Iquique Sunday 13th August - 16th August 2006 We catch the bus at 14.30hrs to Iquique, 8hrs away on the Northern Pacific coast of Chile. For once Stu thrashes Amy at scrabble (what was that dear?, something about having the X, J, Q, Z and the 4S's? No, it was all talent and natural ability). Despite nearly getting off at the wrong stop and then having to leg it to get back on the bus we arrive in Iquique at 22.30hrs. Stu has skillfully managed to book a hotel for us (in Spanish obviously) and we are slightly surprised when they let us in knowing exactly who we are (those Spanish lessons came in useful after all!!). The hotel is ok but it's a bit smelly and normally we could put up with the drain smells apart from the fact that this time they were coming from the room next to ours. Thus, over the coming few days we managed to dive for the gas masks every time we heard the toilet flush next door. The following day it's 17 degrees and a little overcast, hence the weird look Stu is getting from the locals as he is walking around in shorts and sandals. We have a pretty lazy day, walking around town and Iquique has a very nice main square. It begins to dawn on us that perhaps Iquique is 'the town that time forgot' as huge bird (or is it pterydactl - sp?) shapes are seen all around the sky. As we walk towards the harbour we realize they are huge pelicans flying around and as they swoop overhead Stu dives for cover in local doorways. These fellas, combined with the vultures, herons and eagles soaring high above, give the place an eerie feeling. We sort out some flight dates for later in the trip and then head to a Croatian restaurant for lunch and the set meal is particularly good. We update the internet in the afternoon then head out for take-away Pizza in the evening and scoff it down whilst watching TV. The following day it's a public holiday in Iquique so pretty much everything is closed. We spend the morning relaxing in the hotel then head out for a walk along the beach (big waves and loads of surf dudes) and then hit the casino. After fooling around on the slot machines (lose 5 quid) we hit the Roulette tables (lose 10 quid) followed by the blackjack tables (lose 13 quid), never has losing money been so much fun! Well not really, as the folly of (mostly Stu's) gambling techniques hits home. Not to worry at least we saw a good sunset whilst relaxing over a beer. The Arequipeña beer (it has to be said) is not really that good and the days of supping Beer Lao overlooking the Mekong delta watching another fantastic sunset come flooding back. The following day we rise at 8am ready to check out. After the standard bread and jam breakfast with milky coffee we walk to the bus station. It's our last day in Chile and we really are not all that sad. The people here have been pretty friendly and at least we can strike up a decent conversation but it just feels like we haven't really been in South America as traveling in Chile has been way to easy. The Tur bus we take is pretty good and we arrive in the border town of Arica at 14.30 (s*** hole is the best adjective we can come up with to describe it) and we think our luck is in when the helpful people selling bus tickets have a 'convenient' bus to Arequipa (in Peru) in about 20 minutes. So, always willing to fall for a scam we hand over our hard earned dosh and 1hr later we get into a little 'collectivo' with 3 other people. After loading our bags on top of what can only be described as the oldest vehicle on earth (apart from our campervan in NZ) we head off for the Peruvian border. As we sit in the front Stu offers to change the gears for the driver as the gearstick is practically between his legs (the driver refuses as he is having good fun fumbling around for the right knob, ha,ha). After about 5km Stu points out to the driver that the speedo isn't working, the driver isn't too concerned by this as the petrol gauge and all the other functions on the dashboard aren't working either. The driver does point out that he will be getting a new car in a few days time (why, how helpful that is to us if we breakdown in the middle of the desert?). About an hour later after crossing through into Peru (shambles) we arrive in some other town beginning with T and hours later we are on a bus (after nearly being fobbed off onto a crappy bus by our helpful collectivo driver) to Arequipa. He does not get a tip. We arrive in Arequipa just before midnight and jump into the smallest taxi in the world. Thankfully our reservation (Stu's brilliant Spanish once again) is still held but we are put into a twin room, it doesn't matter though as we are totally knackered having been on the road for 14hrs. Bed is very welcome. We await to see what Arequipa has in store for us. Lots of love Stu & Amy.