Valley of DEATH!!

ok... 1, 2 skip a few. I have a fair bit of blogging to catch up on from the last few weeks, but I´m going to skip`forward here to relay to you what happened yesterday... perhaps the most stressed, the most frustrated, the most exhausted, the most scared, the most tired, the most relieved and the most appreciative I have felt on this whole trip.

Firstly to set the scene. We´re in San Pedro de Atacama at the moment in the middle of the Atacama desert of Northern Chile. There are a lot of sites surrounding the town here, so I decided to splash out and rent us a 4x2 Nissan ute to get around in.

Yesterday, we thought we´d take the chance to hire a couple of sandboards and have a go. We had read in all the brochures that Valle de la Muerte (the valley of death) is the place to go for sandboarding with a 150m high sand dune. So about 1pm we hired some boards and set off. We knew approximately where the valley was and headed in that direction. We saw a couple of bike riders with boards on their back, so we followed them down a rough track. It turned out they didn´t know where they were going, so we offered and they chucked their bikes in the back of the ute and joined us for the search.

After venturing down several rocky tracks we found one that we were sure was correct because we could see the massive dune in the distance. We came over a crest and there it lay in front of us. The road we were on lead down the side of the mountain to the dune itself... what I didn´t count on was just past the crest... incredibly soft sand... we made it about 5m before the ute bogged. There was a rocky piece of road just ahead, so we dug and pushed and managed to get the ute onto the hard surface....

Just after freeing the car for the 1st time.

now... the problem... there was no way we could get the ute back up past the soft sand on our own and the whole place seemed deserted. The road ahead down the hill was more soft sand, but with gravity as our friend... perhaps?? First we had to find out if the road ahead lead in any way back to the main road, so off went Sara, long distance jogging pants on in the searing heat of the desert down the road to find out. Conclusion: we could get out that way, we just had to get down the hill. With no other option apparent, we picked our line, jumped in and hit the gas... fingers crossed... I think we made it about 10 - 15m this time...... F&%K!

So, here we were, in the middle of the desert. No one else in sight. Bogged in the softest sand ever. Mountain on our left. Cliff on our right and more sand in every direction... so much for my bond on the rental car.

About half an hour passed when a group of hikers appeared over the top of the hill. They came down and we gave it a try... we had dug and with the strength of many pushing... surely....... NO! They told us that at 4pm (about 1hr time) all the sand boarding tour groups would arrive and we should get them to help and they continued on their way.... of course they all arive from the other end of the road... none stupid enough to drive down the hill of death!

The next few hours were spent walking up and down the hill in search of help. I found out:

1. ask the tour operators for help and get a berrating (insert: a__ r__ping) for getting stuck there in the first place and an attempted phone call to your (closed) rental company

2. ask the dude in his humvee for help and get offered a ride back into town

3. the crazy long grey-haired local sandboarder dude with the white cutoff denim shorts that are smaller than Kylie´s will offer to pull you out for some smokes and beers... we have a winner! That was... until his 4x4 got bogged worse than ours in an attempt to pull us out... now we were 2... misery loves company, so at least we had an acomplice now. :-P

Finally a rescue squad from the rental agency arrived and with the strength of 7 men and a lady we were able to bounce old mate´s 4x4 out of the deep stuff and down the hill.

What next? The rescue squad are going to pull us out with their 4x4... we were extremely doubtful. First they had to get past our car, which involved us bouncing our car to the side for a way. Then it was time to give it a go... similar results. Except we managed not to bog their 4x4 too badly and got it moving again... next plan??? anyone?? I´d have said, we need the power of 2 4x4´s or a 6x4 or a tank... perhaps a helicopter... but no, Cesar had a plan. Cesar was the leader of the rescue squad... it´s simple.... we go straight over the edge and down the cliff to the rocks below...

Sara, 1 of the rescue boys and I were in total disbelief that they were even considering it... I think the words, SERIOUSLY?!?!?! and ARE YOU NUTS?!?!?! may have escaped my lips. But Cesar gave me a wink and said ¨trust me, this is my job¨.

It was perhaps the most amazing bit of driving I have ever seen, but as soon as their 4x4 went over the edge, the unmovable car began to move... and over they went... and down they went...

The picture fails to capture the height or steepness... trust me.

Finally free!!!

I´m not sure I have ever hugged a man I didn´t know before... but yesterday was my day. His name says it all... Cesar... He is a king among men and I could not have been more appreciative for the rescue. From there it was a fairly simple drive out with only one soft sand section which we took with sufficient speed.

It was nearly 8pm by the time we got out. Sara and I were covered head to toe in dust, sand and sweat and were physically and emotionally exhausted from the 6hr ordeal. Cesar took one look at us and said ¨you must come back to my restaurant in town for a pisco sour¨. Who were we to deny the man? So we followed him into town and, still covered in dirt, we joined him for a drink in one of the nicest restaurants in town. It was one of the tastiest and most appreciated drinks I have ever had, made even sweeter by the fact that (despite the others telling us that we had to pay for the rescue as it is their job) Cesar would accept nothing for the rescue OR the drinks. ¨I don´t do it for the money, I do it for the satisfaction¨. He would also later, at dinner, entertain us with tails of driving 4x4´s to over 6000m in the Southern Andes in order to rescue sick mountain climbers. He is certainly a hero in my books.

So in conclusion... we wasted 1 day, possibly gave the car a few extra scrathes that could cost me, we made an amazing new friend, saw some amazing driving, and exhausted ourselves beyond belief... what a day.