This border into Chile was a bit special, very severe and at 4500m altitude. Chile is very strict with things you can bring in, so after scanning all our bags the dogs were sent through to find drugs or any food products. Even tea bags are not allowed.
But after that I could enjoy the great views during the ride down to Santiago.
In Santiago I did some sightseeing and met Cecilia again. She offered me to stay with her family in their house. It was so nice I got a home away from home and her mom made a big family dinner and tried to make everything perfect for me. Simply a mom. ;-)
I went out with Cecilia to some bars and I met some of her friends. Even my time was short I enjoyed it very much. Hope to come back soon. Thanks to Cecilia and her family!
After so much welcoming kindness, it felt hard to continue. But I went to Valparaiso to see the graffiti arts and enjoy a few days at the coast. It was colder than in Santiago and had more wind but sunshine all the time. Perfect weather for a stroll through the streets and to check out some of the view points, art works and cafes.
Then I took a bus north along the coast to get to Calama and then San Pedro de Atacames. Long empty surfer beaches for hundreds of kilometers, dry desert landscape and in the background the Andes with some volcano peaks. And the closer I came to San Pedro the drier it got. The Atacama desert is the driest place on earth with no rain the whole year. And you can feel it, within minutes you are thirsty and your skin dries out. But the landscape is an odd beauty, sand dunes and canyons and the rock formations seems to be from the moon.
I visited the worlds largest copper mine and for a short while I had the feeling to be back at work with a helmet on my head being on a construction site. ;-)
But I enjoyed the strange landscape and wanted to see more of it on the other side of the border.
So I tried to get one of the buses to Bolivia. There are only four a week and its hard to get tickets. As well the border office is only open at this time when the buses cross. But I was the first one in the ticket office and got a seat for the next day early early morning. The road is not paved and so the ride took 5h for 200km and another 5h to Uyuni in Bolivia. The border was the loneliest place I have ever seen. The border town is more a ghost town, there might be only ten people living and on the Bolivian side even less.
But it was a good experience and interesting to see.
And I was finally in Bolivia.
But after that I could enjoy the great views during the ride down to Santiago.In Santiago I did some sightseeing and met Cecilia again. She offered me to stay with her family in their house. It was so nice I got a home away from home and her mom made a big family dinner and tried to make everything perfect for me. Simply a mom. ;-)
I went out with Cecilia to some bars and I met some of her friends. Even my time was short I enjoyed it very much. Hope to come back soon. Thanks to Cecilia and her family!
After so much welcoming kindness, it felt hard to continue. But I went to Valparaiso to see the graffiti arts and enjoy a few days at the coast. It was colder than in Santiago and had more wind but sunshine all the time. Perfect weather for a stroll through the streets and to check out some of the view points, art works and cafes.
Then I took a bus north along the coast to get to Calama and then San Pedro de Atacames. Long empty surfer beaches for hundreds of kilometers, dry desert landscape and in the background the Andes with some volcano peaks. And the closer I came to San Pedro the drier it got. The Atacama desert is the driest place on earth with no rain the whole year. And you can feel it, within minutes you are thirsty and your skin dries out. But the landscape is an odd beauty, sand dunes and canyons and the rock formations seems to be from the moon.
I visited the worlds largest copper mine and for a short while I had the feeling to be back at work with a helmet on my head being on a construction site. ;-)
But I enjoyed the strange landscape and wanted to see more of it on the other side of the border.
So I tried to get one of the buses to Bolivia. There are only four a week and its hard to get tickets. As well the border office is only open at this time when the buses cross. But I was the first one in the ticket office and got a seat for the next day early early morning. The road is not paved and so the ride took 5h for 200km and another 5h to Uyuni in Bolivia. The border was the loneliest place I have ever seen. The border town is more a ghost town, there might be only ten people living and on the Bolivian side even less.But it was a good experience and interesting to see.
And I was finally in Bolivia.
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