Mummy and mummies

Today, we were briefly in Arica, the Chilean town, very near to the border of Peru, and amongst other things, we visited the museum with the world's oldest mummies. They are not Egyptian mummies but South American ones that are 2000 years older than those of Egypt.

Not only are there mummies but also earthenware with intricate designs, patterned fabrics, tools, weapons and skirts, and other clothing to cover genitals. All in remarkable condition That's been helped by the extreme dryness, and salty ground.

It is a really top museum, modest in size but extraordinary exhibits.

Not quite as old but still dating from 400 AD, are multiple flat sculptures of llamas laid on the hillside.

After that we had planned to go to the beach, but a stop for lunch and the fact that it was further along the coast than we thought meant that we abandoned that and settled for an ice cream instead.

Then, in the late afternoon, we headed for Peru a mere 21km away. Of course, most of the time, most time was needed to simply cross the Chilean and Peru borders . For the 1st time in Latam, these were side by side in the same building, so the process was relatively fast at around 40 minutes for both.

Then onwards to Tacna, where tomorrow morning we catch the bus to Lake Titicaca, 6.5 hours drive.Read more