It seems like yesterday! Oh wait, it was. My suitcases are still on the living room floor. Michael Farmer
Sent from my iPad > On Dec 13, 2016, at 9:50 PM, Greg Hupe via Meteorite-list > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Bolivia Meteorite Adventure > By Gregory M. Hupe > > > On November 20, 2016 a massive meteorite event took place over Aiquile, > Bolivia at approximately 5:00 p.m. local time. While still daylight, Quechua > Indian eyewitnesses saw ‘corkscrew’ smoke trails and heard ‘whooshing’ noises > followed by sonic booms and then stones literally falling at their feet! > > Michael Farmer and I went to Aiquile to hunt for meteorites and attempt to > acquire stones from the inhabitants. Things didn’t quite work out that way… > > Welcome to Aiquile Bolivia. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia1.jpg > > Possibly the main mass, an approximately 35-kilogram impactor. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia2.jpg > > Town Square in center of Aiquile. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia3.jpg > > Charango guitar with caballero and bull sculpture in the town square. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia4.jpg > > It would take us over two weeks after the fall to fly to Bolivia due to > Mike’s yearly show commitment in Japan. Just 24 hours at home after > returning from the show, Michael flew to Florida to meet me. On December 8th > we began our journey to South America from Miami. Our travels would take us > by air to Aiquile by way of La Paz and then on to Cochabamba and then by > private hire to Aiquile. With no sleep for over 30 hours of travel from home > to the dusty town near the strewnfield, we were exhausted but too excited to > rest. We went right to work meeting with fellow meteorite hunter, Dario Ruiz, > who had been there for two weeks. He introduced us to individuals about > hunting for meteorites or buying some, but our hopes were quickly dampened by > the news of the town’s government putting up road blocks to deny access to > the strewnfield. It turns out that the officials were confiscating stones > from the Quechua finders which put them in a panic and afraid to talk to > outsiders. Things quickly became complicated. > > Dario, Michael and Greg in Aiquile. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia5.jpg > > View looking up the Aiquile strewnfield from the Quechua trail. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia6.jpg > > Cactus are a common beauty in the strewnfield. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia7.jpg > > We realized we were not going to be able to hunt for stones ourselves without > the threat of arrest, or far worse, physical harm from protective villagers > we were told may use force to stop outsiders from hunting. Knowing this, we > immediately went to ‘Plan B’ and were granted secret meetings with owners of > pieces from the fall. To our thrill and amazement, we were able to see > several stones ranging from small broken fragments to large kilo-sized > pieces. Throughout the 48-hours we were on site we were told of several > large pieces included a 50-kilo ‘Puzzle Stone’ which we believe to be just > rumor as is consistent with most falls. > > Reflecting upon a fresh meteorite. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia8.jpg > > 100-plus gram fragment. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia9.jpg > > Same 100-gram fragment displaying ‘Slickensides’. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia10.jpg > > Interior indicating a shocked high metal H Chondrite. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia11.jpg > > On our second day we had an early start with a scheduled meeting to see some > stones, but being on ‘Bolivia time’ we sat for several hours waiting, waiting > and waiting some more. To keep us from leaving and going to other contacts, > our new friend entertained us with some guitar play dressed in his caballero > ranch clothing made of javelina, lama and other durable animal skins. > Aiquile is known as the ‘Capitol of Charango’ (guitar) where the guitar is > manufactured. It was nice to enjoy this flavor of music high in the mountain > village. > > Local Quechua playing a Charango guitar. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia12.jpg > > Video of the music of Bolivian friendship: > http://www.naturesvault.net/Videos/AiquileBoliviaVideo1.mp4 > > Newly fallen meteorite with Charango guitar. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia13.jpg > > Noon was soon upon us with nobody bearing stones for us to consider so we > walked down the street for lunch and chose one of a few street vendors > offering potatoes and sausage. We ventured to the local market and town > square for a little tourism while we were there. The meal was very tasty and > the sightseeing was nice but we were eager to get back to work. > > Quechua offering an assortment of foods. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia14.jpg > > Aiquile market stocked with fresh fruits. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia15.jpg > > Coca leaves, a staple of high altitude living. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia16.jpg > > Grandmother and granddaughter enjoying an afternoon in town square. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia17.jpg > > Approaching our meeting place to see the stones we noticed two out-of-place > characters on brand new mountain bikes looking our way and pointing a cell > phone towards our direction and acting like tourists. We knew immediately > they must be government officials with their shiny bikes, mirror sunglasses > and new clothing. And we thought WE stood out in the crowd! Most Quechua > don’t own bicycles in this town, and if they did they would be very old and > worn out. Entering the hotel meeting place we were led to a wall where we > were informed that a notice was hastily taped on the wall in the darkness of > night. It was a new ‘law’, or heavy suggestion as we surmised, that > encouraged locals to hand over their finds and forbid hunting for the > meteorite or the sale of them. This new ‘Declaration 69’ would be voted on > in 60 days at which time it would either become official law or be struck > down. > > Young Quechua boy wearing chullo cap. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia18.jpg > > Small Quechua girl shopping early at the market. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia19.jpg > > Declaration 69 (Page 1). > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia20.jpg > > Declaration 69 (Page 2). > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia21.jpg > > Not wanting to tempt fate and be accused of stealing meteorites or be set up > by the ‘tourists’ on the mountain bikes, we decided to cut our trip short and > bug out early. We didn’t want to alert anyone of our revised plans so we > made new appointments for later that day and the next morning. After making > arrangements for an inconspicuous ‘escape’ we met with our driver who quickly > loaded our small amount of luggage and he made his way through back alleys > away from prying eyes. He stopped by an out of town gas station but did not > pull in like normal but chose to park behind a large bush for concealment > from the cameras at these locations. We would later learn that some cars are > stolen from Chile and utilized in small villages in Bolivia without proper > plates or registration after the right people are paid off. After filling the > tank from a gas can we were easily permitted to travel an old Quechua trail. > The trail was a handmade cobblestone road that threaded alongside treacherous > mountains with hundreds of hairpin turns without guardrails and lined with > 1000-foot drop-offs. Many memorial markers lined the path indicating where > many souls met a terrifying death. > > Handmade Quechua cobblestone road leading towards the mountain pass. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia22.jpg > > ‘Highway to Hell’. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia23.jpg > > One of many destroyed vehicles along the Quechua trail. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia24.jpg > > Video of our route on the ‘Death Road’: > http://www.naturesvault.net/Videos/AiquileBoliviaVideo2.mp4 > > After six hours of a white knuckle and frightening ride utilizing five > different vehicles, either for evasion from possible followers meaning to do > us harm or because of the ‘stolen car’ issue, we finally made it to safety in > Cochabamba. During our travels on the ‘Highway from Hell’ as we called it, > we received word of meteorites that were in Cochabamba that we could possibly > acquire. > > Three fragments of the Aiquile meteorite. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia27.jpg > > Fresh 437-gram fragment displaying black fusion crust and impact markings. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia28.jpg > > We arrived at the pre-determined location and were escorted to a dimly lit > corridor in a downtown room without furniture. After much negotiation in > Spanish between Michael and the owner, a few pieces were purchased. The > large stone was not to be had as the owner wanted to what amounted to the > cost of a large ranch. We left content with the few pieces we managed to get > and took two different taxis to a hotel we booked online while in route to > the meeting. We took no chances of being set up or followed. Risk of false > imprisonment in South America is high so we had to constantly be on guard and > switch plans on the spot. ‘Head on a swivel’ was the motto here. We managed > to get a 2-hour power nap after changing our itinerary back to the U.S. > before we had to be at the airport to fly to La Paz. > > Michael standing next to fountain town square in Cochabamba. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia29.jpg > > Greg in front of government building at town square. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia30.jpg > > Upon checking into yet another spur-of-the-moment hotel, we had a few hours > for some sightseeing around the neighborhood before getting some rest before > yet another 3:00 a.m. wake up call to catch a flight. > > Pedro Domingo Murillo Plaza in downtown La Paz. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia31.jpg > > Christmas celebration at San Francisco Plaza. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia32.jpg > > Quechua woman wearing traditional Bolo hat and attire adding color to > downtown. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia33.jpg > > After departing La Paz, with a quick stop in Santa Cruz, we flew over the > jungles of Brazil, Colombia and the northern Caribbean coast over > Barranquilla. Next was a narrow of emerald-colored sea that led us over > Jamaica and over central Cuba before delivering us to Miami. > > Flying over the jungles of Colombia. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia34.jpg > > Leaving South American airspace over Barranquilla, Colombia. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia35.jpg > > The emerald Caribbean seas embrace the island nation of Jamaica. > http://www.naturesvault.net/Images/AiquileBolivia/AiquileBolivia36.jpg > > While most of the meteorites recovered from this fall were confiscated by the > municipal government, some of those will be put on public display in the > local museum. This means that of the very few that were legally obtained > before any overnight laws potentially go into effect, very little will be > available to the collecting community. While we were prepared and had to bug > out early due to a challenging and fluid situation, we overcame the > difficulties and returned home safely. The Bolivia meteorite adventure was a > quick thrill ride composed of; Excitement, Frustration, Disappointment, > Danger, Reward and most importantly – A trip we will not soon forget! > > > > Best Regards, > Greg > > ==================== > Greg Hupe > The Hupe Collection > [email protected] > www.NaturesVault.net (Online Catalog & Reference Site) > www.LunarRock.com (Online Planetary Meteorite Site) > NaturesVault (Facebook, Pinterest & eBay) > http://www.facebook.com/NaturesVault > http://pinterest.com/NaturesVault > IMCA 3163 > ==================== > > ______________________________________________ > > Visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/meteoritecentral and the > Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com > Meteorite-list mailing list > [email protected] > https://pairlist3.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list ______________________________________________ Visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/meteoritecentral and the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] https://pairlist3.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
