South America: Un año de aventura: the last ten yards

My last stop in Bolivia was the Jesuit Mission region in the southeast. The Jesuits came to Bolivia in the 1500s, mostly from Switzerland, to teach Catholicism to the indigenous population. As opposed to other groups (dominican priests or franciscans) jesuits believed that education was the key to converting non-believers. Jesuits in this region were even able to convince a group of nomadic natives to settle down, build communities and empower themselves through learning spanish, how to read, manual skills, music, and of course, religion. This all seems lovely, I thought, why would they end up being expelled by the Spanish government? It turns out that the crown was receiving complaints from all sides:

1 - other catholic orders were having a hard time moving into the area and converting the indigenous population (their brand of "repent your sins you filthy ignorant indian!" conversion wasn't popular? hmm)

2 - the portugese were annoyed that the nomads were no longer roaming into their slave traps, and even worse, were being protected from slavery by the jesuits

and 3 - the spanish government itself thought the jesuits were holding out on them - where was all the region's gold?

So finally in the late 1700s the Spanish crown officially threw all jesuits out of south america. What they left behind were 7 simple but curious, strategically-placed churches. All have a distinct "swiss chalet" feel to them, with peaked rooves, dark woods and decorative work all the way up to the eaves. They are all white washed cement buildings but have been elaborately decorated in natural tints depicting local flora and fauna. I think my photos probably better explain, so I'll stop there. The countryside was a mix of pastures and palm trees and the weather was great over the three days I spent off - roading with my driver Ruben. If you are actually interested in the jesuit story (kind of inspiring group, which does make their expulsion sad) there is a film called The Mission with Robert DeNiro which deals exactly with their removal and though it's pretty heavy, it's a good movie.

I said goodbye to wonderfully cheap and vegetarian-restaurant predominante Bolivia on June 6 and entered Salta, Argentina (aka expensive by comparison and choc-full-o-beef). But Salta is lovely and there is a lot to do. In a week I got to see a lot of northwest argentina, scoping out the amazing multihued landscapes, tasting local cuisine and visiting typical small andean towns. Among those were Cachi, Pumamarca, Tilcara, Humahuaca and San Salvador de Jujuy. All are mostly tourist stops, so the trips were really about the scenery on the way to the different villages. One of the most striking sights is el Cerro de Siete Colores in Pumamarca. It is a hill striped with 7 different colores, due to the mineral make up of the land. Each color represents a different metal or mineral. In Salta I mostly taste-tested humitas and empanadas in a highly scientific research project that required a lot of dedication. luckily I was able to locate both the best and the cheapest of both, a feat that I can only feel will be celebrated by anthropologists years from now. I also checked out a little ethnological museum which is kind of a one-stop shop for all the native cultures from the tip of the continent through colombia (aka...i'd seen it all on my own already!). With some of the other travelers from the hostel, one night I went to a folkloric peña (music and dancing) and another night went to the symphonic orchestra starring a 17 year old violinst.

Buenos Aires felt even more like home than Salta, and I spent a week with my great-aunt going to symphonies, movies, and dining out. We also had some spirited (loud) discussions about the political crisis happening in Argentina right now: the country has been in an economic strike now for 100+ days and the government has taken a page from the Dick Cheney playbook, responding "we don't have to deal with your problems, we are the elected government! we are going to do whatever we want! ha!" which has led to food shortages and protests and highways being shut down and lots of poor people being arrested. Before leaving Isabel and I went on a music buying spree, bringing my CD total to 30. And securing my position as the only person in the world who still plays CDs instead of an ipod.

I had grand plans of taking the 27 hour bus from buenos aires across the andes to santiago, since my trip home leaves from santiago...then i remembered that it was winter and the andes pass often closes because of snow. to avoid another canabalistic disaster in the mountains I went for a 2 hour plane ride. the trip was fine until the chilean government asked me for 131 dollars and i had to give it to them. that was painful. The very next day I went with my father to the civil registry and we started the process to make me a dual citizen, which is something I never thought would actually happen. In four months I will have a chilean ID and passport...who'd have thought?

On the 29th I left santiago for Easter Island, my last real adventure in south america! I will have that update when I send out my very last "newsletter" on July 17. Only three weeks now until this unbelievable adventure is over. I'll have to try and create some more excitment in my life even in the United States.