stuck in the mud

LLamas are spotting grazing in the distance so our guide drives us to them to stop for lunch. He is a sweet boy, probably about 16 years old. He has a loving relationship with our cook, Lucy, who is funny even though we can´t communicate. She seems to love her job dearly. Her food is ace. And quick.

5 hours away from Tupiza we get stuck in mud in very deep mud slodge. Even though we are in the desert the ground has plenty of water in it. At night it is so cold that ice forms over the sand mountains and in the afternoon we can still see ice melting in the glittering light. However pretty this is, it doesn´t help us now. We unload our bags and chuck them on some leaves far away from the churning wheels. Over the course of half an hour, four other tour 4x4s arrive at the scene and everyone examines the situation. That´s all of the tour guides, cooks and passengers, equating to about 30 people standing there staring and coming up with new solutions as to how we escape. The wheels are almost three quarters deep on the right hand side and almost on top on the left.

7 of us are practical and bring over leaves and stones, me being slightly less practical wearing flipflops and slipping into deep pools of watered mud. We aren´t going to be able to shower for four days - what was I thinking? Jay has an interesting idea when he spots a 14ft log in the distance. We should lever the car up. So, all of the guys and some girls lift this huge log up and carry it to the car ready for lift-off. Quite a funny sight, I took photos and let them do the hard work. After all, I had collected leaves and stones ...some were heavy. Finally, after several ideas being instigated it was time to start the engine. Everyone jumps to the front of the car, knowing that the car is going to backup with the tow lead of the other 4x4. As it moves backwards, for an unknown reason, Lucy steps over the log which has been left next to the wheel, to the behind side. The wheel caught the log and it span towards her, strongly pushed by the wheel and the cooks leg is caught and she is thrown under the log. One loud yelp and her pain is over. Everyone shouts to stop the car and runs over to help her. One of the guides carries her away from the scene while her ankle dangles freely. She is placed on a less muddy spot and after our v4x4 easily gets out of the mud - well it had to with the amount of ideas - our 4x4 takes her to the next village 20 minutes away. This is even though the hospital was in Tupiza 5 hours away.

Due to the need for my seat in the back to place Lucy and a uni student nurse, Eleanor, I jump into Eleanor´s spot in the other 4x4. Unlucky for her, Jay kept trying to tell her what to do. She hated him after that and told him to get the fuck away. Who could blame her. He said to me that he had put a wrist bandage on someone before, then he told someone else he had done it three times, then he told her he had done it lots of times so she should listen to him. Puuulease. As you can see, Jay was starting to grate. Still, as there was heat in the situation I wanted to give him more time to be a better person.