The Buzz on Abby: La Campana

I distinctly remember the first time I really perked up at church. I believe it was my second Sunday in my ward and I was in an interview with the Ward's First Counselor, Esteban Gonzalez. He asked me if I liked hiking. He might as well have asked me if I liked hard-blue skies or chocolate. YES. In fact, I love hiking. He told me that he would organize a group to climb el cerro (hill) La Campana at the end of the year. I told him to count me in. And so, the hike I've been looking forward to my entire time in Chile finally happened today.

Here's a couple things I learned about La Campana. It's called a hill, but I must tell you that that beast is not a hill, it's a mountain. Also, hikes can be hard! Multiple people told me multiple times that La Campana was a difficult, all day hike. Strangely enough I would get more and more excited when they told me these things. That thrill left me about 15 minutes into the hike. Yao! It was HARD! Really hard, straight up the entire 4 hours...but I loved it. As Megan O'Brian would say, "it hurt so good."

Our group of six met up at 6:30 this morning (6:50 Latin Time) to take a Micro a La Campana. Pictured above: yo, la Giselle, y el Esteban.

My first time wearing Chacos on a real hike. I can't remember the last time my feet and legs have been so dirty. They Chileans thought I was crazy, and I had to give up trying to explain how cool the shoes are when I started to get some hot spots (which of course I didn't mention because I wanted them think Chacos are flawless).