Day 35 – at Narváez

I took the van up another 14 kilometres along the forest track to the pass at almost 2000 metres and hiked the circular route that took in the peak of Santa Barbara at 2269 metres and gave a 360 degree view of the surrounds of the Baza massif. To the south east, and clear to see, is the Tabernas desert, which I had not long ago read about. This is an incredibly inhospitable place with practically no rainfall and temperatures this summer reaching 50C.

Just before returning I met a guy walking the opposite direction, a philosophy teacher in the school in Baza. He was jealous of my early retirement, and has to work until he is 67. He had spent a few months in England, but said he could speak none, languages were a blur to him (I am hardly any better).

We retreated a bit lower to park-up for the night. I had at first thought of driving on, but soon turned the option down. Though a little busier, a handful of people, mainly cyclists and walkers, this is a tremendous place to stop.

There was a steep uphill on a track to the place I was stopped and mid-afternoon a middle aged local guy came up on his electric bike, duly panting and sweating, shouting encouragement to his partner some distance behind him, and not on electric bike – it was his 8 year old son. I refilled the boy’s water as it had long since been used, hard not to feel sympathy for him as he valiantly pursued his father’s Bosch powered Cube.

As ever on a Saturday, an evening of sport, chiefly on the radio, though for the big affair of the evening, a dodgy video feed from Vina del Mar of the Chile rugby qualifier…and what a game it was.

In the France 2023 World Cup Qualifiers Chile beat Canada to qualify for the Americas2 play-off place against USA next year.

This is the first time Canada have not qualified for a World Cup, and the first time Chile have ever beaten them.

The team had 7 of my old boys in it, and not just old boys, guys I know really well, as I taught and coached them between 11 and 16. They all did several of my bike trips and many rugby tours.

I congratulated the captain late last night and we had a humorous chat, all he wanted to do was remember the Rio Puelo bike trip. That is Martin Sigren, the blind side. Twins, but not identical, were second row and centre, Clemente and Domingo Saavdera. The difficulties I had with their parents when they were 11, as they were a year old in their year group and I had them play a year up. Domingo in particular in those days was small for his age, but very good.

Marcelo Torrealba at scrum half. The only one in the team now that plays his club rugby outside of Chile, for Austin in the America competition. A friend of mine assesses referees in that league, so via him, we have been in quite regular contact. Santiago Videla at 10, and the goal kicker. I remember the age group team he was part of was not so strong at Under 13 level. We played our major rivals twice inside four weeks, and after a 50-0 defeat in the first game it was hard to stop parents deciding to take a weekend holiday when the rematch came around. Videla, small for his age, was one that did play, and despite another defeat, though not so heavy, he stood out as man of the match from both sides. And Inaki Ayarza and Tomas Dusaillant on the bench, Inaki a couple of years younger than the others, and Tomas a couple of years older.

They play USA in the play-off next year. Should they make it through, and qualify for Group D, and walk out against England, it will be the greatest achievement and pride of my career.