My Time in Chile pt. 1

I'm sure that you've all been very bummed out by the lack of recent posts, but I think you will forgive me when you understand that I have been traveling and taking lots of pictures for your viewing pleasure.
I am currently in Vina Del Mar with my Aunt Elba, and it was quite a trip to come down. I first went to Ilo, where it was HOT and I saw some people that I knew when I was a missionary there. That was good times. The most interesting part of that journey was the discovery of the new road to Ilo from Arequipa. Before, one had to go due South from Arequipa to Moquegua, and then to the coast, which took about 5 hours. Now, there is a road which goes strait to the coast (East) from Arequipa, hitting the ocean a little bit south of Mollendo at a place called Coca Chacra, and then it goes South hugging the coast. This trip takes only 3 and 1/2 hours, and instead of in a large bus, it is in a 10 passenger van. If you ever have to make this trip, buy the seat RIGHT BEHIND THE DRIVER. The ones in the middle are hard and uncomfortable, and there are leg room issues in other areas. The cost for this is 30 Soles and it's an interesting little trip.

Ilo was good times, I saw some of the Church members that I hadn't seen in a while, like these people:
The Sarmiento Family
And Hilda, Sheyley, and Bianca


I always enjoy seeing them, I get warm fuzzies.
After Ilo, I went down to Tacna. I forget what I have written about Tacna, but it now was a movie theatre, woot woot! The only thing to do in Tacna is buy stuff. There are clothes, electronics, and other such things. I then crossed over to Arica. This is not a very pleasurable experience, not because it's difficult, but because it becomes tedious with repetition. You have to get out of the car to leave Peru, get in, drive a few hundred yards, get out again, get in again. Basically just a hassle. But clearing that, I was able to recover the ticket that my aunt had bought on TUR Bus. It costs about 80 bucks to get from Arica to Santiago on the 1st floor, which is like first class. I recommend this because it is a 30 hour bus ride. There isn't much to comment about this particular ride, lots of desert, lots of time sitting. The one super plus to this trip is that there was a functioning electrical outlet by my seat and I had the foresight to purchase the necessary adapters and whatnot to enable me to use my laptop most of the trip.