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The border between Bolivia and Peru was still shut so we took the decision to return to Chile and go to the border from the town of Arica . This meant a long drive south and then west. the landscape was fantastic, comprising mountains and valleys and volcanos. Lots and lots of sand dunes and of course the Bolivia/ Chile border. This was very chaotic and there were hundreds of lorry drivers trying to cross as well. They were helpful and made sure that we joined the correct queues in the correct order. It was easy to find a place to spend the night before we reached Arica, a quiet spot by a river.
The border to Peru was very modern and seemed very organised, this did not mean that we avoided the inevitable 6 different queues and also we had to get a piece of paper signed by 4 different people who all seemed to be wandering around the car park.
Tacna was the first town we hit and sadly Peter and Jackie had their truck broken into and lost all their electrical equipment. It was not a good start to our stay in Peru.
We followed the Pan American highway up the coast and stayed in nice hotels that cost £12 a night wherever we could. Arriving in Nazca we again found a lovely hotel with secure parking for the trucks and then spent a couple of days looking around. The cemeteries were amazing, dating from about 2000 years ago and the exposed bodies were truly fascinating with their hair and nails and of course their clothing still with the original colours
We viewed the Nazca lines and went to the museum of Maria Reich who devoted her life to trying to understand the lines and the meanings of all the symbols.
Peter and Jackie were having more trouble with their truck and on arriving in Lima they headed straight to the garage. The piece they needed would have to be made so we resigned ourselves to being here until at least Friday . We are staying in a suburb which is right on the coast and have been able to walk through all the parks and it is quite pleasant. The weather is very dull although it isn't cold, but it feels almost damp.
Yesterday we went to the gold museum which was interesting and there was also an arms museum which was enormous and had 1000 s of exhibits. We went by bus again and it is quite an adventure as they are completely mad and travel at ridiculous speeds or are at a standstill because of the traffic!
Looking forward to moving on tomorrow
- comments
Dan & Su The adventure continues...despite the troubles, seems like fantastic stuff. PS, your map says you went via Arico in Tenerife!! I think it's confused. It also has you going via Ensenada in Mexico - presume you haven't been there yet?