Chile Update:

Not much to write about Chile. Got to Arica after dark and collectivo left me off at the bus station. From there took a taxi to downtown and hostel Chamugi (or something like that). Got a very basic room with shared bathroom across the hall. Went out for dinner and had the best steak yet in south America. Basically Peru can´t cook steak in any form and are pretty bad at desserts as well. Best to stick with chicken there. Chile must have more contact with Argintina. Went for a walk around town after dinner, but because Chile is 2 hours ahead of Peru it was already quite late so I went back to the hostel. The next day arranged for a night bus to San Pedro de Atacama. Hiked up to this prometory overlooking town and went throught a museum about the war between Chile and Peru. Went down by the beaches, had something to eat and a long talk with some aussie´s back at the hostel. Lost track of time and almost missed my bus. Another long sleepless bus ride. Had to go through several checkpoints where the immigration guys wanted to ask how I could afford to go to so many countries. I don´t know if my passport is getting that unusual or the guards just wanted a bribe or to hassle me. San Pedro looks like a little bit of nothing when you arrive, and there is nothing other than single story adobe buildings in town all of which look to have seen better days. It surprisingly has a lot more tourists than I was expecting and when the town woke up later and opened doors it was mainly tour agencies and restaurants. I imagine the locals not in the tourist business are fed up with how the town has gone. Booked my excursion to Uyuni for the next day and otherwise spent a relaxing day recovering from the bus ride.

All in all, not much time in Chile, but hopefully I will see more of this country on my way back from New Zealand. On to Bolivia…