Day 269
So at noon we hopped on the Trans Salvador coach that promised to take us to the border and then to Arica in the northern fringes of Chile.
Well, this journey ended 2 hours later in Pacatamaya, a small town in the middle of nowhere. Bettina and I were asked to leave the bus and “wait there”. “There” was a few square feet of dirt next to the road. What can you do? So we waited… and hoped!
To both of our surprise over an hour later another one of Trans Salvador‘s coaches came by… and picked us up! Wow!
There is one thing I have to mention here: In Bolivia you cannot count on anything usually. People tend to tell you pretty much anything so you shut up asking questions. They lie into your face–I hope unintentionally! Anyways, for this ride we had booked seats in the front section of the bus which makes trips on bad roads a tiny bit more pleasant. To the hell with this, since we then had to sit in the very last row of the bus (which usually is right next to the on board toilet–glad it was not this time)… With our fairly pricey bus tickets we were entitled to some lunch… there was lunch on the bus, but that was served before we joined and–of course–there is nothing left now! Grand!
We crossed the border to Chile after another 3 hours ride. I was greeted with “Guten Tag” and “Auf Wiedersehen” by a very friendly customs officer on the Chilean side. Everything went quite smoothly.
Arrived in Arica on the Pacific, in northern Chile around 2 am. This makes the whole trip 13 hours–not 8 hours as advertised. Well, not that bad since you never know how roads will turn out to be and/or how far the destination really is away. 
Knackered we took a cab downtown and stayed at Surf House Hostel. Pretty cool place with probably the biggest dorm room I’ve ever seen.
Day 270
Bad news! As it seems there had been bed bugs on the bus from Bolivia. Both Bettina and I had been seriously abused with bites all over our upper bodies. I was lucky since I had them only on my left arm. But poor Bettina was hurt all over… even in the face! 
Time for shorts. And t-shirts. Haven’t had this in quite some time.
There was plenty of sun in Arica which lies on the coast just 18km south of Peru. Nice hostel, nice town. Finally: Hot water, internet and civilization. I would not call it a cultural shock, but it was really great being back in a place with some sort of a standard.
We spent the time on the internet, did some sightseeing, and sorted our filthy laundry!
The Morro de Arica is a steep and tall hill located in the city. We caught some awesome panoramic view of the harbor and pier and we also looked at the Customs Office and Gustav Eiffel’s church.
Day 271
Although we already passed through it on our journey from Bolivia, we decided to spend another visit to Lauca National Park. On a very comfortable bus we and plenty of other people.
The trip lasted an entire day (7am-830pm) and we were able to see geoglyphes and the oldest church in Chile in a town called Pocochile. One of the main attractions of the park is the small lacustrine area formed by Chungará and Cotacotani lakes, which lies at the foothills of the Nevados de Payachata.
Near Lake Chungara we marveled yet at another new born–ten day old– llama trying really hard to stay awake and look cute.
Other majestic volcanoes forming part of the national park are the Guallatiri and the Acotango. Lauca features include archaeological sites, lava fields and volcanic calderas. Within the park is located the town of Parinacota with its colonial church.
In the end I have to say the tour was not worth it. The scenery was alright, but nothing special since we have been to Bolivia before.
Arica features the rare, mild desert climate and is also known as one of the driest inhabited places on earth, at least as measured by rainfall. So I must have been very lucky to experience some decent rainfall at night!
Day 272
We were heading south. In the morning we took a bus to Iquique, another seaside town on the Pacific in North Chile. La Casona 1920 hostel was were we stayed for the night–pretty decent place.
The town is alright, but actually nothing special. We checked out the local Mercado and very not impressive beaches. We even stumbled upon a few sea lions that had been feeding on fish garbage right on the rocky city shore.
From Bolivia to Far Northern Chile: Tedious times on the bus, The Pacific Ocean, Arica, Iquique and Lauca National Park
Day 269
So at noon we hopped on the Trans Salvador coach that promised to take us to the border and then to Arica in the northern fringes of Chile.
Well, this journey ended 2 hours later in Pacatamaya, a small town in the middle of nowhere. Bettina and I were asked to leave the bus and “wait there”. “There” was a few square feet of dirt next to the road. What can you do? So we waited… and hoped!
To both of our surprise over an hour later another one of Trans Salvador‘s coaches came by… and picked us up! Wow!
There is one thing I have to mention here: In Bolivia you cannot count on anything usually. People tend to tell you pretty much anything so you shut up asking questions. They lie into your face–I hope unintentionally! Anyways, for this ride we had booked seats in the front section of the bus which makes trips on bad roads a tiny bit more pleasant. To the hell with this, since we then had to sit in the very last row of the bus (which usually is right next to the on board toilet–glad it was not this time)… With our fairly pricey bus tickets we were entitled to some lunch… there was lunch on the bus, but that was served before we joined and–of course–there is nothing left now! Grand!
We crossed the border to Chile after another 3 hours ride. I was greeted with “Guten Tag” and “Auf Wiedersehen” by a very friendly customs officer on the Chilean side. Everything went quite smoothly.
Arrived in Arica on the Pacific, in northern Chile around 2 am. This makes the whole trip 13 hours–not 8 hours as advertised. Well, not that bad since you never know how roads will turn out to be and/or how far the destination really is away.
Knackered we took a cab downtown and stayed at Surf House Hostel. Pretty cool place with probably the biggest dorm room I’ve ever seen.
Day 270
Bad news! As it seems there had been bed bugs on the bus from Bolivia. Both Bettina and I had been seriously abused with bites all over our upper bodies. I was lucky since I had them only on my left arm. But poor Bettina was hurt all over… even in the face!
Time for shorts. And t-shirts. Haven’t had this in quite some time.
There was plenty of sun in Arica which lies on the coast just 18km south of Peru. Nice hostel, nice town. Finally: Hot water, internet and civilization. I would not call it a cultural shock, but it was really great being back in a place with some sort of a standard.
We spent the time on the internet, did some sightseeing, and sorted our filthy laundry!
The Morro de Arica is a steep and tall hill located in the city. We caught some awesome panoramic view of the harbor and pier and we also looked at the Customs Office and Gustav Eiffel’s church.
Day 271
Although we already passed through it on our journey from Bolivia, we decided to spend another visit to Lauca National Park. On a very comfortable bus we and plenty of other people.
The trip lasted an entire day (7am-830pm) and we were able to see geoglyphes and the oldest church in Chile in a town called Pocochile. One of the main attractions of the park is the small lacustrine area formed by Chungará and Cotacotani lakes, which lies at the foothills of the Nevados de Payachata.
Near Lake Chungara we marveled yet at another new born–ten day old– llama trying really hard to stay awake and look cute.
Other majestic volcanoes forming part of the national park are the Guallatiri and the Acotango. Lauca features include archaeological sites, lava fields and volcanic calderas. Within the park is located the town of Parinacota with its colonial church.
In the end I have to say the tour was not worth it. The scenery was alright, but nothing special since we have been to Bolivia before.
Arica features the rare, mild desert climate and is also known as one of the driest inhabited places on earth, at least as measured by rainfall. So I must have been very lucky to experience some decent rainfall at night!
Day 272
We were heading south. In the morning we took a bus to Iquique, another seaside town on the Pacific in North Chile. La Casona 1920 hostel was were we stayed for the night–pretty decent place.
The town is alright, but actually nothing special. We checked out the local Mercado and very not impressive beaches. We even stumbled upon a few sea lions that had been feeding on fish garbage right on the rocky city shore.