PHOTOS FROM THE ATACAMA

Ancient Art on the hills (Geoglyphs)

Old Nitrate Mine - Humberside

More of Humberside

Iquique city- between the ocean and the dunes

Beaches...sand both ways

An amazing drive

Mano del Desierts - a great photo opportunity

THE ATACAMA DESERT - BUT NOT THE DAKAR

We are finally in Chile (pronounced Chil-lay.....). We have changed our clocks by 2 hours so now we have very long evenings. The days are hot, and the nights cold. This is the dryest desert in the world (or so my book says)

It is an amazing drive, and NO it is not all flat & boring. There are massive hills and valleys that we have to wind up and down. Before we leave the beachside town of Arica we do a detour to see some geoglyphs on the hills. These are huge pictures etched on the hills, probably used as route markers. Actually we find heaps more later on in our drive.

There are also 100's of mines in the desert. (They are the reason Chile went to war with Peru & Bolivia - Chile wanted the mineral wealth). Anyway we visited a fantastic old nitrate mine & town called Humberstone.

Another amazing site was the city of Iquique set right on the waterfront below huge desert cliffs. There was some very expensive beachfront real estate here, right in the middle of nowhere. Of course there have been heaps of gorgeous beaches and lots of busy ports shipping out Chile's wealth. Some of these have been a bit rough and downright ramshackle, but great to pass through.

Then of course we had to stop at Mano del Desierts (the huge granite hand) for a photo shoot- we now have a new brochere picture for SLR Motorhomes.

Finding camp spots in GR2 has been a breeze. Either at the beach or in desert we just find a quiet spot and drive off road.

PERU FOOTNOTES

1/ Overall this country has been cheap, especially food.
2/ The favorite drinks here are: Inca Cola - a yellow, bubble gum flavored soft drink, and Pisco Sour, a yummy grape brandy/lemon cocktail.
3/ The favorite food has to be chicken - there are 1,000's of chook farms. In Lima, a city of 6 million officially (and 13 million unofficially) one million chooks are eaten every day!
4/ The most prolific family resturants are Norky's and Rocky's, and yes, they both sell chicken, chips & salad.
5/ The public transport is very cheap. Only 1 sole (40c) on the bus will get you a long way. Taxi's too are cheap. No meters, so barter hard before you get in. Then close your eyes and pray!
6/ Loos (of course) are not too bad, but remember to get your paper (if you are lucky) before you go in and deposit it in the bin (not the loo)

COLCA CANYON PHOTOS

Fertile Valley

Fertile Valley

Village life in Sanddunes

Typical Village

Our terrible road

Reducing the tyre pressure

Our winding road

Vicuannas

More views

Isn't she cute

Farmyard

Colca Canyon

The canyon - no condors flying today

Shopping

More shopping

Isn't she lovely

Street life

Chivay church

Arequipa

Trying to get out of Arequipa

Road to border

COLCA CANYON

After Nazca it was back on the road. We need to get a few kilometres under our belt as we have lost a lot of time. The scenery keeps changing as we follow the coastline. Towering cliffs, blue ocean & brown desert. Some of the road is downright scary. There are 100's of "dead sheds" on the side of the road as a gentle reminder. We finish the day camped beside the surf. Then head inland on a terrible road to Colca Canyon. After softening the shock absorbers, letting down the tyre pressure and putting GR2 into low range it feels a lot better. What a ride!! It was all twists, turns & steep hills, from fertile farms to dry mountains. We even saw a few wild vicunas (kind of like a fine boned llama) and lots of Inca terracing. The views are awesome. Our highest point today was 4191m. We camped at the mirador (viewpoint) at 3850m. Coming up so high in one day was probably a mistake as we both had headaches and I felt nauseous. We met a Swiss couple in their MAN 4x4 who had been touring South America for 3 years- they gave us lots of tips.

The next morning was another magic drive with considerably better roads. There were lots of villages with ladies in their traditional clothes, heaps of fun markets and more magic views. Our highest point today was a wheez inducing 4910m (John thinks I have recorded that wrong...so I will double check). After a huge day we made it to the city of Arequipa where we eventually found the hotel where all the overlanders camp.

It was much harder to get out of town, but we want to make it to the border today. We finish eating all our meat, cheese, fruit & veges, and settle in for a long drive. Of course we fill up with fuel...as it is cheaper here. No dramas at the border - we even manage to fill in the Spanish forms OK. The longest wait was for the man to sign out GR2 from Peru. On entering Chile we had to declare our goods (they let us keep our milk, but we had to give them our honey), then a sniffer dog searched GR2. Finally we were through. It was getting late so we headed straight to the beach for a quiet night.

More Photos

Carlos and his family

One of 1000's of Pollo (Chook) farms on the coast

Paracus Nacional Park

Camping at Paracus

Scary photos

Dry hills, fertile valley

Nazca Lines - it was a bit sunny

View from the plane

NAZCA LINES

Monday 17th January was D-Day. The start of our trip only 2 weeks later than anticipated. John & Carlos (our extremely helpful customs agent) spent over 12 hours with customs and the storage place to extradiate GR2. By 9pm they arrived at our hotel to collect me and our suitcases. A quick stop to load up with groceries before spending the night right outside Carlos' house, slap bang in the centre of Lima. It was a late night as we visited Carlos & his lovely family.

The next morning we were up bright & early to exit Lima before the rush. This turned out suprisingly easy, and we were finally heading south on the Panamerican Highway. We reached the Paracus Nacional Park by the evening and camped on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. The next morning we spent putting GR2 through her paces on the bare cliffs.

We continued south to Ica, and tried to find the "tallest" sanddune in the world, but only found a scruffy village on sanddunes. We are passing through lots of desert & dropping down into fertile valleys. At one valley I notice a shortcut on my map....which we take. The road plunges straight into a narrow rock tunnel - we only just squeeze through. Then down a steep, windy hill - no wonder the trucks go the other way. I am sure the signs warned us.....if we could read them!

We finally reach Nazca where we book flights for the next morning. After hunting for a free camp spot we give up and "pay" to camp in a hotel carpark where we meet 2 South African couples travelling in 4x4's. It took them 6 weeks to get their vehicles off the port in Brasil (makes us feel much better) The next morning is clear, ans more importantly, not windy. We have a magic 35 minute flight in an 8 seater Cessna. We were seated by weight....I got the whole back seat to myself and so could slide from side to sige as we tilted each way., A bit of a recipe for nausea!!! Totally worth it.