Welcome to Peru

Jan 22 Arica to Tacna

As for all our planning last night, well it got set aside when we were told that there is no banks on our intended route and no money changers at the border. So into Tacna we go in order to change what Chilean Pesos we have and to find a bank machine to get Peruvian Soles. This works out well in the end, we spend the morning visiting with David from Sweden who is travelling on an older BMW 1150GS. We end up bumping into him at the border and help each other with the paperwork process. This is the Pan Americana Highway crossing so there are lots of people plus it is the most complicated crossing we have come across this trip.

The Chile side was a mess, it started with going to the cafeteria to buy the form needed to exit Chile, or was it to enter Peru we are still not sure. After the cafeteria we stood in one line to get our passports stamped, then another line to get the bike paperwork, then another line to get a stamp on the bike paperwork.

Then we could ride the 1.5km to the Peruvian side, at which time we stood in line for our passport stamps. When we reached the window the lady asked us for a declaration paper, we did not have one so she gave us one and told us to step aside to fill it out. This is when we noticed that the officer directing people to the next available window was holding a booklet with the declarations. He was not handing them out though, instead he would just tell people what window was available. This was a collasoal waste of time as many people were standing in line twice. Then it was around the corner of the building to the Aduana, and then one more line at the CIT office. This is where it got very slow, the ladies were checking every word on our documents and even then managed to screw it up by putting our old passport numbers on the new paperwork. Our names were in the computer from last year and she just transferred that info, no biggie but it did take an extra 15 minutes for her to redo the documents. Yay, done with that non-sense, now we could ride the 40km into Tacna and call it a day. 58km and about 4 hrs later we are checked into a nice $20 hotel, border crossing days are always interesting.

We are once again surprised by how busy the city is, but it is also a duty free shopping city and reminds us very much of Los Algodones, across the border from Yuma. Both cities have optical, dental, prescriptions, clothing, crafts, and even auto parts for cheap. This would be great if we wanted anything or even if we had the space to pack anything more than what we have, instead we settle for a bit of window shopping and people watching.