Day 12 – Antofagasto

Maria made us a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast and then sent us on our way with hugs and kisses. We booked first class seats on the bus to Antofagasto. What a treat in luxury. It was a 5 hour bus ride, but our seats reclined, we had leg rests, a movie and air conditioning, plus a bathroom that was actually clean. During the drive through the desert, we passed by many ramshackle pueblos. Despite being the second largest city in Chile, Antofagasto is very poor. Getting off the bus was a bit of a culture shock. The city is really dirty and smelly with a ton of traffic. The city instantly put Matt and I on guard and we opted for the closest lodging that the Lonely Planet book recommended. Hotel Fontana is cheap, but secure with 2 big iron security doors. The rooms resemble small hospital rooms, but they each have a bano privado even though we can barely fit inside it with the door closed. If you sit on the toilet, you have sit sideways and drape your legs into the shower area to fit.

After we put down our bags, we walked out to the busy city streets and found the pedestrian shopping district. That area felt a little – very slightly– safer. Probably because of all the police that were on guard, including the armed guard in McDonalds. We had some lunch and then decided that the remaining part of the late afternoon and evening would be spent in the safety of our room watching re-runs of CSI with Spanish subtitles (it’s an easy way to learn more Spanish words). The only reason why we found ourselves in Antofagasto was because we needed to catch a flight to Santiago from here. The flight was originally supposed to leave from Arica, but since we never made it to La Paz, we had to change our flight plans. Tomorrow morning we will be out of this city and one flight closer to Easter Island.

Just a side note, we have spent almost all of our days in the middle of nowhere, so internet connection is impossible. We did have cell phone reception in San Pedro, so I was able to let mom know we were ok. I’m doing well with my Spanish. I think Professora Guzman would be proud. The Chilean accent is tricky sometimes and they use some different words than I am used to. They speak really fast, so in a complicated conversation (such as border crossing negotiations), it is easy to get lost, but I’m doing my best.