Hola All,
What a change. Months of south america natives and then into a town of whiter than white people. This town seems to exist almost solely on tourism and seems to be a staging point for people going on tours to bolivia or just waiting for a bus. Yes waiting. Scott said it was like hotel callifornia - you can check in but never leave - after trying unsuccessfully to get a bus to salta. He disappeared during the day leaving a note saying he was on his was to santiago then buenos aires. Long ride. We spent 2 hours trying and finally getting tickets for the bus to santiago then next day. We stayed at the hostel international hostel which was quite nice.
Evening meal was brilliant. Had the set menu at one of the restuarants and the main meal was atlantic salmon a la plancha. Absolutely delicious. Top class food. Even got a couple of ¨free¨pisco sours to get us in the door. Meal was finished by the usual three songs by musicians then the compulsory ¨want to buy my CD¨ and/or a tip. For me it is a bad habit to tease with good music then leave...we didn´t buy or tip.
Town was amusing. It was full of hippies or wannabe hippies. One classic example was two guys in a pushbike shop with dreadlocks which they kept under oversized peak caps. It was like a breath of fresh air even though so cliche. A town that if not so expensive would be nice to stay for a while...
Wandered up to an old pre-inca ruin at about lunch time. Didn´t have enough water so the 7km round trip was hard going by the end. Yet another ruin trashed by the spanish.
We left on a bus to link with the santiago bus at about 6pm. Was a beautiful sight watching the sun set behind us illuminating the mountains as we rose from the plain s at 2400m into the hills again. We arrived at Calama at about 730pm having no idea of where to go to catch the bus. I had been getting more and more frustrated about our lack of spanish and was not happy at all. We eventually got in a cab and ended up at a large shopping mall which doubled as the pickup point.
Talk about luxury. AtacamaVIP, our carrier, had a double decker bus. We had the lower deck of 9 comfortable seats, a tv, a steward and a toilet. The class was called full cama or essentially a sleeper seat. The 23 hr journey was a breeze. Can recommend. What a difference from rattly bolivian buses where long distance bladder control was necessary!
Arrived at Santiago a little tired but quite fine. The bus terminal was massive and it too ages to walk out and find our way out. Caught a taxi to santiago hostel only to find that the booking hadn´t been made for two nights. Doh. Luckily the hostal owner recommended us to beatiful homestay just around the corner so we are with Veronica and Ignasio at the moment.
Adios,
David & Vanessa
