Well, it was all a bit sudden. One day we were in Arequipa, Peru, enjoying the ancient city and surrounds, the next we had hopped onto a bus and then a taxi through the border to Chile.
We had a day of, frankly disappointing, expeditions. We took a tour to the Colca canyon; up at 2.30 a.m. and driving in a cramped mini-bus. We had hoped to see condors flying below in the Cruz Condor site, but we just saw one flying high above us. The canyon was never quite visible because it was full of mist, and then it started to rain. Nevermind, we would see vicuñas, the flamingos in the lagoons and the volcano on our way back. No we wouldn't; the tour-guide went to sleep and we had to guess when got to the famous Chivay plateau (4,800 metres above sea level).
That night as we listened to the rain dripping on the roof of our hostal room, we decided; that's enough of Ariquipa. After all what is the point of travelling light if you can't hitch your skirts and head for the sun. We left the next day for Tacna, then took a taxi through the border to Arica, which is on the coast.
Arica is nice, but not nice enough. Tomorrow we are off to Iquique where we have booked a hostal near the beach. We will stay there a couple of days, but Chile is very long and we only have another 20 days left to get to Santiago. Our stops will be short ones from now on.
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