Day 107 / Dzien 107.

I'm in love with the desert. We spent the night in Anza-Borrego and started the day with a hike to an overlook. Laugh at me, but a few cacti, mountains, and dry dirt as far as I can see, somehow make me very happy. After visiting large cities and being constantly surrounded by people, although we enjoyed it very much, it is a welcomed change to feel like we're the only ones on the planet. And the desert makes it easy.

Zakochalam sie w pustyni. Noc spedzilismy w Anza-Borrego i dzien zaczelismy spacerem do punktu widokowego. Mozecie sie smiac, ale kilka kaktusow, gory i sucha ziemia po horyzont, w jakis dziwny sposob mnie uszczesliwiaja. Po odwiedzeniu wielkich miast i byciu w ciaglym otoczeniu ludzi, mila odmiana jest wrazenie, ze jestesmy jedynymi osobami na ziemi. A na pustyni o takie wrazenie latwo.

During our hike we noticed mysterious piles of carefully arranged stones and then found a huge cactus surrounded by large rocks that looked like they were placed there on purpose. 'A marker?' - we wondered. - 'Could it be a hiding place?'. We were tempted to remove the stones and start digging. We lifted one but then stopped. A treasure would be nice but what if it's a dead body? That would be far less thrilling.

Podczas naszego spaceru zauwazylismy dziwne kupki starannie ulozonych kamykow, a potem znalezlismy wielkiego kaktusa otoczonego duzymi kamieniami, ktore wydawaly sie byc umieszczone tam przez kogos w jakims celu. 'Znacznik?' - zastanawialismy sie. - 'Czy to moze byc kryjowka?'. Korcilo nas, zeby odsunac kamienie i zaczac kopac. Podnieslismy jeden i zmienilismy zdanie. Skarb bylby fajny, ale co jesli to sa zwloki? To bylby znacznie mniej ekscytujace.

The road brought us to Borrego Springs, a true oasis and the only settlement in Anza-Borrego. And after we left the park, we did something we haven't done in a while: we went gambling. Lee did pretty well playing blackjack at the first casino, and at the second one entered a blackjack tournament. The way it worked was very different to what we're used to, so even though he didn't win, it was a learning experience. The casino was hosting a pow-wow (a very commercialized one) and there were dancers changing into their costumes all across the parking lot.

Droga zaprowadzila nas do Borrego Springs, prawdziwej oazy i jedynej osady w Anza-Borrego. Po opuszczeniu parku zrobilismy cos, czego nie robilismy od dawna: rzucilismy sie w hazard. Lee powiodlo sie niezle w blackjacku w pierwszym kasynie, a w drugim zglosil sie do turnieju blackjacka. Zasady bardzo roznily sie od tych, do ktorych jestesmy przyzwyczajeni, wiec pomimo tego, ze nie wygral, to czegos sie nauczylismy. W kasynie odbywal sie pow-wow (bardzo skomercjonalizowany) i na parkingu byl wielki tlum tancerzy przebierajacych sie w kostiumy.