Arturo Prat Iquique

... well Carmel we did NOT let u down. We stayed here for a total of 10 days and did not want to leave in the end first time it felt like home.

One of the better nights after drinking of course we headed down to the beach with an America Guy who was juggling fire balls it was amazing and we got some great photos. Oh yeah photos you all keep saying we hope to have it sorted by next week so we can share this experience properly with you's.

... to Brighton in terms of appearance from the front, being a seaside resort that is thankfully now out of season. That said, with clear blue skies taken for granted and daytime temperatures between 25 to 30 degrees C, it is the perfect place to relax for a few weeks after moving from place to place once every couple of days or so. Iquique has long beaches, palmtree ...

... some decent beginners surf and a smaller town and some parties. so that sounds right now like the most enjoyable spot, although is about 28 hours from here on bus. so dont know yet where i will be heading next, but am ready to get out of this desert, outside of the city there is literally only sand and no vegetation as far as the eye can see, the driest desert in the world that is about it

Okay.. time to let everyone know I´m alive again. Lots has happened since my last entry.. Spent my last day in Santiago with good friends from the school soaking up the rays on the San Cristobal pool.. couldn't´t have asked for a better last day before heading off into the erratic Patagonian weather. Got on a night bus to Puerto Montt to go catch the Navimag ferry.. I decided to splurge and spent a whole 45 bucks for the nice sleeper for a 13 hour ride ...

... even a kiosko open. But, we walked the town, pretty much so, and found the harbor with the tour and fishing boats. There we found the seals swimming, and then begging for food from the fishermen. We didn't expect to see this! We found a wonderful restaurant right on the ocean, they serve a little jigger mango picso complementary. They are super good! Come to find out, they have piscos of every size ...

... water is noticeably colder than Peruvian waters, but the beach looks impressive, especially with the backdrop of the mountains, and paragliders taking the plunge. There are some dodgy looking areas, not to mention characters, but closer to the beach the tall hotels and lights make it look a teeny bit more modern. The plaza and some streets are full of these giant ducks 'pato yeco" that look horrible and sound like oinking pigs.they **** everywhere, and they're kind ...

... hehe, just kidding), but were confused when a man came up to the restaurant (same night as band-aid lady) and stood 10 feet away from our table and began beating the side of his guitar a few times as though he was trying to get a bug out of the center of it and then walked away - we just looked at each other like...ok, but 5 minutes later came up to our table and held out his hand. Sorry, buddy, no can do. He got mad and called us something but ...

... un mètode de transport que ens dugui a Arica el més aviat possible, però no tenim sort, així que hem d'esperar a les 2pm que surt el bus. Un dinar informal al restaurant de la plaça major del poble. Podem anar a un caixer, ja que només n'hi ha un al poble i, té el mateix horari del banc i, xaferdegem 5 minutets internet. Al arribar a Arica -després de 3h- anem directament a la terminal de busos Rodoviaria on n'agafem un altre per recórrer 315 kms més, cap ...

... which was nice, and it was really hot too which is always a bonus. In the evening we went to Juana´s brothers house and I met him and his wife. We all went out that night as it was the start of the Independence day celebrations. We went to where they would usually hold the market in the daytime and it was full of food stalls and drinking places, so of course we had a few drinks then some more.. Unfortunately I don't ...

... drinks and asked her how I could get to Salar del Huasco from there and what the road was like. Showing her my car, she said I'd be fine - that the road wasn't paved, as the information office people had said, but a pretty good gravel road. She also said, my best bet would be to take that road to Salar del Huasco, but take the road north to Lirima on my way back, to save my the backtracking, because otherwise I would have to drive 2 hours the exact same way as I came from, back to ...