The bus wobbled back and forth as the curvy streets of Coquimbo passed by outside. Looking anxiously around the bus at the dwindling number of passengers, I noticed we were thinning out quickly. Every few minutes I would get a closer glimpse at the one thing I was trying to avoid Coquimbo. Our bus driver seemed determined to take us closer and as we weaved through the hilly streets of the city I came to realize that was precisely his intention. We turned a corner and slowed to a stop. The remaining two passengers hopped off the bus and I sat there wondering what to do. About 50 meters away, looking ominously bright, as if warning me to stay away, sat the massive Cruz Del Tercer Milenio. An 83 meter tall cross on the hill, overlooking both Coquimbo and its neighboring city La Serena. We’d heard a lot about this cross, how it was the largest monument in South America, how you could climb up it for a epic view of the city and, more pertinent to my current predicament, how it was the one place to avoid in Coquimbo as the neighborhoods surrounding it were notoriously bad. We’d heard from Uber drivers, our Airbnb host, and our own research to stay away from the area around the cross, particularly by yourself and especially at night. I was checking all the boxes at the moment. Mental images of getting robbed, stabbed, or beat up started to flash to mind. Not too mention it was a two hour trek through those streets to get home. I stepped to the open door of the bus and looked out into the dimly lit street. Here I go…
Let me back up. The unfortunate journey to the cross started on a more fun note. I had sensed the Holy Spirit saying earlier in the day to go to a climbing gym in La Serena. If I’m being honest, I really didn’t want to go. It involved going by myself on an hour bus ride and a half hour walk. The kind of climbing wasn’t one I particularly enjoyed as it involved no ropes and people taking turns climbing the wall.
The Climbing Gym (not pictured, the group of onlookers)
My mismatching climbing shoe rentals. Apparently I have big feet by Chilean standards.
I typically love climbing, but this kind involves a line of people sitting on the mat watching each climber in between climbs. I’m a six foot tall blonde American, I knew I was going to stick out. In the end though, I felt God saying He had something for me there and I did miss climbing. After an uneventful bus trip there, I enjoyed some fun climbing and even had a couple cool conversations with some fellow climbers. When I left I was feeling good. My only slight concern was that it was little later then I had planned and I wasn’t sure if I could make it back to our Airbnb before sunset (a rule for us is that we are never allowed out by ourselves after dark). Thankfully we were staying in a safe area of the city and the bus stop was close so I wasn’t overly concerned. As I stepped onto the crowded bus I felt confident and content.
Fast forward an hour and both of those feelings were noticeably lacking. As I stood at the bus doorway and thought about what to do I could sense the bus driver looking at me curiously. The very white gringo being dropped off in the bad part of town. I sheepishly smiled and dumbly asked “is this the end of the bus”? He looked at me with confusion and said something in Spanish. I whipped out my phone and pulled the location I was trying to get to on the map. The bus driver began anxiously pointing in the opposite direction and saying something in Spanish. He was getting quite animated with a concerned voice pointing towards the center of the city (away from where I was staying). I suddenly began to understand that I must have missed a connection at the center of the city and that I needed to head back there for the correct bus. I sighed, this was going to get interesting. I prepared to step off the bus again when suddenly my driver motioned for me to sit and smiled. He then hopped behind the wheel, took the bus destination sign down (shutting the bus down) and started driving. I watched with sweet relief as the dark city streets of Coquimbo began to slip away and the suburbs where I was staying came into view. Like a guardian angel my bus driver Marcus navigated out of the city and dropped me a block from my house, smiled, gave me a wave, and drove off. I walked home thankful for Marcus and God for safely escorting me home and through another adventure.
