All Over Town

By the time you read this we should be leaving Arequipa to arrive Friday night in Tacna with a border crossing on the weekend sometime. However Chile is preparing for our arrival. 

We are hoping the landslide created by an earthquake will be cleared before we get there early next week. If not we are stuck once again as there is only one through road across the desert of northern Chile. 

Until then some last pictures of Arequipa as we pack up and go. 

Chinese electric car doing some publicity: 

Peru has a wine industry: 

Ever had Peruvian freeze dried potatoes? Me neither. 

A birthday celebration for Florian’s 33rd involved a seafood lunch at a restaurant called Manta, like the ray. 

Surf and turf noodles: 

A mild teriyaki type sauce over potato and tuna: 

That appetizer also got a flame treatment table side: 

Below this is a Peruvian classic called causa. It’s a pile of potato and seafood with avocado and peppers with in this case, crispy fried onions on top. This one was surrounded by fried fish bites. 

A clever menu with pages of descriptions linked to photos: 

Good bye Arequipa after six long weeks: 

An unusual way to serve a salad but it worked: 

The sidewalk below ran out suddenly and ended in a wall. One of those special Arequipa grotesque moments. 

So you descend to street level and walk along the busy road. 

Then back up yo the sidewalk past the wall. 

I’m sorry but it’s an idiotic way to build a sidewalk. 

Water rushing to greet you on the sidewalk Arequipa style. They know how to waste water in this desert. 

Safety first: 

The government agricultural office is lost in a suburb near the airport. 

They checked Rusty’s papers for me and we should be good to go to Chile. Fingers crossed as this is a strict border. 

The vet had done is best to follow their instructions. 

I have no idea what was going on here: 

I sometimes wonder if I have a clue what’s going on along the way. 

Arequipa Streets

Today is our last full day in Arequipa. Friday morning Layne sees the surgeon and then we drive for Tacna with a rough idea to cross the border into Chile this weekend. 

I’ve run out of things to say about our six week stay in this campground but Layne’s leg wound seems to be improving and we have an appointment Tuesday with a doctor in the Chilean city of Iquique.

We have bought medicines are getting GANNET2 ready for the road.  I am excited to get driving. 

The clean dumpster outside our campground. 

And twenty four hours later. We humans do generate trash. 

These tiny Daihatsu cabs are everywhere bulging with Peruvians when they aren’t broken down. 

The cardiologist writing up notes about Layne and her heart after the operation. They are very thorough. 

Check out the random u turn with oncoming traffic. This is how taxis turn to drop us off at the campground. Fun driving.  

Europeans do laundry by hand. We decadent Americans find laundromats. These guys were Swiss  and stayed two days and preferred to keep to themselves so I have no stories. 

By the way if ever you are in Peru and need to cross a busy street snuggle up to a parent with a baby carriage. Traffic even here stops for babies. 

No idea what this is:

“Fujimori No More.” Peru had three days of national mourning while I was in Florida to mark the death of the dictator who fled to exile in Japan when he was charged with corruption. Not a man I’d want to honor.