Dicing with the Death Road

Returning from Sucre I booked a ticket with El Dorado again as the journey and bus there were good. My ticket for a full cama bus leaving at 7.30pm cost 180 Bolivianos.

The bus looked a bit older than the last one but the inside was nice and the seats really comfy, although I had a dodgy one that didn’t want to lock into place. The first couple of hours went by well and I enjoyed looking out the window at the stars and full moon. However, after stopping in Potosi at about 10.30pm I noticed the heating wasn’t on anymore. I covered myself with my llama jacket and waterproof and hoped it’d come back on. I was wrong and the next nine hours were spent in a half sleep absolutely freezing it was awful.

At 7.30am we stopped just outside of Viacha and I was greeted by the sight of an old man evacuating his bowels in a field opposite. Fifteen minutes later and we still hadn’t moved, at first I thought it was due to heavy traffic, however it was some sort of strike/protest.

 

I stayed on the bus along with most of the other passengers until the steward, who I later found out from another passenger was drunk for most of the journey and ignored people asking for the heating to be put back on, came on the bus and told us all to get off because the road could be blocked all day.

He said we should walk past where the road block was and from there we should be able to get a taxi. Faced with no other option myself and the seven other foreigners on the bus teamed together and started to walk. It wasn’t long before we found a taxi willing to drive us to the La Paz bus terminal for 190 Bolivianos. The eight of us and our luggage squeezed into the six seater car.

To get around the road block we had to drive on a track next to the road and through a village. About three miles down the road was another bigger blockade and we had to do some more off-roading including manoeuvring around barrels and a large fire. The road from here was clear until we hit the outskirts of El Alto and it was chaos with people all over the main road. We took to the backstreets, which quickly got clogged and it took us about an hour to get back on the Autopista. From here it was plain sailing and we got to the bus terminal without any problems. The 21 mile journey, which should take 40 minutes, took us 2.5 hours.

At the bus terminal I got another taxi to Villa Fatima so I could get a bus to Coroico. It cost 25 Bolivianos. At the bus station in Villa Fatima I got a ticket for 20 Bolivianos. This is where I made the mistake of not asking if it was all on the new road.

The journey went well and as we climbed out of La Paz it felt like we were up in the clouds. I then saw a turn off for the notorious Ruta del Muerte (Death Road) and was surprised when I noticed the bus slowed down and turned off to go down the road. Many tour operators in La Paz run mountain bike excursions on the road and this was not something that really interested me when I was there so I was even less keen to experience it in a bus.

As soon as I realised there would be no turning back the panic inside started to rise and I realised that I was totally at the mercy of the driver. Any mistake by him could result in us tumbling over the side. It also didn’t help that I was on the window side of the bus closest to the edge.

 

As we rounded some bends you could see how much of the road had just eroded away leaving a sheer drop, there were also precarious sections when we had to cross under waterfalls. Needless to say I did not enjoy the journey and being sleep deprived and hungry all added to my general feeling of dread. Thankfully we made it and re-joined the new road. When I wasn’t being scared I tried to appreciate the views, which were stunning.

I stayed at Hostel Chawi in Coroico, the hostel is set in stunning gardens and if it had been better weather I definitely would have made more use of the sun terrace overlooking the valley. I was the only person staying at the hostel so I had the eight bed dorm to myself.

Despite only being 70 miles from La Paz the climate in Coroico is almost tropical due to the town only being 1,200 metres above sea level. The town is very pleasant and provides some much needed respite from the chaos of La Paz. There are some nice walks around Coroico and during my stay I went on several wanders into the valley.

I also took the opportunity to get my hair cut and selected a small hairdressers on one of the streets leading up from the main square. I only wanted to get my undercut redone and after a bit of sign language and mixture of Spanish and English, I entrusted the barber with my barnet. He did a really good job and all for just 10 Bolivianos.

After my nail biting journey to Coroico I made sure when I left to ask which route the driver would take. When I was told it would be the old road my heart sank and after establishing that no vehicle would be taking the new road I resigned myself to the fact that it was my only option and I would have to brave it again. I later found out that there had been a landslide on the new road hence why the old road was being used.

 

I felt a little happier as the vehicle was smaller than the bus before, but it was a bit unnerving when the two people next to me crossed themselves as we got on the road.

During the journey I found myself with a newfound respect for the drivers who have to use the road every day especially when there were tourists on bikes hurtling past us often in the middle of the road. I can understand how accidents do happen and I suspect some of it must be down to the number of inexperienced people using that route. Thankfully both my dalliances on the road ended well and I have no desire to ever go on it again.

A Tale of Two Cities

After I finished my volunteering I headed south to the city of Sucre. The city has had many names including Charcas, La Plata and Chuquisaca. It is a UNESCO Heritage site because of the Spanish colonial architecture in the city.

From La Paz I travelled to Sucre by bus with the company El Dorado. My ticket cost 180 Bolivianos for a full cama seat. The bus was at 7.30pm and had it not been more than 30 minutes late I would have missed it because I seriously underestimated how bad traffic is in La Paz during rush hour.

I ended up hopping off the colectivo I was on and running up the main street to the bus station, which is up a steep hill. I got there at 7.40pm and wheezing like an old woman, who smokes 40 a day (I was still recovering from a cold), I went straight to the bus company desk and asked if the bus had left. I thought the woman said yes but she handed me back my ticket and told me which stand to go to. The bus eventually showed up and it was very comfortable and even warm for the majority of the 13 hour journey.

Also, worth noting here is that when you leave La Paz by bus you have to pay a 3 Boliviano departure tax, you won’t be allowed out to the bus without a ticket to prove you’ve paid. There is a small kiosk where you can pay this in the terminal.

I arrived in Sucre just after 9am and got a taxi for 10 Bolivianos from the bus station to Kultur Berlin hostel. This hostel is worth staying at for the breakfast alone. Hands down it is one of the best breakfasts I’ve had during my travels so far. There was freshly squeezed fruit juice everyday, a range of fresh fruit, cereal, many different types of fresh bread and rolls and there were even pancakes on one occasion. The nine bed dorm I was in had loads of space, comfy beds, a high ceiling, nice bathroom with a really hot shower, wooden floors and all for 55 Bolivianos.

I’d arrived on a public holiday so not a lot was open, however I did end up stumbling upon a parade in the main square. From what I could gather the parade consisted of groups from various villages/towns around Sucre. Each group had dancing cholitas, followed by the men, followed by a full brass band. It was really interesting to watch and it seemed some groups were more into it than others.

My first impression of Sucre was that it seemed like I wasn’t in Bolivia any more due to the colonial Spanish architecture, it was very weird. It is a beautiful city and wandering round you would be forgiven for thinking you were somewhere in the Med due to the whitewashed buildings and bright blue sky.

 

It is a great place to just wander and see what you find. In the city itself the Plaza 5 de Mayo is very impressive. The Mercado Central on Junin street is also worth a visit, although I went in for two apples and came out with two pears, two apples and a mango due to the stallholder being very persuasive.
 

From the Mercado stroll to Calle Destacamento where the theatre is and then on to Parque Simon de Bolivar where you’ll find a replica of the Eiffel Tower and shady spots to sit. On the other side of the park is the train station and the psychiatric hospital, which was the first in Bolivia.

Heading uphill from Plaza 5 de Mayo is a mirador, where you have a great view across the city and somewhere to recover from the steep uphill walk. I also visited the textile museum, which has information on the different textiles and weaving methods in the region. There were some exquisite examples on display.
 

One of my main reasons for visiting Sucre was to go to the Sunday market in the nearby village of Tarabuco. Before going I read many conflicting views on whether it was going to be worth it, being someone who would rather go and see for myself I remained undeterred and bought a bus ticket from one of the tourist agencies in town for 40 Bolivianos.

The bus left at 8.30am on Sunday from outside the cathedral and we arrived in Tarabuco just after 10.30am. It was a short walk to the main square, which was a hive of activity with lots of textile sellers set up.

I wandered down one of the streets off the square and found the main market, which was like El Alto on a smaller scale, however the streets were jam packed with people moving in all directions. One of the most popular stalls seemed to be the DVD one with many children crowded round watching the television. I managed to make my way out of the scrum to the main food market, which then seemed to lead into a more wholesale affair with vendors selling oranges off of lorries etc.

I also spent a lot of time just sitting in the main plaza people watching. There seemed to be an equal mix of tourists and locals. I even treated myself to some homemade ice cream for 3 Bolivianos. I’m glad I went to the market, there isn’t really anything there you can’t find in La Paz, but I enjoyed the atmosphere.

While I was in Sucre I went to Potosi, another UNESCO heritage site and one of the highest cities in the world at 4,060m. I decided to just go for a day. The city was once the largest and wealthiest in Latin America due to silver deposits being found in the Cerro Rico mountain, which looms above the city. Today, although much of the silver has been depleted, miners continue to work in harsh conditions in order to extract what remains.

One of the main draws for tourists visiting Potosi is to take a trip down the mine. However, as I'm asthmatic, was recovering from a cold and had been advised by a miner friend of mine not to, a visit to the mine was not something I wanted to experience.

 

I understand why people do choose to visit it, but the other reason I wasn’t keen was because for me it all feels a bit weird. It’s not a museum, it’s a working mine and I just didn't like the idea of going.

There are almost hourly departures to Potosi from Sucre, so I bought my ticket on the day for 20 Bolivianos with the company Trans Emperador. The journey was perfectly pleasant except for when we were on the outskirts of Potosi and crossing train tracks. While we were halfway across I heard a horn and was surprised to see a train bearing down on us, thankfully it was going so slowly we were able to get out of the way.

Potosi’s bus station is possibly one of the nicest I’ve been in, it is a new building and is circular with a very elaborate marble staircase leading to the entrance. I ended up going to Potosi on a bit of a whim as originally I hadn’t planned to go, so it also probably wasn’t the best idea to go without knowing where the main centre was or that the bus station is quite a way out of the city.

I assumed I’d be able to get a taxi from the bus terminal and ask to go to the centre however, when I arrived all the taxis were the unregulated kind and I didn't want to take any chances. In the end I hopped on a mini bus bound for the Mercado Central, which I hoped was in the centre, my gamble paid off and I got there without any issue.

Similar to Sucre the city has some amazing colonial architecture and I just enjoyed wandering around the narrow streets looking at all the different buildings. The colourful Cerro Rico dominates on the horizon and it is strangely hypnotising.

 

I decided to take a mini bus back to the bus station and hopped on one I thought was going in the right direction only to discover I had made a mistake when the bus reached its last stop. I ended up in some residential area on a hill overlooking the bus station, I explained to the driver (in Spanish) where I had wanted to go and he started laughing pointing to the bus station below us.

 

View from the bus station to the top of the hill where the bus terminated

He told me that his bus went to ex-terminal, which is the old bus station. When I told him my bus was leaving in 30 minutes he advised me to hop on one of the buses going back the way we'd come He also explained my predicament to the other driver and asked him to let me know where to get off so I could get the correct bus. I couldn't believe how helpful the drivers were and was very grateful. I managed to hop on another bus going the correct way and made it to the terminal in time for my bus back to Sucre. 

Getting Up Close to Bolivia

Before I left the UK I had toyed with the idea of setting up some volunteering but not knowing exactly where I would be and if I would be able to commit to the minimum amount of time some organisations expect you to stay made things tricky.

While I was in Chile I realised I would have time in Bolivia. After emailing a few organisations but to no avail I had almost given up on the idea. Tas and Kris the couple I met on my second Pachamama tour suggested I try contacting Up Close Bolivia as they were planning to volunteer with them for a month.

I checked out the website and was impressed with the range of projects volunteers can work on, so to cut a long story short I was accepted and arranged to do a two week stint.

 

Up Close Bolivia works on the concept of ‘reciprocidad’, which is at the heart of Andean culture. It is all about giving back and contributing in a way that enriches the person giving and the person receiving. It was this aspect that really appealed to me.

The family-run enterprise was set up by Emma, an ex-volunteer from England, and her Bolivian husband Rolando. For the last 10 years they have welcomed volunteers and visitors and are committed to helping develop sustainable, community-led development projects and environmentally-friendly tourism that benefits their community.

I had been in La Paz a few days before my placement was due to start to acclimatise and get my bearings. I would be living in Jupapina, a small village just south of La Paz, for the duration and my first mission was to get there. I considered getting a colectivo but was unsure if the driver would take me and all my baggage. Instead I plumped for the easy option and booked a taxi.

 I stayed in the house on the left

I arrived at Emma and Rolando’s home, the volunteer accommodation is based in the grounds of the house and was greeted by Rolando, who took me to my digs, which I would be sharing with Tas and Kris. After almost three months on the road it was weird to have a room to myself and also know that I would be in one place for more than a couple of nights – I could actually unpack!

 
I had a welcome session with Anahi, who is a coordinator for Up Close Bolivia. She took me through my schedule for the next 14 days and explained a little more about the projects I would be helping in. I was also given a tour of the village, the centre of which is just along one main road and got to meet some of the shopkeepers.

Jupapina is beautiful and is surrounded by mountains. I certainly liked being out of city and back in the countryside. One similarity I noticed between here and the village I grew up in is how friendly everyone is and when you pass someone on the street you’ll say hello to each other.
 
My first task as a volunteer was to help paint a mural in the new square, Plaza de las Niñas, in the village. I’m no artist so I left the drawing to other more capable people and I just coloured in. However, I did get to draw some stick men! We just about managed to finish the mural in time for the official opening ceremony.

I also got to work at Fundacion Porvenir, which is an equine therapy centre, just down the road into the valley in Jupapina. The centre provides free therapy to children with physical and mental disabilities.

 

I was a bit apprehensive about helping here because I don’t particularly like horses and am a bit scared of them. However, the role of the volunteer here is to play with the children before they ride the horse and assist where needed when they are on the horse.

 
During my first session I was thrown into the deep end when Humberto, who runs the foundation, asked me to hold onto the lead of one of the horses. Up until this point the horse had been very well behaved, but as soon as it was in my control it somehow managed to unclip itself from the lead. Thankfully it decided not to go galloping off into the sunset and I was able to hand over the reins as it were to one of the other more experienced handlers.
 
As I can speak a bit of Spanish I was able to play games with the children while they were on the horses, such as holding up flashcards of colours or numbers and getting them to tell me what each was.

I enjoyed my time helping and although I was only there for six sessions I got to know the parents and children as well as see the difference the therapy has on their lives. Many of the children have to make long journeys just to get to Jupapina. Haydn, one of the other volunteers created a film about the work of the foundation and it can be seen here.

 

As well as this, I was placed in a children’s centre in Mallasa, the next town on from Jupapina. It is a community run centre for local children, many from poor backgrounds, aged six months to four-years-old.

I helped in Tia Lucy’s class with the babies, who were all very cute. My help here usually involved supporting Lucy by cleaning up after the breakfast and lunch, wiping noses, playing with the children and often having to move the ones who had strayed from the mat back onto it.

 

Mallasa is also a great place for getting chicken that has been roasted over a wood burning fire. For 15 Bolivianos you can get a piece of chicken, rice, roast potatoes and roasted plantain. The chicken cooked this way has been some of the best I’ve had, the skin goes really crispy and the meat underneath is beautifully moist.

 

The last project I was able to help in was the zoo, which is situated just outside Mallasa. The zoo mainly houses animals, which have been trafficked or mistreated so all except for the lions are indigenous to Bolivia. The lions were rescued from a circus as animals are not allowed to perform in circuses in Bolivia.

 

My job as volunteer was to help Emerson, who comes up with inventive ways to keep the animals entertained and stimulated. At the zoo we had to wear a fetching beige jumpsuit, being only 5ft I knew that the chances of mine fitting would be slim. However, after signing in I was allowed to have a special jumpsuit suitable for pint sized people. I’m still fairly certain it was one for children!

During my sessions at the zoo I helped lift turf to replant in the tortoise enclosure, I really enjoyed this as we got to go in the enclosure and one of the tortoises was very curious and kept coming up to me. I also helped create boxes out of egg trays and then covered them in llama wool. The boxes were filled with various entrails from a donkey and we got to hang them up in the puma enclosure. When the pumas were released we got to watch them grab the boxes and eat the contents.

 

In addition to the volunteering, I also took the opportunity to improve my Spanish by having 10 hours of intensive one to one lessons for 850 Bolivianos. Anahi organised everything for me and my teacher was Sonia. She was lovely and by our last session I was feeling more confident with my speaking, which is the area I was having most frustration with as I found I usually understood what people said to me but often didn’t have the vocab to respond.

 

Overall I really enjoyed my experience with Up Close Bolivia and even though in two weeks it felt like I’d barely scratched the surface it gave me a great insight into Bolivian culture as well as some of the struggles. Emma, Rolando, Anahi and the other volunteers were great and so helpful they really made me feel like part of the family.

Despite the times when it felt like Bolivia was trying to break me (there were instances when my bowels didn’t know whether they were coming or going and I managed to catch one of the worst colds I’ve had in about five years) I would definitely like to return, but for longer next time.
  

Living the high life

 
I travelled to La Paz on the 9am Cali Intentional bus from Arica. The ticket for this trip cost 10,000 pesos.

The journey to La Paz takes around eight hours and lunch was included in my ticket. During the journey immigration forms were handed out so I filled mine in, by now I don’t even need to check my passport number as I’ve written it so many times.
 
Just as I was about to put my pen away the woman opposite motioned to me, I thought she wanted to borrow the pen, but I was wrong she actually wanted me to fill out her forms for her and thrust them and her ID card at me. Filling out a form for myself is hard enough sometimes but to do it for someone else, who doesn’t speak the same language is a different kettle of fish.
 
I managed to complete most of the form using the info on the ID card, however there were some questions I wasn’t able to answer so I had to ask. What I hadn’t prepared myself for was not being able to understand the response, which happened a couple of times so I just wrote what I thought I heard and then got her to sign it.

We stopped at the Chile border post first to get stamped out then a bit further down the road we stopped at the Bolivian post. It was very quick and easy although I did have a moment when I realised the woman I helped hadn’t come back. Thankfully she did re-emerge - phew!

 

La Paz is the highest capital city in the world at 3,700 metres, having spent a week at sea level I’d resigned myself to the fact I’d probably have to go through the acclimatisation process all over again.
 
When the bus pulled into the bus station I was prepared for the usual chaos but it was surprisingly quiet, then I remembered it was Sunday. I walked from the bus station to Muzungu Hostel on Calle Illampu it took about 20 minutes. The walk was absolutely fine aside from the last five minutes, which were uphill and I really noticed the lack of oxygen. It didn’t help that my hostel was also up a set of stairs but thankfully my room was on the first floor.
 
Up until this point I’d been ok aside from a sore throat, which I’d been harbouring since Arica. However, as soon as I started unpacking the altitude hit me and my head was pounding. A lovely Swiss girl in the dorm let me have a sweet to help with it.

The next day I was feeling better and walked up the four flights of stairs to the breakfast room, which had amazing views across the city, by the time I reached the top I was ready for a sit down as I was breathing pretty heavily and probably could have given Darth Vader a run for his money.

 

The hostel is in the heart of the main tourist area where there are lots of shops all selling various fabrics, jumpers made from llama wool, handbags etc. I did have to restrain myself as it is very easy to get carried away.  I was also staying close to the Witches Market, where you can pick up various herbal remedies, talisman, charms and llama foetuses! The latter are used when building a new home and are buried in the foundations as a gift to Pachamama. I found it fascinating just wandering around looking at everything.
 
One of the main things I noticed in the city was the pollution in the streets from exhaust fumes, sometimes it was overwhelming. I also felt like I was taking my life into my own hands every time I crossed the road. I’ve been to Vietnam where it is pretty crazy but at least you know the traffic will move around you, here I was not so sure. The amount of times I saw a bumper just out the corner of my eye barely millimetres away from me and still moving.
 
While I was in La Paz I decided to try out the free walking tour by Red Cap Walking Tours. The tour meets in Plaza San Pedro every day at 11am. I got there a 10 minutes and early and kept an eye out for someone in a red cap but didn’t see anyone. Then I was approached by a guy in pretty normal clothes who asked if I was waiting for the tour. I said I was and he said he was the guide and it would start in a few minutes. Alarm bells started ringing and concerned he may not be a real guide I decided to see if anyone else turned up – power in numbers and all that. Soon enough there was quite a crowd of us so I decided to take a chance.
 

Outside San Pedro Prison

The tour started and what I hadn’t realised up until this point was the building on one side of the square is the notorious San Pedro Prison where a lot of drug traffickers, dealers, gang members and other criminals are imprisoned. The prison is like a city within a city. There are no guards inside the main prison and up until a few years ago prisoners’ families were able to live with them there. As with most things if you have money you can live quite comfortably and I have read that the most well off inmates have three storey properties with the more lavish including hot tubs!

 
The tour covered the area by my hostel so I was already fairly familiar with this part. By this point a lot of people had trailed off and left. We finished in Plaza Murillo, which is where the main governmental buildings are. I gave the guide a small tip as he hadn’t been as good as the guide in Buenos Aires and I was still sceptical. I looked up the Red Cap website when I got back and discovered they currently aren’t running free walking tours at the moment so it would seem the guy wasn’t legit after all.
 
Having had enough of the touristy part of town I wandered around Calle Rodriguez where there is a big fruit and veg market everyday and I also walked around the streets around Mercado Negro where you can buy pretty much anything. I walked down one street, which just had a lot of stalls all selling lightbulbs, then another hardware items etc.
 

Every Thursday and Sunday there is a big market in El Alto, which is a suburb at one of the highest points of La Paz, 4,150m and is a mini city in itself. To get to the right part of El Alto I took the teleferico (cable car), La Paz is one of the only cities in the world, which uses cable cars primarily as a form of public transport. There are three lines in the city with another three due to be opened this year. To get to the market you need to take the red line from Estacion Central to 16 de Julio. The journey costs three bolivianos and the views alone make it worth the trip.

 

Once at the top you step out from the station into the market. Being a Thursday it was busy but probably not as crowded as a Sunday, which was good. Pickpocketing is known to happen in the market so I kept a firm hand on my bag just in case. I wandered around and again this market had all sorts of products on sale from every kind of car part imaginable to a road just selling timber and other DIY type products. There were also rows of stalls piled high with clothes to rummage through and I ended up coming away with a couple of things for 20 Bolivianos.

There were, as I had hoped, stalls selling the colourful aguayo fabric, which is traditionally used by women to carry babies, food, market produce and anything else they might need on their backs. I loved the fabric and knowing what the prices were in the tourist market I wanted to see if I could get it cheaper here and I did. I came away with a large piece for 50 Bolivianos about half what I’d been quoted in the tourist shops.
 

On my last day in La Paz I visited the Coca Museum on Calle Linares, which tells the history of the leaf along with its links to cocaine. It was really interesting although if you don’t like reading I would give it a miss as there was a lot to take in. In the museum is also a café selling a range of coca products and I tried a coca hot chocolate and a coca cookie. Both were really nice although the drink was a little gritty towards the end.
 

La Paz is a very vibrant city and it is great for people watching. I particularly enjoyed just watching the cholitas go about their business. Cholitas are Aymara Indian women who wear traditional dress, which consists of a bowler hat, patterned shawl, blouse, a pollera (a very voluminous pleated skirt reaching the ankles) and flat shoes with a rounded toe. In the 16th century this style of dress was introduced by the Spanish, who forced the indigenous population to wear the typical European clothing of the era. Today, women continue to wear the typcial clothing daily in both rural and urban areas.

 

In the more touristy areas it can be difficult to find food that doesn’t cost similar to that back in the UK, however one of my top tips especially if you just want a quick snack is to go to Mercado Lanza, which is just off Plaza Mayor in the centre. On the top floor of the market are row upon row of small cafés. The cafés contain a small table and bench. On the other side of the table is the kitchen, where place your order.
 
On one occasion I went with three other people and three hot drinks and two fried egg rolls cost less than £1! Alternatively, there are some really great local eateries tucked away on the main streets and they often have a menu del dia – two courses for a set price. I discovered an amazing veggie restaurant on Calle Murillo and had the set menu for the equivalent of £1.50. The place was also packed with locals.

I spent four days in La Paz and this was more than enough to see the main sites and get a flavour for the city.  

Beaching it in Northern Chile

After arriving in Iquique, which is a beach town on the northern coast of Chile, at the ungodly hour of 5.30am I hopped in a taxi and headed straight to Backpacker's Hostel.

After partially checking in I was able to leave my bag in the left luggage and endeavoured to find a quiet corner in the lounge to get some sleep. About 20 minutes of light cat napping later, I was joined by an English couple, Mitch and Clare and a Frenchman named Thomas.

Once the sun had finally risen, it was a gorgeous sunny day. Not wanting to waste it catching up on sleep I joined Mitch, Clare, Thomas and a Dutch guy called Jimmy on a trip to the ghost town of Humberstone, which was one of my main reasons for coming to Iquique, well that and the beach of course. 

We caught a micro from the town centre for 2,000 pesos each and were dropped off by the side of the highway. The village was a short 10 minute walk away and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is now a museum as I expected it to be like Pampa Union, the town I saw on the way to San Pedro de Atacama.

Humberstone used to be a thriving sodium nitrate mining town. In 1929 synthetic ammonia was developed by the Germans and this marked the start of the decline for the town. Operations in the town finally ceased in 1960. Entry to the museum cost 3,000 pesos.

The first part of the town is where all the dwellings were, along with the hospital. It is possible to wander around some of the buildings and a few felt quite eerie. As the town grew in population so did the amenties available to residents and there was a theatre, basketball stadium, school, hotel, pub and even a swimming pool! I couldn't get over how well preserved everything was.

On the other side of the town was the main industrial area where all the mining took place. In contrast to the town this area was very rusty as all the buildings are made from corrugated iron. We were also surprised to see that a lot of the machinery remained in tact and hadn't been looted.

We spent a good three hours just wandering around before catching a micro back to the town.

The Backpacker's Hostel isn't located in the centre of town, rather it is set just metres from the beach and of course a visit to Iquique wouldn't be complete without at least some beach time. I spent a pleasant afternoon catching some rays and going for a dip - the water was very pleasant.

The town centre is a good 15 minute walk from the hostel and Calle Baquedano is the main thoroughfare. It remimded me of something from the Wild West with wooden boardwalks and buildings. It was really pleasant and the end of the road opens out into a square with a rarher elaborate fountain.

The only thing seemingly lacking in Iquique at this time of year (well it is autumn after all) is much of a mid-week night life. However, we did find a bar offering cheap(ish) mojitos along Baquedano. We were the only people in there along with a load of Chilean bikers so it was quite entertaining especially when they all rode off into the night.

I could have very easily spent more time in Iquique relaxing on the becah and staying in the hostel, which had a really great atmosphere. However, I had to push on further north to Arica.

Buses to Arica leave fairly regularly from Iquique with several departures a day. I managed to get a ticket for 6,000 pesos with Pullman Carmelito. I opted to do the 40 minute walk the to the bus station, which in hindsight was a bit ambitious in the heat, with a slight hangover and all my stuff. Needless to say by the time I got there I was very hot and bothered and to top it off the bus was 20 minutes late.

The five hour journey was fine despite the steward taking my passport for a large portion of the journey as he said it would make it easier when we reached the checkpoints on the way. This made me quite twitchy, mostly because I was worried I might forget to get it from him in the commotion getting off the bus and getting my stuff. Thankfully he banded it back before we reached Arica.

I arranged to stay at Arica Unite, which is situated a 20 minute walk from town but is only 10 minutes from the bus station. Arica is in the far north of Chile and is close to the border with Peru so as you can imagine it is a main interchange point for people heading that way or coming back.

It is also possible to get to La Paz from Arica and this is the journey I planned on making. 

I had one full day in Arica and decided to check out the Museo Arqueologico. To get there I took a colectivo amarillo, which is a taxi with a set route and can take more than one passenger at a time, heading to Azapa. The colectivos depart from Calle Chacabuco. The driver dropped me off outside the museum and explained where I would be able to get a colectivo back to town. The journey cost me 1,000 pesos.

Entry to the museum was 2,000 pesos and upon arrival I was handed a large sheaf of papers, which was the English translation of all the exhibits. The museum has exhibits on the various civilisations that lived in the region and it also houses some mummies from the Chinchorro culture (6,000 - 2,000 BC).

The museum was good but didn't really tell me much I didn't already know from the museum in Salta. The mummies were interesting and very different to the ones in Salta due to a different process used when preserving the bodies.

Catching a colectivo back to Arica was fairly easy and I wasn't waiting long before one appeared. I got dropped off at Calle Chacabuco and wandered to the centre where you can see El Morro, which is one of the main focal points in the town. If I had planned my time better I could have walked to the top as the views would probably be quite spectacular.

Needless to say I'm glad I made the journey back to Chile to visit these two places.

Sedate Salta

I arrived in Salta at 8am on Good Friday. Due to a lack of Argentinian Pesos I decided to walk the 1.2 miles from the bus station to Sol Huasi Hostel. It was a pleasant morning so the walk wasn't too bad despite feeling pretty hungry.

The hostel was in a great location just off the Plaza 9 de Julio, which is the main square. Unusually I was able to check in and go to my dorm room straightaway, which was great and gave me a chance to freshen up before heading out again to get money and food.
 

As it was Good Friday the centre of the city was fairly quiet with just a few other tourists wandering around. Plaza 9 de Julio is one of the nicest squares I've seen on my travels it was filled with lots of trees, plants and pleasant places to sit and watch the world go by. The plaza is surrounded by lots of cafés and restaurants. The main feature is the Iglesia Cathedral, which houses the ashes of General Martin Miguel de Güermes.

I had dinner at one of the small cafes just overlooking the square and treated myself to the 'Menu del Dia', which comprised of two courses for 75 pesos. I had empanadas to start followed by locro. The latter contained chickpeas, butter beans, meat and what I believe was chopped up intestines (I fished these bits out as they were easy to identify).

While I was eating, the evening mass in the cathedral was broadcast over the loudspeakers into the square and culminated in a procession around the plaza. It was interesting to watch especially as this doesn't tend to happen much in the UK. 

When I was in San Pedro de Atacama the WiFi adapter on my laptop broke so while I was in Salta I set myself the task of finding a computer shop, which sold a USB adapter I could use instead. Compunoa had exactly what I needed for 90 pesos and because my laptop doesn't have a CD drive the guy in the shop even helped install it all for me at no extra cost.

I visited the Museo de Arqueologia de Alta Montana, which documents the discovery of three mummies found at the top of Llullailaco volcano, 6,700m up. Due to the climate the bodies and items buried with the them were almost perfectly preserved. The museum was really interesting and shows how the bodies were found and the theories surrounding why they were buried there. The main theory is that they were buried as part of a sacrificial ritual. 

There is only ever one of the mummies on public display at any one time and while I was there it happened to be 'Lightning Girl'. She is named as such because archaeologists believe at some point the area where the girl was buried was struck by lightning and this is what caused the scorch marks on her face and clothes. It was amazing and also a bit eerie to see how intact the body and face was even down to her still having teeth, hair and nails.  

One of my main reasons for visiting Salta was because I had heard the bus journey across the Andes to Chile is pretty spectacular. Two companies offer services to Chile - Pullman and Gemini. I opted for Pullman purely because when I got to the bus station, there wasn't anyone in the Gemini office. My ticket to Iquique, on the Northern coast of Chile, cost 1,215 pesos and I would need to change buses in Calama. It is useful to note that Pullman buses only depart for Chile on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

My bus left at 7am and was full of other tourists heading to San Pedro de Atacama as this is one of the popular routes for that journey. I had managed to get myself a window seat and sat back to enjoy the views. The journey was stunning, but after everything I had seen in Bolivia it kind of fell short for me. I appreciated it, but I wasn't that amazed by it either, which was a shame.

The border crossing was fairly straightforward although a couple of people fell foul to the affects of the altitude with one girl fainting just as she was about to put her bag through the x-ray machine. We were also held up by one passenger, who was trying to bring some sort of tree into Chile and was having a rather heated debate with the customs officer.

As predicted when we reached San Pedro de Atacama the majority of the passengers got off and it was only a handful of us heading on to Calama. There is no main bus terminal in Calama so I had to wait at the main Pullman office for my connection to Iquique at 11pm. The office was perfectly nice with a waiting room and there was even a TV showing some soap operas. I bought myself a completo for dinner from the stand outside as there didn't really seem to be anywhere else to get food along the street.

The bus finally arrived and it seemed to be men who made up the majority of the passengers, possibly miners headed home for a bit. The bus was comfy enough, but it was freezing cold so much so that at one point I had to put my woolly hat on. Thankfully I think so many people complained that in the end they turned the heating up and gave us all blankets to the point where I was actually a little too hot by the time the bus pulled in to the main bus terminal at Iquique at 5.30am.