Into the mine....

So, first I apologize for not updating more frequently. My days seem to fill to the moment right before I fall over on my bed and immediately asleep, possibly something I have never before accomplished in my life.

Second, I must say, I have never been more terrified in my life than I was today. We had yet another outing today with our school and having not given it a second thought, I went along with the rest of the campers with absolutely no idea what I had signed myself up for. For someone who is afraid of elevators and caves, today was a challenge to say the least. I knew we were going to a town with a copper mine, but I had NO idea said mine was the LARGEST mine in the world and still functioning. I also did not know we would drive our bus right into it. I thought, "Surely there will be a moment, when all the other yayhoos are loading up in their little carts to descend into the abyss, where I will be able to politely decline and offer to hold their bags." This moment never came. Before I knew how to scream "I AM NOT OKAY WITH THIS!!!!" we were a quarter of a mile below the earth's surface and rolling through dark caves at what I can only imagine are not safe speeds for a large bus to navigate through caves. At about the 1 mile mark, the bus stopped, we put on our helmets, gas masks, and glasses, and disembarked. No sooner was my foot on solid but dark ground, than the bus closed it's door and set on its way. Panic is not a strong enough word. I have never screamed so loud in my life, mind you, just screaming on the inside. Everyone else seemed to act like it was just another ordinary Saturday on a field trip. I only saw one other person out of the 24 of us shaking ever so slightly.

But I just had to tell myself "Suck it up and pretend you are somewhere else," because I realized at this point, the only thing worse than having a panic attack about being in a mine, is having a panic attack about being in a mine WHILE in a mine with no real urgent way out. As you will see in the pictures, fear is present but I was eventually able to overcome at some moments.

After 2 hours in these caves, meeting the people who have worked there for years, we trekked up to the village on the hill (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewell,_Chile) and saw where they used to call home. It was fascinating to see an entire city still in tact with absolutely no sign of life. You could feel the memories surround you. I assume most of that presence came from our knowledgeable tour guide who carried around a tattered photo album like a bible and occasionaly showed us photos of better days. We found out at the end of the trip, she was not only a docent, but was born in this town and spent most of her childhood there. She walked us through the place she called home and introduced us, unknowingly, to her childhood friends in the mines. Fascinating.

Even though I was able to face this fear, unwillingly of course, I am not sure I could do it again.
Enjoy the photos!

Honni was very sympathetic if not a little frightened herself...

This man is celebrating his 35th year in the mine in March.
Kelsea claimed she was also terrified but I couldn't really smell the fear on her at all.
(If this picture were bigger, you would really enjoy a peek at my eyes.)
Ryan and Jordan rocking the gear.