astrophotography

“I’m ready to take my camera to the wilderness.  Monte Seco looks pretty close on the map.  Maybe I’ll go today… clear night, new moon…”

“No.”  

I glanced over at Mateo, not having realized he was even listening to my conversation as he scrambled eggs over the stove.

Noelia rolled her eyes.  “He’s so over-protective sometimes.”

“I noticed,” I said, breaking off a piece of bread and popping it in my mouth.  “How far is it anyway?”

“By car?  Maybe an hour and a half, depending on road conditions.  Probably muddy, right Mat?”

He brought the skillet over, scraping eggs onto each of our plates.  “Not tonight, Lexi.  I’ll take you another weekend.  No buses stop near there, especially this time of year.”

I let out a whine.  “Ugh but I haven’t been able to go anywhere at allllllll.  I’m getting so bored.”

“Imagine living here 19 years,” Noelia said with an eyeroll.

Mateo eyed his little sister.  “If you’re so bored, you can organize the shop like I’ve asked you to a hundred times.”

“Booooooorrrrrrrrriiiiiiiinnnnnnnnggggggg!” 

The two of them playfully bickered for a while as I stuffed my face quickly, wondering whose car I could borrow to go to the national park.  I didn’t know many people, and the ones I did know were too associated with Mateo to ask for this particular favor.  

But I bet Noelia would know someone.  

But I couldn’t ask her in front of Mat.

The church bells rang, signaling that it was time to leave.  I quickly washed our plates, grabbed my backpack, and jogged out the door to meet Noelia in the sticky air.  

“Do you know anyone who’s car I can borrow?”

Noelia flipped her hair back, grinning.  “If you’re asking for help to get to the park, come see me in the shop after your classes.  We’ll figure something out.”

“Thanks, fam.  I appreciate it.”

“But you better take some sick photos and show them to me.”

“Of course!”

Later that evening, exhausted but fueled by adrenaline, I dropped by the shop with my camera and equipment in hand.  Fortunately, Mateo was nowhere in sight, not even in the back doing his leatherwork.  

“Lexiiiii!!” Noelia squealed, literally, and bounced towards me, gripping me in a hug.  

“What?  Did you find somebody?”  I was never going to get used to Noelia’s obsession with hugging.  

“No, I’m just happy to finally see a fucking person.  It’s been a slow day.  Soooo borrrring.  Let’s go for a walk!”

There was a light breeze as we arrived outside, signaling that dry season is (hopefully) coming.  I was excited about that because all the mud and humidity was driving me and my hair and my clothes crazy.  

“So I had an idea,” Noelia began, walking backwards so she could look at me.  “I wish I could go with you, but I have soccer tonight.”

“It’s going to be boring anyway, and you hate being bored.  You’d have to just stand there watching me take pictures in the dark.”

“Nah, I could fend off the jaguars and shit.”  She turned back around as if she hadn’t just casually dropped that there are… jaguars in the park?  She was kidding, right?  “So it’s common for people around here to just… catch a ride with someone…” and she gave a thumbs up.

“Like hitchhiking?  Is it safe?” 

Noelia shrugged.  “It’s not not-safe.”  We inched closer to the highway, but there were no car sounds.  How the hell was I going to hitchhike in a place nobody ever goes?  “It’ll probably be someone going to visit family up there, so a local, which is much safer than earlier in the day when people are driving to the border.  And you have me to help you.  I know *everyone* around here.”

She’s not wrong.  On our walk to the highway, every single person we passed wanted to have a 2 minute conversation with her.  There’s just something about Noelia that we all gravitate towards.

She led me to the space across from the gas station on the edge of the bus terminal, where no buses sat.  “Here’s a good spot.  Someone will turn up.”

We stood there for a few minutes, chatting and sharing a drink.  Noelia found a piece of cardboard and fished a marker out of her pocket, then wrote the name of the town.  “It’s what all the backpackers do,” she assured me.  Well, I was along for the (literal and figurative) ride.

She instructed me on what to do – get the ride to the restaurant, find the dirt road, walk an hour, take photos, get back to the main highway before 10pm, either hitch a ride back home or stay in the cheap hotel overnight.  Easy peasy, right? 

Finally a black SUV slowed to a stop, causing Noelia to jump with joy.  She was almost more invested in this adventure than me.  

The jaguars were still on my mind.

And the fact that Mateo said no.  Love/hate relationship with that feeling.  I wanted another spanking so badly, but oof… I also didn’t want it and the disappointment that comes with it.  But I also did.  Ugh.  It’s confusing.

“They said yes!”  I shook out of my trance and realized Noelia was clapping her hands together joyfully and pushing me to the car.  

My heart thudded against my chest as the guys introduced themselves, the driver (Emilio) clearly smitten on Noelia, the passenger (Domingo) with his resting bitch face, and the guy in the backseat (Raul) who literally got out of the truck to shake my hand and “help” me inside.  

The airconditioner was on full blast and I sighed in relief as backseat dude closed my door and came around to the other side for himself.  Weirdo.  

My SP bestie waved with a huge smile on her face, blowing me kisses, and “have fun!”  Then we sped off.

The ride to the next town was about 1 hour in which Raul chatted excitedly to anyone who would listen but in a faster Spanish than I was able to fully understand.  I could tell he was the leader of this group, despite being in the backseat.  Emilio seemed to be just the driver, and I wasn’t sure where Domingo fit into the trio. I wasn’t even sure if they were friends or co-workers.

They pulled up to a restaurant, basically the only thing in sight besides a small hotel and an empty “police” post.  There were some houses around, but none within eyesight.  

“Thank you,” I said, shaking everyone’s hand. 

“Be careful,” they responded, the typical way people signed off, but for some reason weighed a little more in that moment.

The sun hadn’t quite set yet, so I decided to grab a bite to eat from the restaurant.  Everyone gave me weird (but friendly) glances, not used to people who looked and acted like me.  When she brought my food, the server asked where I was going.  “Monte Seco,” I said.  “Do you know it?”

She gasped.  “Yes.  It’s beautiful!  But tonight you’re going?”  Her eyebrows furrowed as if she was confused by my words.  

“For the stars.”  I showed her my camera.  “I’m a photographer.”

That didn’t help her confusion, but she nodded and left the milanesa with a wish that I enjoy my meal.  

Taking a sip of my soda, my tummy twisted into knots wondering when Mateo would realize what I’d done.  How he’d react to me coming home in the middle of the night or early morning. What his opinion was on hitchhiking.  How different this spanking would be from the others I’d gotten.  

I shivered, paying for my meal and heading outside into the orange sunlight.  Glancing at my watch, I saw there was only about 30 minutes of sunlight left, then I’d be walking down this mysterious dirt road with almost no light.  

Maybe I should have waited for Mateo to take me.

But new moon!  And I hadn’t gotten to see the fully dark night sky.  I needed to do this.  

The lack of travel through this region made it possible for me to walk in the middle of the road, away from the shrubbery and whatever creatures may lurk in there.  I pulled out my camera, trying to forget about my nervousness and just focus on the scenery.  The silence.  The peacefulness.  The gnawing sensation in my tummy telling me that I was going to be in so much trouble.  

As the blue sky turned black, I dug the red headlamp out of my backpack using it to lead my way.  Nature sounds filled my ears.  I wished Noelia had been able to come – at least her company would be entertaining.  

I wasn’t sure how far I’d gone… I hadn’t seen any park signs or anything, so probably didn’t actually get to Monte Seco.  But it was dark and my legs were tired from walking and I was kinda ready to get back to civilization.  I hadn’t seen a person, car, or even cow in the past half-hour.  I was the most remote I had ever been in my life.

Because of that, I decided to set up my tripod right there in the middle of the road – no one’s coming.  I positioned my camera upward, then glanced at the sky myself, seeing it fully for the first time.  The Milky Way.  Other stars.  Idk what’s up there.  I just know it’s beautiful.

I lost myself in the beauty for a few minutes, until I heard something between the cicadas and crickets and whatever other animals were hanging out in the bushes.  Distant at first, coming closer.  I glanced down the road to see a pair of headlights coming towards me.

“Oh shit,” I said out loud, slightly panicking but still having plenty of time to move out of the way.  That wasn’t the problem.  The problem was that I didn’t know what was in those bushes.  I might prefer getting run over by a car to getting eaten by a jaguar.

I held my breath as I peered through the scrub, noticing a clearing that looked safe enough.  I grabbed my tripod and hopped over the ditch, heart pounding.  I glanced around, seeing what photos I could take from this angle.  There was a cool framing I could do with this tree that made a stunning silhouette.  The car inched closer as I positioned my camera, grumbling under my breath because those lights were really going to hurt my eyes in a few minutes.  

When those few minutes came around, it wasn’t actually my eyes that hurt.  

The truck stopped, deathly loud and unnatural against the nighttime sounds.  I panicked, wondering if I should jump into the brush to save myself from a kidnapper or murderer who for some reason decided to find me out here in the middle of the night…

Then the figure moved towards me and I recognized it almost immediately.

Fuck.

Mateo reached me in two strides, wrapped his hand around my upper arm, pulled me aside and began spanking immediately over my shorts.  “I *smack* told you *smack* not to come here, *smack smack smack* that I *smack* would bring you *smack smack* another weekend!”  I hopped from one foot to the other. Where’s the jaguars when you need them?

“Ow!  Ouch!  Wait!  Mat!  I’m sorry!”

“You’re sorry?!”  He continued the swats and scolding, but I’m not going to keep typing “smack” in here.  “What the hell were you thinking?  Coming out here.  Alone at night.  Too impatient to wait a couple of days.”  He landed a final flurry of swats then turned me to face him, towering over me and not freeing me from his grip.  

I rubbed my bottom, which was surprisingly stingier than I would have expected.  “I just wanted to see the sky.”  I tried to sound pathetic, flash him a poked out lower lip and cutesy wide-eyes that glanced up at the Milky Way.  

Mateo was unmoved.  “Car.  Now.”  

“But…”

“Don’t test me, Lexi.” 

His tone made me gulp and rethink whether pushing would be worth it.  I wasn’t even out there that long!  I needed more time. 

He’ll take you this weekend.  Shut your mouth and go to the car.  That was my reasonable voice.  I rarely listen to her.  Mateo knows it, because he began turning me again to deliver more swats which made me squeal.