I am sure the bus was supposed to take five hours to Tacna as it was a more expensive one, but I think it was more like 5.5 or 6, although I'm not certain.
My guide book said the way to cross the border was in a taxi colectivo. Since I arrived at the national bus terminal, I saw no way to get across the border, but on speaking to a taxi driver outside in sheer desperation I was pointed across the street to the international bus terminal.
It was starting to get dark at this point and the whole thing seemed a bit grim. I approached some guy in a big group near a handwritten board advertising taxis and he sort of shunted me over to some driver. This after asking me for my passport, which I refused to let out of my hands. I felt horribly vulnerable with my two bags and my 'hidden' belt not properly tucked away as I needed to get it out for my passport. You have to visualise me as some cross between a rabbit in the headlights and a mother sheep keeping her body between a wolf and its lamb (my suitcases). I could so easily see something being nicked and leaving me stranded after dark.
It was 20 sols for the trip, which seemed amazingly cheap. Of course I had 18 sols in change and small bills and a 100 sol note. I gave the guy the 100 and he disappeared for ages, leaving me to fill in some customs declaration and swear heartily in English. Two fellow passengers (all were locals, well Latin American anyway) were standing nearby at the time. I tried to jot down the number plate discretely just in case but as they were sort of in the way I think it probably wasn't as discreet as it could have been. The driver did in fact give me the change when he came back some considerable time (or so it seemed) later, which half surprised me.
Oh, earlier on, after putting my suitcase in the back of the car he drove off. I was thinking I'd been had (fortunately I insisted on keeping my small bag on me) but for some reason he was just moving a few spaces down.
In the end 6 of us (including the driver) squeezed into the car (3 in the front, 3 in the back - I got the middle seat in the back, joy) and we drove about 30km to the border, which was surprisingly OK, and another 10km or so to Arica.
The guy sat on my right in the back started playing music out loud on his phone during the trip. I'm sorry, in my book that makes you a bit of an arrogant tosser. As it was I didn't mind the music he was playing, but still. He spoke to me a tiny bit at the border crossing and although I struggled to understand him he did seem basically OK. If I understood correctly he said there was another earthquake in Chile the day before yesterday. Joy.
The taxi driver dropped us at the bus terminal and I managed to get a local taxi to recommend a hotel to me and checked in OK. 10000 pesos for a night, which is OK. No wifi there but what the hell.
It was all OK in hindsight but I was feeling so awkward at the terminal trying to arrange the taxi. I don't know if you can cross the border by bus but I think that would have been less stressful. On the other hand, having done the taxi thing once if I do come back this way I might feel more comfortable with it, especially if it was during the day. Then again, the real worry was having stuff nicked and I'm not sure that's the sort of worry that experience helps with.
I need to go to an internet cafe and maybe the bus terminal tomorrow and see WTF I can do to get down to Santiago from here. No response to my e-mail to the budget airline as of this morning, useless bastards.
Not planning to be out late, this beer, maybe one more then try to get a fairly decent night's sleep.
Do feel just slightly vulnerable re earthquakes here, but of course earthquakes don't respect political boundaries and I'm probably no more at risk than I was in Arequipa. Maybe less, Arequipa apparently gets quite a lot of earthquakes anyway.
I keep thinking "wow, northern Chile, that must be cold" which is just stupid of course. It's quite pleasant tonight, no idea how hot it will be tomorrow.
The town/city looked enormous judging from the lights as we approached, now I am here it seems to have a slight small-town feel, but it may just be the area I am in, it's not as if I have been far from the hotel. I asked for a hotel near the centre but I have absolutely no idea if it actually is.
I suspect I just forgot how much things cost here, but the beer seems surprisingly cheap, 1000 pesos for a draught probably half-litre.
Oh, I asked my parents to call LAN Chile about the Easter Island flights, I have an e-mail from them and apparently they are going ahead, as I'd inferred from the e-mail from expedia about the time change. So barring some earthquake damage in the next week I am going, as long as I can make it down to Santiago for the flight. (Perhaps stupidly, as we drove to Arica there were signs saying 'Arica 7km, Santiago 2044km' or something like that. Man, it's a long way...)
10:50pm. Dithering enormously. My guts are alternating between behaving themselves and giving a little tumble. Nearly finished my second beer. As with the first, halfway through the beer I have visions of bed, now I am tempted to have another. I may stay here tomorrow night but I arranged with the guy at the hotel to call it just tonight for now and we'd talk tomorrow, so I have to be up earlyish (apart from it being desirable from a fact-finding and sightseeing perspective). But earlyish does mean about 9am at the earliest, so I guess one more will be OK. Although I can well visualise getting it and then not wanting it, then changing my mind again as I finish it. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment