Hi Guys,

As you can see I have whizzed right up to Arica in Northern Chile. Before I begin with my tales from the past week, I just wanted to let you know that I have completely recovered from whatever I was suffering from last week. Actually being ill has kind of taught me the true meaning of the biggest cliche in the book, life is too short! I refuse to mope about, and I intend to thoroughly enjoy my last few weeks of freedom on the road.

On Thursday morning, I got up early in search of a bank that would allow me to do a cash advance from my credit card. As I had lost my bank card on my first day in Santiago. I then I had to race across town with my backpack to get to the bus station in time for my bus to La serena. I made it by the skin of my teeth and then proceeded to spend the day traveling north. I arrived a little past 6 in the evening and just crashed for the night.

The next day after a little lie in I made my way back to the station to put my bag in storage for the day. I was due to catch a bus to Calama later that evening, which meant I had the full day to explore La serena. The town was beautiful with lots of old fashioned churches, street cafes and pretty parks. I found that the time went very quickly and before I knew it I was boarding my bus and about to undertake my longest ever journey, 16 hours to Calama. Actually, this part of the journey was fine as the buses here are so comfortable I found I slept quite well.

However it all started to go wrong as soon as I hit Calama. Upon arrival I went on the hunt for a ticket booth to book my onward ticket to San Pedro de Atacama, however, I could only see what looked like a bank and an information stand. So I ask at the information desk where I could pay for a bus ticket, the lady didn´t really understand and kept implying I was on about some sort of food. She eventually pointed to the shop which happened to be closed and not open for another 30 minutes, ar I thought, oh well, I could grab a quick coffee and try them a bit later. Anyway, the lady then catches me waiting for the shop to open and she says I actually need to go into the town! I thought this was particularly strange but somehow I found myself walking with luggage into town and proceeded to hunt for a bus ticket booth thing. Well naturally the search was fruitless, and I decided that she must have gotten the wrong end of the stick. So i jump in a cab, I tell the guy I would like to go to the bus station and we agree on 1000 Pesos (about 2 dollars). Anyway after about 20 minutes driving I begin to suspect that he might be lost, so I check that we are indeed going to the station. "Si Senore, un momento!" Anyway after another 10 minutes we appear to be leaving the town, Oh I thought, maybe he is taking me to another station! oh how naive! We end up in this s***-hole ghost town, and I ask "where are we?". To which he replies, this is Chico! Now I am not sure it whether it was the fact that I had now been in the same clothes for over a day, or I had faffed for now 3 hours, or whether it was the fact that the stupid driver had taken me to a place called Chico, but I burst out laughing! I calmly explained that I need the bus station in Calama, he mutters something about 5 thousand pesos, which I chose to ignore and he made his way to the station! We finally got there and suspecting an argument I picked up my bags and handed the driver just 1000 pesos, to which he cursed me and said "No 5000 pesos", on that note I simply replied just as firmly "no" and turned to walk away. Now I am sure there would have been a time where I would have felt obliged to pay the guy, but I was not taking any of his crap!

Anyway eventually I did get my ticket to San Pedro from the booth that looked like a bank and made my way to San Pedro. I arrived in the end a little after 5 and made my way to the nearest hostel, and had the best shower of my life! It was so badly needed! Anyway, San Pedro is a little town right in the heart of apparently the driest dessert in the world, think what you will with that! It is a town firmly on the tourist trail with lots of stunning scenery and activities aplenty, it was my home for 3 days.

On Sunday, I decided I would hire a bike and simply explore the region. I made my way first to a nearby Inca ruins site, which boasted amazing views across the landscape and then onto a place named, Devils Gorge, which had lots of winding runs and a bikers dream! I had no idea mountain biking could be so fun.

The next day, Monday, after spending the morning relaxing and catching a few rays in my hostel garden I went on a guided tour to the, Valle de La Luna (moon valley). This was superb as our very enthusiastic guide took us to a few sights which included the death valley amongst others, before taking us to the Luna for sunset. Named simply as the moon Valley for its likeness to the moon, we made our way up a very steep sand bank and then a sharp turn up a cliff, for the most breathtaking view of the valley, which combined with the falling sun was a wash with many beautiful colours - it was simply awesome!

On Tuesday, I had a another full day in San Pedro as I was due to catch a night bus later that evening. I decided after the success of the moon valley tour to do another one, and settled for a trip to some salt Lakes, which I am ashamed to say I can´t remember the name of! Anyway, the tour turned out to be just me and my driver and we drove for about 45 minutes through the desert until we reached the salt lakes. Once again I was rewarded with the best views as the reflections of the Andes mountain range bounced off the shimmering water. Naturally I took about 100 photos before braving it for a dip. The water was freezing, but it was so bizarre just floating, gazing up to the clear blue sky! It was pretty surreal but cool!

Later that evening I boarded my second night bus of the week to Arica. I stupidly chose to sat right at the back of the bus, right next to the toilet. Whilst this has its advantages, after all I am renowned to have the bladder of a 95 year old, it also has a major downside when you consider that I was sharing a bus with about 50 other people. Anyway, I arrived in Arica very early this morning, feeling slightly skanky for all the crusty salt from the day before and smelling like a urinal, I made my way to the cafe for a much needed breakfast and coffee, until it was deemed a reasonable time to check in.

So that leaves me onto today, well I have not done too much to be honest. I hit the town around lunchtime and had a quick bite, before making my way up a winding path up a hill to a nice lookout. I then took a nice stroll along the coast and sat on the beach for about 2 hours, listening to the crashing waves and smelling that gorgeous salty air. Even though it is still not really back weather, I was more than content.

Ok, once again I have written a book! Tomorrow I am actually leaving Chile for La Paz, which is the capital of Bolivia. i hope everyone reading this is well.

Take Care,
Jon