March 3, 2007

Adrienne was only willing to allow the swarms of flies to tickle her bottom, when nature called, for a few nights before wanting to move on.

The Agua Caliente hot springs, a ways past the inland town of Santiago, had been given rave reviews by the 20-something travelers we had met along the way, but it was with some trepidation that we drove the un-signed, narrow dirt roads to what felt like the middle of nowhere.

A young German couple who had been camped out at the springs in their van for six weeks had exerted a lot of time and energy building a rock wall in the river to contain the flow of hot water, building a virtual hot tub in the river.

For two nights, we boon-docked beside them and perhaps five or eight other campers, all foreigners, including Jeanette Spaghetti, a 40-something musician from Salmon Arm, British Columbia.

The slightly sulphuric-smelling springs took care of the need to shower but there were no bathroom facilities except for a hole in the ground, which led to the tickling on Adrienne's ass.

But the flies weren't our only encounter with the insect world: we also saw a scorpion lounging on the river rocks.

After seeing a black widow spider, a rattle snake and a now a scorpion, Adrienne has taken to carrying a large stick that she scrapes back and forth in front her as she walks whenever we are not on pavement.