Should I Stay or Should I Go?

I'm sitting in the office in Val Chac on my last morning in the valley.  I returned here yesterday evening after a wonderful five days on the Baker (which I'll tell you more about in due time) only to find that plane tickets had gotten quite a bit more expensive during my adventure (big surprise) and it was time to look for another way to get up to Santiago by the 7th of May, when a big ole' jet plane is gonna carry me back home.  Luckily, Don Juan, a Pumalin employee, is here with a big truck and today is starting the journey back to Puerto Montt.  He's got extra space in the truck, so I'm going along.  Today, we'll make it to Bahía Murta, where we'll load up some cattle tomorrow and make our way to Puerto Chacabuco, where we'll hop on a ferry alllll the way to Puerto Montt.  It'll make for a long journey, but cheaper and more scenic than flying.  I'll head straight from Puerto Montt to Santiago via bus, and spend a few days in the big city before heading back to Colorado!

I'm looking forward to making my way home, but the suddenness of this plan to leave has me feeling a bit topsy-turvy.  More than anything, I'm sad to leave the people here, because we've forged some great friendships and they've all given me so much cariño and help during my time here that I feel I can't equally repay them.  At least I hand-wrote a few letters as farewells.  It just cements even further in my mind the idea that I DO want to continue to be involved with this project and the people that contribute to it, and I DO want work to make it a better experience for them, just like they've inadvertently done for me.  This is one thing I've noticed about the region of Aysén that has me absolutely hooked: the people here are genuine, they do everything they can to help you, they look you in the eye and say hello when you pass them on the street.  It's a kind of human connection that is increasingly hard to find in the world, especially in the more "developed" places.

But alas, before I wax philosophical, it's time to say the last few hasta luegos and hit the road.  Farewell, Val Chac!  I'm northward bound.