¡Hola Chile!

Ooh, I haven´t been to this country yet! Everything´s brand new and totally different all over again. Suddenly everything costs a lot more. BUT, for your money, you get a more temperate climate (very important at this stage), actual oxygen in the air you breathe, and traffic signs that actually have a say in what the traffic does. Am I still in South America? Bec and I actually had to be waved across the street by a car that stopped at a pedestrian crossing and even then we weren´t sure if he really menat it or was waiting, a gleam in his eye, foot inches above the accelerator...

San Pedro de Atacama was hot and dusty and just lovely. We dropped so fast from the salt pans to this oasis of a pueblo that my ears were blocked for ages and I got a slight decompression headache. All good though. At that stage I would endure just about anything to defrost my toes. San Pedro is very tourist-oriented (ie. pretty expensive) but it is lovely - apart from the man at our hostal (don´t go there). We were really just passing through and recovering from our salt flats tour for a couple of days but we still managed to fit in a quick tour to the Valle de Luna, or Valley of the Moon. Our timing, with the full moon rising that night, couldn´t have been better. It´s a valley of bizarre landscape covered in a light dusting of salt that turns pink in the setting sun. I´m not sure if it´s named for its weird surfaces or for its spectacular moonrise views but its a sight to behold and a fun place to play with your camera. And really, what could be better than sipping pisco sours with a bunch of friends under a full moon and being WARM at the same time :) aaahh.

From San Pedro de A. we went our seperate ways: Morgan to Salta (and onwards where she would meet Sarah but not know it), Tina and Pud down south, and Bec y yo over to Arica, where we would start our marathon journey all the way up Peru and back to Ecuador. Our day in Arica (the border town of Chile and Peru) proved eventful as our adventurous wonderings were rewarded with the discovery of sea lions (a first for Bec), and pelicans (a first for me) all living happily together in the local harbour. If you can get into this movie, its pretty funny. The soundtrack is courtesy of some men who were working on a boat in the midst of this beastly display. *temporarily unavailable but working on it - any tips would be welcomed...