My latest birthday has certainly been the most unusual one so far. Not only it's been the first time that I've celebrated it on Autum and not Spring, but watching a spectacular sunrise while traveling on the open back of a Chilean firewood truck along the beautiful mountains surrounding the blue waters of lake General Carrera, with the snow at the distant Andes turning red as the sun appears is certainly not a common way to begin a birthday.
And the adventure didn't end there. The road from the town where the truck driver dropped us to our next destination was cut due to maintenance work, and once the road was open again very few cars passed by because it was already too late. So, after spending 9 hours in this little town in the middle of no-where, we found I guy that agreed to take us to El Maitén, on the cross with the Carretera Austral... for a few thousand pesos.
El Maitén turned out to be nothing but a cross-road and an expensive "cabañas" hotel, and it was starting to get dark. So, when we were thinking we would have to use Uliano's and Xavi's tent to spend the night, a pick-up passed by and agreed to take us south (all but Uliano wanted to go North) and, if we paid him some money, to the closest town. And that's how we ended in Puerto Bertrand, a small village (actually, a small group of "cabañas") next to the beautiful lake Bertrand.
And that's where we celebrated my birthday: at Alicia's (a local woman that takes travelers), with a bottle of cheap wine I had bought in El Chaltén and a can of beer Paul had, eating ham and cheese and tuna sandwiches, and blowing the candles on a loaf of bread resembling a cake.
Yes, definitely the most unusual birthday I think I'll ever have.
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