A journey of two lifetimes
So off we drove to Calama, in the complete opposite direction to Bolivia.
Of course it was Sunday so absolutely everything was closed in Calama. Luckily upon stopping in front of an iOverlanderrecommended garage, the mechanic was taking out the trash. I asked him about the car and when he could have a look at it. He told us to come back tomorrow (monday) at 10 and he’d see what he could do. We found a camping nearby (owned by a very friendly Gabriel) in which we ended up staying 3 days waiting for the car to be repaired. Monday, then Tuesday was a public holiday so no work done on the car until Wednesday. By Wednesday 3pm, 250$ poorer, we were set.
- December 11th, 2015 -
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
THE DAY WE DIDN'T GO TO BOLIVIA
We drove back to San Pedro de Atacama with big hopes to get to Bolivia by nightfall. We fuelled up, watered up and we embarked on the steep slope towards Paso de Jama up to the Bolivian border. 3 times the car over-heated during our climb, 3 times we stopped for about 20 minutes to let it cool down. 2 hours later we were at the border! A little hut served as the Bolivian border control. 3 very unfriendly Bolivians shone their flashlights in our faces (it was dark by now) and told us to get out our passports and follow them into the hut. They also made it clear that we were late and that they were technically closed at this time… They had a quick look at our passports, told us our Chilean exit stamp was missing and that they couldn’t do anything for us and sent us back to where we came from. (We were supposed to get our exit stamps in San Pedro de Atacama where the Chilean border post of the region has its main office). Good to know!!
Frustrated and tired we cruised back down to San Pedro de Atacama where we set up camp, again!
Bolivia clearly didn’t want us!
After reflection, the rainy season is starting on all the northern part of Latin America anyway, so we’re going to give Bolivia a breather and go enjoy the austral summer on the Chilean coast for a couple months!
We’ll be back!
- Jonathan -
Tips and Tools for Fellow Travellers:
Chile - Bolivia Border Crossing
When crossing the Bolivian border from San Pedro de Atacama (Paso de Jama) make sure to stop by the Chilean Aduana in San Pedro de Atacama before you head to the border.
There is no Chilean border post at the border.
Camping Calama
Camping Casas del Valle.
Add: Francisco Bilbao 1207, Calama
Tel: 234 0056
Very pleasant camping with clean bathrooms, barbeque spots, shade, good wifi, a pool and a very friendly owner Gabriel.
Price: 5000 Chilean pesos per person per night.
Car Repair in Calama
Tannaxel Garage
Add: Gabriela Mistral 1055 - Villa Chica
Tel: 620 712 37
Owned by a friendly and efficient Nilton, you can be sure to get very good service here.
More Info in Tips and Tools
After a couple of very pleasant days in San Pedro de Atacama, sharing the shade of the same tree with Carole and Miles (www.carolineandmiles.tumblr.com) and exploring the nearby lagoons together, we were ready to take on the high plateaus of southern Bolivia. Packed up, fuelled up and watered up we were ready to roll, apart from a disturbing metallic sound coming from under the car… The mechanics in San Pedro told us they couldn’t do anything for us and that we needed to head to Calama (the nearest big city - 100km away) in order to get the necessary reparations.