I can't believe I've already been here for 3 months and need to make a border run! (I guess I should stop saying I can't believe how fast the time is flying because I say it every time...hmmm)
I took the last bus from Arequipa to Tacna, s/20 at 10:15pm, thinking that I'd get in at about 5:30, 6 am. It was only about a 5.5 hour ride and so I got in at 3:45, a bit too early to be walking around exploring. So I sat in the bus station drinking coffee and reading my book until the sun rose.
Just out front of the bus station is the international bus terminal. How convenient! And behind it was a bustling city market just opening. There was a flower market lining the street leading up to the main market entrance, and at 5:30 in the morning all the trucks were unloading all of their flower bundles onto the street.
This is also probably the time to go if you want to buy fresh meat. What a sight to see all the stands full! These markets are one of the things that I really miss when I go back home to the states. I miss wandering though the crowded streets seeking out the best deal on vegetables and then going home with some crazy exotic fruit or vegetable that definitely wasn't on my shopping list.
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Fish market, because Tacna
is next to the ocean. |
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| All kinds of seafood |
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| I wonder how much is left at the end of the day. |
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| Rock pictures on the hillside over the bus station |
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| The old train station |
After I'd had enough at the market I took a
colectivo, for s/20 across the border to Arica. In Arica everything was closed, I couldn't even find a place to change money. I wonder if everything in Chile is closed on Sundays. So I walked (actually I would have walked anyway because because that's how I like to travel when I don't have any place in particular to be) toward the beach, and then along the beach until I was lucky enough to come to the center of Arica.
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'Little Italy' in Arica. This cute little church
looked so out of place though. |
At some point it felt really creepy just walking along the lonely road next to the unused railroad tracks following along the coast line. Had I known that everything, even in the center of town, was also closed and that I couldn't use Peruvian soles I probably would have felt a lot less brave wandering around by myself. Once I got to the center everything was still closed but at least there was a lot to see.
I climbed the hill to check out the flag at the top and I found a tourist site of an old military bunker. Definitely a very strategic hill for Chile because you can see out over the entire bay of Arica and the city.
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| The hill to the bunkers. |
I think I'm addicted to the kind of feeling I felt walking around that day. It's a feeling of freedom when you have a period of time with absolutely nothing to do, no place to be, you have no cell service or money to spend. So you're able to completely relax, because anything that happens is completely out of your control. When I came across something interesting or scenic I was happy to sit for a while or however long I felt. I had no expectations for where I was headed and so I was able to enjoy everything as it came. (I've come to believe that it's impossible to plan this kind of trip because then that creates an expectation to have a relaxing trip, which the expectation completely negates the intention. So I've learned to just enjoy these moments when they come. :)
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| Graffiti |
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| The Chilean flag at the top. |
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Is this supposed to be a mini
'Redeemer' statue? |
Back in Tacna, Peru in the afternoon I decided to try to find the Plaza de Armas because it's the picture on the back of the s/100 bill. I was on the right bus but the bus went down the street parallel to the plaza and so I missed the stop. I just kept riding the bus because I thought I'd find a good place to eat lunch then make my way back to the plaza. And I got so lucky because the bus rode past a food festival, only once a year in Tacna. It was like the one here in Arequipa except free and miniature size. So I sought out the 'comida tipical de Tacna' and someone pointed me to the patasca a la tacneña. It was this thick yellow stew with potatoes, corn and I'm guessing pig skin. Even though I'm not normally eating pork I tried it because this is the reason I'm traveling, to try the local things and if that's what people recommended to experience Tacnena food then I want to try it. It was tasty. And even better since it was served to be by this Peruvian abuela.
Next I tried a desert. I thought it was some kind of pudding so I was pretty surprised when it was pumpkin. Although it was really good, especially with the
canela, cinnamon, that they used on it.
After the food fest I was feeling good and full and continued on to the Plaza de Armas.
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| The back of the s/100 bill |
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| Sun burnt but happy, just enjoying the park before going back to Arequipa. A long, awesome day. |
Just out front of the bus station is the international bus terminal. How convenient! And behind it was a bustling city market just opening. There was a flower market lining the street leading up to the main market entrance, and at 5:30 in the morning all the trucks were unloading all of their flower bundles onto the street.
After I'd had enough at the market I took a colectivo, for s/20 across the border to Arica. In Arica everything was closed, I couldn't even find a place to change money. I wonder if everything in Chile is closed on Sundays. So I walked (actually I would have walked anyway because because that's how I like to travel when I don't have any place in particular to be) toward the beach, and then along the beach until I was lucky enough to come to the center of Arica.
Next I tried a desert. I thought it was some kind of pudding so I was pretty surprised when it was pumpkin. Although it was really good, especially with the canela, cinnamon, that they used on it. 
After the food fest I was feeling good and full and continued on to the Plaza de Armas. 
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