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First Border Crossing
I'm now in a whole other country! That means whole other money to get used to! I decided to forget the cui as it was the only thing keeping me in Peru.
So I left my hotel, got to the bus station and was about to pay the 35p compulsary tax when I realised I couldn't get into my rucksack to get my purse. It was padlocked and the key was in my purse INSIDE!!! Don't ask! I'd researched for months ahead about locks and knew there was no way in, apart from bolt croppers to break my lock. So looking up I saw 2 police officers. (I'd read there were plenty of dodgy police officers in Peru who randomly "fine" you so I was slightly hesitant). They both laughed. Great but do you have any bolt croppers? One of them shouted to his mate in the next shop. a few guys piled round doing their macho thing, each one wanting to fix my problem. Eventually, one of them decided it was best to unpick the seam with a razor blade. a few inches was all that was needed to gain access to my purse which had my key. Result! I blew him a kiss of thanks to fuel his ego then paid my tax and bought my ticket
So the border crossing was interesting to say the least. There was an immigration form on the seat of the bus for us all to fill in. NO PEN I thought. Almost immediately some guy got on the bus selling, would you believe, pens! I said no at 1st. The audacity of him. I can borrow someone elses! But then I changed my mind as I didn't know the words for "borrow" and "pen". Address in Chile: OMG every single time I've been booking my accommodation ahead in Peru. This time I didn't. Everyone knows when you go from one country to the next they ALWAYS want a forwarding address! Why oh why didn't I book one? Doofus!! I'll get questioned. They'll take me away to a wee room with no interpreter and make me cry! Ok calm down there's nothing you can do about it now. Just be honest and put on your puppy dog eyes when they question you. Chill out damn you!
Half way through the journey we stopped and everyone started shuffling off the bus, minus their bags. This is it I thought! I followed them all and it turns out I was showing my passport to the Peru passport control. No questions. Papers shown. No problem. Back on the bus. 10 mins later we all get off again. This time taking our bags. We're now in Chile and Chile passport control want to see our passports (and question us with a light in our eyes) and scan our bags. No questions. No problem. Phew. Back on the bus and off we go again.
At the bus station I head straight towards the beach. I stopped at the 1st road and waited for the usual huge gap and trecherous life threatening dive across it, bobbing and weaving. Three lanes of traffic all stopped! Wow. Much more civilised indeed! I take about an hour getting to the beach. It's beautiful. I decide I want an alcoholic beverage in the form of a cocktail while looking out to the sea. s*** no money. It's Pesos now not Soles! So I ask where there's a bank and head towards it. An hour away....towards the bus station! The ATM isn't happy with my card so I walk to another bank even further away. Phew it works. Do I want 20000 or 40000 pesos? What's with all the zeros? What's the point? I think 20000 is around 20 quid give or take so I'll go with that. The need for a cocktail on the beach has now gone and been replaced by hunger for food. So I find an internet cafe, book a hostel and walk another 40 mins there.
This hostel is amazing. I'm greeted with outstretched arms and a kiss on both cheeks by Roberto the owner. He went straight to his fridge and gave me a beer, (I clearly looked like I needed one), then proceeded to give me a whole bunch of info about the place, including how to get to town using the shared taxis, and what to say to them to get back again, and his favourite restaurant. Perfect!
Why don't we have shared taxis? It makes perfect sense! You flag one down, squish in next to someone, they get dropped off, someone else gets in, you get dropped off. Easy. And the taxi driver makes loads of 600 pesos! I LOVE Chile already and I've only seen half an evening of it. I'm ashamed to say it's because it doesn't seem quite as poor as Peru. People are looking after themselves a bit more. The main shopping street is buzzing with gorgeous shops cafes and restaurants. I will need to buy more clothes and lose weight if I'm staying here any length of time.
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Emma Love it!! Can feel like I am there with you!
Mum Oh Pauline ! You are so good at writing your blog ! Can't wait for the next one ! XXXXXXX