RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK

Here on the central Chilean coast, time passes by slowly, defined mostly by the ebb and flow of tourists coming out to spend a few days relaxing on the beach, usually for a well-deserved break from the stresses of an urban life in the metropolis of Santiago, which is only a couple of hours drive inland from this modest-sized resort town of El Tabo.
But for yours truly, this stay has been something a bit different. By the time I will finally depart from here on my final return to Santiago on the 15th of January, I will have spent the better part of a full month (four weeks) enjoying the peace and quiet of my rented cabaña here at "Las 7 Cabañas."
Now I suppose that some people might think I´ve retreated from the original expressed intent of going off on another adventure, and they´re right. But when one takes a look at the way things are here currently, especially in regards to the costs involved in continuing to drive great distances across the length or breadth of the so-called "Southern Cone" of South America, then the picture takes on a different hue.
One factor which really stands out in my mind has been the dramatic slide in the value of the U.S. dollar in relation to the Chilean peso. When I came here for the first time, in November 2002, one dollar could buy 735 Chilean pesos. Now, as of this morning´s currency exchange rate, a dollar will only get you 487 pesos, and that´s down from the 505 pesos it could buy back when I arrived here in late November, 2007. A big reason for this fall has been the continued rise in the price of copper (which just went up by a stunning 5% at the beginning of this week), and Chile is just about the world´s leading producer of copper, which is one reason why Chile´s economy is surging. Add to that the whole myriad of factors which are depressing the value of the dollar, and you can see that making a trip like this has become a very expensive proposition.
Another factor has been the stunningly steep price for gasoline here, as elsewhere. When I started out on my drive northward from Santiago back on the 1st of December, I immediately was shocked at the much higher price for fuel from what it had been back during my last trip of February-March 2007. Now, as most of you know, my plan had been to drive north as far as San Pedro de Atacama and then to cross the frontier into Argentina, and then work my way gradually back south. Well, the explosion in the pickup truck on December 11th effectively ended that plan, but I still had a long way to drive - to get back to Santiago by retracing my steps instead of touring through NW Argentina. What I am saying is that even though I didn´t do Argentina, I still consumed the gas. The long drive up to San Pedro and back (3600 km, or about 2232 miles) cost me a total of 243,550 Chilean pesos. Converting that to U.S. currency at the 500 pesos per dollar rate, that´s $487 dollars spent just for gas, to travel that distance. And if you are wondering, my calculations, converting pesos to dollars and liters to gallons, indicate that my average price for gas was a stunning $5.33/gallon. To me, those are fairly sobering figures to contemplate. . .
Anyway, as I´ve said, for me, the December 11 explosion effectively ended this trip. But I still had over five weeks left until my flight back to the USA was scheduled (and I had a no-change clause in that contract), so my choices were limited to: 1.) buying another ticket entirely, a pricey one-way ticket; or, 2.) make the best of it, and spend as little as possible. In reality, there was only one choice, then. I remembered having enjoyed the tranquility of my two previous stays here in El Tabo, and since I was not wanting to spend oodles of cash for gas nor did I want to encounter any more unexpected setbacks, it was an easy call to return.
And the Savignones (the caretakers here) also had pleasant memories of my previous stays, so they graciously rented me their cabaña no. 5 for approximately four weeks duration. Also, they gave me a price break, giving me the place for the cheaper December rate of 20,000 pesos/day ($40 USD) instead of the standard January rate of 30,000 pesos/day ($60 USD).
As far as most of the time here, I´d say it was a great choice. But there has been one unfortunate development. That little street dog´I´d made friends with, "El Negro," unfortunately had a bad case of pulgas (fleas), and quickly that became a problem for me, too, as some of the buggers climbed off of Negro and started giving me some very itchy bites! I had to get out the Jungle Juice and apply it daily to my torso while at the same time it was necessary to de-bug the cabaña with a strong dose of Raid. Even a bath couldn´t rid poor Negro of his nasty little buggers, so I have had to chase him away whenever he has come around, and if he stops to take a nap on the porch of the cabaña, I get the Raid out and give the porch a thorough dousing. Thankfully, after treating the cabaña and exiling Negro from my premises while also keeping him at a distance, I am no longer being bitten. It´s sad, because he is such a friendly little dog, but the fact of the matter is, you do what you have to do.
Anyway, regardless of the fact that I´ve had to stop being friendly with little Negro, I am continuing to enjoy this time here. But there´s only six nights more before I return to Santiago and spend a final few days there before the flight home. So it is.