I have a deep love for different cultures, crazy foods, huge mountains and meeting people from all over the world. You could say, I love adventure! I have decided to say YES to any opportunity to pursue adventure over the next 11 months, and I began in Chile.
We’re fortunate to receive one day off a week dedicated to exploring the country we’ve landed in. This month in Chile, a few team members and I decided to spend our first “adventure day” biking through the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile and up the Andes Mountains. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! The splendor and breathtaking views we saw throughout the ride were incredible. It’s times like these that put wind in my sails and help me push through the difficult days.
The adventure began here as we followed the sign labeled “Tunnel.” A local mentioned that this was a really cool spot we should definitely check out.
This road led us through a maze of winding canyons, rock faced walls and a barren desert landscape.
As we neared the top, beautiful views started to emerge and snow covered mountain tops far off in the distance shown over the dusty brown desert and beneath the clear blue sky.
At the top, we were rewarded with scenery that looked like a painting and a tunnel that burrowed through the peak of the mountain we had climbed. We ended our day out of breath, sunburned but thrilled to have seen some of Christ’s incredible artwork in Chile!
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Adventure day number two was spent in Tocopilla, hiking up those huge mountains that surround the city. Hiking isn’t really a pass-time here, so we set out in the direction of the mountains without a map, trail or plan. A fun idea turned into a 10-mile hike, spending half the day dangling off the side of a cliff or sliding down a mountain face on our butts because it was way too steep. Adventure.. success! Terror.. unfortunate side effect.
When we reached the top of our first mountain we found.. more mountains! Beyond the mountains that wall in the city of Tocopilla are Chilean hilltops as far as the eye can see.
Up here we absorbed a beautiful view of the city we’ve called home for the last three weeks.
Our adventure brought us to the top of a second mountain where we found a Chilean flag rooted on a mound of rocks, with the writing “#Christo Te Ama.”
Getting to this second mountain was, well.. not as easy as I had hoped. We scaled a few mountain ledges and slid on our butts quite a bit, but thankfully we made it in one piece! Along the way, Rachel and I made a few videos to depict exactly how we were feeling during those “exciting” moments – located at the bottom of this post for your viewing pleasure!
We leave Tocopilla on Tuesday and head to Argentina! I’ll be posting my final thoughts about my time here next week and an exciting look at what’s to come in Mendoza, Argentine.
Todo mi amor <3
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
