Blogs from Arica & Parinacota, Chile, South America - page 19

hi! in la serena haben wir in den sternenhimmel geguckt und ganz viel ueber galaxien, clusters und sternenbilder gelernt. der guide des observatiorio astronomico mamalluca war sehr engagiert uns allen mehr ueber die sterne zu erzaehlen. zufaelligerweise war auch gleich die nacht der meteoritenregen und wir haben tatsaechlich einige davon vorbeigluehen sehen. der morgenbus brachte uns in 7std. nach chanaral, wo wir ein hotel bezogen, etwas assen und dann gleich den nachtbus nach arica buchten, weil es uns hier ueberhaupt nicht gefallen hat, da der ort mit seinen verfallenen haeusern an einem sonntag ausser einem offenen restaurant und supermarket nicht viel zu bieten hatte. nach weiteren 14std. im komfortablen liegebettbus durch steinwuesten, duenen und mondlandschaften ohne jeglich zivilsation und vegetation sind wir gut in arica angekommen. unsere gewaehlte unterkunft gemaess l... read more

Oh my god, it feels great to finally have a shower and a rest and not have to rush around. We have reached the Northern Chilean town of Arica which is just near the border of Peru and I think a great place to stop for rest. There is a big difference between Bolivia and Chile and its nice to be in civilisation for a while. This internet connection seems super fast! The overnight bus ride to get here was so much better than we have experienced, I slept like a baby and was woken up with a cup of tea. Also, I have been in the front seat of a few buses and it almost feels like you are in an Imax theatre with the desert landscapes sweeping past you.. its amazing stuff. Things are ... read more

Our journey heading north out of San Pedro started off in a strange manner as it was a different type of service to that offered in Bolivia. The Chilean buses are a direct copy of an airline service, equipped with reclining seats and air conditioning. We arrived in Arica the next morning following a few hours of neck-cricking sleep, got breakfast and caught a bus to Putre, 3 hours inland. This didn't go exactly to plan as we discovered when the bus stopped and we were ordered off the bus at a crossroads in the middle of nowhere. Despite a long argument with the bus driver, by Lucy anyway as my Spanish was limited to asking the driver if I could have my steak medium rare, we were left stranded. From a sign we were able ... read more

Well, as you may know, I'm not writing about this trip at the time but months later from the comfort of a London flat. I feel I should apologise for not having kept this up to date. The reason really was lack of time. We always had to go into town to use the internet and if the connection wasn't fast, I didn't bother doing anything more than checking on emails. So now that I have a fast connection 24/7, I hope you don't mind hearing about some of the trips I made and things I saw. So, after 3 months after my trip to Peru, I was required by Bolivian immigration to leave the country. As the time for this departure approached, matters were complicated by a blockade of major routes in the country caused ... read more

Arica is the northernmost town of Chile. It used to be Bolivia, but we won’t talk about that… What really matters is that it’s in the middle of the Atacama desert - well, almost. It’s on the coast, and the waters off that coast are very very rich (Peru & Chile are still bickering about the sea-frontier. Something that paradoxical could only be disputed in South America. Or the Balkans. Or Belgium… Or anywhere there’s people, I guess. Hm). Strange that a desert could have such a sharp border. Then again, there is Texas. But that desert isn’t so much physical. Anyways, I got into Arica at seven, four hours after the scheduled arrival (of course border control wasn’t included in the time-table. Silly me), and weaved round the bus-station with my snail-size top-heavy ruck-sack, trying ... read more