Chile 2002

2 weeks in Chile and peru with Jack, travelling from Santiago all the way up to Macchu Pichu, via all sorts of wnoderful places...

Day
1 Sun 2 Dec	Arrive in Santiago. Jack picks me up at the airport and takes me back to Selma's. Wander around Santiago.
2 Mon 3 Dec	Tour more of Santiago. Visit cafe con piernas. Meet Cathy and Steve (Americans on Jack's Spanish course) for dinner.
3 Tues 4 Dec	Fly to Antofagasta. Hire 4x4 and drive, via the Hand of the Desert, to San Pedro de Atacama, stopping at Valle de Luna on the way. Get stuck in Sand dune and get pulled out for $1. Dinner in town and get lost finding our way back to hotel when street lighting is turned off at 1am.
4 Wed 5 Dec	Drive to salt lakes to see flamingoes. Stop for lunch beside salt lake. Turns out to be a bog and we're stuck again! Have to leave 4x4 and hitch lift back with Jean-Paul and Laurent.
5 Thurs 6 Dec	Jack goes back to rescue car with friend of hotel manager. Spends 7 hours digging with 7 Argentinian engineers. Finally gets it out but suspension is broken!
6 Fri 7 Dec	Get up at 3:45am to drive to El Tatio geysers. Arrive at sunrise. Leave and get puncture!! Spend most of afternoon in Calama swapping 4x4 for spacky runaround. Walk around town and get showered in egg by two girls playing in the street. Drive back to San Pedro for final night there.
7 Sat 8 Dec	Visit Chiquicamata copper mine. Pretty damn big. Swap car back for 4x4 and drive back to Antofagasta where we drop it off and catch flight to Arica.
8 Sun 9 Dec	Arrive in Arica in the early morning. Given lift to pretty grim hotel by Enzo, a Chilean we met in the Exec lounge of Iqueque airport (on transfer). Get collectivo taxi across Peruvian border to Tacna. Eat at best hotel in town for next to nothing. Set off on stink-bus to...
9 Mon 10 Dec	...Cusco half-dead through cold, smell and appalling driving through mountains. Cusco a bit more civilised than Tacna, but everyone trying rip you off.
10 Tues 11 Dec	Start Inca Trail with group of Swiss, Dutch and Hebrews. Take train half way. Climb up to Wiñaywayna, an agricultural centre of the Incas. Stay the night at top of hill, but get put in horrendous tent instead of hostel that we paid for. Good view though!
11 Wed 12 Dec	Set off at 4am. Reach Sun Gate by 5pm. Descend into Machu Picchu. Wander round for 8 hours, including Sun Temple, sacrificial stone (llama and virgins), bridge of stones etc. Walk to bottom of mountain and go to restaurant. Train back to Cusco.
12 Thurs 13 Dec	Spend day arguing with tour guides in Cusco to get a refund for having to stay in the tent. Get shoes polished by an urchin who tried to rip me off. Take bus to Tacna...
13 Fri 14 Dec	Arrive in Tacna and find out that one of my connecting flights to Santiago has been cancelled. Collectivo to Arica - walk along the beach, and buy a new ticket with LanChile. Stay the night at the Hotel Concord.
14 Sat 15 Dec	Go to Arica airport at midday and say farewell to Jack. Flights: Arica -> Iqueque -> San Sarena -> Santiago.
15 Sun 16 Dec	Santiago -> Dallas -> New York JFK -> Heathrow
16 Mon 17 Dec	Arrive home at 8:30am and go into work. Last about 4 hours before going home and going to sleep for about 16 hours!