San Pedro de Atacama

Saturday August 25

Ross is not feeling well. His nose is clogged and he is having difficulty breathing. We don 't know if it is allergies or a cold or something else. We go to the local clinic near the museum.

The doctor examines Ross. He says that many visitors are not used to the dry and dusty climate of San Pedro. He gives him a prescription for a spray to open up his nasal passages. We take it to the botanica (pharmacy) down the street. He also gives him several masks to wear to cut down on the amount of dust he is inhaling as we walk along the dirt streets of San Pedro.


We walk over to the other side of town: where the non-tourists live. There is a artesania market there. One man is creating signs using a magnifying glass to etch the letters into the wood.

The rest of the afternoon we jhang out around the hostel. They are letting us stay even though we have checked out of our room.

Our overnight bus leaves at about 8:30 in the evening. Only Tur-Bus runs a bus from San Pedro to Arica. It is scheduled to arrive in Arica at about 6:00 in the morning. It costs 13,700 pesos a person.

The bus station is only a few blocks from our hostel. We walk over and board the bus for our 10 hour journey. We have booked semi-cama seats: they recline but not fully. Those seats are called cama-camas. There were none available.

I immediately change my seat to a more spacious unoccupied seat. The ticket taker is not pleased. There is a couple that reek of garlic. They are seated behind us. I find it unbearable. I also cannot see out the front window from my originals eat.

At the stop in Calama, I change my seat again. This time I take one of the unoccupied eats in the front row. The ticket taker scowls at me. I don't care. I need to see the road or else I will get sick. The ticket taker ignores me for the rest of the ride. I take a Valium and eventually fall asleep.