Back to Peru

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First, Back to Arica, Chile

On Easter Island I changed my mind about crossing to Buenas Aires and going north. Too cold. I tried to get a flight to Arica, the northern most town of Chile, as soon as I reached Santiago and although it cost only $100 only if you booked 7 days in advance the next day price was $350, a little much for an hour flight. The alternative was a 30 hour bus ride which isn´t too bad considering the semi-bed-type seats.
Tur Bus, the large domestic bus transport company has safety features including seats belts for passengers and a sign telling you that the drivers don t drive longer than 5 hours per shift. Also, when the driver exceeds the speed limit a buzzard goes off to alert him and the passengers.

Arica has a good hostal run by a Kiwi transplant, Ross. Also I got another chance to visit the sea lions and pelicans. Ooooh! They´re fantastic! Unfortunately by not hurrying through the border to Peru I got stuck in Chile awhile longer.

Tues July 10,2007: The border to Peru was having a ¨protest¨ as they called it. One person who came through said the road was littered with rocks and a overturned burning police car. Buses turned around without completing their journey. It started as a teachers strike then everyone joined in. Starting tomorrow for 2 days the bus drivers are striking. To the east in Bolivia, the miners are on strike and barracading the roads. Last January 100 people were killed during the students strike in Bolivia. You don´t fool with miners and their dynamite sticks.

I decided to pass the time in the Andes east of Arica. At 6am on the way to the bus station the taxi driver said it was ok to go across the border today. I thought about getting out of the cab and going then said to myself "what the hell" maybe another place in Chile was worth seeing. In the town of Putre at 3500 metres it can get cold at night even though the days were sunny. And going from sea level to 3500 metres quickly can make you feel tired, headachey and unable to sleep well.

Tacna, Peru

I spent the night in Arica then the next morning I took a place in a collectivo-taxi to Tacna, Peru. The Peru immigration took away my apple and orange which they found using their x-ray machine. A French family from Tahiti had their bottle of Pisco (local type of brandy) taken away. Peru´s towns are much more exciting than the civilized Chilean towns.

Lima

I don'´t know why I stayed two days in Tacna but then I flew to Lima. I stayed at the same place as before, then made a reservation to fly to Iquitos in the Amazon basin. There are no roads attaching this city to the outside world.

I´m getting a little tired of moving around. It would be nice to spend a couple of months in a comfortable routine back in Nicaragua or Thailand.

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Photos

Cathedral
Built by Gustave Eiffel of Eiffel Tower and Panama Canal Lock fame.

Morning Hike
At 11am this stream along a trail still was covered with ice.