The Violet Llama transmuted the pain in the place where the Uruguayan plane fell 45 years ago
By Claudio Alvarez Dunn
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Mendoza (Argentina) .- When I received the invitation to go to the trekking of the Uruguayan plane, I thought twice. I looked for the answer in my daily meditations and the answer was a Yes, with capital letters.
The three-day trekking journey had as its final destination to reach that place in the Cordillera de Los Andes where in 1972 a plane of the Uruguayan air force fell. The aircraft, which moved the rugged Old Christians rugby team of that country, crashed into a mountain peak, fell on the snow and lost all contact with civilization. From Chile and Argentina, the search was intense. But after the time that these bailouts presuppose, it was terminated.
However, 72 days later, a shout traveled the world: They live! Of the 45 passengers, 16 had survived, enduring extreme temperatures, avalanches, falls and feeding on the remains of their dead companions.
Today, more than 45 years after that event, many people come every year to the place to pay their respect and know first hand one of the greatest feats of the human spirit.
An unforgettable tour
The tour begins in the paradoxical Valley of Tears, where we arrive from El Sosneado in Malargüe, 350 kilometers from the capital of the Argentine province of Mendoza and includes a walk of about 60 kilometers for three days through the Andes mountain range.
The mountain range, the atmosphere and the clear sky, bear a mark: the imposing mountain of El Sosneado, "where the sun is first seen". This surprising mixture of landscapes combines the most diverse postcards: dormant volcanoes, hot springs and natural slopes, since it is a place where the overflowing nature becomes a paradise with all the splendor the mountain behind.
Along the way, escorted by the imposing Cordillera de Los Andes that borders the Atuel River, the visitor can visualize the ruins of an old hotel, where the outdoor hot spring pools are still preserved, which despite the passage of time maintain its healing properties.
Already in the middle of the Andes Mountains, the Overo volcano rises majestically - with its eternal glaciers - which forms a landscape environment of extraordinary beauty and which constitutes the nascent to the Atuel river. This section of the circuit is only accessed by walking or riding.
A very special group
This group of mountaineers who left in February 2018, consisting of 50 people from different cities in Argentina and other countries in Latin America, was in charge of Eduardo “Tuiti” Molina, from tuititrekkingmendoza.com, accompanied by Roberto “el gordo ”López and Naomi“ sympathy ”Kemelmajer.
The experienced mountaineer expresses that: “The real events seem supernatural when we are there on the plane… Believe me, get on Google to travel with your imagination to the sources of the Tordillo river, there near the border with Chile, southwest of the Sosneado hill, see the birth of Atuel and Overo volcano, crossing those green plains, those bare mountains. It is quite an experience to go into a lost Malargüe, cross the Barroso and El Rosado rivers walking and get to know a place full of a unique history. ”
The mountaineer adds that “Going to the Uruguayan Airplane is to go“ beyond ”, it is not to be weird or Martian, it is to see another reality… another world. After all, we will cease to exist those four days, civilized meetings with friends will be postponed; We locked ourselves in a place where the world abruptly focused its eyes 45 years ago. Today his remains are few but something supernatural emerges because of what happened there. ”
That 1972, the survivors learned about a radio that had abandoned its search.
Finally fed up with the very low temperatures, the menacing avalanches, distressed by the continued death of their companions and the slow wait for the rescue, two boys decided to cross the huge mountains to reach what they thought Chile was.
In this way it is like December 22, 1972, after having been isolated for 72 days, the world finds out that 16 of them defeated death in the Andes.
After the meeting in El Sosneado, our group left west, passing through the old abandoned thermal hotel, to the Araya cattle stand.
There the carriers carry heavy luggage (only tents, sleeping bags and food) in a dozen mules, while walkers begin their journey of about 16 kilometers (10 miles) to the base camp on the banks of El Barroso.
Crossing the Atuel river on foot with the rushing water up to the waist is our first adventure of this seven-hour hike to arrive - after several slopes - to the camp located 2, 550 meters above sea level (7, 650 feet).
The preparations to leave the next day towards the Las Lgrimas Glacier are arduous, given that the day will be very hard since there are three hours of upward march, in addition to crossing the Las Tears river until reaching the site where the remains are located of the plane, at more than 3, 500 meters above sea level (11, 550 feet).
The physical wear and tear of the first walk began to collect its bill in my body, which added to a recent LCA, made me reflect on the steps to follow. After a long talk with the uit Tuiti Molina, head of the expedition, I agreed to stay in the base camp next to an experienced fellow hiker who had a very tight chest and he whistled as he breathed, on the verge of an asthma attack.
We accompanied the group until the first stop at Laguna de los Patos and then we returned to the base camp, where we spent the day at the cooing of the El Barroso river and with the imposing framework of El Sosneado as the background. At about 8:00 p.m., the group's outpost began to return and the laggards did so on the back of the four horses available for emergencies.
In the air he felt the emotion of the moment, while the anecdotes followed succulent lentils under cover.
Bathroom of the Violet Flame
That night, I woke up around 3:30 in the morning. My spirit asked me for prayer, so I went into meditation while the wind with its two degrees Celsius (38F) sang between the tents. It connected with the heart of Mother Earth and I saw the mountain surrounded by a large magenta pillar. By connecting from my heart with Father Sky, a gigantic spiral formed immediately that flowed against the hands of the clock and through which the Violet Flame descended transmuting all the density and pain accumulated in those slopes
The energy moved slowly wrapping rocks and memories, while several characters moved like in an old black and white movie. Love slowly descended to cover the entire place while I could only hold the space, while angels and elementals did their silent and diligent work. When the cleaning was finished, a new pale pearl energy descended on the mountain, covering it from the top to its slopes. I knew that the Divine Mother and Mother Nature had done their job. A cold touch ran down my back as a warning that the mission had been accomplished.
Unable to hit an eye I saw the first rays of the sun come out. I honored that new day as my spirit told me in my ear that the 50 people who were in that place had agreed in another life, in another dimension, to get there that day to bring our compassion and help Pachamama to transmute the old energy of pain and suffering and thus be able to continue together the journey of the Ascension of Mother Earth towards the New Age . So be it and it is.