Farewell ladies, farewell Iquique

So many farewells these days; ah, mais c'est la vie, such is the life of a traveller. This afternoon, Chris and I caught a bus north, from Iquique to Arica; while Leila and Christina, our fine, female, central European travelling companions for the past week, caught a different bus south, to Antofagasta. It's sad to see them go; although I must say, their crazy German ways (e.g. saying "Schultz" after burping — anyone who forgets to say this is liable to be slapped on the head), and their obsession with the card game Yaniv, were getting a bit much. Can't really say I'll miss Iquique, however; as we didn't really do much there, and as there ain't much there to miss, truth be told.

We said our goodbyes at the Iquique bus terminal this afternoon; and then, at about 3:30pm, we were off. The bus ride to Arica went fine: about 5 hours, in another comfy semi-cama bus; and a spoilt and bored kid behind us, who only bugged us with annoying questions for a relatively small portion of the way. The scenery on the way to Arica was 100% nothing special: flat, dry desert the whole way. We got to Arica in time to find a great hostel, and to cook up some tucker for the night.