Body home, heart in Osorno with Rodrigo and Xuxa

I woke early yesterday morning after sleeping 10 straight hours. The previous day's travel-induced fatigue was gone, I felt very alert, and ready to tackle the mountain of stuff always waiting when I get home after a few weeks away. It was 6am here, 4 am in Chile.

I knew that Rodrigo and Xuxa had planned on going back to Osorno the previous day, meaning that today they would attempt the summit. In my mind, I pictured them awake in their tent, getting ready. I knew they'd plan on being on their way by 5am, and at that time, I was walking with them up to the summit, wondering whether things were snowy, wondering whether they had to use crampons, wondering whether they were roped up already, wondering wondering...

By 10 am, my apartment was a disaster zone. The sink was filled with my thermos, titanium pot, both swiss army knives (yes, I had to buy stuff to replace what I'd forgotten, but I'd taken both my knives!) pee bottle, camelback, ice picks, everything needing a thorough scrub. The bath was filled with both my volcanic-ash mixed-with-salt-mud-and-unidentifiable-muck covered packs and storage bags, gaiters, tent floor etc; there were assorted piles of things all over the living room floor (clean clothes, dirty clothes, duvet stuff needing a wash, goretex stuff needing a wash and treatment) and as I put stuff away, I wrote up a list of what each piece of equipment needed to be functional for next time. I will tick these off in the next couple of weeks, hopefully. But as I kept my hands busy, my mind was still with Rodrigo and Xuxa. If all went well, they would already have summited by now. Did they have good weather? Was the wind awful? Were there nice views? How were they feeling? Was Xuxa over his cold or was he suffering?

On my way to lunch with my good friend Claire, I pictured them walking down, and arriving at their camp. Were they going to break it and walk all the way down or rest there?

It was in the evening that I got the message from Rodrigo from the city of Puerto Montt confirming that they made it up! I was ecstatic for them! And mixed with that, I felt sadness that I wasn't able to take part in it. I walked home from a movie in the slushy mush falling from the sky and splattering everywhere calling itself snow but was still in Patagonia. Of everyone that took part in the course, all are now home except Rodrigo and Xuxa. And nobody but them managed to put in practice what we learned. With their summit somehow came completion, the long rope looped and formed a circle. I was happy and satisfied.

For the time being ;)