December 3, 2005
Day 66
My bus to Calama left at 8:30 this morning, so I didn't get any sleep last night. The bus ride was six hours long, and I slept nearly every minute of it. When I got to Calama in the afternoon, I was still really exhausted.
Back when I was… Read More »
December 2, 2005
Day 65
After getting a late start today, I was up for some exercise. I discovered that a few decades ago, the Chilean government wanted to help the commerce in Iquique, so they created a huge tax-free shopping zone called the Zofri. It was on the other side of town, but… Read More »
December 1, 2005
Day 64
I wanted to try something unique today, so I asked around and found out about paragliding. Iquique is on the ocean and near a windy hill, making it the perfect location for the sport. The owner of my hostel made a few phone calls and arranged a tandem trip… Read More »
Economy:
1. What do most local people do for a living?
It seems that three out of every four people are entrepreneurs. Some have restaurants, others have general stores, still others have Internet cafes. I even met one lady who wanted to make some extra money, so she set up a grill at the door… Read More »
November 30, 2005
Day 63
Today I took a bus to Iquique, which is about four hours by bus south of Arica on the coast. After doing some asking around at the bus station, I was able to find a great hostel that lots of backpackers stay at. This was a good change of… Read More »
November 29, 2005
Day 62
Today I took a walk up to the Morro of Arica, a huge hill that overlooks the whole city. The walk up was very steep, but, being at sea level, it wasn't very difficult. I might even dare to say that it was enjoyable.
At the… Read More »
November 28, 2005
Day 61
Today I wanted to leave Sajama and the only bus out of town left at 6:30 in the morning. I got up really early and waited in the freezing cold with the other tourists and a bunch of locals for the microbus to arrive. Finally it showed up, we… Read More »
November 27, 2005
Day 60
I had only been in Sajama for a little more than a day, yet I had already exhausted almost all of my options for stuff to do. I couldn't attempt to climb a mountain because it's spring here, which means that the snow and ice aren't solid enough to… Read More »
November 26, 2005
Day 59
When you travel long-term, there are bound to be good days and bad ones. This was one of the bad ones.
I ate breakfast at a local man's house. Afterwards, he asked me what I was going to do today. I told him that I was thinking of visiting… Read More »
November 25, 2005
Day 58
After vegging out for a few days in Oruro, I was ready to move on to the Sajama National Park this morning. I had no trouble finding a bus to Patacamaya because it is on the way to La Paz, the biggest city in the country. The bus was… Read More »
