Chilean Sea Blog: Just Call Me the Goddess of Camping

I have learned many important skills growing up in New York City, including how to walk like I mean business, how to spot fake designer merchandise, how to navigate crowds as if I were a small child to get the best spot at a concert/on the subway/when needing to see a celebrity and so on. I would not give up these abilities for anything in the world and I adore New York City as if she were my own sister. However there are many things that New York didn’t teach me, and I discovered these holes in my skillset this past weekend when I went camping.

Now I know what you guys are thinking, “I bet Rebecca carried out this camping weekend with the same grace in which she carries out her everyday life!” Ah yes you would be right because like I said, growing up a child of concrete sidewalk has taught me many things, but jumping, balancing, judging distances from which it’s safe to jump and balance were not included in the package.

We went on a hike that essentially began off the side of a highway up the stream of a creek (not a river as I was I corrected) that at first was pleasantly covered in garbage. We questioned what we were doing in the hike in a landfill but decided to keep going to see if the views would improve. They definitely did because as we kept walking the garbage cleared and visible were these hugemongus rock walls, desert-like plant life, clear sky above, and mountains like enormous shoulders surrounding us.

Now, I said that I wanted everyone to slow down so I could enjoy the breathtaking nature-ness of it all but really it was because I was having a hard time! This particular trail has us climbing up rocky inclines, sifting through sharp bushes like I was Indiana Jones, and hopping on stones back and forth across the creek! Picture me doing all of these things for a minute. Alright, that's enough I think to understand the state I was in.

Along the trail there were all these Chilean families and groups of friends who set up camps. At some point when it clearly seemed like I was having trouble getting back across the creek a Chilean man offered to give me a piggy-back ride across. I swallowed my pride and jumped on… I was not going to have an opportunity for me to make it across the river without falling in pass me by! At some points though I just went for it and walked through the river without even trying to use the rocks, a girl knows when she’s been had!

The creek eventually led us to a beautiful waterfall that we were able to wade around in. Despite all of my ranting, the entire hike was incredibly lovely and fun. I truly enjoyed the experience even though I wiped out so many times on the way back that my friend insisted I hold on to his forearm for protection. One of my favorite moments from the hike was when another friend turned to me and said “So uh, did you ever play any sports in school?” The funny thing about it is that I actually did! What do you think gave it away that I’m not athletic?

The rest of the weekend was also super great; we slept in tents on this campsite that sat on top of a river and in front of a mountain. I did not sleep very much, nor shower at all but it felt so liberating to be dirty and stanky without caring. We ate roasted marshmallows, laughed a lot, and enjoyed each other’s company without distractions. There is nothing like looking up at a clear sky filled with stars, maybe not even dare I say looking out the artificial stars created by my favorite skyline.

Ciao!