Dr. Canessa's House

I bet everyone has been waiting so long for this entry to finally be written. Sorry about that. As I said in my last post, Dr. Canessa invited my family and some other people from the ship to his house for dinner. The ship was currently in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, and the place where Almost all of the plane crash survivors live. He had a really cool house, made up of two original houses that they connected. Earlier that day, Dr. Canessa had taken the rest of his family on board the ship to have lunch. We were able to sit with them and talk a little bit. After they were done eating, my two brothers, mom and dad, piled into Dr. Canessa's car and headed off to his amazing house. Of course this was earlier then the rest of the guests. On the way to his house, Dr. Canessa let me use his cell phone to call Nando, the other survivor that made the hike with Dr. Canessa. I called and asked if he could come to the party, and he said maybe. That night, around 9:00, other guests started arriving, hungry for the delicious pizza that was being made over an open fire. Dr. Canessa's wife had kept every single newspaper article about the crash, and now she had big plastic boxes filled with news about it. But that is not all. She also had all the clothes that he had worn of the incredible hike across the Andes. I put on the uncomfortable, stiff shoes that he had worn and walked around in them. The three sweaters that he had worn were right there also, even the belt that Dr. Canessa had worn during the whole disaster. We were eating pizza in the room where the old rugby team used to come to watch films on their next opponents, when someone new walked in. It was Nando! I couldn't believe that he had actually come! Nando only stayed for a little bit, but I was so glad that I actually got to see him. After the party, a big bus came and picked us all up. Hopefully Dr. Canessa will come to Durango to ski sometime, or maybe I could go back to Uruguay to ride on horse back to the sight of the crash, like he invited us o do. Whatever happens I know that this visit was not the last time I would be seeing Dr. Canessa.

Plane Crash (continued)

        Before I start this post, I want to tell you that if you have not read the post below this one, DO NOT READ ON. It is the end of the story for the breathtaking plane crash.
        I bet you have been wondering what happened to the survivors of the avalanche. Well, I can guess why. If you want to hear the rest of the amazing story of death, survival, and snow, read on. The survivors had just been hit with a horrible avalanche, killing eight more people, including the last woman that was on the plane originally. The freezing men were all huddled up together inside the snow-covered fuselage, with oxygen quickly running out. With absolutely nothing to lose, they frantically stabbed a hole in the roof with a metal pole. The hungry, frightened men finally took in a deep breath of cold air and eventually climbed out of the hole in the top of the fuselage.
        It had been weeks since the plane had crashed in October of 1972. The terrible crash had left less then half of the original 45 passengers alive and now they were struggling to survive against the powerful forces of nature. The search had been called off, and an avalanche had killed another eight innocent people. It looked hopeless for these brave people, even though they were trying everything in their power to keep themselves clinging to last bit of hope and life that they still had in their freezing bodies.
        The days dragged by. Nobody laughed, nobody smiled, nobody played, nobody cried. It was an empty nothingness that stung everybody that came near it. And these poor people were in the middle of it. After over two months of nothing except snow, ice, and sadness, three brave men, Roberto Canessa, Fernando ("Nando") and Tintin,  decided to set out on an expedition to find the green hills of Chile. A couple of days later they gathered what they needed to survive, a sleeping bag made out of the insulated material found at the tail of the plane, some rugby socks stuffed with the remains of their friends, and some home made snow shoes. The men set off to climb the mountain by them. It looked like an easy climb, but it actually took three days. The men were tired, hungry, and most of all hopeless. When they got to the top, they expected to see beautiful hills and greenery all over. The men kept that thought in their heads and took step after horrifying step up the steep mountain. Finally, after three days of complete torture and close to death situations, they reached the top. The sight literally petrified them. You can guess what they saw.  What they thought would be beautiful hills and great buildings, turned into what they had seen for the last two months. Black and white mountains were the only things in sight.
        These three men were starving and exhausted, and now to survive they had to hike at least 60 kilometers to get to any civilization. The men decided that it would be better if only two people went the entire hike, because it would mean more food for them. Tintin slid back down the mountain towards the plane as Dr. Canessa and his friend continued their journey to the unknown hazards of the Andes.  The two of them walked aimlessly for days on end, hoping that maybe they could find someone else. After ten days of walking, they finally started to see some grassy patches instead of snow. And then the only living things they had seen other then the rest of the other survivors, in the last two months, cows! Wait... was that a man in the distance? It couldn't have been, but it was! A shepherd on a horse came riding on the other side of the river. He threw over some bread and a note to write on. The next day, the two heroes were in helicopters heading straight towards the other survivors! After 72 days, the terrible event was finally over.  The survivors would be reunited with their families for Christmas.
        I learned several life lessons from this extraordinary man. By working together as a unified group, people can provide emotional and physical support for each other and accomplish many things that an individual could not. If you have faith in yourself almost nothing is impossible.  When you are pushed to your limits, physically or emotionally, you can always "take just one more step." A strong faith in God can provide a significant amount of strength even when faced with nearly impossible challenges. You are never alone!
        Thirty eight years later, the sixteen survivors still live in the same neighborhood together in Montevideo, Uruguay. Today I will be arriving in Montevideo, and my family has been invited to eat dinner at Dr. Canessa's house. I feel honored!

Roberto Canessa (Plane Crash)

      I heard an amazing story about a terrible plane crash in the Andes mountains on Friday the 13th 1972, when 16 amazing people survived the deadly, freezing mountains of lower South America. I met a man that survived this experience, and I got to hear the story first hand. The Uruguaian rugby players, who were traveling to Chile for a game, were excited to see snow for the time in their lives, but little did they know some of them would be seeing only snow for 72 days. To get to Chile from Uruguay, they had to cross the Andes, a towering mountain range of nothing but snow, ice, and a coldness that almost nobody could survive.
        As the plane started over the mountains, a huge storm was heading straight at them. In a couple of minutes, the plane was completely engulfed in the terrible grey fog. Suddenly the plane hit an air pocket. The 19-year-olds had no idea what it was, so they all started cheering and laughing as the small plane shook violently. The pilot's voice came up above all of the pandomonium and told the passengers to fasten their seatbelts, for it was going to get bumpy. The passengers stared out the windows at the rocks that were barely 3 meters away. "Guys," said one rugby player,"This isn't a jo-" Suddenly the plane hit another air pocket and everybody jerked against the seat in front of them. People started to scream and cry, everybody ducked down and prepared for the crash.
        That was how it was on that deadly day in 1972. Only about 30 out of the original 45 passengers survived the first 20 seconds of the crash. The back of the plane hit the top of a peak and the whole tail ripped off. The wings crashed into two other rocks and broke off as if it was a cheap toy. Nature was telling the people in the plane that it was stronger than them. Way stronger than them. Nobody could even scream as fear filled their bodies. The body of the plane slid down the mountain at unthinkable speeds, getting within one meter of the rocks beside them. The passengers knew that if they hit one of those rocks, they would all die instantly. Everybody held on for the final blow that would explode the plane and kill everyone. But that final crash didn't happen like they thought it would. The body of the plane slid down the steep mountain until it smashed into a snow mound. The passengers slammed against the seat in front of them, some of them dying instantly. The plane was turned on its side, and everything was destroyed. Roberto was one of the ones in the plane at this time, and he told me as he looked around at the wreckage, he saw dead bodies scattered around everywhere, and heard people screaming in pain. He felt his swollen red face and tried to get out of the horrible wreckage. He looked down and saw one of his good friend's mother dead from the crash. Roberto pulled himself out of the wrekage and stumbled outside, expecting to see ambulences and police officers running towards him, ready to take him to the hospital. But what he did see stabbed him in the heart. It was all white and black. He fell to his knees, in the background he heard cries of pain, and he knew he wold rather die then be in this situation.
        Only about 30 people lived. The unlucky ones. The rest were dead. The lucky ones. That's how the survivors thought. Death was a reward in this situation, Nobody even thought about why they wanted to live until the second day, but I havn't gotten to the second day yet. In the Andes mountains, you can not even guess how cold it is at night. If you stick your bare foot outside the fusilage in the open air, it would freeze almost immediatly. Inside the fusilage, all the survivors crammed together, trying to share valuable body heat. It was worse then anything you could ever imagine in your wildest imagination. You would find a random person that you didn't even know, and hug them until they either died, or the light came. All of the severely wounded died that night, leaving about 25 living people. The morning light was a tremendous relief, and the rugby players and their family members thought for sure that the worst was over. All they had to do was wait for the rescuers to come, but just in case, the survivors rationed the food and drinks severely. Each day a person would get one square of chocolate and one capful of liquer, causing them to start to be hungry. One day went by, two days went by, three days went by, but there were no rescuers yet. They got the radio to work finally, and they heard that there were helicopters looking for them. On the eigth day, the starving, freezing survivors heard on the radio that they would be calling off the search due to severe weather. That drained every last bit of hope out of them. Actually, I don't think that is possible. Every person has some hope left in them, even in the worst situations. The people had reasons to get home, Dr. Canessa's reason was his mom and his girlfriend. He felt like he could not betray them and give up, even though it would be tough.
         The amazing people held on to that ounce of hope, and lived for 72 days off of it. Most of them, that is. Several days after the crash, sombody noticed a plane flying over the wreckage. Everybody jumped and screamed to get the plane's attention, but it did no good. The people looked like tiny pebbles to the plane, and it flew right past. Think how that would have felt. To be trapped in the horrible hands of nature and snow, and your only chance of survival flew right out of reach. Life in the mountains went on as usuall, but little did those people know, the worst was yet to come.
        After nearly starving to death from lack of nutrition, the dying people thought of something that was only possible to think in this terrible  situation. They thought of using the dead bodies of their teammates and friends for their own nutrition. The survivors knew that it was an unthinkable decision, but it was the only way to survive. It took days for everybody to start doing it, but in the end everybody knew that it was that or die. There was only one problem, would these dead people be okay with it? Finally the starving survivors thought that if Jesus could give his body to us, the dead people would be willing to give their bodies. It was terrible event after terrible event, as the struggle for life carried on.
         They had to make water out of snow, sunglasses from the piolet's visors and scraps of plastic (Snow can blind you if you don't have sunglasses.), and matresses out of the ripped up seat cushions. Nobody was ever warm at night, for the passengers had been dressed for the summer, not these 100 degree below 0 weather. They had to layer all the clothes that they could find, improvise or die. One night, the shivering, unconfortable people heard a gigantic herd of horses galloping full speed down the mountain sraight at the fusilage. One by one people started getting up and listening more intently. It was getting louder, and louder, and suddenly, CRASH! The avalanche slammed with incredible force right into the body of the plane. One second everything was bad, and now it was absolutly terrible. The fusilage filled with snow, and everybody was completely buried. Dr. Canessa said that only his fingers were out of the snow, and he coldn't move at all. He felt that he was suffoating quickly. Right as he was about to let himself join half of his friends in heaven, he felt a hand touch his face. Breathing again was like finding a billion dollars, and he realized he was being uncovered! After he was dug out of his near grave, he helped dig out the others.
        Unfortunatly, eight more people lost their lives to the terrible force of nature. All the beds were covered, all the valuble supplies was lost. But nobody was worried about that right now, what they were worried about was oxygen. The plane was comletely submerged in the snow, and the freezing men were breathing heavily. If they didn't find a way to get oxygen quick, all hope was lost. A man started poking a hole in the top of the fusilage, so that oxygen could enter, but the men were going to have to get out somehow. How will these men survive?

Parati

The small Brazilian town of Parati is similar to my previous port, Buzios. These two ports were both very beautiful, with lush colorful rain forests and crystal clear sea water. One interesting fact about Parati is that once a month, when there is a full moon at high tide, the streets of this small town flood completely. Sounds weird, but they actually do it on purpose! It cleans the streets, but it never gets to any of the houses since they are higher than the street. At the end of the high tide, people continue with their normal lives on their newly cleaned streets. Other than that, Buzios and Parati are alike because both towns run almost entirely on tourism, but Parati has not always been that way. When the first people arrived in Parati in the 16^th century, the small town was used for transporting gold to Rio. The gold was brought down from the state of Minas Gerais, (Minas Gerais was where the gold was mined), to Parati. The trail that the slaves used was about 600K, and took 40 days to walk it on foot all the way to Minas Gerais, and 35 days to walk back (Downhill). Slaves were forced to carry gold the whole length of the trail for 60 years, and then stored it on ships that sailed up to Rio where it was then put on bigger ships to Europe. After 60 years of hard labor from the slaves, a road that went straight from Rio to the mines of Minas Gerais was built. This trail only took 25 days on foot, and the gold didn’t have to be shipped from Parati to Rio, which meant there was no chance of pirates hijacking the small ships. There was only problem with this new shorter trail, Parati was forgotten. With no way to earn money, people slowly moved away. Later, the gold trail was used once more, in the 19^th century, this time for coffee beans. These coffee beans went through the same process of the gold, and Parati was suddenly popular again. When coffee stopped coming to the town, the tourism started. Tourism is the main source of income now. The reason I know all of this is because we stopped at the gold trail on one of our stops on our jeep tour. Some of our other stops were at two beautiful waterfalls, a winery, and a big smooth rock that we “rock surfed” on. The rock had a river running over it and it was pretty steep. We would slide down on our stomachs, backs, sitting down, even our feet! I loved the once in a life time opportunity. The first day in Parati was very interesting and fun. The second day was also awesome. We went out in a boat to three different beaches near the small town. At one of the beaches they gave us snorkeling equipment and we got in the water as the crew threw rice near us to attract the fish. Hundreds of fish swarmed around us, not even caring that we were there. The only thing these fish cared about was food; it was the only time in my life I had ever touched a fish in the ocean. At another beach we climbed up mango trees and picked ripe, fresh mangos that we would later eat. We also picked coconuts and cut the top off so we could stick a straw in the middle where all the sweet coconut milk stayed. It was exactly like in an island adventure movie, drinking directly out of coconuts.

Rio

The giant city of Rio de Janerio has definitely been one of the most magnificent highlights of this exciting trip. I am sure you have heard of this famous and beautiful city, famous for its crazy week long Carnaval holiday, and beautiful ocean. It is placed among multiple steep mountains that tower above the rest of the city, including the famous mountain of Sugar Loaf. Sugar Loaf, Pao de Acucar in Portuguese, looks similar to the containers that were used to transport sugar blocks from Brazil to Europe a long time ago. There is only one way to get up to the peak, and that is by a gondola. There are actually two gondolas that you have to take, one to a mountain near Sugar Loaf, and then one from that mountain to the taller, bigger mountain. Sugar Loaf opened in 1912 as a tourist attraction to see the city from above. People from all over the world come to see the breath taking veiw from the top. Many years later, (In 1932) another famous tourist attraction in Rio was built. It was Christ the Redeemer, or Corcovado in Portuguese. Christ the Redeemer is one of the tallest and biggest statues in the world, weighing at an amazing 1,000 tons, and standing at 30 meters high. The statue is very important to the people of Rio, for they are very Catholic and worship Jesus. Christ stands on another large mountain, overlooking the entire city. Unfortunatlly, it was cloudy when we visited the statue, so we couldn't see the veiw very well. But the other days we were in Rio, we could see the statue looking down at us from all parts of the city. The sight is truly amazing. Rio also has two world famous beaches that attract hundreds of people every day. Those are Impanema beach and Copacabana beach. Another beach that we visited was Lablon, which was connected to Impanema. As many people know, Brazil is very famous for futball (soccer), which is why the World cup is being held here in 2014, and the Olympics in 2016. I really want to come back later to maybe see those phenominal sports events. All in all, Rio was a magnificent and fun place to visit and stay. I think everybody should have the chance to visit.

Buzios

Oh, I am falling behind on my posts because I'm so busy with all the ports! We arrived at our third port of call, and from this point on we will have almost no sea days left. Buzios is a small tourist and vacation town that has lots of beautiful beaches and resorts. This town is exactly like Durango, except on a beach. We went to a beautiful beach and stayed there to have lunch.  We played on the beach with some Brazilian kids.  We couldn't speak the same language, but we had fun trying to communicate. Then, we looked around at some of the interesting shops. We tried to have a traditional Brazilian dinner, but ended up ordering margarita pizza.  It was delicious!!  Maybe we will be more adventurous at the next port of call! Buzios is a very cool town and the best port of call yet in my opinion. Next we arrive in the famous city of Rio, and I am looking forward to all the sights at the beach!

Second day in Savador

        My second day in Salvador was as amazing as the first. The first thing that we did was go to the magnificent local market. This market was nothing like our kinds of supermarkets, for the markets in South America have a way different meaning. This one had tons of different kinds of fruits, from giant bananas to tiny green umboos. The only thing that this market had that was different from the one in Belem other than it had a roof, was that it had lots of fish. And not just fish, lots of sea animals fresh from the 32 island bay that Salvador is by, such as blue crab, octopus, shark, overgrown lobster, squid, and huge shrimp. It was an amazing array of delicious sea animals. The main reason we went to the market was that so our tour guide could show us what ingredients we would be using in our later cooking class, but we decided to buy some local fruits also. After we were done with the market, we drove in our bus to a older woman's house. We were there for a cooking class, for her son and daughter (who lived with her) were excellent cooks. After our delectable Brazilian meal of fish, salad, rice, and pumpkin, we followed the owner of the house down to her studio. She was an amazing artist, with a very interesting style of painting. She would make layers and layers of different colors of lines going every way possible. She said that she worked on these paintings on any free time she had, and I knew that was true. The whole studio was filled with paintings that she had done, and so was the house. Every single chair and table had this style of painting all over it. I was amazed at how much work she had done in this house, not to mention all the paintings she had sold to people, places, and even huge companies like Mercedes Benz! Of course everything was very expensive, so I only got a small box that she had painted. I loved going to this interesting house, and I hope I can learn how to paint that well. Today I arrive in Buzios, and I bet it will be just as cool as Salvador.