Arequipa and Border Crossings

After achieving a few successful hours of sleep on our 2nd overnight bus in a row we arrived in Arequipa. With only a few hours to spare before our next bus to Tacna we managed to squeeze in two of lonely planets three recommended activities. First we took a surprisingly fascinating tour of the museo de assiento de universidad where we saw the preserved body of a 500 year old sacrificed incan girl named Jaunita. There is something intriguingly eery about staring at the remains of a girl who lived over 5 centuries ago and still has skin and hair!

 We also visited the famous monestary where people lived isolated from the world for centuries until relatively recently when it was opened to the public. We strolled through the colorful streets and corridors inside and had cappuchinos in a flower filled courtyard like the nuns do. On our way to Tacna we were subject to a random inspection where our fruit was confiscated and the only explanation was some mumbling and pointing at a sign that read: Fruit fly free zone. At tacna we joined a group taxi that took us across the Chilean border and to Arica. Other than some brief delays due to paying fees for my overstayed peruvian visa all went smoothly. Finally we arrived to the bus terminal at 11pm and were instructed to cross the street for a cheap accomodation. 12,000 chilean pesos later we ended up in our sleeping sacks to avoid bedbugs and hugging our belongings to avoid quite plausible theft scenarios considering the 1inch thick plywood door that stood between our make shift hostel room and the outside world.

Luckily we upgraded our accommodation the following night.