves and knew that no words or pictures could convey what we were seeing with any sense of justice.

We eventually made it to the end of our journey to the uninspiring town of Uyuni and our group of 5 travellers agreed to spend the night before heading our own seperate ways tomorrow. We found a hostel and a hot shower and figured out tickets to our next destination and made plans for dinner. My thoughts once again turned to what messages could possibly be awaiting.

My Dutch friend Joost who I met in Cuba gave me some excellent advice not too long ago. He told me that when you experience magic in its truest form you only have two options. You can try to recapture that magic or not. If you try and fail, you will certainly be disappointed. If you succeed there is no limit to the rewards that await you. But if you never try at all you will certainly spend the rest of your life regretting your decision.

When I finally checked my e-mail the message I had been hoping for was there. I already knew that Joost was heading back to Cuba. And now so was I, coincidently during the same dates. But I of course was not heading to see him. I was venturing of to chase a lightening bolt, hoping it would strike twice in the same spot.