The miner’s strike in Peru, one of the simplest ways to make use of Starlink, and touring southern Chile had been the principle topics of dialog final evening on the overlander campground in Las Mercedes.
Andres from Viña Del Mar in Chile was aggravated his Starlink will get shut down two months after he leaves Chile. It occurred final yr once they had been touring Brazil of their motorhome and it’s going to occur this yr he figured as they escape winter by driving to Colombia and the far north. Another vacationers from Spain and Argentina (names and WhatsApp numbers are recorded by Layne) had been making the case for the Starlink mini which is the preferred device for vacationers. We now have a giant clunky Starlink 2 which we purchased in Mexico and it requires establishing every time we wish to use it, prices us $80 a month and which we use uninterrupted throughout the Americas (this submit involves you courtesy of Elon Musk’s engineers). It makes use of a ton of electrical energy however our service has been uninterrupted and we’re loath to alter it with all the brand new restrictions being speak about on new accounts.
We introduced rum and the dialog flowed within the cool evening air, in Spanish which required focus to defeat the Bacardi. Then the dialog turned to the blockades because the Spanish overlander needs to park her van in Lima whereas she goes residence to the Canary Islands for summer time. The highway to Lima is blocked however ever hopeful she repeated a rumor the roads will open in two days. I stated nothing however I learn the papers on-line and on the information stands round Arequipa.
A 13 yr previous woman is amongst 14 individuals injured by police in violent confrontations making an attempt to open the PanAmerican Freeway within the south. Two individuals have been shot to loss of life by police.
They don’t maintain again from displaying blood lined our bodies on the entrance web page. Site visitors in Arequipa may be very mild as the town is working out of liquid propane fuel which vehicles use.
The miners need the federal government to legalize their standing, 50,000 of them working unlawful mines however mining companies don’t need the competitors. For the time being the highway from Arequipa to Cusco and the highway to the Chilean border are open nevertheless it’s unattainable to drive to Lima the capital. Some highway blocks are reporting 30 miles of stalled visitors. My gauge of the standing of the roads is bananas and we haven’t seen them within the grocery store for greater than per week. However the Spaniards who wish to attain Lima are certain the roads will open subsequent week. The federal government is insisting there will probably be no talks till order is restored. Deadlock.
Life goes on in Arequipa although slower, as we stay fairly comfortably for now however other than shortages of bananas and lengthy wait occasions for Ubers we’re doing high quality. Layne found some bank card fraud as a result of she is all the time on-line checking our banking (thanks Starlink). Somebody within the Netherlands was utilizing our card for minor purchases over the previous days. One telephone name sorted that out.
Usually this road main into downtown from the campground is packed and crossing it means taking your life into your fingers. Not now.
We went downtown to choose up our repaired garments however we obtained Peru’ed. They aren’t prepared however will probably be on Monday. That they had higher be as we’re getting Rusty’s exit papers on Monday to drive to Chile, not anticipated and never deliberate however we have to do some entrance finish work on the van and we are able to’t get the components in remoted Arequipa. We hope to be in Iquique late subsequent week. Layne remembered to purchase on-line automotive insurance coverage for GANNET2; she’s good at that stuff.
We now have one other month on our allow to remain in Peru however we wish to get our entrance finish checked and introduced as much as snuff to tackle the roads in Brazil and if we depart now we are able to get the work accomplished at a mechanic we all know in Chile after which nonetheless have a month we are able to use later to cross Peru to get to Porto Velho in Brazil.
Rice and potato soup for lunch as we stumbled round city getting stuff accomplished.
Layne has lengthy needed stickers to change with different overlanders so for $8 this man designed and printed 90 of them for us. We used a watercolor a good friend had made from GANNET2 for our template.
It’s a really fashionable factor to have stickers as a substitute of visiting playing cards which we used to change on our travels after we sailed to Key West from California in distant 1998.
I observed the paper is Chinese language. Peru is growing robust commerce ties with China and their new port at Chancay which we noticed final yr, is to be the Pacific hub of a brand new railroad being constructed throughout Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean. What Panama Canal?
Would you give this man a visa to go to Brazil? Nor will they but. I’m on my third try to get a photograph of me accepted. They couldn’t see my shoulders, then my ears, then my head was tilted and on and on.