Yanquis in Latin America: Chile- A Brief Encounter

I am looking back now, at the end of two weeks of travel and recounting the events that transpired...

Day Seven: It was around 7:45 in the morning in Arequipa and we were boarding a Cruz del Sur bus to head south to Tacna. We had the full cama seats like our trip down from Lima, but we couldn't get them all in a row. Thus I volunteered to sit next to a stranger. The passenger next to me was a young woman, who I could tell immediately was not Peruvian. As I climbed over her into my seat, I told her buenos dias, and got a hear of her accent. Convinced, I ventured further,
"I'm supposing you speak English, so, good morning."
She smiled broadly and replied,
"You are absolutely right, and good morning to you!"
This English speaking woman turned out to be Catherine, a Spanish teacher from New York who had been visiting friends in Arequipa and was, like us, on her way to Salta, Argentina. We chatted for most of the ride to Tacna, which included an onboard game of bus bingo (where the prize is a free return ticket) and by the time we arrived at our destination, she had more or less integrated herself into our travel unit.

To cross the border back into Chile, at Arica, we opted to use a colectivo (taxi with set prices). The train had simply taken too much time before on my way up, and further didn't leave until six Peruvian time (seven in Chilean.) The colectivo driver took our passports and handled all of the paperwork, and the crossing was accomplished very smoothly and rather quickly as well. By around two o'clock, the four of us had stashed our bags at the Arica bus terminal and set out on foot to explore the center and score some grub. As I had just been to Arica a week before, I showed the others around and found us a typical Chilean eatery so that BT and Chris could experience the underwhelming Chilean staples of the completo hotdog (topped with avocado, tomatoes, and mayonnaise) and the french fries piled with meat and fried eggs known as chorillana. Needless to say, coming off a week of delicious, flavorful, spicy Peruvian food and returning to hotdogs and bland empanandas was a little depressing. Thankfully we wouldn't be in Chile long.

While we were eating, I gave Mike the surfer a call because I had heard he was in town. He was indeed in Arica, staying at the same hostel I had been in, and he promptly joined us for lunch. Our party now numbering five, I decided that we should climb the Morro to give everyone the full Arica experience. Thus I trekked up the cliff again, with friends in tow, for more spectacular Pacific views and another disappointingly obscured sunset. Afterward, we climbed back down and waltzed through the palm tree-lined center, grabbing Mcflurries along the way (in Spanish, Señor Flurries) topped with the delicious Chilean chocolate treat known as Sahne Nuss--which is just a Nestlé chocolate bar with almonds in it. We eventually made it back to the hostel where Mike was staying to do some interneting and get ready to leave.

That night, we bid Mike farewell, he having decided to leave Arica the next day and go north into Perú, and BT, Chris, Catherine, and I caught a colectivo back to the bus station. Then the three of us men bid fond farewells to Catherine, who was on a direct bus to Salta. We had a bus overnight to Calama, and then a connection that next morning. It was going to be a long haul.