Then it got Chile

Well, things have calmed down a bit since the last blog. We spent a few days at Moquegua being well looked after by Claudio and his mum who owned the hotel. Taking us around the town to get the drugs prescribed by the hospital and showing us the town. Sandra's leg improved enough for us to continue and then it was a short ride to the Chilean border.


Peru had certainly delivered its ups and downs. It seemed hard work at times but most certainly it is a true motorcycle adventurer country.

During our final day in Peru we had met two Argentina riders who where returning home after a few weeks on the road Sebastian and Diego were a great help showing us the best routes and places to visit in Chile. They also asked us to call them when we reach Benou Aries so we could meet up again.

The border crossing was quick and easy, relatively speaking, and we made our way into Chile. We met up with a couple of Californians at the border and one of the chaps spoke fluent Spanish which made life a little easer.

Anyway we had decided to stop first some 300km south of the border at a place called Iquequi. This turned out to be a tough ride with a surprising amount of desert and of course heat.


Concerns about fuel hit me too. Not many fuel stations in the desert but the big tank (slightly less capacity then it once had due to a number of dents in it) made sure we had enough fuel. What was immediately apparent about Chile is that the cars have got a lot posher than Peru. These were new cars, big cars and all of them seemed much more upmarket then what we have been used two since leaving Panama.

The roads were very good too. As we reached Iquequi we came across a huge line of traffic. Slipping to the front of it we found that two Chilean policemen had held the traffic up while a load that had been shed from a lorry was replaced. Now given our experience with the cops in Peru we were at first a little uncomfortable, but should not have been. They laughed and joked with us, well as best you can without understanding each other. They remarked at how dirty the shed had become and all in all we had a good time while the blockage was, well, unblocked and we went on our way. We stopped at a rather posh hotel on the sea front and got settled in then went into town. Again, it was very different to the towns we had become used too. Big bright shopping centres, lots of banks and expensive restaurants, all very different indeed. We also noted that with this finery comes expense. Everything in Chile is expensive, not only compared to Peru but to Britain as well.


The next day saw a short run again through desert to Antofagasta and another overpriced hotel. A big port for Chilean import and export this is a busy town. I woke up the next morning bright and early and marvelled at how busy the Chileans are at 06:30 in the morning. Looking down on the street it looked like rush hour. At breakfast I noticed the local news on TV and was horrified to notice that the TV clock showed it two hours later than we thought it was. When we came over the border we should have adjusted our clock by two hours, we did not, and what is odd it took us two days to realise our mistake.

On this road you pass the Hand of the Desert. A huge sculpted hand sticking out of the sand. Every biker who passes it has his or her photo taken with it and we were no exception.


So we were two hours late setting off. Mind you it was a short run to a town called Taltal on the coast. A tiny town with a beautiful square and only a few restaurants and pubs. After what turned out to be a lengthy search we found a hostel on the sea front with a room, a sea view and a good restaurant. We had a walk around the town for a while, ate then bed.


The next day was a run to another sea side town called Bahia Inglesa. On the way we passed the 20,000 miles mark (22,000 if you count the Cancun run) of our journey. This town is a fantastic place, yellow sand and turqouise sea. We found a little hostel with a suite of rooms for about ?30 a night.

Now my best friend Richard had planned to visit us in Santiago and he would arrive on the 25th of the month. We were a little ahead of schedule to meet up with him so we decided to stay an extra day in this lovely place. One great advantage to the hostel is we had our own cooking facilities, so we made a bee line for the store and bought loads of stuff to cook, stuff we had missed, boiled potatoes and vegetables, a good pork chop where amongst the treasurer trove of goodies we pigged out on.

Now this place had a few over landers on bikes visiting and we met lots of new friends there.

From there it was onto to La Serena a 250miles ride in more desert. We stayed at the most odd hostel you could imagine. In this old town we found this ultra modern hostel which resembled a hospital rather than a hotel. We were the only ones staying at it which gave it a odd feel. Still it was clean and cheapish and had parking for the shed.

A walk around the town was pleasant enough except for on thing. Dogs. Now the dogs here patrol the streets in packs maybe 10-15 dogs all on the march. Very odd indeed, and those with pet dogs, picked up there pets in order to protect them from the pack. If this pack got a mind to do some damage they would have no problem at all. It was a bit unnerving.

We only had a few days to prep for the visit from Richard. Now Richard had been one of our biggest supporters looking after our affairs at home and keeping things moving. He has also been given a list of goodies we need in order to keep us and the shed running. He has had to scarifies most of his baggage allowance for there items. Thanks mate.

Anyway the run down to Vina del mar was nice enough and the desert at last had turned to more greener countryside, a pleasant change. The weather here is cool in the mornings but much hotter in the afternoons. We have two nights here getting things sorted for a well deserved 5 day break in the nations capital with Richard and I have no doubt lots of beer.