Blog

Iquique is a town at sea level, right on the coast of an extremely earthquake-prone area, full of beaches; so I guess it makes sense that it would be prone to tsunamis. But do they really have to be this blunt about the danger of a wave hitting the town? Makes me feel so safe and reassured, as a tourist walking through the central square, smiling in the sunshine. Anyway, at least if a tsunami does hit, I'll know which way to run. I wonder if that will make the slightest bit of difference, or if I'd still be 90% likely to die anyway?

Reasonable enough hostel, situated in the middle of things in Iquique. As with San Pedro, they have the annoying thing about paying for each night in advance; but at least here, they'll let you dump your bags in a storeroom after you've checked out. The place has a good vibe, even though I didn't particularly think the same of the city that it's in.

Myself, Chris, Leila and Christina caught a night bus last night, from San Pedro de Atacama to Iquique, which is a coastal "beach resort" city, further north and on the coast. It was two buses, actually; since we changed after one hour, at the mining town of Calama. Buses in Chile certainly are nice, compared with Bolivia: nice, comfy semi-cama (i.e. semi-bed) seats; movies (with headphones!); air-conditioning; and smooth roads all the way. In some ways — although definitely not in all ways — it's good to be back in civilisation.

Fairly basic joint in sleepy and touristy San Pedro: has about the same offerings as most other hostels in town, and is also about as overpriced as its peers (even the Israelis can't find a good deal in this rip-off town, much to their annoyance). Hasn't got proper dorms — only rooms of 2 or 3 beds — so it's better if you go in a group. The owners are also really anal about paying in advance for each night (apparently, it's a Chile / Argentina thing — I don't care if it's a legal requirement, it's a gawdamn pain in the a$$), and about not being able to leave your bags in a storage room or to use any facilities for the rest of the day, if you check out in the morning (i.e. they force you to pay for another night, if you're going to just be in town until the evening — how cheap-a$$ is that?). But good nonetheless.

For a nice little spot of adventure, myself, Chris, Leila and Christina went sandboarding today, at the dunes near San Pedro de Atacama. First time I've ever tried sandboarding — or boarding of any kind, really (the girls, on the other hand, are keen snowboarders) — and despite the annoyances and the post-activity aches, it is totally kick-a$$ fun. It's definitely got me inspired to try snowboarding, sometime this year.

I only have three serious gripes with this small, mostly charming little town in the middle of Chile's northern Atacama desert, and they are the following:

1. The Internet is really, really slow here — slower than anywhere in Bolivia (and that's saying something)
2. The prices are ridiculously high, even for Chile (e.g. some places are charging as much as USD$10 per person for dinner — waaay more than what I've gotten used to lately)
3. Despite being significantly lower down than the Bolivian altiplano (a mere 2400m asl), it's still freezing cold here at night

This morning, we finished our tour of the Salar de Uyuni and of south-west Bolivia. We stepped out of our dusty Land Cruiser 4WD, we transferred into a minibus, and we made our way to the Chilean frontier (having already technically left Bolivia two days ago). Our first of many introductions to the differences between these two countries, upon crossing the border: the first sealed, properly signposted road that we'd seen in a month! Chile really is a very, very different place to Bolivia. It's like stepping into another dimension.

What can I say? A mad country deserves a mad wrapup. Bolivia has been a hectic month of much adventure, much frustration, much laughter, and much excitement. In some ways, Bolivia has been very much what I expected it to be; but in most ways, it's been quite a lot more than I ever could have anticipated. It's a land where nothing works; and where anything that does work, works in a way that defies all logic. It's a land where everything is cheap; but where you're still getting ripped off at every turn. And it's a land where, if you can see the funny side of things, rather than just getting angry at them, you can have an absolute blast. I can see why everyone's heading to Bolivia these days.

We got up early to see a geyser erupting into the sunrise this morning and then we only had to endure the cold for another five minutes. Before we knew it, our Salar de Uyuni tour group had arrived at the most fabulous hot-spring-heated thermal bath ever! The air was absolutely freezing this morning. This made it only all the more unbelievably pleasurable to jump into a pool of app. 42°C hot water (also a bit painful, at first). Followed by a delicious breakfast of pancakes, and a visit to the Laguna Verde itself. Great end to a fabulous three-day tour.

Following our cold final night in Bolivia last night, our Salar de Uyuni tour group awoke to an even colder morning, at about 5:30am this morning. We took off in time to arrive at the geysers of Sol de Manaña, watching the hot thermal water spew out of them and into the sunrise. Check out the photos and video.