Huelga de los Camioneros

In San Pedro de Atacama, we went on a 40km bike ride through desert formations with the French and Australian couples. Along the way, we passed sand dunes, salt crystals, and even a mine field. The next morning, we parted ways with our foreign friends and began the most intense part of the trip yet. Our goal: hitch-hiking. For both the economic appeal and the experience. We took a bus to Antofogasta, which is on the Panamerican highway which runs north-south (the only way) in Chile. Then we started asking around where we could find trucks to take. Right when we were boarding the local bus to the crossroads where we hoped to find a ride, I glanced down at a newspaper and saw the headline which was to foreshadow the next day and a half of our trip. Truck drivers in Chile are striking. We ended up at a random crossroads outside of the city. A Brazilian woman named Claudia who is around 30 got dropped off there also and we joined forces. We found a ride in a small pickup to the big highway 20km away. We all three crammed in the front, I was practically sitting on the gear shifter. When we arrived at the highway, the driver was forced to give a crowd of rowdy striking drivers a toll to pass through. We walked along the road for about an hour with our thumbs out with no luck. We were walking past industrial plants breathing bad fumes, etc. Finally luck came and one of the very few truckers still driving stopped and we climbed in. We rode with him for 3 or so hours and at one point after dark, all three of us had to hide in the drivers bed area when we went through a police checkpoint. I was unaware of the fact that it is illegal for drivers to take passengers. The driver eventually stopped at a truck stop type place that was more of a family´s house with a small restaurant attached. He couldnt go any further because the road was blocked by strikers. Chad, Claudia and I walked into the restaurant into the surprised stares of about 25 truckers. We ordered food and watched the soccer game on tv. The question of where we were sleeping was becoming more and more important. After a long time of confusion and different ideas, we finally were offered a room (for a small payment) from the family who owned the restaurant. There were two small beds but three of us. We pushed the beds together, Chad and I flipped a coin for who would have to sleep next to the sick Brazilian woman, and I won (meaning I didnt have to). haha So someone wouldnt have to sleep in the crack, we slept across the two beds horizontally, all three in a tight row. She was shivering with a fever most of the night and I woke up once to her calling out Chad´s name to turn on the light for her. The whole experience was crazy. We starched hitching this morning and had little luck to begin with. I got out my charango and just sat on the road playing to entertain myself. Finally a pickup came by and took us to a city over an hour away. From there we couldnt get a ride so we took a bus to the city where we are now. I am exhausted. We are about to take a night bus to La Serena which is maybe 5 hours north of Santiago. Sorry this was so long, but it was nuts. The picture is of striking truckers with a road block set up to stop other truckers from working.