DAY EIGHTEEN CONTINUED...........................

In this area there are no Caribineri. I turn on the CB radio "Mayday! Mayday!", I say, "Ayudanos! Ayudanos!" No answer. We arrive in Ollague about 2. PM to crowds of kids, excited at our arrival and even more so at the sight of blood and bone. We're going to be here a while, so I check out the village, highest in the world. Very blue very cold sky. Temperature is about 45* and it's very windy. Kind of like being at an Antarctic station. The kids are great. I give them English lessons, days of week and basic pleasantries. I leave my business card as I always do at far flung corners of the earth. There is a small first aid station in the village, but they can't do too much except clean the wounds a little. The Chilean Airforce is alerted by radio.

Around 4:30 we drive to an airstrip about 10 miles away. A long dirt runway, probably about a mile. Because of the lack of oxygen the engine needs extra time to go off, just as we need to open up our carburetors. A Chilean Air Force Twin Otter lands after 2 tries. The unfortunate mechanic is bundled on a stretcher with tons of blankets as he is very cold. The plane takes off for Antofagasta down on the coast where he was later operated on, and then flown home the next day via Santiago to Detroit.

At the same time,one of the teams had inadverdantley crossed into Bolivia. Since they had not complied with normal bureaucratic procedure, the car was confiscated and the copilots thrown into prison. They spent two days in a Bolivian cell that was straight out of the Middle Ages. The car was stripped of all valuables including clothes. After paying hefty bribes, the the men were freed. Chile then severely reprimanded Bolivia and reminded them what had happened in the last war - they had lost their coastline. The issue was resolved a few days later with the Bolivian dictator issuing a formal apology. However, the loot was never returned and the Bugazon Team was officially out of the race.,though the car eventually did make it to Buenos Aires.

The night was long. As we get further south the days grow shorter. Darkness falls before 6. People are beginning to come down with serious soroche. We fall behind the convoy because the same Toyota that ran over the mechanic has now run out of fuel.The idiot also has a flat tire and has lost his keys. The Caribineri are alerted of our plight . They show up with fuel and decide to lead us through the high Atacama. In another Jeep both drivers are very sick with altitude sickness and neither can drive. The Police give them oxygen from containers carried in their cars.

With the Caribineri leading, the convoy arrives at San Pedro de Atacama around 1:30 AM. Someone hands us a very welcome shot of Scotch and it's off to sleep under the incredible stars in sleeping bags and towels wrapped around my head to protect from frostbite as the temperature has fallen to 15* Fahrenheit. The stars are incredible, the best place on Earth to view them. Many US astronomy labs are located here. No dust or artificial light with very clear cold air One can see the Southern Cross and many other galaxies invisible in the Northern hemisphere or anywhere except in Outer Space.