El día libre
Discover more from Vic Koopmans
The jeep is driving over the bumpiest of roads. It has been doing so for quite some hours now. Well “road”, it’s more a monotone rollercoaster of sand and stones at this point.
I down painkillers to imagine it’s a smooth ride and glance at my phone. Still no message concerning a sponsorship deal from the major pharmacies. Must be the lack of signal over here.
I am in the most southern part of Bolivia. Never have I seen a scenery that looks even remotely similar. The landscape seems to shift with every mile devoured.
Finally I end up in a nearly deserted desert. The population consists of a few birds with a bad sense of direction and a number of alpacas. All are puzzled, wondering how members of the human kind ended up on their secluded land.
The jeep stops, I get out and look around me. I’m standing next to a yellow green field of moss and barley, a colossal mountain range can be seen in the background, the sky is as baby blue as one would expect and I overlook a massive lake.
Rays of the sun light up the colours of the lake, clouds climb over the snowy mountaintops in the distance and the voices of singing angels can be heard. Nature’s feeling fancy today.
It’s a treat to get away from the city for a second. No noise, no pollution, no hustle nor bustle and no redundant opinions. Only a mind able to run free and lungs rinsing themselves with the freshest of airs.
It’s me and my favourite mistress, Mother Nature. I sit down on her lap and enjoy the sight of all the clouds in numerous shapes drifting by.
There goes the need for late night entertainment. Gone are the thoughts about temporary friends, a farewell to those hanging out in hopes of profiting, away with the hunger for the fairer sex (well… at least for a minute or two).
I insert my earplugs to mute the remaining sound of my talkative driver. A deep breath. I let shivers take over my spine without resisting.
The sun moves a little closer. Warming and lifting me up, covering the spectacular scenery in a magnificent glow.
An alpaca approaches me while I’m attempting to make a long distance call to Buddha. We look each other dead in the eye.
“Mate,” he says, “how much medication have you actually taken?”
A serene smile. “I’m talking to an alpaca. You tell me.”
He spits on the ground. “You’re a long way from home.”
I nod. “Si, señor Alpaca.”
He looks at his alpaca friends and motions that he’s talking to a lunatic.
“Do you know where you are?”
“I have no clue,” I answer.
More sunshine, more of nature’s symphony. Society has vanished and I have vanished from society. I have no idea where I exactly am. But somewhere lost in the world I am exactly where I need to be.
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