Friday 6th
January – Chile Bound
It was finally time to say goodbye to Peru and head off
to Chile. The first leg of the journey
was from Arequipa to Tacna. My bus left
at 7 a.m. and after leaving Arequipa we were driving through stunning
landscapes on a winding mountain road.
Deep cut gorges and jagged mountains surrounded us. Current geological thinking believes that
this landscape was created when, after growing tired and realising the futility of building his causeway from Ireland to Scotland to fight
his mortal enemy, Finn McCool hightailed it to South America - hammer and
chisel in hand - and got to work on the rocks of southern Peru and that’s
exactly what it looked like. A more
controversial idea is that it was carved out by flowing water but it is thought
that this will be debunked soon.
The bus pulled into Tacna after a seven hour journey (at
one point we had to get off and have all our bags scanned – I think for
contraband in the form of fruit but I have really no idea). Now all I had to do was get across the border
to Arica in northern Chile. I had
several options here: bus, train or taxi.
Without even realising it I was soon using the taxi method after being shepherded from the bus
station by a random local to a collectivo (a taxi that can take five people)
along with two guys from the States. We
were joined by a Bolivian and a Chilean.
After loading our bags in the boot and agreeing a price, a woman
approached me and asked for my passport.
She didn’t look official in any way so I said, ‘No way!’ but she
insisted she needed it. At this point I
unloaded my bags from the collectivo and soon her demanding stopped. I have heard of cases of someone asking for
your passport and then demanding a fee to get it back. It all seemed slightly disorganised but I went along with it anyway.
Eventually we reached the border.
The easiest border crossing I’ve had.
The driver was great and ushered us everywhere we needed to go and in no
time we were through and officially in Chile.
It did take the Bolivian guy a little longer than the rest of us. Apparently Chile and Bolivia have a bit of a
stormy relationship due to a piece of land in the north of Chile that used to
belong to Bolivia and gave them access to the sea. Chile now owns this piece of land much to
Bolivia’s annoyance. That is what I have
worked out anyway. I may be wrong.
Once I was dropped off in Arica (conveniently beside the
main bus terminal) I checked when the next bus to San Pedro de Atacama
departed. It was now 5 p.m. and it
didn’t leave until 10 p.m. so I had five
hours of hanging around to do. An
uneventful wait apart from the electricity in the whole bus station going off
about five times to lots of cheering and jeering from the locals and
bewilderment of the staff. Once on the
bus I settled myself in for a much needed sleep on the 12 hour journey.
I can’t really put my finger on it but although I have
only been in Chile for a few hours and most of it was spent in a bus station, I
feel like I am really going to like this country. There is a different feeling and atmosphere
to it than in Peru. Not that I didn’t
enjoy Peru, I had a fantastic time there.
But Chile just feels different.
Saturday 7th
January – The Atacama Desert
At 7.30 a.m. I was woken by the bus driver. The best sleep I’ve had on any bus
journey. But we weren’t in San Pedro de
Atacama. We were in Calama. All of the passengers were told to get off
the bus and we would leave again at 8 a.m.
When we were all off, the bus pulled out and drove off with all our bags
on it. Perplexed I hung around bleary
eyed having no clue as to what was happening.
I wasn’t the only one. No one
seemed to know. 8 a.m. came and went and
no bus could be seen. Several people
started to get impatient and questioned the station staff. All in Spanish so I
was never enlightened on the situation.
But finally after one hour our bus arrived back to takes us to San Pedro
de Atacama. To me it will forever remain
a mystery where the bus went and why. I’ll
just file it in the ‘Well I am in South America’ category.
We reached San Pedro de Atacama at 10 a.m. Again the bus driver had to wake me. I was now feeling fully refreshed. I stepped out of the small bus station into a
truly desert town. The streets where
narrow and dusty – no tarmac. All the
buildings were small. As the sun belted
on me I walked to the first hostel I knew. This was the first time I had not booked
ahead. The hostel was full. I then made my way to two more hostels which
were also full. Usually this would have
caused me to start worrying - but not here.
I felt like I had arrived in the best little town in the world and knew
things would work out. Walking along
with a smile on my face a girl from Iran called Hakime cycled passed and asked
if I needed a hostel. Obviously the
answer was yes at which point she took me to the hostel she worked at,
Juriques, and checked me in. It was a
nice hostel with a chilled out garden area.
But it definitely had a strange feel to it, a good strange feel.
Once I had settled myself in I took a walk around
town. It was very small but with cool
cafes and bars and a shady Plaza de Armas.
Here I sat down in a café and got myself a latte and a milkshake. While relaxing and taking everything in,
Helen Daly walked passed. I had met her
in Quito and she had also just arrived in San Pedro de Atacama so I pointed her
in the direction of my hostel. It was
good to know someone I knew was here.
In the evening I went on a tour of Valle de Luna. Outside the town there are several valleys
with striking scenery. We went to Valle
de Muerte (Valley of the Dead) and Valle de Luna (Valley of the Moon). Valle de Luna is very aptly named as it
really does look like a lunar landscape.
Then we climbed a cliff to the top of a perfectly formed sand dune to
watch an amazing sunset.
Once back at the hostel Helen and I, along with a Ben and
Gemma, a couple also staying at the hostel, went for a bite to eat in Export
Bar where the food was average, the service awful and the in-house saxophonist
annoyingly loud. Next it was off to
Ayulla where we sat around a fire in the courtyard with Nathan and Jo, also
staying in the hostel.
A relaxed evening in a desert town. Tomorrow myself and Helen are planning to
hire bikes and cycle around the outskirts of the town and through the desert.
Sunday 8th
January – Not Again!
This is beginning to drive me insane. I woke up this morning feeling sick
again. It’s now started to happen so
often I’m pretty sure it’s something I’m eating. The only conclusion I have come to is that
it’s the milk. The latte and milkshake I
had yesterday are to blame I believe. So
from now it’s no milk for me. It’s going
to be a nightmare as I love lattes and the milkshakes in South America are
something else.
So the planned bike ride today did not happen. Instead I took it easy. I had a walk around town and bumped into
Gemma and Ben. Then I booked my tour to
Salar de Uyuni. This is the reason I am
in San Pedro de Atacama.
Salar de Uyuni is in Bolivia and is the largest salt flat
in the world. Before I came travelling
this is what everyone said I must do. I
have booked a four day tour which will bring me back to San Pedro de Atacama
and it leaves on Wednesday.
On my way back to the hostel I bumped into Kia
again. We are following each other
around South America it seems. In the
evening I went for a bite to eat with Helen.
She had an amazing looking steak.
I had tomato soup. It’s so
unfair.
Monday 9th
January – This Hostel Is Odd
I’m still trying to work out this hostel. It’s a good spot but odd and I’m not the only
one to think this. It seems to be run by
a family, starting with the grandmother who either washes the laundry or sits
in a chair and talks in Spanish while laughing.
It makes me paranoid. The cats
wander about jumping at things that don’t exist. There’s a guy who seems to live in a tent and
does odd jobs about the place. He talks
to himself while cleaning the toilets.
But everyone working here is cool.
I’d actually recommend the hostel.
San Pedro de Atacama being a desert town has water
issues. There is either very little or
none at all. In the evenings the water
is turned off completely and everywhere – hostels, bars, cafes,
restaurants. This make the toilets interesting
to say the least. No flush.
Feeling a little better, but not well enough for a bike
ride, I again take it very easy all day and chill out with Helen, Nathan and Jo
in Ayulla in the evening. Nathan and Jo
are from the UK but now living in Santiago so I’m hoping to catch up with them
there so they can give me a few suggestion on what to do.
Tuesday 10th
January – Desert Biking
Helen and I finally hire bikes today as I’m starting to
feel better. We got a map off the company
we hired the bikes from and set off at noon to ruins outside the town. En route I stop to get some medication to completely
solve my stomach problems because with my tour to Salar de Uyuni starting
tomorrow I want to be back to normal.
The sun was baking and we set off through the town before
riding along a dirt road towards the ruins.
The setting was amazing. We were
cycling through the driest desert in the world with snowcapped volcanos as our
backdrop. It really was
breathtaking. Parts of the road had deep
sand and, as good as our bikes were, they were not built for the way I was
cycling. I almost came off several
times. It was great fun.
After we got to the ruins we chained up our bikes and started
the climb to the top. They were built on
the side of a hill near San Pedro de Atacama and there were great views of the
whole town and the mountains in the background.
After the main ruins we then walked further up to a stone circle and a huge
cross on a hilltop. Here we had views of
the whole area including Valle de Muerte which I was at a few days ago.
Once back in the town it was time to hit the swimming
pool after a sweltering cycle. The bike
shop said there was one on the way back into town. Neither could we find it or did anyone seem
to know where it was. But there was
another one at the other side of town.
After cycling through the town we passed through the Chilean border
control post and could see it in the distance.
The far, far distance. We tried
to get there but gave up and turned back.
I really loved today.
I love cycling and to be doing it in Chile, in the desert surrounded by snowcapped
volcanoes was an unforgettable experience.
Tomorrow I leave on my tour and go into Bolivia for four
days. Helen has already done the tour
and assures me it’s amazing.
Wednesday 11th
January – Salar de Uyuni – Day 1
After saying goodbye to Helen who is heading to Argentina
today I was picked up for my tour to Salar de Uyuni. Helen has had a stressful few days as she
discovered her bank accounts had been cleaned out by some dirty fraudster. I hope it all gets sorted for her. We had a lot of fun over the last few days.
The tour company was Cordillera Traveller. They were recommended by a few people and
also The Lonely Planet. Apparently some
of the tour companies can be a bit on the dodgy side with poor vehicles and
even worse drivers. I was picked up in a
minibus at 8 a.m. along with everyone else on the tour. This took us across the Chilean border post
and then onwards to the Bolivian border post.
The Bolivian border post consisted of a hut high in the mountains at 4400m. It was a perfectly clear day but very
cold. Towering over us were the two
snowcapped volcanos that could be seen from San Pedro de Atacama. Here we were supplied with a breakfast of
bread rolls and coffee. I wasn’t sure
whether to eat or not as I was still not back to full fitness but risked it as
things were definitely improving.
Once we had all got ourselves through immigration it was
time to jump into our 4x4s. I was along
with Joel from Canada and two couples from Santiago. Luckily they could speak English as our
driver couldn’t so they translated what we needed to know for me and Joel.
It wasn’t long before we were flying across the Bolivian
highlands on dust tracks. The 4x4s were
amazing and it felt like we were gliding across air. Our first stop was to see Laguna Verde and
Laguna Blanca, both nestled in-between the mountains overlooking the highland
plains. We then stopped at a natural hot
pool for some bathing. I didn’t go
in. My main concern was finding the
nearest toilet, which I had to pay 3 Bolivianos to use, which is about four
more than I should have had to pay. Next
after hurtling over the desert sands we came to Sol de Mañana geysers which had
bubbling pools and steaming vents, some very powerful. It was strange to be at this high altitude
with freezing air surrounding us but steam erupting out of the ground. It really made it hit home how dynamic our
planet is.
It was then time for more desert racing. It was quite an experience. I was sitting in the front seat and felt like
I was in Dakar Rally. As we flew along,
in the distance I could see other 4x4s tearing across the plain leaving a trail
of dust in their wake while U2’s I Will Follow blasted from the speakers.
In the late afternoon we reached our stop for the night
near Laguna Colorada. After dropping off
our stuff we were taken to see the lagoon which was multi-coloured and home to 30,000 flamingos. As we
watched them feeding some would take off in a group and disappear into the
distance. A beautiful sight.
Later I spoke to Joel about his travels and he told me he
had just climbed Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain peak outside the
Himalayas. It was a 20 day trek and
sounded grueling but amazing. Maybe one
day I’ll tackle something like that.
At an altitude 4500m and with an almost perfectly clear
sky it was a cold night. After dinner,
card games and staring at the stars it was time to wrap myself in my sleeping
bag and get sleep.
Thursday 12th January
– Salar de Uyuni – Day 2
Today we set off at 9 a.m. through the Siloli Desert with
our first stop being a set of rocks that have been eroded into very strange
formations by the wind and desert sand.
Some of these were huge, but easily climbed. One looked like a tree with a face in it that
was about to topple at any minute.
I will now officially say that my fear of heights has
gone. It’s amazing what facing your fear
can do. Now I can’t get enough of
climbing up to high places and actually love being up there. The harder the climb, the higher the summit,
the better.
After playing around on the rocks we raced off to see
more lagoons. So far all the lagoons
have been named after colours. But having run out of colours it seems that they had to move onto other descriptive terms. So it was that we came to Laguna Honda (Deep
Lagoon). While standing there admiring
the view and thinking, ‘How many more lagoons can I take? I’m sick of lagoons. Seriously there must be more to Bolivia than
lagoons’, I heard a call of ‘Mark! Mark!’ and turned around to see Richie. I was standing in the middle of nowhere on a
high plain in the Bolivian desert and bump into Richie and Dee. I love these moments. They were heading in the opposite direction
to San Pedro de Atacama. We only had
time for a quick catch up before we were hurried into our respective 4x4s.
We stopped for lunch by what looked like an abandoned
town with rusting 1950s lorries surrounded by crumbling houses before heading
off to see Mushroom Rocks. These rocks
again were formed by the forces of erosion and were mostly in the shape of
mushrooms. This time the climbing up was
easy, the climbing down not so much.
Once up on the top of one I immediately regretted it when I looked at
the path down. Nowhere to put my feet
and the drop was substantial and onto solid ground. But with Joel’s careful guidance I made it.
Our final sightseeing spot for the day was, well, more
rocks. These rocks were formed by
erosion… Hold on, did I not just say
that? Pretty much read the paragraph
above and you get the idea of what happened at these rocks. Oh, except one looked like a condor and
another like a snake if you squinted very hard and had a few too many beers
just beforehand.
Finally we reached our stop for the night in a very
strange little town. After checking into
the hostel we were told there were shops in the town to get supplies. Upon walking into the street the place looked
like a ghost town. No cars, no sounds,
no people and only one street. I didn’t
venture further. But later I was told
that if you knocked on any door someone would appear and give you whatever you
were looking for. If you were driving
alone and broke down in this town you would know for sure you were in the
opening sequence of a George A. Romero horror movie.
The evening was great fun. After many games of Shithead we went back to
our dorm room and played guitar into the small hours. Joel played some lively Canadian folk songs,
the Chileans some Chilean music and me my one hit wonder.
Friday 13th
January – Salar de Uyuni – Day 3
On the road early again, we first stopped at a little
town to get whatever supplies we need for the day and then made our way to
Uyuni. Just before getting to Uyuni we stopped
off at a train graveyard. Apparently in
the 1980s all train services were stopped in Bolivia (except one I think) and a
collection of the rolling stock was kept at this graveyard. There was some interesting graffiti on them –
my favourite being a rather complicated Einstein equation.
Finally after two and half days we reach Uyuni and after
a brief stop off were taken to Salar de Uyuni.
It was stunning. A vast area of
blinding pure white with mountains and volcanos in the very far distance. As it had been raining some of the flats were
flooded, but we drove out into the middle where there was less water. I did not have sunglasses so was completely
dazzled by it. Due to the vast expanse
of white it was possible to take some cool pictures due to perspective being
transformed. It’s not easy though and was
made even more difficult by the fact that I couldn’t see the screen on my
camera due to the blazing sun from above combined with the glare from the salt flat. I managed to get a couple of descent photos
but after a lot of trial and error, Joel, the Chilean guys and I got loads of
them using their cameras. We stayed for
about one hour taking it all in before heading back to Uyuni.
Now it was time for the return trip to San Pedro de
Atacama. Only myself and an Australian
couple, Dan and Natalie, were returning.
All the other guys were staying in Bolivia which is what most people
do. But I have no time left for Bolivia
as I want to see a lot more of Chile.
We set off on our return journey at 3.30 p.m. with our
new driver. He was crazy and flew over
the desert tracks at breakneck speed.
The llamas here had the same death wish as the Peruvian ones and will
probably get their wish quicker with our driver behind the wheel. It’s was a long four hour journey made all
the more tortuous by the high volume Bolivian music he was playing. Let me describe this music for a minute. Get a cat, let it loose on a 1980s Casio
keyboard set to bagpipes, start randomly hitting a cowbell, bring in some
panpipes, employ a singer who would be better employed as a mime and you are
getting halfway towards understanding this cacophony of terror. I dared not ask him to turn it down or off as
he was loving it, and not only that, I think it was the only thing keeping him
awake.
That night we stayed in Villa Mar in a very basic hostel
and had a much needed early night after eating purified potatoes and some form
of meat.
Saturday 14th
January – Dancing In The Desert
Up and on the go at 5 a.m. for the final leg back to San
Pedro de Atacama and from the moment we got into the 4x4 we were treated to the
same full volume music. I wanted to kill
myself, no him, no myself. No, all of
us. End the torture for everyone. This time I did ask him to turn it down and
he obliged. Later I even asked if he had
any English language music. Of course
the answer was ‘No’. Fortunately about
half through the three hour trip the speaker on my side mysteriously stopped
working.
We reached the border crossing at 8 a.m. and then had to
wait for almost three hours before our minibus came to take us back into
Chile. The border crossing at Chile then
took another two hours in the baking Sun.
But eventually at about 3 p.m. I was back in San Pedro de Atacama and
checked back into Juriques.
Once I got myself together I wandered up to TurBus and
booked my bus to Santiago - a 23 hour journey leaving tomorrow. But those plans were soon to change.
When I got back to the hostel I bumped into Steven from
Melbourne. Needing a few drinks after my
nightmare journey back from Uyuni, we went and got some beers for the
hostel. We were joined by Hakime and
Natalia who worked at the hostel. Steven
is also making his way to Santiago tomorrow, but planning to stop off in La
Serena or Caldera for a night en route, so now I’m planning to change my ticket
to join him.
At night the four of us headed to a bar in the town and
sat along with a few Chilean girls.
Chileans are the friendliest people I have met. After having a really good night in the bar,
the girls told us about a party that was happening in the middle of the
desert. Obviously we joined them. This is something I didn’t want to miss. They very kindly gave the four of us a lift
out. I had heard about these parties
before and that they were a lot of fun.
After paying a small cover charge we got in and the whole set up was
much bigger than I expected. They had a
couple of bonfires going, drink for sale and a full stage set up for a band to
come on. Once the DJ had finished the
band started. A shiver of terror went through
me – they were playing the same music as on my journey back from Uyuni. But somehow in this setting it didn’t seem so
bad. I had a good chat with one of the
Chilean girls who was from Santiago and working in San Pedro de Atacama as a
tour guide. She gave me some tips of
things to do in Santiago.
At about 4 a.m. with the exhaustion of the day taking its
toll I needed to head home. We all
decided to leave at this stage but had no idea how to as the Chilean girls had
left in their car earlier but assured us we would find a way home. And we did.
In an organised minibus. For a not-quite-legal
party it was some set up. After getting
back into town I discovered that the town wasn’t actually as small as I
thought. We walked Natalia home and it
took forever.
A party in the middle of the Atacama Desert, A night I’ll not forget.
Sunday 15th
January – Small World
Today was a day to take it very easy after only getting
home in the early hours last night. The
first thing I did was go and change my bus ticket. I am now going to Copiapo with Steven to stay
in either Caldera or Bahia Inglesa for the night before heading to Santiago.
After getting our tickets sorted we went for a relaxing
drink to pass the hours before the bus left at 7 p.m. While chatting to Steven I discovered he
knows my mate Ali in Melbourne as they are from the same area. Small world.
At 7 p.m. we got the overnight bus to Copiapo.
Monday 16th
January – How Not To Travel To Santiago
Steven and I arrived in Copiapo this morning at about 9
a.m. and from that point onwards nothing went to plan.
Needing to get to Caldera Steven managed to find a guy
from Santiago called Marcelo who was heading in the same direction. We followed him to another bus stop and
hopped on the bus to Caldera which took about an hour. Caldera is a seaside town, so needing food
Marcelo took us to a waterfront café to get some seafood empanadas. After getting some advice from Marcelo on
what would be the best Steven confidently asked the waitress for ‘Maricones con
queso’. At this the waitress looked
puzzled and slightly shocked while Marcelo began to laugh. Steven had just asked for ‘Gays with
cheese’ The best Spanish mistake I have heard
yet. What he should have said was ‘Mariscos
con queso’. This is what we both got and
although I am not a fan of seafood at all, they were very tasty.
Once we were done the three of us got a taxi to Bahia
Inglesa. Neither Steven nor I had booked
ahead and what a disaster that would prove to be. After tramping around the whole town we
discovered that either every hostel was full or they wanted to charge us $50 each
for the night is a rubbish dorm room.
One place had a dorm room but would only let a group of six take it. This I just didn’t understand. In desperation we even checked hotels, but
this was even more expensive. The town looked
nice with a beach and promenade, but not nice enough to justify the
expense. It was a comical morning.
At this point I made the decision to go back to Copiapo
and get the bus to Santiago while Steven decided to head to La Serena. So we jumped in a taxi back to Caldera to get
the bus back to Copiapo.
Once in Copiapo we booked our separate buses, I arranged
my hostel in Santiago (not making that mistake again) and we went for
lunch. Walking around the streets close
to the bus station we spotted a bar that served food. When we walked in all the staff were sitting
at a table chatting. The place was
obviously open so we asked for a food menu at which point and with no
explanation they told us to go to the café next door. So that’s what we did. This place was definitely open for service –
there were people sitting eating or looking at menus. We asked for a menu and the waitress said, ‘We
are not serving food’ at which point a waiter walked out from the kitchen with
two plates piled with food. They pointed
us to another place across the street.
It was pretty obvious we were getting in the way of them doing
absolutely nothing.
Thankfully the next place was open and willing to
entertain us as paying customers. Even
thought it was quite a big place they didn’t have menus so the friendly
waitress offered to tell us what they had.
I asked if they had sandwiches.
She started listing them, the first on the list being a chicken sandwich
with chips. Once finished her list I
asked for the chicken sandwich. She
replied, ‘We don’t have that’. I was
beginning to think I was in some sort of alternate dimension from the rest of
reality. Eventually I put in an order of
something that contained chicken and chips not really knowing what to
expect. Steven being a vegetarian had
the same issues but eventually managed to order a vegetarian dish, clearly
pointing out the vegetarian requirement.
My food arrived – chips with various parts of a chicken on the side. Steven’s arrived – a plate full of vegetables
garnished with a large slice of ham. The
day had truly degenerated into farce.
Definitely one of the funnier days I’ve had.
After this disastrous day we ended it by both heading to
the bus station. Steven got his bus to
La Serena and a few hours later at 9 p.m. I jumped on my bus to Santiago.
Tuesday 17th
January – Santiago And An Unexpected Guest
At 7 a.m. my bus pulled into Santiago. Finally got here after a very disjointed
journey. I had booked a room in the
Bellavista Hostel in Bellavista after being told that staying in the centre of the city was not a good idea because after 6 p.m. everything shut down
and there was nothing to do. Having
plenty of time I decided for the first time on my trip to get public transport
to my hostel. It proved to be very easy
in the end as the Metro line from the bus station went straight to the stop I
needed for Bellavista.
Once I was out of the Metro and on the street at Plaza
Italia I had a rough idea of how to walk to the hostel. All I had to do was cross a bridge and it was
easy from there. I asked a woman at a
set of traffic lights where the river was.
She had a blank look on her face.
After much gesturing she worked out where I wanted to go and said she
would walk me there as she was working close by. I do love the Chileans more and more.
Once pointed in the right direction I got to the
hostel. I loved it. The staff were really friendly and it had an
excellent roof top terrace. While
waiting for my bed to be readied I was sorting my rucksack by the front door
when it opened and voice said, ‘Hey!’. I
looked around to see Steven standing there. I couldn’t help but laugh – a
lot. He tried La Serena but had the same
issues as in Bahia Inglesa and ended up getting a bus to Santiago as well.
In the hostel I spotted a flier for a bus tour around the
Lake District of Chile. It included a
stop a Pucón. It was perfect as I wanted
to go there to climb Villarrica and with limited time left before leaving South
America and wanting to see as much as possible, I booked myself on the tour –
Pachamama By Bus. It’s a hop on-hop off
service so I have a bit of freedom about what I want to do.
Brian arrives in Santiago tomorrow too and is going to
check into the same hostel. After
thinking I wouldn’t see him again he’s on my tail. Excellent.
In the afternoon I got in touch with Nathan and Jo and we
all met up for lunch in Bellavista along with another guy from the hostel, Joe. He’s here to start a teaching job. It was good to see Nathan and Jo again and
they told us the best things to do in Santiago.
The weather in Santiago is excellent - in the high
30s. We spent the evening having a few
drinks on the roof top terrace listening to music and while the others went out
I crashed after far too much travelling in the last 48 hours.
Wednesday 18th
January – Smoking Dog
I pretty much did noting all day except write up my blog
and catch up on a lot of things. However I did manage to convince Francesca who
works in the hostel to do my laundry.
She’s a good laugh and making my stay at the hostel a lot of racist fun.
The hostel organised a BBQ for everyone in the evening with some perfectly cooked steaks. Brian arrived halfway through and joined in
the night. Great to see him again and
catch up on what travelling he’s been doing.
Once the BBQ was over we decided to head out to a
club. As we left the hostel a very
playful dog grabbed Steven’s box of cigarettes and ran away. Then next 10 minutes were spent watching
Steven running up and down the street in pursuit of the dog while I played the
Benny Hill music in my head. Once he
managed to get them back the dog found another packet and was off again. God only knows how this dog developed a
smoking habit.
The club we went to was pretty good if you ignored the
woeful music. I lasted as long as I
could but with my Pachamama By Bus tour starting early in the morning I headed
off, again saying goodbye to Brian.
We’re sure this is the last time we’ll cross paths in South America.
