Arequipa Again

We got up and on our way at eight but we hadn’t far to go as the border with Peru was just up the road.

The process took two hours and lots of standing in line but we got through it in good order as usual. We had been worried Peruvian immigration might be upset about us coming back so soon but I explained we’d gone to Chile for spare parts and could we please have 30 days as we’d only used 60 of our initial visit. They normally give you 90 days but expect you to stay out of the country for another 90. We’d done 60 and been out for 20…I guess it helps to speak some Spanish as she gave us 60 days, which was very cool of her. We hope to be in Brazil in a couple of weeks. 

The customs guy got a bit confused as I had a new passport since my last entry and I had to pull out my canceled passport and explain I had renewed it. I’m not a mechanic or a plumber or handsome but I am handy with communication  (if you know Red Green you know what I mean). Rusty’s entry papers were no trouble at all after that but when the inspectors checked our vehicle they were focused on him having his papers. Every inspector who came by GANNET2  saw Rusty and asked if he had been checked in…You never know what will grab their interest  which is what makes border crossings exciting. Last time they took his cookies and never checked his entry permit  but this time they took a sealed package of cooked ham while letting Layne keep the cooked hot dogs we use for treats for Rusty.  It’s all so random at the border.  

So off we went and I’ll tell you it isn’t nearly as thrilling when you know what to expect down the road ahead, but it was still satisfying to have made another successful border crossing  in good order . We got gas at $4:30 a gallon, a buck cheaper than Chile’s heavily taxed regular gas. We went up the coast for the glorious ocean views before turning inland to Arequipa.

But the road down to the coast was also spectacular in its own desert way. I love driving so I have no idea how I survived twenty years in Key West at the end of one solitary highway. 

But first, lunch, at a cost of $6:75 each including apple juice outside the port city of Ilo. 

The beef broth soup had beef potatoes and noodles and was delicious.

The main course was beef though we might have liked fish there is no menu: you get what you’re given. Thus we were set to continue to Arequipa four hours away  on a lovely afternoon drive.

It soon became obvious thanks to Google Maps’ time/distance calculations we would not arrive at the campground before dark. The clock went back an hour when we crossed the border but sun sets at 5:35 in Peru. We don’t normally drive at night but needs must when the devil’s driving. It’s a great saying but I’m not sure what it means…

The tunnel was barely tall enough for the truck ahead of us. 

The sign is a public service announcement from your friendly Peruvian trucker and it says don’t use your cellphone while driving as your family is at home waiting for you. 

The ladies onboard swept back the tarp and waved and smiled at us but I liked the hand photo. 

He was excited to get back to the campground and started whining when he realized where we were, grass, privacy and cool night air. He was happy.

Dinner was late but he woofed it and passed out. 

Ready For Peru

 It took all day but by four thirty we had Rusty’s exit papers allowing us to head to the border. However we decided to spend another night in Chile and deal with the border Thursday morning. Crossing in the evening might lead us to driving in the dark so even though the border is open twenty four hours we planned to cross Thursday morning. So we spent the night back at the airport.

It took a few trips to the agriculture office, the first to drop off Rusty’s new health certificate and for the bureaucrats to check the paperwork.

Then we went away to wait for the email. Layne did some last few bits and pieces of shopping for stuff we can’t find in Peru and then we went back to the beach to wait to here from SAG, the agriculture office. Then we went back to pay $35 when I got the email but they said I had to go back a third time at four to get the permit. Had I u aerators I could have paid and got the permit at the same time but I goofed. 

On the way we saw a couple of bicycle cops ahead of us come across a double parked car holding up traffic. It was for those times when you ask yourself where are the cops when you need them? 

Back at the beach we met a couple in a small Fiat van from Uruguay. He emigrated from Germany speaks fluent English and has been a musician wandering and making a living he says since 1973. Somewhere along the way he met a Colombian woman who had relatives living in Uruguay so she went to live there to escape the chaos that was Colombia. Now they are traveling around a bit to see more of South America and their goal is to make money, he playing music, she making street art, as they go. 

They went into town and at four we drove back to agriculture, got the certificate and we went to the airport to spend the  night. 

Bolivian tankers waiting load fuel to help gas stations in their landlocked country stagger through another few days of keeping fuel shortages at bay. Bolivia barely functions. 

Loading rope. I know not what for but it looked intriguing. 

Getting Nothing Done

Monday night at the beach turned into a perfect hellscape of no sleep. Around eight pm when it was quite dark there were groups of people walking and enjoying the sea air but they were replaced by clumps of young people with loud exhaust and music and so forth.

We cc put up with it for a bit but sheep was out of the question so we did what makes sense when your home is on wheels and the neighbors are out of control. The plan was to drive twenty minutes to the airport where we know of quiet parking but on our way we passed the end of the beach which appeared very quiet. We stopped. There was a large green Brazilian Sprinter van already parked and I pulled in nearby but not, I hope too close. The airport parking lot is on Highway 12 below. The black line is the border with Perú:

By now it was nearly midnight and I was totally awake, and annoyed even though I really had no reason to be frustrated. We had parked in an obviously popular place and though we were surprised by the crowds in a weeknight in winter it was an obvious place to congregate. So I sat on the sea wall reading a book on my phone. I got a book about sailing English rivers in the 1920s in the Internet archive “The Magic of the Swatchways” an evocative series of stories about inland sailing in tidal waters which took me away from my irritation. Then people started walking by and trying to engage me in conversation. I pretended not to speak Spanish but in the dbd I had to retreat morosely aboard GANNET2. One in the morning and they wouldn’t disappear! Then the kids started to go and loud cars and stereos thumped by into the night. Eventually it fell silent. At last. 

Of course in the morning we were surrounded by cars and dog walkers and where we had been Monday night was empty. We left and drove to the vet we visited in May to get Rusty’s health certificate. The vet was closed and the building was emptied. I noted “permanently closed” on Google maps. So then we had to find another vet. But the back up vet was away teaching at the university we were told: 

Meanwhile we went to the market to get a cheap lunch. Parking was impossible as the area was packed for blocks around. We threw up our hands and drove back to the beach for empanadas.

Bu then with nothing done we took a nap. Driving back to the city we passed a vet. They did health certificates. Rusty still weighs 24 kilos (50 pounds) which weight he has maintained at every border since Mexico. 

Good enough. It took ages but it was our first success of the day. Up next shopping at Jumbo so I walked Rusty while Layne went into the store. I saw the Montana registered Promaster van of course: 

If you see a Vermont or Montana tag there’s a good chance it’s a vehicle driven by a foreigner who bought it in the US to drive south. In this case they are a Spanish couple and we talked about their road ahead  as they plan to be in Ushuaia by December. The van has been trouble free. 

We drove out to the airport for a quiet night away from the water. 

The lights of the border two miles away. Maybe Wednesday.