Day 7 – Today, I was questioned by the Police!

Sr. John Marie and I had a short day in Ovalle and then we were headed back to Santiago.

I had a good night’s sleep with no howling dogs, which means there were no temblores. In the morning, I made another trip down to the city to look for magnets, shot glasses and postcards, but was unable to find any. I guess Ovalle isn’t a big enough city for these things. I also looked into buying a second camera (I was lost without mine), so I could capture a bit more of Ovalle, but the prices were way too high. I hiked back to the convent at 12:30 for lunch with Sr. Consuelo, Fr. Jose Luis, Sr. Carolina, Sr. Victoria, Carmen and Sr. Lucia.


After lunch, Sr. John Marie and I made sandwiches for the trip. We got a ride to the bus station from Fr. Jose Luis. Sr. Consuelo came along and made sure we got on the bus okay. We left Ovalle around 2:45pm.

Unfortunately, there was a heavy fog, so there wasn’t much scenery on the trip back to Santiago. Sr. John Marie and I just sat back and enjoyed the movies on the bus. This bus was older than the bus we took to Ovalle, so it only had one floor and best of all, it didn't beep when the driver went over the speed limit.





About 4 hours into the trip, the bus went through a toll booth and a police officer signaled the driver to stop on the side of the road. Sr. John Marie said, “What are we stopping for now?” (the bus makes a lot of random stops), I said, “I think it’s the police.” Sr. John Marie looked out the window and said, “Uh-oh. Those guys are Chile’s FBI!”

The bus attendant told us to take out our identification. Then 2 “FBI” guys boarded the bus, and started collecting everyone’s IDs. When the “FBI” guy took my passport, he looked at me and asked, “You espeak Espanish?” I said, “No.” He looked at me and Sr. John Marie again, and then continued through the rest of the bus. Then the “FBI” guys got off the bus with everyone’s IDs and went back to the station.

Sr. John Marie said, “Where is he going with our ID’s??? I wonder what they are looking for. This never happened before. Sometimes the bus company inspector gets on the bus, but these guys are the FBI ” I said, “Well, I am glad I am here with you!” She then told me that even the Sisters are not trusted, since anyone can impersonate them.

I started calculating how much money I had on me (about $97 --I bought 3 cokes in Ovalle)…I was sure we were going to be shook down.

A few minutes later “FBI” guy returned to the bus with everyone's IDs, gave them to the bus attendant and we were on our way. Sr. John Marie and I were in the clear.

When he handed us back our IDs, we asked the bus attendant what they were looking for…he said, “"Las drogas” Apparently, the “FBI” guys had caught 2 people earlier on their way to Santiago.

Now, everyone who knows me knows that I like to imagine myself on various (reality-based) TV shows…from Judge Judy to the Amazing Race. The one show that I would definitely not want to be on is “Locked Up Abroad.” I’m pretty sure that they don’t have internet in the prison.

Anyway…that was our big run in with "la ley" (the law). Sr. John Marie and I are back, safe and sound, in Santiago.