THE ATACAMA VIAJERO - IN RETROSPECT

A whole year has passed since I was last in South America - and a whole year has passed since I've taken the trouble to write about it. One could call it a simple sin of omission, but in more real terms I think it has been more like I have been carrying a huge chunk of lethargy on top of my shoulders ever since I returned from that last rather short two week visit over New Year's of 2009.
And speaking of 2009, I'd venture to say that overall, the year ranked as one of the more forgettable years in recent memory save for the celebratory "graduation" of my son Peter from college back in June. Other than that, I'd say it was a year in which I truly lost my focus and drifted aimlessly, rudderless on a bleak, gray sea.
At least in the last couple of months I've recognized that my path, as it was, was going nowhere, and that the soultion was to take charge of things and get back on track.

SETTING A COURSE

Back last autumn, when tickets for the 26th annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering first went on sale, I saw in the brochure that my friend Teresa Jordan was going to teach a three-day nonfiction writing workshop at the beginning of Poetry Gathering week. Teresa is one of those rare artistically gifted people who seem to actually live to create. As a result of her natural inner drive, she has established her credentials as both an author and as a visual artist. I have always admired Teresa, and the fact that I've known her for quite a number of years made easy for me to make the choice to sign up for her workshop, which took place from January 25th through the 27th of this year at the start of the Cowboy Poetry Gathering over in Elko, Nevada - in other words, it took place just two weeks ago.

Now why did I bother to post all that? First of all, I saw that the workshop could provide me with a decent means to finally shake that awful weight of lethargy off of my shoulders and get me pointed back in the right direction. Secondly, I figured if Teresa was worth her stuff as much as a teacher as she was as a writer, then I'd come out way ahead on my investment represented by the actual cost of the workshop in time and money because I would have gained a good amount of insight into the writing process and the tools one can utilize in following such a pursuit. Finally, there was the hope that being there and interacting with other writers could jump-start my own dormant creative juices, which are painfully symbolized in my own mind by the number of unfinished research and writing projects languishing away in countless files - both in my computer and on my bookshelves.

And so this current endeavor is now a big part of the jump-start I just mentioned. Aside from my other projects, one of my most fervent wishes has been to finally put down on paper the definitive narrative of my five (so far) South America journeys.

Many years ago, when I was just graduating myself from the University of Utah, I can recall my father telling me that whenever I set out on a substantial journey, it would behoove me to keep a running journal as I went along. That way, he said, things that would otherwise pass from my memory over time would not be forgotten. Back then I was about to set out on a hitch-hiking adventure to discover the Oregon Coast, and thankfully, I took my father's advice and kept a journal of the entire trip. That was 40 years ago. If I hadn't kept the journal, I'd say that now at least 98% of that experience would have blurred beyond recognition in my memory. But I still have it, and I open it up from time to time and start to read...and suddenly I am carried back to those youthful days, thumbing my way down the coast, vicariously re-living that old adventure.

On each of my South America trips I diligently kept up a journal. And I also knew that by taking copious amounts of photos as I traveled on and noting exactly when and where each picture had been shot in a companion photo logbook would also prove to be quite valuable. Also, once I started to make blog posts I recognized thay they would also become priceless resources, and although my original blog no longer exists online, I managed to burn my posts onto a CD before closing it down. And before the advent of blogging, for my firts trip especially, I was wise to print out the best of the individual emails I had sent out to friends, thus preserving the words of my own voice on my initial trip - which was the real journey of discovery.

So I would like to welcome you all, friends and visitors, to come along with me as I initiate the grand retrospective, starting with a prologue in which I will attempt to explain my initial motivations for going in the fall of 2002 in the first place, and then to dive in and go forward with my narrative. Those great adventures have profoundly shaped me and changed me, and perhaps if I can write my story out good enough, you, the reader, will come to see a bit of that remarkable change. Watch for new and continuing posts right here, with maps and photos included. Cheers!