Summary

In the third chapter of Cowboy Graves, “The Trip”, Arturo sails back to Chile. After he quit his job in Sonora, the narrator decided to join the Chilean revolution and his parents bought him a “ticket that would take [him] by ship from Panama to Valparaiso” (50). Aboard the Donizetti, Arturo shares a cabin with Johnny Paredes and starts conversing with a group of other passengers, including Dora Montes. Dora is a cabaret performer “on her way back to Chile after a tour of sundry Central American nightclubs” with her sister who also serves as her secretary (51). The sister is frequently ill, and Dora is convinced that she is absorbing the maladies that would otherwise afflict herself. During the voyage, Arturo sleeps with Dora who is also sleeping with Johnny. They all sleep together as well, but the experience...