Thursday 10th May, Antofagasta

After no post yesterday there's still not a lot to post today. I seem to have lost my access to my pictures folder which has all my photos I've downloaded from my phone in it - not sure why but it means I haven't been able to post any photos for the past two days. I'll ask my translator if she can help me get back into it - she's a wizz with technology being young and today helped me load Spotify on to my phone and then showed me all the tools for downloading and saving albums to playlists on my phone so I can listen to my favourites at anytime (Jim Reeves, right now, as I write this) and tonight on the coach from here to Arica (10 hours, overnight - 9pm to 6:30am) I'll be able to relax to some lovely music through my wonderful Bose noise cancelling headphones - we booked the two aisle seats upstairs at the very front of  the coach so we might be able to see some things as we travel, although I've also packed my eye shades in case I feel I want to wear them. We always book seats that aren't together, usually across the aisle from each other so if I need her assistance with anything I can call on her. I probably wouldn't have chosen to use an overnight service but it will save on one night's accommodation (not that that's expensive) and it will be a new experience for me though not for Greta who often travels that way because the fare is lower and it saves her one night's lodgings. When you're unemployed in a country that doesn't pay any benefits every peso counts, hence she was hitchhiking from place to place and selling her hand made wrist bands to support herself before fortuitously bumping into me on a bus in La Serena (she says she can't believe her good fortune!).
Yesterday we took a bus from Antofagasta to one of the local tourist sights, La Portada, which is a hole in the rock landmark often photographed here - the bus dropped us off on the main highway North and we had to walk the 2 kms from there to the coast where the landmark is. If you've driven the Great Ocean Road or been to either Cathedral Cove or The Bay of Islands hole in the rock it probably isn't a big deal but picturesque, all the same (I took a couple of photos). After walking back to the main highway we caught a Southbound bus which by chance happened to be going all the way through Antofagasta as far as the Ruins of Huanchaca, which was the other spot we wanted to visit that day - that was worth the effort! Ruins of an old silver smeltering plant from the late 1800s which look like pre Colombian ruins - impressive, actually! Then back into town where I bought a powerful battery power bank (11,000mAh) to recharge my phone when I don't have access to a power point - will do about 4 phone charges when it's full, according to my translator (another one of her valuable recommendations). I was caught short in La Serena one evening when I'd hopped on the wrong bus (twice) and using Google Maps to try to find my way back to the city centre the phone ran low on power and I was worried I'd be lost forever! That won't happen again.
In one of the modern Malls I spotted one of those virtual reality simulators where you wear 3D VR glasses and couldn't resist the temptation to have a ride - 2,000 pesos (NZD$4.50) - it was amazing, a ride on a fairground "wheel" that simulated the same sensation of swinging and to the same extent that you even saw your legs swinging out in front of you at the top of the ride where you begin the downward journey - so realistic my stomach felt queasy during the over the top and down the other side phase!
We headed back to our AirBnB to plan the next few days, deciding in the end to go on to Peru from Chile, rather than Bolivia (at this stage). A slight error in dates meant we booked a night in Talco, Peru, instead of in Arica which I noticed this morning and we managed to correct that. So we stay only one night in Arica before crossing the border into Peru and to Talco only a few miles on. Probably wouldn't have chosen to stay in Talco but we'll make the most of it before moving on further into Peru (Peru was never on my agenda - just an impromptu decision suggested by Greta and with her skills I'm happy to go along with it - she thinks she may sell some of her wrist bands there (illegal to do so in Chile because the retailers in shops complain it takes their business). Last night when I was in the city I saw what she meant - several sellers (some women with young children) had their similar wares spread out for sale on rugs when suddenly like a flock of birds they all scooped up their rugs and ran - the Carabaneros rounded the corner on their bikes and word had preceded them from a lookout at the end of the street. At first I didn't understand what was happening but Greta explained that if she got caught selling her stuff on the street she would get arrested - life's tough in this part of the world. It's even tougher in other parts, especially parts of Africa and Asia, where even your ethnicity can decide your fate.
All for now - I may go out for a walk shortly knowing I'll be sitting on a bus for the night. Ciao.