Day 246 - Exploring Options

(Ursula) Given the start of the rainy season on the Altiplano of Peru and Bolivia, the question was, how to continue the trip from here?

We drove to “downtown” Arica and inquired about fares by train or air. Ouch! We quickly realized that wasn’t going to be an option for us. Too heavy for the budget.

Instead, we will stick to our original plan and drive. We knew it was risky, but we could always turn around if worse came to worse.

When we returned to the Camper, we noticed someone had damaged the rear right blinker. Oh, man! 1975 is starting well already.

We finished shopping and found a seafood restaurant for lunch. Heinz ordered sea snails, and I ordered fried fish. The snails were just a stomach teaser for Heinz. Next, he ordered fish soup and saved a few pieces for our Büsi.

Many stores were closed for the holidays, but we found an open Mercado Artisanal. The only thing that appealed to me was a hand-woven Peruvian blanket - but why should I buy this in a dusty Chilean border town? No!

Back at the campground, we met two Germans. They started their journey in São Paulo, Brazil, and headed for Lima. We chatted for a long time with them in their native language, drinking Coca-Cola & Cognac.

Stats: Miles 26, Expenses $12.40Read more