2009-08-29 17:52:28.0
WH44:PTL safe arrival n night in springy Santiago.Found econ day bus to Pto Montt for Sunday.PP connections with believers in Chile n strength for 3000km to go.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
SMS WH 43
2009-08-28 17:56:48.0
WH43:PTL no probs crossing border to Chille and no long wait in Arica for connecting bus. On 30hour bus to Santiago now. PP connections with believers in Chile.
WH43:PTL no probs crossing border to Chille and no long wait in Arica for connecting bus. On 30hour bus to Santiago now. PP connections with believers in Chile.
Day 43 Bus - Santiago, Chile (28 August)
Spent the night and a long long day on the bus to Santiago. Sunset over the desert was spectacular. Sleeping in a bus that is heated rather than very agressively cooled (as was the case till now) was a new experience. Woke up to a very foggy desert. Throughout the course of the day we observed the slow change from completely bare desert to lush mediteranean like landscape. Chile is quite different from the other South American countries we`ve been through. It looks almost European in terms of the infrastructure and people. The buildings have a `finished` look about them (in Ecuador almost every building seems to be a work in progress with several stories but no roof) and the businesses by the roadside seem more formal. The people here are also noticibly taller and lighter than further north. And more reserved: the general public participation to everything happening we saw before is missing.
We saw several movies on the bus, some even in English with Spanish subtitles. And the sceneray was constantly amazing. But still a 30 hour bus trip is long. We are very glad we did not take the 54 hour bus straight from Lima to Santiago.
Arrived in Santiago after dark but the station was in a bustling shopping mall in the stadent part of town and the streets were very alive. The first hostel we treid turned out to have become the Maths Depàrtment of one of the universities but we found another around the corner. After a very good dinner we fairly passed out in our beds and had a very good night.
We saw several movies on the bus, some even in English with Spanish subtitles. And the sceneray was constantly amazing. But still a 30 hour bus trip is long. We are very glad we did not take the 54 hour bus straight from Lima to Santiago.
Arrived in Santiago after dark but the station was in a bustling shopping mall in the stadent part of town and the streets were very alive. The first hostel we treid turned out to have become the Maths Depàrtment of one of the universities but we found another around the corner. After a very good dinner we fairly passed out in our beds and had a very good night.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
SMS WH42
2009-08-27 15:37:46.0
WH42:PTL Eu arrived in SA.JnEt had safe arr n good nights rest in Tacna. Now crossing border to Chille. PP protection, right bus connections onward to Santiago.
WH42:PTL Eu arrived in SA.JnEt had safe arr n good nights rest in Tacna. Now crossing border to Chille. PP protection, right bus connections onward to Santiago.
Day 42 Tacna, Peru - Bus, Chile (27 August)
After a comfortable night in a festive Tacna (celebrating 80 years of reunification with Peru) we had a hot & cold shower and a nice little breakfast (for once included in the price!) and made our way to the bus terminal. Very smooth process finding a share taxi to take us over the border. Driver very helpful with formalities on both sides of the Peru/ Chile border. We shared the taxi with 3 Peruvian girls, 2 of whom had some problems at the Chilean border with the (to us mysterious) content of their large bags. We had no problems at all. The immigration official was amused with the in-out stamps we had showing our progress through South America, and checked to make sure we were continuing on to Argentina. After a bit of a wait for our fellow passengers we continued on to Arica in Chile, 20 km from the border.
This region (both sides of the border) is strange and quite unique in our experience. It is basically a desert, but very temprate. They call it an area of eternal spring. It is pleasantly cool at night and during the day. Less than 20 degress at midday. We think it is due to the mix of desert and cold sea current. What is pretty impressive is the way the people here manage to grow just about anything in the desert. Right amongst the dunes, wherever they manage to irrigate, there are little fields of maize, potatoes, peanuts, fruit, cows.... (¿who knew so much of Peru was desert?)
The taxi dropped us at the bus station, where we managed to find a bus departing to Santiago early this afternoon, arriving tomorrow late afternoon( 30 hours). PTL this means we are not behind schedule, as we feared we might be.
We had lunch in the bus terminal with coffee with milk. Coffee is not that easy to find in this part of the world, and combined with milk even less so. So we´re sorted out and ready for the long haul south to Santiage (2060km).
This region (both sides of the border) is strange and quite unique in our experience. It is basically a desert, but very temprate. They call it an area of eternal spring. It is pleasantly cool at night and during the day. Less than 20 degress at midday. We think it is due to the mix of desert and cold sea current. What is pretty impressive is the way the people here manage to grow just about anything in the desert. Right amongst the dunes, wherever they manage to irrigate, there are little fields of maize, potatoes, peanuts, fruit, cows.... (¿who knew so much of Peru was desert?)
The taxi dropped us at the bus station, where we managed to find a bus departing to Santiago early this afternoon, arriving tomorrow late afternoon( 30 hours). PTL this means we are not behind schedule, as we feared we might be.
We had lunch in the bus terminal with coffee with milk. Coffee is not that easy to find in this part of the world, and combined with milk even less so. So we´re sorted out and ready for the long haul south to Santiage (2060km).
SMS WH41
2009-08-26 21:08:42.0
WH41:PTL good night on bus Spectacular desert scenes with snowcapped volcanos on horizon Changed bus in Ariquipa, now to Tacna Will arr after dark PP protection
WH41:PTL good night on bus Spectacular desert scenes with snowcapped volcanos on horizon Changed bus in Ariquipa, now to Tacna Will arr after dark PP protection
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