| Location: | Pozo Almonte, Chile |
| Mileage: | 14,200 |
The coast line would be would be even more magnificent, but for the mist that still dogs us. As the road heads inland to Arequipa, we leave the cloud behind and turn into bright skies and deep orange deserts.
Our main problem along this stretch of road has been ensuring a supply of fuel. Towns marked on bold letters on the map turn out to be nothing more than ghost towns, with crumbling adobe buildings, covered in faded political slogans and a petrol station boasting concrete slabs where pumps once stood. We fill up at one stop where there is a single pump carrying 84 octane only, taking a couple of gallons to get us to Arequipa where we know we can buy a better grade.
When we arrive in the final Peruvian town of Tacna, it is mid afternoon and we have not yet eaten today. It sometimes is too hard to find quick food in Peru and we have no stomach for a standard almuerzo, comprising rice and meat.
At the border, we are charged 10 soles for a form needed to exit the country and enter Chile. It is a scam, as the police officer does not want to be paid in public, but ushers me into a little office and pockets the money, without issuing a receipt. I have not the energy or the language skills to argue and I have spare coins to pay.
Oh the difference when we reach Chile! Smart buildings, clean offices, computerised records to issue a temporary permit for the bike - and no charges for anything! The exit from the border shows us a sign for Santiago - 2,091 kms and we have two days to get there - less another hour as the clocks change!
We take the ring road around Arica and head for a small mining town called Pozo Almonte, population 5,000. The road there is even more isolated than anything we rode on in Peru. After we cross two huge valleys, and a second Aduana checkpoint, the road then runs straight for miles and miles, with no habitation at all.
I try not to think what we would do if anything went wrong out here. Especially as we are riding into the night and the light is fading rapidly. We are totally dependent on the bike. At least here we do not face the erratic driving of other Latino countries. The traffic is infrequent and few on this road and the drivers indicate and use lights.
We roll into Pozo around eight thirty. I realise that we have no Chilean peso on us. There were no money changers at the border! The Pan American runs straight through the middle, past the plaza where everyone is hanging out (it is Saturday night). The buildings are wooden and haphazard, with lights swinging in the wind and dust swirling around the road gives the feeling of a cowboy frontier town.
I need not have worried about money. It is now Chile and we may be in a small ming town in the middle of nowhere, but the Esso garage not only has 97 octane fuel (the first time we have been able to buy such good fuel in the whole of the journey), but clean banos, hot coffee and a ATM that accepts a VISA card! Armed with plenty of pesos, we stay at a small hosteleria at the edge of town and eat our first meal of the day.
