Winter Holidays (why CLiff Richards has no words) Day 1

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Right so have returned from the winter vacation one week earlier than had intended .Hopes of Mendoza in persuit of some of the world´s finest wines were postponed in a desperate need for sunshine, summer holidays and a bit of body boarding. Surfing maybe what the cool kids do but body boarding has definately got status here. Boards retail at a muy carro price and many have upgraded to ones with a a fin - at every beach i´ve visited you are guaranteed to see some strapping chileans heaving on the wetsuit for the sake of basically sitting down in the surf and waited to be taken from behind by a nippy pacific wave. Body boarding is business here. WE borrowed some of the Duran family´s finest polyester specifmens, both artistically adorned with exotic scenes of tropic fish and ripped surfers. It was with some shame we carried them through the central of La Calera. This was to be but the beginning of our embrassment.

Should highlight that this holiday is being taken with Miss jessica (the new girl who has already had teh exciting adventures of peru, bolivia and argentina so is a much more seasoned traveller than myself). Tambien, heading to the north of chile (not only in the persuit of a tan but becuase its necessary to pop to tacna in peru for the visa stamp as am about to become an illegal immigrant).

So onto the bus we board for the 26 hour journey all the way up to Arica, one of the northern most pointes of chile. WEll we had been warned. We were aiming for the selfproclaimed ´city of eternal spring´´. and now certainly feel have got a very good eyeful of the aniplano. up to about 7 hours north of santiago, so from teh central region up to the North Chico there are mountains, just beginning to show signs of perkign up with lush green vegetation developing on the palta plantaions. Bien. After this . . . dessert. DESSERT DESSERT DESSERT. its not even sand and could do wit hsome geo boys to explain all the rocks that were about. Barren and most bizarrrely every now and again on the edge of the road theres the odd shack selling pineapple icecream. The women wait at these, preparing to fil the next bus and try and get bored passengers to feast upon empanadas and dolces.

We arrive in Arica safely, find our hostel aptly named ´Sunny Days - a home from home´´ and then seperate. Within one hour I will go to Peru and back as collectivo drivers frantically run around a car park to try and fill their autos. Grabbing any stray pedestrian or possibly illicit peruvian. Then rushed along a motorway in time for the setting sun until reach a kiosk and the document stamping begins. No questions. Slight issue with being checked over for swine flew symptons, chose wrong time to blow nose, and then hola peru.

30 minutes mi amigos. 30 minutes in this country and good grief it is differnt to Chile. A stop over in this ill lit bus station and there are laundry bags on the floor spewing out clothes onto a filthy floor and the people even have a distinctive face. We´re talking dark skin, high cheek bones and slightly slitty nostrils (rather like lord voldermort - cant get to english cinema for harry potter somenoe send on a review). So anyway get stamp, speed back to arica and prepare for night at hostel.

All in all make about 3 hours use of bed as go out to the omininous named discoteque ´The End´´ which the locals pronounce ´de-en´´ so it takes a while to find it. Small dingey, and regaton all night, daddy yankee getting his gasolina on , although we do get a quick mix to wack out some english rave moves. Take the decision to leave due to jeans, tshirt, hair quite sweaty. Find out hte next day that there were a couple of earthquakse while we were raving. didn´t even notice. And so ends all nice normal travelling experiences in the north . . . more coming soon. x

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