1. – 5. July 2019
Having arrived back in Chile after 4 months, my fellow traveler Débora from Portugal and I had to get used to the higher prices here again. These are at least double the ones we paid in the other countries. Well, at least Rey Lagarto Hostal in San Pedro de Atacama was a nice one and it also included free bikes. 🙂 Having chilled at the hostel for a bit, we went into town to check out the cute little pedestrian streets in the center.
The next morning, I took one of the bikes and left with Francois and Antonio from Switzerland for a bike tour. We went to the Moon Valley near San Pedro where one can find the most unreal landscapes ever. It really looked like on the moon there with the salty hills, the huge sand dunes, and the impressive canyons. Best expressed in pictures:
Biking 
Moon Valley 
With Francois & Antonio 
Amazing Views 
Volcanoes 
Afterwards, I just rode the bike around the area and up on a hill where I met Sol and Eric from Chile and watched the solar eclipse with them. A quite breathtaking spectacle right before a beautiful sunset took place.
Solar Eclipse 
Sol & Eric 
Sunset
At night, I took the bus to Iquique in order to see a bit more of the North Pacific region of Chile. Having arrived in Hostel Club Cavancha veeery early in the morning, Cesar was so kind to give me a room at that ungodly hour. For me, that meant sleeeeping in before exploring the city! And it indeed is a very nice one with a long promenade along the sea, numerous sea lions at the harbor, and a beautiful city center with houses in colonial style.
Walking along the Promenade 
Harbor Views 
Sea Lions 
City Center 
Sunset
The next day was traveling day… I took it very relaxed and arrived in La Posada Gallo in Arica in the evening. In the morning, it was time to check out the city center with its cathedral designed by Gustav Eiffel, the harbor, and of course the hill where the last battle between Chile and Peru took place in 1880. This place is historically very important since Chile annexed Arica with its victory. And they are very proud of that as everyone can see on the hill. 🙂
Morro de Arica 
The Cathedral by Eiffel 
Nice Views 
In the afternoon, I crossed the border to Peru where I took a Cruz del Sure bus from Tacna to Lima (24 hours in total) in order to catch my plane to Mexico…
