At sea level again

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We did not have a very comfortable bus trip to Arica, The couple in front read until all hours and then the lady put her seat back so far it broke so her head was in my lap all night and when it got hot it was unbearable. The bus stopped at every town and all the lights were put on as people got on and off. The only good thing about it was that it took us to Arica, a big city on the coast of northern Chile.

Arriving at 0730 we were welcomed at our next hostel with a huge breakfast. We had a walk around town, booked out train tickets into Peru and saw Pelicans sitting on the ocean. Lots of them. Up town we saw a church designed by Alexandre Eiffle who designed something in France also. Apparently the church was made of cast iron, it didn't feel like it although I could see rivets up higher.

At one of the Plazas there were hundreds of little children, all in uniform and being escorted by teachers after a day learning about the Police. The police had put on a display for all the children. The children as were going back to school were holding bits of rope that their wrists were velcroed onto, others were holding hands with the person next to them and with their other hand they held the shoulder of the person in front. No chance of getting lost. We later learned they were 4 and 5 year olds who attend preschool, that has very structured learning until they start school at 6. A few hundred youngsters laughing and talking was lovely to see.

At the Fisherman's wharf, we watched the men filleting sardines about 3 inches long, while Pelicans and huge fat seals were waiting for the scraps.

We bought some fruit at the market - guayeba a very common fruit in Arica, eaten whole and a tumbo - looked and tasted like a banana passionfruit and a merscuyo - a big soft yellow passionfruit like fruit that was quite sour. We also ate a great big bunch of grapes. The lady at the stall also had us try other fruits and the hostel owner went mad at us, we now do not eat fruit that cannot be peeled or drink any tap water. All fruit and vegetables are soaked in sterilizing solution. Paul soon felt sick after hearing this and had to lie down and wait for the worst, didn't really happen. We will now be more careful with what we eat and drink.

On the 26th we caught this strange little train into Peru. We climbed in the carriage and were awaiting the engine that did not come. The engine was inside the front of the carriage and Paul went up and had a look, it had gears, like a truck. We drove through a large lot of sand, Army practice area with hills and trenches, Paul said he saw that it was mined. Only and hour and a half later we were in Peru.

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