Patti: Lots has happened since our last entry a week ago. We have had one flight from Punta Arenas to Santiago, a long, 20 hour bus ride from Santiago to San Pedro de Atamca and two shorter bus rides.
Catching our bus in Santiago on time included 3 metro rides, much running (with our backpacks), getting lost and finding our way again in the bus terminal, a waiting bus,and some luck. We felt lucky we caught the bus but after all the running, we were both very sweaty and then had to sit on the bus for 22 hours. I guess that´s what roughing it includes, though.
Our destination was San Pedro de Atamca which is part of the world´s driest desert. It is a very cute town and we spent 3 days there. We did a couple of organized tours which included a visit to the Valley of the Moon National Park, swimming in a mineral rich lagoon (the mineral content was 50% so I was actually able to float!), a walk in an incredibly white and vast salt flat, and a couple of beautiful sunsets. We did our own walking tour on the third day to some ancient ruins and to a lookout point of the landscape which is amazing and similiar to Utah.
We had one beach day in Arica, which is a border town in Chile close to Peru. To cross the border, we took a collective taxi which means the driver waits until his car is full before leaving for the destination. The car was probably a 1992 Caprice Classic, no door handles and no working speedometer. The driver helped with all the necessary paperwork so despite the sketchy transport, all went well.
We are now in the city of Arequipa the second largest in Peru. It has a large european/colonial influence and is very beautiful. The prices so far in Peru are significantly cheaper than Chile so we are enjoying that. We had a 4 course meal yesterday for the equivelant of $5.00 and it was great.
Tomorrow we start a 2 day/one night tour into the nearby Colca Canyon. It rivals some of the deepest canyons in the world. One of us will provide another update with pictures in a couple of days.
