It's the culture, stupid

There we sat, exhausted and hungry after a long day's hike in Olmue. We had just spent several hours on the trails of La Campana, having chosen the most difficult for our day's effort. The views at the top were spectacular, and we had incredible luck as the clouds came in only after we had begun our descent. But now we were tired, seeking showers, and ready to head home to Santiago.



But there was a problem. The bus company, who had assured us that busses running from Olmue to Santiago would come by every half hour or so. Apparently, in Chilean, every half hour or so actually means every hour and a half. So we had to wait, and Ulmue was out of bottled water (except, of course, "gasificada"--or carbonated--which some may find refreshing but I find lacking after a dehydrating hike).

This led me to once again question the inefficency and ineffectiveness that seems to plague Latin American business sometimes. Chile may be developing and considers itself European, but travelers still have to "go with the flow" as the customer isn't always right. This put me in a foul mood.

But, as we wandered the streets of Olmue, we encountered a competition of the "cueca," the Chilean national dance. There was a stadium packed with fans from every region of Chile, cheering on the pairs of dancers that represented them on stage. While not as unruly as the soccer fans, they were every bit as passionate, sounding noisemakers and throwing confetti to further their cause. The cueca reminded me of some traditional Mexican dances, as the outfits and music (Spanish guitars, accordians, bass, piano and drums all in the mix) were very smilar. It was free, and a delight to watch. It served as an important lesson why traveling to Latin America can be so great. You don't go there because everything works efficiently as possible. You go there because it has a character that you don't often find in the good ol' cold capitalistic US of A.



But it was nice to get a hot shower back in the city.