Arica!

$300 coke in Chile

Cathedral designed by Eiffel
Tacna Arch

Sealions off Ilo coast

Ilo

I now have an additional 180 more days to spend in Peru, exciting huh! The journey to Chile was actually pretty simple. We hopped on a collective taxi and away we went. The taxi only cost a total of 6000 pesos. Sara was really strugglling with all the zeros. For example a soda was $300 (the symbol for the peso is $) and our bills came out of the ATM in the 10000's. The highlights of Arica include a cathedral designed by Eiffel (of tower fame), the most amazing beer I have ever had named Kunstmann. I had a honey beer and highly recommend it.

Arriving in Chile was a bit of a shock because that invisible line called the border is like a barrier that separates 2 worlds. While in Peru I have not really noticed all the culture surrounding me. I definitely see the differences of Peru and the US, but I am not really aware of cultures that differ in South America. While in Chile I realized it lacked that cultural richness of Peru. Chile has been a country totally influenced by the West. They have McDonalds and Blockbuster, they do not have an identity solely their own. They have had wars supported by European nations to help them defeat their neighbors, but these wars also defeated their identity because they became forever influenced by a far off land.

After our trip to Chile we visited the JV's in Tacna. They were easy to find, we just asked the bus driver to take us to their neighborhood then asked where the gringos lived. Tacna is also home to a large arch. I once shared my photos of STL in Ilo and someone commented that Peru has an arch just like STL. They were unaware how large the STL arch is.

We are about to travel to Puno, a town that sits on lake Titicaca, the route we are taking is described as a rough route only fit for hardy shoestring travelers. We are going from sea level to 3830 meters. Should be fun! I just hope Sara doesn't get sick again...We will update again with more bus ride tales.