18th April 2010 Up and at 'em we woke feeling very refreshed and headed into the city for a gander. Really nice feel about the place and felt immediatly comfortable..although the taxi and bus drivers are maniacs! Very hungry we found a small cafe and had a sandwich, well Neil had a hamburger, with some coke..all for about 3 pounds!!!! Now full, we walked and found the main plaza and the supermarket to buy a few bits and peices for dinner and stopped in at a to...

17 April 2010 Arequipa So up early to get on our way to Peru, we get our colectivo to the bus station, then switch to an international colectivo and on over the border. Once in Peru we head to the local bus station to book our ticket onto Arequipa. We are met outside by a ticket advisor who informs us that there is no way to get to our destination today due to strikes and that the best thing to do would be to head to Puno. We get inside the bus station to fi...

April 15th 2010 Ok so we arrived in Arica after a 9 hour bus journey which we didnt manage to get much sleep on. We then got a taxi from the bus staion at 6am and headed to our preboked hostel, Arica Surf House. We knew we wouldnt be able to check in so early but we headed there to drop our bags in! With a bit of luck we were told we COULD check in and were given our key. We were shattered so jumped into bed for a quick cat nap and woke at 10:30am. The plan of...

April 11th-14th 2010 San Pedro De Atamaca We arrived to the dusty streets of San Pedro in the middle of the desert. On route we saw some south american Alpachas roaming around although werent quick enough to catch a photo. The town immediatly looked our cup of tea, small and authentic looking. We were picked up by our hostel and taken to check in. the hostel was lovely, open plan with hammocks and an open fire near the kitchen. We spent 3 days here really rel...

10th April 2010 La Serena, Chile Ok so we have been in Serena for 3 nights now. We are staying in Marias Casa which is a lovely little place, more or less a family home with extra rooms! Day 1: we arrived quite late so nipped out for a quick scoot around in the plaza for a bite to eat before heading back. The weather was ok but gets very cold in the evenings. Day 2: we took our laundry to be cleaned ,found the supermarket for a few lunches and dinners and de...