Those Who Show the Way
The other weekend I had the opportunity to go to Laja with a friend. Laja is a rural community about two hours south of Concepción. It is a small community that was established between el río Laja and el río Biobío. Laja has a natural beauty unlike any other and I got to see it first hand from my friend Lesly who grew up walking the hillsides and playing in the rivers. Her family welcomed me in and loved me like I was their own. After a quick snack with the family Lesly took me to the jewel of Laja. We walked up a hillside that is just behind her house and once we got to the top my breath was taken away.
If you look closely you will notice that those are not clouds in the background but the Andes Mountains standing proud with their snowcapped peaks. I was taken about by the view that was displayed in front of us as el rio Laja spilled out in front of us and all I could see for miles on end was rolling hillsides covered in dark green trees only to be met at the base of the Andes. I could have stayed on that hillside for the rest of my life, but lunch was calling and Lesly and I had to return to her home.
After lunch, Lesly and I walked through Laja and she showed me the world she had grown up in. Laja used to be a very large train junction but after age and a few earthquakes it has become more of a train graveyard. Trains were grafiti covered rusting on unused tracks that were being claimed back my nature as the grasses grew up around them.
The city of Laja took the old trains though and turned it into a museum/interactive playground. Trains became jungle gyms and a walk through history from the old trains that ran off of coal to 'newer' electric models. Lesly and I walked for miles among the trains broken down bones and I loved every moment of it.
People always say that life is about the experiences you have but I am learning that it is even more so about the people who show you the way.
Thank you Lesly for sharing your home with me.
*T-minus 53 days.
If you look closely you will notice that those are not clouds in the background but the Andes Mountains standing proud with their snowcapped peaks. I was taken about by the view that was displayed in front of us as el rio Laja spilled out in front of us and all I could see for miles on end was rolling hillsides covered in dark green trees only to be met at the base of the Andes. I could have stayed on that hillside for the rest of my life, but lunch was calling and Lesly and I had to return to her home.
After lunch, Lesly and I walked through Laja and she showed me the world she had grown up in. Laja used to be a very large train junction but after age and a few earthquakes it has become more of a train graveyard. Trains were grafiti covered rusting on unused tracks that were being claimed back my nature as the grasses grew up around them.
The city of Laja took the old trains though and turned it into a museum/interactive playground. Trains became jungle gyms and a walk through history from the old trains that ran off of coal to 'newer' electric models. Lesly and I walked for miles among the trains broken down bones and I loved every moment of it.
People always say that life is about the experiences you have but I am learning that it is even more so about the people who show you the way.
Thank you Lesly for sharing your home with me.
*T-minus 53 days.
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