Back Seaside

Up at 5am to catch the international bus from La Paz to Arica. We booked a seat on a Chilean bus, making the bus ride as comfortable as a bus ride can be, excluding flat-bed seats.

Passed through some beautiful scenery, similar to what I'd seen during the Uyuni tour. Don't think I'll be seeing this kind of landscape anymore…sad : (
At the Bolivian border, the bus driver took my passport while I stayed on the bus. I hate when they do that!!! I get restless and anxious when it's out of my hands! Seriously, what if isn't returned to me?! But it was, no worries.
So long Bolivia - I don't know if I'd ever be back here. I really had a great time passing through the western regions of the nation. I'm sure there's a lot to do & see in the east as well, but I have to admit that I have other priorities.
And hello again Chile - at the Chilean border, we had to get off the bus to individually pass through immigration and customs. Less anxiety.

Being back in Chile, it felt like another world. Fast, paved roads. Nice, clean cars. High-rise buildings. Well-dress (some) locals. Lots of commercial stores. Comforts.
We arrived in Arica during the afternoon. Don't remember why, but we decided not to stay there. Instead, we bought a can of diet coke and boarded another 3-4 hour bus to travel further south to Iquique.It's a seaside city offering what most seaside cities do. This one was nice in that there's was this main street resembling a boardwalk. Cute and quaint. Lined with a bunch of tourist stalls, shops, and restaurants.We were lucky enough to find a hostel right on that strip, with cable TV. You guessed it - Gossip Girl night!!!!! With take-out sushi from across the street that wasn't too bad.

Iquique is quite famous among backpackers (not that there are many of them around here) for the huge duty free center located in the outskirts. Easy to get to by local bus. I thought about heading out there to buy a new memory card, but I hardly ever do duty free shopping. Couldn't be bothered to take the time and effort to get there, although it probably didn't require much of both.
In the end, Nicole and I spent the day wandering around the small city.
Going up and down the main street. This is the main plaza:Diverting onto the side streets leading to the ocean:Finding an interesting signpost:So obvious, no?! That you go away from the ocean when there may be a tsunami.
And looking for a nice beach to hang out. Which we somehow never managed to find. Sounds impossible, but possible.

We found the beach the day we left - on our bus ride down to Le Serena. Looked like a cool, entertaining, happening place to hang out. Can't believe we missed it…
Maybe too caught up with cable TV. Or other things on our minds.

For me, it was the upcoming Galapagos cruise. The agency Deb used got back to me with the disappointing news that the Nemo II was unavailable for the dates I wanted. However, they did provide me with a list of alternative options. I checked out each one of the boats (online research & reviews are so convenient!) and decided - decent itinerary (7 nights), good discount for an above average boat. Departing Feb. 25th. Geez, that's like in a week!!! I need to figure out how to get to Quito, Ecuador soon.

My next RTW ticket would take me from Santiago to Bogota. Changing my flight path would cost me over $350, and I still had hopes of somehow having enough time to visit Colombia after the Galapagos. Luckily, I found flights from Bogota to Quito for around $200. The ideal date would've been the 23rd. Ideal because I wanted to get there a couple of days earlier just in case flights were cancelled. The 23rd, however, was not an option upon finding out that there were no flights from Santiago to Bogota that day. Fine, 22nd it is.